DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLEXITY, ACCURACY, AND FLUENCY IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ WRITTEN FOREIGN LANGUAGE PRODUCTION

Bouchaib Benzehaf

doi:10.30762/jeels.v3i2.210

Abstract

The present study aims to longitudinally depict the dynamic and interactive development of Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) in multilingual learners’ L2 and L3 writing. The data sources include free writing tasks written in L2 French and L3 English by 45 high school participants over a period of four semesters. CAF dimensions are measured using a variation of Hunt’s T-units (1964). Analysis ofthe quantitative data obtained suggests that CAF measures develop differently for learners’ L2 French and L3 English. They increase more persistently in L3 English, and they display the characteristics of a dynamic, non-linear system characterized by ups and downs particularly in L2 French. In light of the results, we suggest more and denser longitudinal data to explore the nature of interactions between these dimensions in foreign language development, particularly at the individual level.Keywords: CAF, proficiency, interaction.

Highlights

In the quest for insights into language development, researchers have suggested different tools to measure learners’ language development
The present study focuses on CAF dimensions in the written mode of foreign language production, namely in L2 French and L3 English in high school
The present study set out to test the nature of development and interaction of CAF constructs in high school multilingual learners’ L2 French and L3 English in Morocco

Summary

Introduction

In the quest for insights into language development, researchers have suggested different tools to measure learners’ language development. At first, they borrowed length-based measures from the field of first language (L1) acquisition, the most common ones being the mean length of particular structures (Norris & Ortega, 2009) which have been widely adopted in the second and third language acquisition research enterprise. They borrowed length-based measures from the field of first language (L1) acquisition, the most common ones being the mean length of particular structures (Norris & Ortega, 2009) which have been widely adopted in the second and third language acquisition research enterprise CAF measures were meant to indicate the level of a learner’s proficiency but this index, in turn, is not without problems as proficiency is hard to pin down to a definition

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion