Parviz Maftoon - Professor, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch
Marzieh Sharif Haratmeh - Ph.D. candidate, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch

Framed in a cognitive approach to task-supported L2 vocabulary learning, thepresent study used a pedagogical approach to investigate the relative effectivenessof tasks with different involvement loads on the vocabulary knowledge of IranianEFL learners. The goal was to investigate the way that the construct ofinvolvement load is related to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985) and theOutput Hypothesis (Swain, 1996) to see whether the involvement load orinput/output-orientation of tasks is the determining factor in task effectiveness. Aquasi-experimental design with a pretest-treatment-posttest sequence was used inthis study. The participants were 127 university students from four GeneralEnglish classes at Islamic Azad University, Mobarakeh Branch, who were assignedto four instructional groups. Contrary to the predictions of the Involvement LoadHypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), the results of the study indicated thatinvolvement load is not the only determining factor in task effectiveness, butinput/output-orientation of tasks is also a decisive parameter in task effectiveness.While Laufer and Hulstijn’s proposal is a valuable first step towards building atheory of vocabulary learning, the results of the study indicated that involvementindex may well not function independently of the task type, i.e., input or outputorientation of a word-focused task.

EFL, Involvement load, Input-oriented tasks, Output-oriented tasks, Vocabulary learning, and Word-focused tasks