Search results for "L2 writing"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
Word derivational knowledge and writing proficiency: How do they link?
2016
Abstract Although word derivational (WD) knowledge, i.e., how new words are formed from existing words with help of derivational affixes, is considered important for learners of second or foreign languages (L2), there is still no clear answer as to what aspects comprise the construct of L2 English word derivational knowledge and how it develops. The present study adds to our knowledge on how the ability to derive English words develops among L2 English learners. More specifically, it sheds light on how word derivational knowledge relates to communicatively defined Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) language proficiency levels regarding learners' writing skills. In the study, 117 …
Informal language in English L2 writing: What are pupils taught from textbooks?
2019
AbstractStudies show that intermediate and advanced learners of English overuse informal features in their academic writing, and researchers recommend that instructional material is developed to raise learners’ awareness of this overuse. In Norway, little research has been done on younger learners’ writing, and no previous study exists of how instructional material such as textbooks deal with informality. The present article investigates how all English textbooks published for lower secondary school under the current curriculum deal with informality in writing. The findings show that eight out of nine textbooks include instruction on informality. The most frequently mentioned informal featu…
Multilingual Students´ Self-reported Use of their Language Repertoires when Writing in English
2015
Recent research suggests that multilingual students tend to use their complete language repertoires, particularly their L1, when writing in a non-native language (e.g. Cenoz & Gorter 2011; Wang 2003). While there is some international research on the L2 and L3 writing process among bilinguals, the L2/L3 writing process of bilingual and multilingual individuals in the Swedish context remains unexplored (Tholin 2012). This study, carried out in a Swedish secondary school, focuses on 131 bi- and multilingual students’ (age 15-16) self-reported languages of thought while writing an essay in English, which is a non-native language. Drawing on the translanguaging framework (Blackledge & Creese 20…
Assessing learners’ writing skills in a SLA study: Validating the rating process across tasks, scales and languages
2014
There is still relatively little research on how well the CEFR and similar holistic scales work when they are used to rate L2 texts. Using both multifaceted Rasch analyses and qualitative data from rater comments and interviews, the ratings obtained by using a CEFR-based writing scale and the Finnish National Core Curriculum scale for L2 writing were examined to validate the rating process used in the study of the linguistic basis of the CEFR in L2 Finnish and English. More specifically, we explored the quality of the ratings and the rating scales across different tasks and across the two languages. As the task is an integral part of the data-gathering procedure, the relationship of task p…
Measuring syntactic complexity in learner Finnish
2020
In the study of complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF), syntactic complexity can be measured by a multitude of measures. Traditionally, the measures are quantitative and they use production units such as words, clauses, T -units, and sentences. Despite the vast number o f measures available, many studies have used only one or two of them, or parallel ones tapping the same component of complexity. The present study explores syntactic complexity using seven frequently used quantitative complexity measures to gauge different facets of complexity in written learner Finnish. The data of the study consist of texts written by adult and adolescent language learners, and they cover proficiency level…