摘要
Task-based Language Teaching(TBLT)research has provided ample evidence that cognitive complexity is an important aspect of task design that influences learner’s performance in terms of fluency,accuracy,and syntactic complexity.Despite the substantial number of empirical investigations into task complexity in journal articles,storyline complexity,one of the features of it,is scarcely investigated.Previous research mainly focused on the impact of storyline complexity on learners’oral performance,but the impact on learners’written performance is less investigated.Thus,this study aims at investigating the effects of narrative complexity of storyline on senior high school students’written performance,as displayed by its complexity,fluency,and accuracy.The present study has important pedagogical implications.That is,task design and assessment should make a distinction between different types of narrative tasks.For example,the task with single or dual storyline.Results on task complexity may contribute to informing the pedagogical choices made by teachers when prioritizing work with a specific linguistic dimension.