Mind the Gap : Interpretations of Sentence-Initial Coordinating Conjunctions in Linguistic Studies of L2 and L1 Writing.

Abstract

One confusing aspect of EFL(English as a foreign language) writing is interpreting the use of coordinators in the sentence-initial position. This phenomenon sits on the cusp between being a hallmark of grammatical transgression or a discourse tool of competent writing. While studies of EFL writing interpret this as misuse, research in L1 (English as a first language) writing propose that the violation of this rule is a mark of skillful discourse and that the prescriptive rules of sentence-initial coordinating conjunctions limit the versatility of student writers. This paper will compare two sets of literature: L2 (English as a second language) corpus studies of writing by EFL writers and L1 corpus studies which analyze how sentence-initial coordinators can be used as a discourse marker. Taking in to account these divergent views, a series of questions will be raised to propose future directions for pedagogy and research.