Lexical complexity of academic presentations

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alla Zareva
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Lexical Density

Abstract The present study examined the lexical complexity profiles of academic presentations of three groups of university students (N = 93) – native English speaking, English as a second language, and English as a lingua franca users. It adopted a notion of lexical complexity which includes lexical diversity, lexical density, and lexical sophistication as main dimensions of the framework. The study aimed at finding out how the three academically similar groups of presenters compared on their lexical complexity choices, what the lexical complexity profiles of high quality students’ academic presentations looked like, and whether we can identify variables that contribute to the overall lexical complexity of presentations given by each group in a unique way. The findings revealed overwhelming similarities across the three groups of presenters and also suggested that the three dimensional framework provides a holistic picture of the lexical complexity for various groups of English for academic purposes presenters.

The development of lexical complexity in second language acquisition

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien De Clercq
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
French And English ◽  
Multilingual Corpus ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Linguistic Proficiency

The development of lexical complexity in second language acquisition has received a considerable amount of attention in applied linguistics research. Many studies have examined the role of lexical diversity, sophistication and density as indicators of L2 proficiency. Few studies, though, have considered the development of lexical complexity from an explicitly cross-linguistic perspective. This article reports on an explorative, cross-linguistic study on the development of lexical diversity, sophistication and density in L2 French and English at four levels of linguistic proficiency. Additionally, the study proposes a number of alternative measures tapping into collocational knowledge and lexical sophistication. The analyses were carried out on a cross-sectional, multilingual corpus of L2 French and English consisting of oral narrative data. The results show a similar development of lexical diversity in L2 French and English, but considerably different developmental tendencies in terms of sophistication and density. The concluding sections discuss possible explanations for these differences and consequences for the measurement of linguistic proficiency.

scholarly journals Lexical Complexity on Descriptive Writing of Indonesian Male and Female EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Siti Aisah Ginting
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Text Analysis ◽  
English Department ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Lexical Density ◽  
Descriptive Writing ◽  
Computerized Text Analysis

This study was aimed to find out the effect of gender on linguistics properties of academic writing abstracts of Indonesian Male and Female EFL Learners. Therefore, the linguistics properties of 40 essays from EFL learners (20 males & 20 females) were analyzed on the lexical complexity (diversity and density). The participants were selected from a homogenous group of EFL learners who were sitting for Writing 1 (one) subject in the English Department Universitas Negeri Medan—Indonesia. A computerized text analysis program (Word Smith Tools) was employed to measure the lexical complexity of the EFL learners’ essays (descriptive writing). As a result, females indicated to write more lexical density way than males in their descriptive writing but no significant different on lexical diversity. 

scholarly journals Not just ‘small potatoes’: Knowledge of the idiomatic meanings of collocations

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijana Macis ◽  
Norbert Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Semantic Transparency ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Chilean Spanish

This study investigated learner knowledge of the figurative meanings of 30 collocations that can be both literal and figurative. One hundred and seven Chilean Spanish-speaking university students of English were asked to complete a meaning-recall collocation test in which the target items were embedded in non-defining sentences. Results showed limited collocation knowledge, with a mean score of 33% correct. The study also examined the effects of frequency, semantic transparency, year at university, and everyday engagement with the second language (L2) outside the classroom on this collocation knowledge. Mixed-effects modelling indicated that there was no relationship between frequency and semantic transparency and the knowledge of the figurative meanings. However, a positive relationship was found between this knowledge and year at university, time spent in an English-speaking country, and time spent reading.

What Counts in Second Language Oral Communication Ability? The Perspective of Linguistic Laypersons

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 894-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takanori Sato ◽  
Tim McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Testing ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Proficiency Tests ◽  
Oral Performance ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Communication Ability ◽  
English Speaking

Abstract Applied linguists have developed complex theories of the ability to communicate in a second language (L2). However, the perspectives on L2 communication ability of speakers who are not trained language professionals have been incorporated neither into theories of communication ability nor in the criteria for assessing performance on general-purpose oral proficiency tests. This potentially weakens the validity of such tests because the ultimate arbiters of L2 speakers’ oral performance are not trained language professionals. This study investigates the perspectives of these linguistic laypersons on L2 communication ability. Twenty-three native and non-native English-speaking linguistic laypersons judged L2 speakers’ oral performances and verbalized the reasons for their judgments. The results showed that the participants focus not only on the linguistic aspects of the speaker’s output but also on features that applied linguists have less paid attention to. Even where speaker’s linguistic errors were acknowledged, message conveyance and comprehensibility of the message contributed to their judgment. The study has implications for language testing and the development of tests reflecting the construct of English as a lingua franca.

The use of English as a lingua franca in the Japanese second language classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake Turnbull
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
First Language ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
English Speaking

AbstractDespite the growing interest surrounding the use and role of the first language in the second language classroom, the vast majority of research in the field has been conducted in classrooms where English is taught as a second language in English-speaking countries. Very little research has investigated the role of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in other language learning environments, such as those in which Japanese is learnt as a second language (JSL) in Japan. This paper investigates the purposes for which ELF is employed, and the perspectives of learners from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds on the use of ELF, in the JSL classroom. The findings show that English is employed to varying degrees in relation to proficiency level, and that learners themselves are generally welcoming of this use. The author suggests that learners seek security and comfort in what they already know, with ELF easing the gap between their L1 and their developing Japanese skills.

