The majority of empirical studies that have so far investigated task features in order to inform task grading and sequencing decisions have been grounded in hypothesis-testing research. Few studies have attempted to adopt a bottom-up approach in order to explore what task factors might contribute to task difficulty. The aim of this study was to help fill this gap by eliciting teachers’ perspectives on sources of task difficulty. We asked 16 English as a second language (ESL) teachers to judge the linguistic ability required to carry out four pedagogic tasks and consider how they would manipulate the tasks to suit the abilities of learners at lower and higher proficiency. While contemplating the tasks, the teachers thought aloud, and we also tracked their eye movements. The majority of teachers’ think-aloud comments revealed that they were primarily concerned with linguistic factors when assessing task difficulty. Conceptual demands were most frequently proposed as a way to increase task difficulty, whereas both linguistic and conceptual factors were suggested by teachers when considering modifications to decrease task difficulty. The eye-movement data, overall, were aligned with the teachers’ think-aloud comments. These findings are discussed with respect to existing task taxonomies and future research directions.

中文翻译：

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教师对第二语言任务难度的看法：来自大声思考和眼动追踪的见解

迄今为止，大多数研究任务特征以便为任务分级和排序决策提供信息的实证研究都基于假设检验研究。很少有研究尝试采用自下而上的方法来探索哪些任务因素可能导致任务难度。本研究的目的是通过引出教师对任务难度来源的看法来帮助填补这一空白。我们要求 16 位英语作为第二语言 (ESL) 教师来判断执行四项教学任务所需的语言能力，并考虑他们将如何操作这些任务以适应不同水平和更高水平的学习者的能力。在思考任务的同时，老师们大声思考，我们也跟踪他们的眼球运动。大多数教师的有声评论表明，他们在评估任务难度时主要关注语言因素。概念要求最常被提出作为增加任务难度的一种方式，而在考虑修改以降低任务难度时，语言和概念因素均由教师提出。总体而言，眼动数据与教师的有声评论一致。这些发现将针对现有的任务分类和未来的研究方向进行讨论。总体而言，眼动数据与教师的有声评论一致。这些发现将针对现有的任务分类和未来的研究方向进行讨论。总体而言，眼动数据与教师的有声评论一致。这些发现将针对现有的任务分类和未来的研究方向进行讨论。