Researching task difficulty from an individual differences perspective : the case of goal orientation

This article reports on a study which highlighted goal orientation as an approachable individual difference (ID) variable which may further understanding of foreign/second language learning experience. The study sought to (i) gauge the extent of goal orientation in foreign language learners' profile and (ii) examine how goal orientation affects their perception of task difficulty and motivation. A total of 211 full-time students participated in the study during the university year 2006-2007. The participants were enrolled in their first year of a three-year program offered by the Department of English at the University of Manouba, Tunisia. Female students outnumbered the male students. Their age ranged from 19 to 23 years. The mean length of time they studied English was 6.7 years. They represented a reasonably homogeneous group in terms of their schooling history and their English proficiency level. The homogeneity characteristic helped limit individual differences in favour of the goal orientation variable. Analysis of the findings revealed two distinct goal orientation levels which reflected two significantly different response types to task difficulty. Where one goal group responded positively to unfamiliar and cognitively demanding tasks, the other goal group did not. The study empirically attested to the active role of IDs in defining variable perceptions of difficulty and motivation among task takers. Building on an 'extended task based paradigm', the results established that goal orientation is a noteworthy ID factor in L2/FL classrooms. In light of these results, the article calls for the necessity to revisit the reductionist research format that confines task variation to design and sequencing factors. [Author abstract, ed]