Abstract
This study examines the functional variability of so in essays written by 200 L1 English speakers
(ENSs) and 400 Japanese EFL learners (EFLs). Using quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study elucidates discourse marker
usage of so in each group, thereby establishing the normative patterns of use among ENSs and the features
specific to L2 English writers. The findings suggest that ENSs use so strategically as a preface to stance-taking
by carefully selecting and adjusting the information to be established as common ground with the reader. EFLs use
so in a manner distinctly different from ENSs, displaying varying degrees of understanding and difficulty in
utilising the word’s discoursal properties. The study concludes that it is important for L2 English learners to learn the uses of
so not only as a connective marker with resultative meaning but also as a resource for projecting stance and
assertion.
An Analysis of the Linguistic Features on the Corpus of Korean EFL Learners and Native English Speakers with Coh-Metrix
