As discussed in the previous chapter, among factors presumed to influence L2 performance, the provision of planning timePlanning time (as task implementation condition) has become one of the most widely researched pedagogic techniques in the task-based teaching literature (Mochizuki and Ortega, Language Teaching Research 12:11–37, 2008). The reasons for this research interest are varied; however, they can probably be summarized as: (1) planning appears to be a variable that produces somewhat consistent effects on learner performance when manipulated in experimental settings (Ellis, Planning and task performance in a second language, John Benjamins Publishing, 2005); and, very importantly, (2) planning time has been hypothesized to assist in the language acquisition process (Crookes, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 11:367–383, 1989; Ellis, Second language acquisition in context, Prentice-Hall International, 1987).