Effects of Task Complexity on Written Performance of Low and Intermediate Proficiency Learners

This paper explores task complexity effects on the written performance of L2 learners. Claims of Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis and Skehan’s Trade-Off Hypothesis are compared. Performance is operationalized through accuracy, fluency, lexical and syntactic complexity. Participants are of two different proficiency levels: low (A1) and intermediate (B1) according to the European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Results support the Cognition Hypothesis with some limitations