scholarly journals Syntactic Complexity in Secondary-level English Writing: Differences Among Writers Enrolled on Bilingual and Non-bilingual Programmes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lahuerta Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Level ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
English Writing

scholarly journals Linguistic complexity in high-school students’ EFL writing

ExELL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-146
Author(s):  
Amer Delić ◽  
Alma Jahić Jašić
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
School Students ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Semantic Complexity ◽  
The Web

Abstract This study examined the syntactic and semantic complexity of L2 English writing in a Bosnian-Herzegovinian high school. Forty texts written by individual students, ten per grade, were quantitatively analyzed by applying methods established in previous research. The syntactic portion of the analysis, based on the t-unit analysis introduced by Hunt (1965), was done using the Web-based L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer (Lu, 2010), while the semantic portion, largely based on the theory laid out in systemic functional linguistics (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014), was done using the Web-based Lexical Complexity Analyzer (Ai & Lu, 2010) as well as manual identification of grammatical metaphors. The statistical analysis included tests of variance, correlation, and effect size. It was found that the syntactic and semantic complexity of writing increases in later grades; however, this increase is not consistent across all grades.

scholarly journals Different Genres and Proficiency Levels: Relationships Among Syntactic Complexity, Genres and Students with Different L2 Proficiency Levels

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Minwei Yan ◽  
Fangfang Zou
Keyword(s):  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Writing Pedagogy ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
The Difference ◽  
C Complex ◽  
Complex Nominals

The present study examines differences in syntactic complexity in English writing among writers at different levels and explores the relationship between syntactic complexity and writings with different genres. 20 students in grade three of a senior high school that were randomly selected from two brands of test scores were grouped into high and low proficiency groups. The 40 writings from the 20 students were examined. Writings were evaluated by L2SCA (L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer) gauging syntactic complexity at global, clausal and phrasal level. After obtaining the data, the complexity values were entered into SPSS 21.0 to do analysis. Results reveal that the difference of the two genres reaches a significant level in terms of C/T (clauses per T-unit) and CN/C (complex nominals per clause); there is no significant relationship between syntactic complexity and L2 proficiency levels and no significant interactive effect is found between the genre factor and proficiency factor. The results can yield implications for ESL writing pedagogy.

scholarly journals Syntactic complexity in Iranian learners' English writing and speaking

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Sarah Yazdani
Keyword(s):  
Placement Test ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Intermediate Group ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Elementary Group ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Iranian Students ◽  
Study Participants

<p>This study is aimed at demonstrating the use of syntactic complexity in Iranian learners’ English written and spoken discourse using quantitative-qualitative approach. To fulfill this purpose, forty-five female Iranian students from 3 branches of a private language institute in Mashhad were recruited. The subjects were divided into three groups based on Cambridge Placement Test results: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. All groups (each 15 participants) were asked to write a 200-word essay on a topic. Thereafter, the essays were examined manually for the T-units according to the classification used by the experts. In the follow-up phase of the study, participants were asked to attend an interview on the same topic of their writings to evaluate the usage of C-units in their speaking. The findings illustrate the fact that the most frequent element in macro level was clause in both writing and speaking, while in micro level, there were significant differences between elementary group &amp; intermediate group and between the elementary group and advanced group in writing skill and there was a significant difference between elementary group &amp; advanced group in using subordinate clauses in speaking. A future study investigating syntactic complexity in other skills such as reading would be very interesting.</p>

scholarly journals L2 Writing: A Comparison of Upper Intermediate and Advanced EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lahuerta
Keyword(s):  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Complexity Measures ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
General Quality

The present study examines differences in syntactic complexity in English writing among advanced and upper intermediate undergraduates by means of quantitative measures of syntactic complexity. Participants were 250 Spanish undergraduates enrolled in a Degree in Modern Languages. A total of 121 students had an upper intermediate level (B2 level according to the CEFR) and 129 had an advanced level (C1 level according to the CEFR). Essays were evaluated by quantitative measures gauging different aspects of L2 complexity. Results indicate that the complexity measures chosen can capture significant differences in writing proficiency when comparing different proficiency levels. The scores on the general quality of the writings and on all syntactic complexity measures increased from B2 to C12 and for all complexity measures the increase was statistically significant.

scholarly journals Syntactic Complexity Measures as Indicators of Teaching L2 Academic English Writing

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Xiaodong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Academic English ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Complexity Measures ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
English Writing ◽  
English Writing Instruction ◽  
Language Growth

The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of reforming academic English writing instruction via the perspective of the syntactic complexity of L2 learners' practice. The present study evaluates 14 measures of syntactic complexity as indicators of language growth in academic writing by 52 Chinese undergraduate students. The findings indicate that an intensive academic teaching design can be used to help students enhance their academic writing output ability. The findings of this study provide direct quantitative evidence for altering classroom instruction, textbook compilation, assessment practice, and curriculum development at the undergraduate level for academic English.

Genre Effect on L2 Syntactic Complexity and Holistic Rating for Writing Quality of Intermediate EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-469
Author(s):  
Lili zhang ◽  
Haitao liu
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Argumentative Writing ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Writing Quality ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Writing Scores

Abstract This exploratory study examines whether genre has an impact on syntactic complexity and holistic rating in EFL writing. Over 300 sample texts produced by intermediate learners were collected from a test and some regular after-class assignments for English writing courses. Each participant completed two writing tasks, one argumentative and the other narrative. Results show that genre type has a significant impact on L2 syntactic complexity. Genre effect is found stronger with timed writing tasks. L2 holistic ratings show correlation with syntactic complexity on the different measure(s) depending on genre type and planning conditions. Regression analyses reveal that for timed writing tasks, clausal density (clauses per sentence) is a reliable predictor for holistic assessment on intermediate EFL learners’ writing quality. It is found to account for 6% of the score variance for timed writing and 10% for timed argumentative writing. Genre is evidenced to be related to EFL writing holistic ratings. Closer examination indicates that while syntactic complexity is predictive of holistic writing scores for argumentative writing, it does not correlate with holistic scores for narrative writing. Other linguistic features rather than syntactic complexity may be accountable. Overall, the study lends support to genre effect in the relationship between syntactic complexity and L2 writing quality holistic rating.

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