English Learners’ Orientations Towards Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency: Learner Factors and L2 Writing Performance

Abstract

Complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) represent distinctive dimensions of language development, which have been widely used to assess learners’ task performance. Despite much attention to CAF constructs in research, little is known about how they are perceived by L2 learners. This study examines what CAF-specific orientations learners possess as they relate to their motivational self and anxiety, and it further explores how learners’ CAF orientations affect their L2 writing performance. Fifty-one Korean learners of English completed a questionnaire that gauged learners’ orientations towards CAF constructs. They also performed simple and complex writing tasks with a one week interval. The participants’ responses were submitted to factor analysis, and the writing performance was assessed in terms of CAF measures. The results revealed the convergence of learners’ CAF orientations, suggesting that the CAF triad exists as a unitary construct for L2 learners. Also, the participants’ CAF-orientation did not affect their writing performance in either simple or complex tasks.