��ࡱ� > �� � � ���� � � � � �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� � �R� � bjbj�W�W �2 �= �= �� ` K �� �� �� � � � � � � ���� � � � @ ) | � ,b � � � ^ �1 . �1 �1 3a 5a 5a 5a 5a 5a 5a $ �d � Rg J Ya � 6C a. . �1 6C 6C Ya � � ^ �a 2W 2W 2W 6C � � � 3a 2W 6C 3a 2W 2W V �^ @ w � c_ ���� ��' � � �L � �^ a �a 0 ,b �^ x �g �P � �g c_ c_ �g w_ � �1 � c5 � 2W �7 �9 K �1 �1 �1 Ya Ya �S � �1 �1 �1 ,b 6C 6C 6C 6C ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� �g �1 �1 �1 �1 �1 �1 �1 �1 �1 � � : Assessing L2 Learners� Lexical Richness and Syntactic Complexity: A Longitudinal Study by Zhang Huiting Under the Supervision of Bao Gui and Chen Haitao Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts English Department School of Foreign Languages Nanjing University of Technology June, 2008 Declaration I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person or material which has to a substantial extent been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at any university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. Signature: _gawZ N a m e : Z h a n g H u i t i n g D a t e : J u n e 1 0 t h , 2 0 0 8 T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & . i A b s t r a c t ( E n g l i s h ) & & & & & & ���������������������ii Abstract (Chinese)������������������������������iv 1. Introduction �����������...������������.....................��...1 1.1 Need for the study��������...�������.��..........................................1 1.2 Research purpose��������...��...���.........................................................2 2. Literature Review ����������������...������..����� ..3 2.1 Lexical richness��������...������������..................................3 2.1.1 Lexical variance���������������������������4 2.1.2 Lexical sophistication��������������������...����5 2.2 Syntactic complexity ............................................................................................................6 2.2.1 T-unit complexity ratio�����������������������.. ..7 2.2.2 DC/C������������������������������... 8 2.3 Problems in the previous studies����������������������...8 3. Methodology���������...................�����..................................................10 3.1 Research questions���������������������������...10 3.2 Variables and operational definitions��������������������...10 3.2.1 Lexical richness��������������������������..10 3.2.2 Syntactic complexity ������������������������..11 3.3 Data collection���.�������������������������....12 3.4 Data analysis����������������������������........13 4. Results and Discussion�� ���������������..���.���. ��.14 4.1 Results�������������������������������.....14 4.1.1 Differences in lexical richness and syntactic complexity across three grades���14 4.1.2 Differences in the growth rates of lexical richness and syntactic complexity��. at the two intervals�������������������������16 4.1.3 Relationship between lexical richness and syntactic complexity across three��. grades..������������������������..�..���..17 4.2 Discussion������������������������������....17 4.2.1 Non-linear development of lexical richness and syntactic complexity�����..18 4.2.2 Lexical richness in no relation to syntactic complexity�����������.19 5. Conclusion������������������������������.�...21 5.1 Major findings of the study�����������������������...21 5.2 Implications�����������������������������...21 5.2.1 Theoretical implications����������������������...21 5.2.2 Pedagogical implications����������������������.22 References���������������������������������23 Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the people who have ever helped me in this paper. My sincere and hearty thanks and appreciations go firstly to my supervisors, Mr. Bao Gui and Mr. Chen Haitao, whose encouragement and suggestions have given me so remarkable insights into linguistic studies. I am extremely grateful for their valuable academic instructions during my study. The work would not have been possible without their patient guidance, continuous encouragement and generous support. It has been a great privilege and joy to study under their guidance and supervision. Furthermore, it is my honor to benefit a lot from their personalities and diligence, which I will treasure in my whole life. Special thanks go to Lin Ling, a graduate student, who has imparted to me so much valuable knowledge and given me guidance, assistance and concern in every aspect of my study. I also appreciate her academic advice and emotional support for the preparation of my thesis. I would like to thank all the other teachers for their enlightenment, knowledge, encouragement and help throughout my study at Nanjing University of Technology. Finally, my gratitude is given to my dear friends and fellow students, who have accompanied me throughout the four years at the university. Abstract This paper reports a longitudinal study on the developmental patterns of lexical richness and syntactic complexity of the Chinese L2 learners based on their oral production in three years. It addresses the following three research questions: (1) Do the L2 learners increase their lexical richness and syntactic complexity across three years? (2) Are there any great differences in the growth rates of the L2 learners� lexical richness and syntactic complexity at the first interval (from Year One to Year Two) and the second interval (from Year Two to Year Three)? (3) Is there any relationship between the L2 learners� lexical richness and their syntactic complexity in each year? In this study, the subjects were 50 English majors enrolled in a key university in 2001. They were asked to perform an oral task by producing a three-minute monologue in the language lab. The spoken data were collected in three consecutive years. The developmental changes of lexical richness were measured in terms of two objective indexes - lexical variance and lexical sophistication while those of syntactic complexity were measured by (C+VP) /T (T�unit complexity ratio) and DC/C (dependent clause ratio). Multivariate and correlation analyses as well as T-test reveal the following results. First, lexical richness and syntactic complexity progress in a non-linear way, as only the third year witnesses a significant growth of them. Second, the growth rates of lexical richness and syntactic complexity are different in L2 learners� different developmental stages. Although no obvious difference exists between them in the first interval (Year One to Year Two), syntactic complexity grows faster than lexical variance but at the same rate as lexical sophistication in the second interval (Year Two to Year Three). Third, the L2 learners� lexical richness is in no relation to their syntactic complexity in each year. They develop independent of each other. The present study enriches the research on the developmental patterns of lexical richness and syntactic complexity in oral production and sheds light on the teaching and testing of spoken English and L2 learners� acquisition of L2 vocabulary and syntax. It is suggested that L2 teachers and learners should raise their awareness of the importance of lexical richness and syntactic complexity in language development. Most importantly, L2 learners should attach equal importance to both lexical richness and syntactic complexity, balancing the growth of the two and developing them simultaneously. 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