A Framework for Analyzing L2 Learners’ Texts

A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING L2 LEARNERS' TEXTS

There is a long tradition of collecting and analyzing learner language (oral or written) in SLA (second language acquisition) research in order to describe and explain L2 learners’ underlying linguistic knowledge (Ellis & Barkhuizen, 2005). As Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005) explained, a key assumption in this research is that how learners perform a language task (e.g., giving a presentation, writing an essay) “serves as the principal source of information about what they know about the language” (p. 6). Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005) outlined different methods for analyzing learner language in terms of expression (form) and/or content, with each method reflecting “different conceptions of what it means to acquire an L2” (p. 359).

Similarly, in L2 writing research, L2 learners’ written texts are often analyzed to gain insight into L2 proficiency and its variability and/or development (e.g., Hinkel, 2002, 2005; Leki et al., 2008; Plakans, 2014; Polio & Friedman, 2017; Wolfe-Quintero et al., 1998). Polio and Friedman (2017), for example, outlined several reasons for analyzing learner texts such as identifying the effects of feedback and instruction, comparing writing performance across tasks, contexts, and learner groups, and/or validating tests (cf. Hinkel, 2005; Plakans, 2014). Plakans (2014) also explained that studies on L2 learners’ texts in the context of L2 writing tests can identify variation in writing performance across tasks and proficiency levels and provide evidence for the construct of writing and the interpretation of scores from such tests.

In fact, analyzing L2 learners’ texts is a very common approach to explaining the meaning of L2 writing test scores. Many studies analyze test-takers’ written responses to writing tests and then examine the relationships between the linguistic and discourse characteristics of these responses and their scores (e.g., Banerjee et al., 2007; Barkaoui, 2010a, 2010b; Barkaoui & Knouzi, 2012;

Cumming et al., 2005; Frase et al., 1999; Kennedy & Thorp, 2007; Mayor et al., 2007). This approach is based on the assumption that the quality of test performance (as reflected in test scores) can be partially explained by examining the characteristics of the performance itself (Chapelle, 2008; Cumming et al., 2005). Research on the linguistic characteristics of test-takers’ written responses can thus provide important insights concerning the validity of score-based inferences about learners’ abilities, and the effects of contextual, individual, and task factors on the characteristics of L2 learners’ texts (Banerjee et al., 2007; Barkaoui, 2007; Barkaoui & Knouzi, 2012; Cumming et al., 2005; Hinkel, 2002; Iwashita et al., 2008; Plakans, 2014;Weigle, 2002).