The role of task complexity and working memory capacity in language learning

This study reviewed studies on the impact of task complexity and how working memory was related to task performance and mediated the influence of complexity conditions on language performance. It would be logical to expect that individual differences in working memory might affect how we comprehend tasks. The limited resources of working memory are allocated to processing certain tasks as well as to temporarily storing the results of specified tasks. When a task has considerable storage and processing demands, we may be unable to perform both functions satisfactory. In this study, First, the concept of task complexity and the two dominant hypotheses of Skehan’s(1998) limited capacity and Robinson’s cognition are presented. Next, the notion of working memory and Baddeley’s (2003) model of working memory are discussed. Then a brief review of empirical studies is reported. The results showed there was no association between task complexity and L2 learning, counter to the prediction of the cognition hypothesis. Moreover, relationships between working memory capacity and various linguistic measures were only confirmed when the cognitive complexity of tasks was increased. Quantitative analyses showed that task modality played a larger role than task complexity in bringing about improved linguistic performance during task-based work.