통사적 복잡성과 영어말하기 능력의 관계에 대한 학습자 코퍼스 연구

Abstract

Research on the relationship between syntactic complexity and linguistic proficiency in writing, rather than speaking, has been conducted mainly until recently. The main concern of the current research includes: first, are the five factors presented by Lu (2010; 2011) consistent with the results obtained from a factorial analysis of the spoken corpus used in this study? Second, which measures are significantly related to English speaking proficiency?, Third, how much is the explanatory power of the selected factors for the regression model developed based on the proficiency in this study? To this end, the 14 syntax complexity indices from the corpus were measured as independent variables, and as dependent variables, holistic ratings of learners' overall L2 speech were used. As a result, the factorial analysis categorized the indices into four factors, which was virtually consistent with factors by Lu (2010; 2011) (i.e., with one exception in that two factors, Sentence complexity and Subordination, were integrated into one factor). Stepwise multiple-regression analysis shows that the factors affecting a learner‘s speaking ability were Subordination and Length of Production Unit, which explain 9.8% of the model. The results suggest that educators should design curriculum to better encourage students to use a larger variety of clauses and to try to create more complex sentences. Educators should also be aware that it will eventually affect L2 proficiency in an EFL context.