Examines evidence for claims of the Cognition Hypothesis that complex tasks should promote greater accuracy and complexity of speech and writing, as well as more interaction, and learning of information provided in the input to task performance, than simpler tasks.

1. List of contributors; 2. Acknowledgements; 3. Series editors' preface to Volume 2; 4. Part 1. Cognition, task complexity, language learning, and performance: Theoretical and methodological issues; 5. Chapter 1. Second language task complexity, the Cognition Hypothesis, language learning, and performance (by Robinson, Peter); 6. Chapter 2. Speech production and the Cognition Hypothesis (by Kormos, Judit); 7. Chapter 3. Corpus-driven methods for assessing accuracy in learner production (by Wulff, Stefanie); 8. Part 2. Researching the effects of task complexity across task types and modes of L2 performance; 9. Chapter 4. Task complexity and linguistic performance in L2 writing and speaking: The effect of mode (by Kuiken, Folkert); 10. Chapter 5. Manipulating task complexity across task types and modes (by Gilabert, Roger); 11. Part 3. Researching the effects of task complexity on L2 interaction, modified output, and uptake; 12. Chapter 6. Effects of task complexity and interaction on L2 performance (by Michel, Marije C.); 13. Chapter 7. Task complexity, modified output, and L2 development in learner-learner interaction (by Nuevo, Ana-Maria); 14. Chapter 8. Task complexity, uptake of recasts, and L2 development (by Revesz, Andrea); 15. Part 4. Researching the influence of learner characteristics and perceptions on simple and complex L2 task performance; 16. Chapter 9. When individual differences come into play: The effect of learner creativity on simple and complex task performance (by Albert, Agnes); 17. Chapter 10. Working memory capacity and narrative task performance (by Kormos, Judit); 18. Chapter 11. Task complexity, language anxiety, and the development of the simple past (by Kim, YouJin); 19. Chapter 12. Examining the influence of intentional reasoning demands on learner perceptions of task difficulty and L2 monologic speech (by Ishikawa, Tomohito); 20. Author index; 21. Subject index

This collection documents a broad spectrum of recent work motivated by the CH [Cognition Hypothesis] that seeks to inform theory and practice in task-based language teaching.Each section offers unique perspectives on task complexity, establishing its relevance to L2 instruction. These insights from a range of experts add to the volume’s overall quality. This book should therefore find a wide audience among graduate students, language teachers, and researchers.