This exploratory study examines whether genre has an impact on syntactic complexity and holistic rating in EFL writing. Over 300 sample texts produced by intermediate learners were collected from a test and some regul...This exploratory study examines whether genre has an impact on syntactic complexity and holistic rating in EFL writing. Over 300 sample texts produced by intermediate learners were collected from a test and some regular after-class assignments for English writing courses. Each participant completed two writing tasks, one argumentative and the other narrative. Results show that genre type has a significant impact on L2 syntactic complexity. Genre effect is found stronger with timed writing tasks. L2 holistic ratings show correlation with syntactic complexity on the different measure(s) depending on genre type and planning conditions. Regression analyses reveal that for timed writing tasks, clausal density(clauses per sentence) is a reliable predictor for holistic assessment on intermediate EFL learners’ writing quality. It is found to account for 6% of the score variance for timed writing and 10% for timed argumentative writing. Genre is evidenced to be related to EFL writing holistic ratings. Closer examination indicates that while syntactic complexity is predictive of holistic writing scores for argumentative writing, it does not correlate with holistic scores for narrative writing. Other linguistic features rather than syntactic complexity may be accountable. Overall, the study lends support to genre effect in the relationship between syntactic complexity and L2 writing quality holistic rating.展开更多
In the ESP （English for Specific Purposes） tradition of genre-based approaches to academic literacy, one of the most noteworthy language features lies in lexical phrases. The lexical phrases investigated in the curr...In the ESP （English for Specific Purposes） tradition of genre-based approaches to academic literacy, one of the most noteworthy language features lies in lexical phrases. The lexical phrases investigated in the current study consist of both general lexical phrases （i.e., lexical bundles/clusters/formulaic sequences in vocabulary and linguistic studies） and move- specific lexical phrases （i.e., lexical phrases specific to the move/steps） as both are necessary for students to master in the construction of academic texts. Studies on either type have, however, tended to neglect the importance of the other and few studies have looked at students＇ acquisition of these phrases within the genre-based framework. This study reports on the process of acquisition of lexical phrases in two cases with distinct starting levels over a period of one semester in an EAP genre-based academic writing classroom. The study was part of a larger project conducted in a tertiary level institution in southern China for instructing disciplinary-specific academic writing. From the analysis of rewritings, genre analysis assignments, in conjunction with a weekly interview and learning journals, it was found that both students＇ awareness of lexical phrases was raised noticeably and a favorable number of phrases were used throughout the instructional period. Different patterns in the use of both general and move-specific lexical phrases were also found in their rewriting tasks, in terms of source of acquisition, perceived usefulness, number and appropriateness of use. This study is expected to offer pedagogical insights into the teaching and learning of academic lexical phrases for tertiary contexts.展开更多
文摘This exploratory study examines whether genre has an impact on syntactic complexity and holistic rating in EFL writing. Over 300 sample texts produced by intermediate learners were collected from a test and some regular after-class assignments for English writing courses. Each participant completed two writing tasks, one argumentative and the other narrative. Results show that genre type has a significant impact on L2 syntactic complexity. Genre effect is found stronger with timed writing tasks. L2 holistic ratings show correlation with syntactic complexity on the different measure(s) depending on genre type and planning conditions. Regression analyses reveal that for timed writing tasks, clausal density(clauses per sentence) is a reliable predictor for holistic assessment on intermediate EFL learners’ writing quality. It is found to account for 6% of the score variance for timed writing and 10% for timed argumentative writing. Genre is evidenced to be related to EFL writing holistic ratings. Closer examination indicates that while syntactic complexity is predictive of holistic writing scores for argumentative writing, it does not correlate with holistic scores for narrative writing. Other linguistic features rather than syntactic complexity may be accountable. Overall, the study lends support to genre effect in the relationship between syntactic complexity and L2 writing quality holistic rating.
文摘In the ESP （English for Specific Purposes） tradition of genre-based approaches to academic literacy, one of the most noteworthy language features lies in lexical phrases. The lexical phrases investigated in the current study consist of both general lexical phrases （i.e., lexical bundles/clusters/formulaic sequences in vocabulary and linguistic studies） and move- specific lexical phrases （i.e., lexical phrases specific to the move/steps） as both are necessary for students to master in the construction of academic texts. Studies on either type have, however, tended to neglect the importance of the other and few studies have looked at students＇ acquisition of these phrases within the genre-based framework. This study reports on the process of acquisition of lexical phrases in two cases with distinct starting levels over a period of one semester in an EAP genre-based academic writing classroom. The study was part of a larger project conducted in a tertiary level institution in southern China for instructing disciplinary-specific academic writing. From the analysis of rewritings, genre analysis assignments, in conjunction with a weekly interview and learning journals, it was found that both students＇ awareness of lexical phrases was raised noticeably and a favorable number of phrases were used throughout the instructional period. Different patterns in the use of both general and move-specific lexical phrases were also found in their rewriting tasks, in terms of source of acquisition, perceived usefulness, number and appropriateness of use. This study is expected to offer pedagogical insights into the teaching and learning of academic lexical phrases for tertiary contexts.