Exploring second language speakers’ linguistic identities in ELF communication: a Hong Kong study

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chit Cheung Matthew Sung
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
University Students ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Native Status

AbstractThis paper reports on a qualitative inquiry that investigated a group of Hong Kong university students’ perceptions of their linguistic identities in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) communication. The participants of the study were proficient second language (L2) speakers of English who reported to have participated in intercultural ELF communication on a regular basis. By analyzing data gathered via two rounds of in-depth interviews, the study revealed that these participants did not evaluate their “non-native” status negatively but embraced their identities as legitimate and empowered speakers of English in ELF interactions. In addition, they validated their identities as multilingual, multicompetent, and translingual speakers of English with the ability to draw upon a diverse set of multilingual resources flexibly in ELF contexts. The analysis also found that these participants’ linguistic identities were constructed and negotiated in relation to the perceived linguistic competence of other ELF speakers, especially L2 speakers of other cultural/national backgrounds. This paper sheds light on the complexity of linguistic identities in ELF contexts and contributes to the growing ELF research in the Asian context.

scholarly journals Developing a user-oriented second language comprehensibility scale for English-medium universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Isaacs ◽  
Pavel Trofimovich ◽  
Jennifer Ann Foote
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Oral Performance ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
L2 Speaking ◽  
Level Scale

There is growing research on the linguistic features that most contribute to making second language (L2) speech easy or difficult to understand. Comprehensibility, which is usually captured through listener judgments, is increasingly viewed as integral to the L2 speaking construct. However, there are shortcomings in how this construct is operationalized in L2 speaking proficiency scales. Moreover, teachers and learners have little practical means of benefiting from research pinpointing the properties of learners’ oral performance that optimize or hinder their ability to be understood. There is thus the need for a tool to guide teachers on what to focus on in instruction in order to target more effectively the linguistic factors that matter most for being understood and to raise learners’ awareness about their abilities. To address this gap, this article reports on the development of an L2 English comprehensibility scale targeting the degree of perceived listener effort required for understanding L2 speech. The starting point was Isaacs and Trofimovich’s (2012) preliminary 3-level empirically based L2 English comprehensibility scale, restricted for use with learners from one first language (L1) background on a single task. Through focus group consultations and piloting involving nine Canada- and UK-based English for Academic Purposes teachers (target end-users) rating international university students’ speech samples drawn from Isaacs and Trofimovich’s (2011) unpublished corpus, the instrument was expanded to a 6-level scale through iterative revisions. The resulting formative assessment tool is intended for use with pre- and in-sessional university students from mixed L1 backgrounds on academic extemporaneous speaking tasks to support their oral language development.

Influence of learners’ prior knowledge, L2 proficiency and pre-task planning on L2 lexical complexity

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin Bui
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Oral Narrative ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Lexical Density ◽  
Planning Group

Abstract Although differentiating between fluency, accuracy and complexity, while assessing L2 task performance, is becoming a standard practice, lexical complexity as a distinctive area has received less attention in the task-based language teaching (TBLT) literature. This study re-examines previous frameworks of lexical complexity and investigates three lexical dimensions, lexical diversity, lexical sophistication and lexical density, using a structured 2 × 2 × 2 split-plot experimental design. The participants were divided into a non-planning group and a planning group and each group was further dichotomised into two proficiency levels. Each participant was assigned one familiar and one unfamiliar oral narrative task. The results show that one’s prior knowledge about a subject is associated with higher lexical diversity and sophistication, while pre-task planning promotes lexical density. The effects of proficiency seem to be largely overridden by the effects of prior knowledge and pre-task planning and show little impact on overall lexical performance. Interestingly, lexical diversity and lexical sophistication are independent of each other, and lexical density is moderately correlated with both lexical diversity and lexical sophistication. The results are discussed with reference to the Levelt model of speech production with some pedagogical implications on content-based language instruction. The exploration of the relationships between the lexical measures reveals a need for deeper and subtler characterisation of L2 lexical complexity.

scholarly journals Lexicalization and Complexity in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Peacekeeping Agreements

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-99
Author(s):  
Vivien Bello-Osagie ◽  
Prof. Nwogu N. Kevin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Writing Development ◽  
West African ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Lexical Complexity ◽  
Lexical Density

The paper seeks to establish the level of lexical complexity in the discourse of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peacekeeping agreements (EPKA) and to describe the lexical strategies through which the observed complexity is created. Many studies on linguistic complexity focus on second language acquisition, assessment and writing development. But, this article focuses on lexical choices that create complexity capable of hindering reader’s comprehension. It utilizes quantitative and qualitative designs in its analysis of corpus which consists of ten purposively selected EPKA texts. The data are analysed using Web-based Lexical Complexity Analyzer. The findings indicate that the language of the EPKA is complex. The complexity is attributed to high lexical density, lengthy words and long sentences in the corpus. Also, a large proportion of words in the corpus are redundant and vague. It is hoped that this article provides information about the lexical choices needed to improve the discourse of peacekeeping agreements.

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