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The Proportion of Function Words in English Writing by Korean University Students: Writing Practice Over Time and According to Learner Proficiency

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주제분류영어와문학

초록

Previous research has reported a predominance of function words (FWs) in English. However, second language writing (L2) research mainly focuses on the proportions of low-frequency content words (CWs) as an indicator of writing development and learner proficiency. The present study explored the proportion of FWs as a first step toward understanding the features of vocabulary used in English writing by Korean university students. The students wrote English essays on the same topic in the first week and the last week of the semester to see whether the proportion of FWs shows a significant difference as students’ English writing develops with writing practice over a semester, and then it was analyzed again to examine differences according to learner proficiency. Learner proficiency was measured by cloze test scores to see if student responses to FW cloze items are related to the proportion of FWs in Korean university students’ English writing. The percentages of FWs in student writing were obtained by running VocabProfile. The study results showed a significant decrease in FW percentages over a semester. In addition, learner proficiency did not lead to statistical differences in the proportions of FWs in student writing. The results will be discussed in more detail.

Abstract

Previous research has reported a predominance of function words (FWs) in English. However, second language writing (L2) research mainly focuses on the proportions of low-frequency content words (CWs) as an indicator of writing development and learner proficiency. The present study explored the proportion of FWs as a first step toward understanding the features of vocabulary used in English writing by Korean university students. The students wrote English essays on the same topic in the first week and the last week of the semester to see whether the proportion of FWs shows a significant difference as students’ English writing develops with writing practice over a semester, and then it was analyzed again to examine differences according to learner proficiency. Learner proficiency was measured by cloze test scores to see if student responses to FW cloze items are related to the proportion of FWs in Korean university students’ English writing. The percentages of FWs in student writing were obtained by running VocabProfile. The study results showed a significant decrease in FW percentages over a semester. In addition, learner proficiency did not lead to statistical differences in the proportions of FWs in student writing. The results will be discussed in more detail.

참고문헌 (42)

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