An analysis of grammatical patterns in generation 1.5, L1 and L2 students’ writings: A replication study

Abstract

Recent studies examining whether Generation 1.5 writing is unique (as compared to L1 and/or L2 writing), including several conducted by the same researchers, have resulted in highly conflicting findings. To shed new light on this controversial issue, the present study replicates research by Doolan and Miller (2012), but uses a much larger sample. Focusing on grammatical accuracy, which is most often cited as the distinguishing feature of Generation 1.5 writing, this study thus presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the most prevalent “error” patterns in the essays of 149 students enrolled in Developmental English and ESL courses at two suburban community colleges on the East Coast, including Generation 1.5 (n = 49), L2 (n = 50) and L1 writers (n = 50). Findings confirm significant differences between Generation 1.5 students and L1 writers in particular, with Generation 1.5 writers displaying error patterns and frequencies that resemble those of L2 writers but not L1 writers. We argue that these findings have significant implications for placement, curriculum and pedagogy. Furthermore, we hypothesize that a lack of attention to the variable ‘age of arrival’ may have been the cause of the conflicting findings in studies to date.