Investigating the Effect of Strategic Planning on the High Working Memory Upper- Intermediate EFL Learners’ Lexical Complexity of Descriptive and Argumentative Writings

Considering the overwhelming nature of Pre-Task Planning (PTP) in writing for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of a factor of PTP called Strategic Planning (SP) on lexical complexity of Iranian EFL learners. The data collection procedure in this mixed-method research, which took ۵ weeks, utilized the Oxford Quick Placement test (OQPT) to separate the sample of upper-intermediate learners. Following OQPT, the  participants with a high working memory capacity (WMC), measured by the Operation Span Test (OST), were selected as the members of the final sample. They were categorized into three SP groups: form-focused (FF), content-focused (CF), and no planning (NP). After administrating the pre-tests of descriptive and argumentative tasks, each group received a different form of SP guidance, either FF or CF, in two different writing tasks for ۴ sessions, whereas the NP group acted as the control group without any intervention. Then the post-tests were run in all three groups. The lexical sophistication of the post-tests was analyzed using the CELEX data center on the Coh-Metrix website. Based on ANOVA tests, FF instruction led to better and highly sophisticated writings in terms of lexis in both descriptive and argumentative tasks. The results can be helpful for syllabus designers, educators, and  EFL learners to consider the type of SP in the PTP stage according to the WMC, in the case of different task types.

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Keywords: strategic planning ، working memory ، lexical complexity