High-Proficiency L1 and L2 English Learners’ Morphological Words in Writing

Abstract

English differs from other languages in morphology, which may cause trouble in EFL learning. The interesting topic is whether ESL learners can obtain the same level of morphology in their English learning as native English speakers. The study explores whether high-proficiency EFL learners differ from native EL1 learners in writing using root words, inflected words, and derived words. This article reported on a comparative study between Advanced EFL learners (TOEFL Testees (n = 318)) and native English learners (writers of the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (n = 176)) by lexical frequency profile analysis on their use of root words, inflected words, and derived words in writing. The findings suggest that there are significant differences between the two groups. TOEFL writers used a much higher proportion of root words but a much lower proportion of inflected and derived words than native English learners. The findings will expose the differences between EFL learners and native L2 learners in word learning and contribute to L2 language teaching and learning theoretically and practically.