Can L2 course duration compensate for the impact of demographic and educational background variables on second language writing development?

Abstract

This article focuses on equity as inclusion in an adult L2 education system. Using a real-world high-stakes writing test, we examine to what extent learners with different educational backgrounds partaking in the same educational system have the same opportunity of achieving the same minimal standard. In the context of the current research, that minimal proficiency standard is the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Achieving that level is a requirement for all non-EU migrants to Flanders (Belgium), where the study was conducted. The research population consisted of 1056 adults attending three different L2 learning tracks of Dutch as a second language in Belgium. Each track caters to learners with different educational backgrounds, ranging from primary to tertiary education. Using logistic multilevel regression and many-facet Rasch analysis, this study compared writing performances of the different learning tracks. The results show significant differences in test scores and pass probabilities at the end of the different A2 tracks, as well as very different learner profiles in terms of syntactic and lexical complexity, and in terms of error types.