Article published in:
Automatic Treatment and Analysis of Learner Corpus DataEdited by Ana Díaz-Negrillo, Nicolas Ballier and Paul Thompson
[Studies in Corpus Linguistics 59] 2013
► pp. 249–264
A corpus-based comparison of syntactic complexity in NNS and NS university students’ writing
This paper reports on a corpus-based comparison of syntactic complexity in NNS and NS university students’ writing. We analysed 600 essays from the Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners and the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays using 10 syntactic complexity measures to investigate whether and the extent to which NNS and NS university students’ writing differs with respect to length of production unit, amount of subordination, amount of coordination, and degree of phrasal sophistication. Results showed significant differences in all four dimensions of syntactic complexity between the writing of NNS students at both low and high proficiency levels and that of NS students. This gap calls for the design of pedagogical interventions to enhance NNS university students’ syntactic development.
Published online: 18 December 2013
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.59.15ai
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.59.15ai
Cited by
Cited by 20 other publications
Alobaid, Azzam
2020. Smart multimedia learning of ICT: role and impact on language learners’ writing fluency— YouTube online English learning resources as an example.
Smart Learning Environments 7:1 
Crossley, Scott A. & Kristopher Kyle
2018.
In The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Linguistics Research Methodology,
► pp. 567 ff.
Eckstein, Grant & Lisa Bell
2021. Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback in First-Year Composition: Accuracy and Lexical and Syntactic Complexity.
RELC Journal ► pp. 003368822110616 ff.
Eckstein, Grant & Dana Ferris
2018. Comparing L1 and L2 Texts and Writers in First-Year Composition.
TESOL Quarterly 52:1 ► pp. 137 ff.
HA, Ok-I
2021. A Comparative Study on English Writing Proficiency of Korean High School Students and College Students by an Analysis of the Syntactic Complexity.
JOURNAL OF FISHRIES AND MARINE SCIENCES EDUCATION 33:2 ► pp. 421 ff.
Kessler, Matt, Wenyue Ma & Ian Solheim
2021. The Effects of Topic Familiarity on Text Quality, Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency: A Conceptual Replication.
TESOL Quarterly
Khushik, Ghulam Abbas & Ari Huhta
2022. Syntactic complexity in Finnish-background EFL learners’ writing at CEFR levels A1–B2.
European Journal of Applied Linguistics 0:0
Kim, Jeong-eun & Hosung Nam
2019. How do textual features of L2 argumentative essays differ across proficiency levels? A multidimensional cross-sectional study.
Reading and Writing 32:9 ► pp. 2251 ff.
Kuiken, Folkert & Ineke Vedder
2019. Syntactic complexity across proficiency and languages: L2 and L1 writing in Dutch, Italian and Spanish.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Liu, Kanglong, Muhammad Afzaal & Diego Raphael Amancio
2021. Syntactic complexity in translated and non-translated texts: A corpus-based study of simplification.
PLOS ONE 16:6 ► pp. e0253454 ff.
Lu, Xiaofei
2017. Automated measurement of syntactic complexity in corpus-based L2 writing research and implications for writing assessment.
Language Testing 34:4 ► pp. 493 ff.
Park, Kwanghyun
2014. Corpora and Language Assessment: The State of the Art.
Language Assessment Quarterly 11:1 ► pp. 27 ff.
Polat, Nihat, Laura Mahalingappa & Rae L Mancilla
2020. Longitudinal Growth Trajectories of Written Syntactic Complexity: The Case of Turkish Learners in an Intensive English Program.
Applied Linguistics 41:5 ► pp. 688 ff.
Polio, Charlene & Hyung‐Jo Yoon
2018. The reliability and validity of automated tools for examining variation in syntactic complexity across genres.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics 28:1 ► pp. 165 ff.
Pérez-Guerra, Javier
2020.
In Corpus Analysis in Different Genres,
► pp. 237 ff.
Shadloo, Farzaneh, Hesamoddin Shahriari Ahmadi & Behzad Ghonsooly
2019. Exploring syntactic complexity and its relationship with writing quality in EFL argumentative essays.
Topics in Linguistics 20:1 ► pp. 68 ff.
Shahmirzadi, Niloufar
2020.
In The Assessment of L2 Written English across the MENA Region,
► pp. 93 ff.
Yoon, Hyung-Jo & Charlene Polio
2017. The Linguistic Development of Students of English as a Second Language in Two Written Genres.
TESOL Quarterly 51:2 ► pp. 275 ff.
Zare, Mohammad, Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri, Firooz Sadighi, Ehsan Rassaei & Piotr Goel
2021. An Investigation of the Linguistic Complexity of IELTS Writing Topics Based on the Levels of Discourse Representation and the Degree of Meaning Coding.
Cogent Education 8:1
张, 璐璐
2019. Text Readability and Teaching of Academic Paper Writing.
Modern Linguistics 07:04 ► pp. 570 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 08 january 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.