Exploring the Effects of the Continuation Task on Syntactic Complexity in Second Language Writing

Autor/inn/en	Mao, Zhicheng; Jiang, Lin
Titel	Exploring the Effects of the Continuation Task on Syntactic Complexity in Second Language Writing
Quelle	In: English Language Teaching, 10 (2017) 8, S.100-106 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1916-4742
Schlagwörter	English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Writing Instruction; Teaching Methods; Syntax; Majors (Students); Undergraduate Students; Task Analysis; Phrase Structure; Foreign Countries; Computational Linguistics; Writing Improvement; Instructional Effectiveness; Indexes; Scores; Reading Materials; Essays; Scoring; Pretests Posttests; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Schreibunterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Aufgabenanalyse; Phrasenstruktur; Ausland; Linguistics; Computerlinguistik; Unterrichtserfolg; Indexdatei; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; Bewertung
Abstract	This paper aims to investigate the effects of the alignment entailed in the continuation task on syntactic complexity in L2 written production. A total number of 48 sophomores majoring in English at a university in China were randomly assigned to two groups, one is the continuation group and the other is the topic writing group. The current study employs an advanced computational tool "the L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyser" to assess syntactic complexity in writing samples and focused on 7 indexes including three measures of length of production, two coordinate phrase measures, and two complex nominal measures. The result shows that significant differences exist in six of the syntactic complexity measures with the continuation group outperforming the topic writing group. It is demonstrated that the continuation task, which couples production with comprehension and entails the alignment effect, has a facilitating impact on improving the writing syntactic complexity for L2 learners. The implications of these findings for second language acquisition and L2 writing pedagogy are considered. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01