Size Does Not Matter. Frequency Does. A Study of Features for Measuring Lexical Complexity

2014 ◽  
pp. 129-140
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Wilkens ◽  
Alessandro Dalla Vecchia ◽  
Marcely Zanon Boito ◽  
Muntsa Padró ◽  
Aline Villavicencio
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Complexity

COGNITIVE APTITUDES AND L2 SPEAKING PROFICIENCY

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Granena
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Memory ◽  
Implicit Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
College Level ◽  
Memory Ability ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
L2 Speaking ◽  
Lexical Complexity

AbstractThis study investigated the underlying structure of a set of eight cognitive tests from the two most recent language aptitude test batteries: the LLAMA (Meara, 2005) and the Hi-LAB (Linck et al., 2013) to see whether they had any underlying constructs in common. The study also examined whether any of the observed constructs could predict L2 speaking proficiency in terms of complexity, accuracy, or fluency. Participants were 135 college-level students learning Spanish as an L2 in the United States. Results showed that the LLAMA and the Hi-LAB include tests that tap the same constructs. Specifically, the tests from the two batteries loaded onto three different factors, interpreted as “Explicit Aptitude,” “Implicit Memory Ability,” and “Implicit Learning Ability.” The results further showed that Implicit Memory Ability was a significant predictor of L2 speed fluency and interacted with Implicit Learning Ability as a predictor of lexical complexity. This finding suggested that L2 learners with greater Implicit Memory Ability may be better at accessing and retrieving previously learned or known information effortlessly. In the case of lexical complexity, the effect of Implicit Memory Ability depended on the level of Implicit Learning Ability.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Language Learning Strategies and Lexical Complexity Measures

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-52
Author(s):  
Ervin Kovacevic
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Complexity Measures ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the hypothesis that language learning strategies (LLS) partly account for the level of L2 proficiency (i.e. the level of L2 lexical complexity produced in the written output of English language learners). To test the hypothesis, 152 English-proficient freshman students of Bosnian L1 linguistic background were surveyed utilizing the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) designed by Rebecca Oxford (1990). Their lexical output was collected through short essays that were written during formal exams held in English for Academic Purposes undergraduate courses at the International University of Sarajevo. The written samples were converted to an electronic format and analyzed with the Web-based Lexical Complexity Analyzer (Lu, 2012; Ai & Lu, 2010). Relationships between six SILL subscales and twenty-five lexical complexity (LC) measures were assessed through applying the principles of correlational design. The results confirmed the hypothesis. Statistically significant correlations were found between memory strategies and three LC measures, cognitive strategies and twenty LC measures, compensation strategies and nine LC measures, and affective strategies and three LC measures. It is concluded that the relationship between LLS and LC levels is mostly conditioned by LLS types.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Grammatical and Lexical Complexity of Long-Term L2 Speakers’ Oral Proficiency

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Lahmann ◽  
Rasmus Steinkrauss ◽  
Monika S. Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Lexical Complexity

The effect of topic familiarity on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of second language writing

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Yang ◽  
YouJin Kim
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Topic Familiarity ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Efl College Students

AbstractThe purpose of the current study is to examine the role of topic familiarity in the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of second language (L2) writing. Topic familiarity was operationalized as whether writers are writing about a common, everyday subject matter in relation to themselves (+ familiar) or to a group they are not familiar with (–familiar), and a learner survey was used to test the validity of the construct. A total of 123 Chinese EFL college students participated in the study, with 61 writing on a familiar topic and 62 writing on a less familiar topic. Their writing performance was analyzed for lexical complexity, syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency. Data analyses revealed that the students produced essays with significantly lower lexical complexity for the less familiar topic than for the familiar topic, while the performance areas of accuracy, fluency, and syntactic complexity were not affected by the degree of familiarity. The study findings are discussed in terms of their implications for task selection and sequencing for L2 teaching and assessment purposes.

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