The Influence Mode on the Syntactic Complexity of EFL Students at Three Grade Levels

Abstract

This study extends the findings of syntactic research to students studying English as a foreign language. First, it corroborates earlier research findings on the relationships between syntactic complexity and grade level by examining a type of population not previously studied. Second, it extends earlier findings on the relation of mode and syntax to an English as a foreign language writing sample and examines the influence of the syntax in each mode of writing on the content of the compositions. In the expository mode, the upper-grade students used more non-clausal embeddings than the lower-grade students did, structures which are interpreted as providing the opportunity to express more complex relationships. In the narrative mode, on the other hand, the upper-grade students used significantly more clausal embeddings than their junior counterparts which resulted in greater detail in the narrations of the former. The older students appeared to be more able to adjust their syntax to the demands of the rhetorical task than the younger students were.