The effects of proficiency level and dual task condition on L2 self-monitoring behaviour

The current study examined the effects of task condition (TC; single versus dual) and proficiency level (PL) on self-monitoring of second language (L2) speakers. Data were collected from sixty-six female L2 learners of English performing two speaking tasks under two task conditions. While performance in the single-task condition involved only narrating a picture-based oral narrative, the dual-task condition involved performing the same oral narrative as well as a secondary task. Factor analysis, MANOVA and two-way ANOVAs were used to examine the effects of PL and TC on a range of self-monitoring measures. The results indicated that the higher proficiency learners made significantly fewer filled pauses, repetitions, hesitations, and a higher ratio of error correction and error-free clauses than the lower proficiency learners. These results suggest that with the development of proficiency L2 learners’ performance becomes more fluent, and a more active and effective monitoring process seems to be at work. Compared to the single task condition, performance in the dual task condition led to significantly more repetitions implying the increased demand of TC triggers more dysfluency. These results are discussed in relation to the L1 monitoring models