EFFECTS OF STRATEGIC AND UNPRESSURED WITHIN-TASK PLANNING ON IRANIAN INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS’ ORAL PRODUCTION

Background/Purpose: This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of strategic planning and unpressured within-task planning on Iranian EFL learners’ oral performance.   Methodology: Following a quasi-experimental research design, 60 intermediate EFL Iranian learners were recruited as the participants of the study and they were assigned into two groups of 30. In group one, the participants were asked to perform the task under unpressured online planning condition. In group two, the learners were asked to do the task under strategic planning condition. The pre and post-tests included story-telling narratives tasks followed with a 15-minute silent movie under two planning conditions for the two groups.   Findings: The results of data analysis showed that pre-task strategic planning and within-task planning (online planning) had a positive effect on learners’ oral production; hence, planning time provided opportunity for learners to be able to produce more fluent, accurate, and complex language than no-planners. The results indicated that the participants in the strategic planning group (STPG) significantly outperformed the participants in unpressured within-task-planning (UWPG), leading us to claim that strategic planning was more effective than unpressured within-task planning in improving oral production.   Contributions: This study has numerous benefits for language teachers and specialists in content production. Teachers should incorporate strategic planning in their regular teaching programs to encourage learners to balance their level of speech. Moreover, providing learners with the ability to plan the success of a task allows them to create a more fluent and nuanced language.   Keywords: Accuracy, complexity, fluency, strategic planning, unpressured within-task planning.   Cite as: Bakhtiary, M. R., Rezvani, E., & Namaziandost, E. (2021). Effects of strategic and unpressured within-task planning on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ oral production. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 6(2), 97-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss2pp97-11