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Article published In:
International Journal of Learner Corpus Research
Vol. 3:1 (2017) ► pp.1–35

Dutch learner English in close-up

A Bayesian corpus analysis of pre-subject adverbials in advanced Dutch EFL writing

| Radboud University Nijmegen
| Radboud University Nijmegen
This study presents a longitudinal Bayesian analysis of pre-subject adverbial (PSA) use in a 571,174-word corpus of Dutch learner English. Overall, learners use more circumstance and linking adverbials, but fewer stance adverbials than both novice and expert native writers. Learners also use more ‘local anchors’, i.e. adverbials that serve a cohesive purpose by linking back to an antecedent in the directly preceding discourse. Interestingly, untimed essays are more native-like than timed essays in their use of each of the adverbial types considered. Although learners generally develop in the direction of native writing, the use of linking adverbials in learners’ literature essays develops in the opposite direction. L1 transfer may account for more frequent use of some categories of adverbials, particularly local anchors, but the widening gap between learners and native speakers (NSs) in the use of linking adverbials suggests that the potential role of textbook and curriculum design warrants further research.
Keywords: information structure, discourse linking, EFL, advanced learners, L1 transfer
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Materials and methods
    • 2.1Corpus design and annotation
    • 2.2Data analysis
      • 2.2.1Motivation for using Bayesian analysis
      • 2.2.2Bayesian parameter estimation
      • 2.2.3Drop-outs
      • 2.2.4Main analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Text type, discipline and writing expertise in three different types of NS writing
      • 3.1.1Circumstance, linking and stance adverbials
      • 3.1.2Local anchors
    • 3.2One learner corpus, two text types: Argumentative and literature essays in the Dutch component of LONGDALE
      • 3.2.1Circumstance, linking and stance adverbials
      • 3.2.2Local anchors
    • 3.3Novice NNS and expert NS academic writing: LONGDALE-lit vs VUNSPRAC-lit
      • 3.3.1Circumstance, linking and stance adverbials
      • 3.3.2Local anchors
    • 3.4Argumentative writing by novice NS and NNS writers: LONGDALE-arg vs LOCNESS
      • 3.4.1Circumstance, linking and stance adverbials
      • 3.4.2Local anchors
    • 3.5Timed vs untimed NNS writing
      • 3.5.1Circumstance, stance and linking adverbials
      • 3.5.2Local anchors
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References


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Published online: 6 June 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.3.1.01van
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