Measuring Writing Development and Proficiency Gains Using Indices of Lexical and Syntactic Complexity: Evidence from Longitudinal Russian Learner Corpus Data

Autor/inn/en	Kisselev, Olesya; Soyan, Rossina; Pastushenkov, Dmitrii; Merrill, Jason
Titel	Measuring Writing Development and Proficiency Gains Using Indices of Lexical and Syntactic Complexity: Evidence from Longitudinal Russian Learner Corpus Data
Quelle	In: Modern Language Journal, 106 (2022) 4, S.798-817 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Kisselev, Olesya)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0026-7902
DOI	10.1111/modl.12808
Schlagwörter	Russian; Computational Linguistics; Teaching Methods; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Phrase Structure; Correlation; Syntax; Longitudinal Studies; Essays; Language Proficiency; Writing Evaluation; Language Usage; Vocabulary; Word Frequency; Uncommonly Taught Languages; Sentence Structure; Writing Instruction; Writing Improvement; Achievement Gains + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Russisch; Linguistics; Computerlinguistik; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Phrasenstruktur; Korrelation; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Sprachgebrauch; Wortschatz; Word analysis; Frequency; Wortanalyse; Häufigkeit; Minderheitensprache; Satzbau; Satzstruktur; Schreibunterricht; Achievement gain; Leistungssteigerung
Abstract	Linguistic complexity serves as an important measure of second language (L2) writing development. Complexity indices, however, rarely feature in the studies of learner languages other than English. Additionally, L2 writing studies have been criticized for the lack of consistency in defining proficiency. The current study addresses these gaps by exploring writing development in a less commonly studied language (i.e., Russian) while paying attention to the operationalization of proficiency. We analyzed lexical and syntactic complexity indices in a corpus of essays written by learners at different levels at the beginning and the end of an instructional program. Our analyses demonstrate that 9 complexity indices (i.e., mean word length, type--token ratio, percentage of high-frequency words, mean sentence length, clauses per sentence, syntactic depth, proportion of subordinate clauses, and proportion of relative clauses) changed significantly over the course of the program; the same 9 indices showed significant correlation with the initial curricular placement, and all--with the exception of clauses per sentence--modestly or highly correlated with the final rating on the proficiency test. The findings confirm the usefulness of complexity measures in tracking writing development in L2 Russian. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01