Chapter published in:
Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and L2 Writing DevelopmentEdited by Gary G. Fogal and Marjolijn H. Verspoor
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 54] 2020
► pp. 109–132
Chapter 5Profiling the dynamic changes of syntactic complexity in L2 academic
writing
A multilevel synchrony method
R. Rosmawati | The University of Sydney
This chapter investigates changes in the textual
manifestation of the syntactic complexity construct in second language (L2)
academic writing at the advanced level through linguistically profiling the
academic essays of an L2 graduate student in a Master of Education (TESOL)
program in Australia. This work explores the dynamic changes of the
subconstructs of syntactic complexity at the sentential, clausal, and
phrasal levels synchronously through the perspective of complex dynamic
systems theory (CDST). To do so, this chapter also introduces a multilevel
synchrony method which translates the feature of nestedness of language
structure into data mapping, exploration, and profiling. The resulting
profile offers visual access, through numerical data and graphs, to the
mechanisms that underpin the changes manifest in the language produced by
the learner. The findings are then discussed within the framework of CDST
and the characteristics of academic writing in English.
Keywords: L2 writing, syntactic complexity, multilevel synchrony method, CDST
Article outline
- Introduction
- Measuring second language performance and development
- Syntactic complexity in L2 writing
- Nestedness in complex dynamic systems
- Multilevel synchrony method
- The present study
- Data coding and analysis
- Results
- Discussion and implications
- Conclusion
-
References
Published online: 04 June 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.54.05ros
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.54.05ros
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