ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This paper reviews more than 60 research papers, articles, or book chapters on syntactic complexity in the context of EFL/ESL writing in the past two decades. Most of the papers are from journals indexed in Social Science Citation Index, Scopus, and Chinese Social Science Citation Index. Five strands of syntactic complexity studies in the context of EFL/ESL writing are concluded: syntactic complexity measurement indices and tools, the relationship between syntactic complexity and language proficiency, syntactic complexity developmental studies, comparative studies, and variables influencing syntactic complexity. Gaps in previous studies and future research focuses are analyzed and concluded: new indices from other syntactic perspectives should be considered and research on their validity and reliability should be done. For comparative studies, more attention should be given to comparing the writing of EFL/ESL learners with different backgrounds. For research on variables influencing syntactic complexity, the interactive effect of multiple variables needs to be investigated; if only one variable is examined, other variables should be controlled. Besides, in future syntactic complexity research, theoretical interpretation and theory building should be given more attention, and the observation period for longitudinal research should be extended. Finally, more qualitative studies are needed for in-depth investigation of specific syntactic perspectives, such as syntactic errors.
Adams, R., Alwi, N. A. N. M., & Newton, J. (2015). Task complexity effects on the complexity and accuracy of writing via text chat. Journal of second language writing, 29, 64-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.06.002
Ai, H., & Lu, X. (2013). A corpus-based comparison of syntactic complexity in NNS and NS university students’ writing. In A. Díaz-Negrillo, N. Ballier, & P. Thompson (Eds.), Automatic Treatment and Analysis of Learner Corpus Data (pp. 249-264). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Bao, G. (2009). Syntactic complexity in EFL learners’ essays: a multidimensional perspective. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 41(04), 291-297+321.
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=WJYY200904011&DbName=CJFQ2009
Barkhuizen, G., & Ellis, R. (2005). Analysing learner language. Oxford University Press
Beers, S. F., & Nagy, W. E. (2011). Writing development in four genres from grades three to seven: Syntactic complexity and genre differentiation. Reading and Writing, 24(2), 183-202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-010-9264-9
Bi, P., & Jiang, J. (2020). Syntactic complexity in assessing young adolescent EFL learners’ writings: Syntactic elaboration and diversity. System, 91, 102248.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102248
Biber, D. (1988). Variation across Speech and Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Biber, D. (2006). Stance in spoken and written university registers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(2), 97-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.05.001
Biber, D., Gray, B., & Poonpon, K. (2011). Should we use characteristics of conversation to measure grammatical complexity in L2 writing development?. Tesol Quarterly, 45(1), 5-35. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.244483
Biber, D., Gray, B., & Staples, S. (2016). Predicting patterns of grammatical complexity across language exam task types and proficiency levels. Applied Linguistics, 37(5), 639–668. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu059
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., Finegan, E., & Quirk, R. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English (Vol. 2). Longman.
Bulte, B., & Housen, A. (2012). Defning and operationalizing L2 complexity. In A. Housen, F. Kuiken & I. Vedder (Eds.), Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Complexity Accuracy and Fluency in SLA (pp. 21-46). John Benjamins?
Bulte, B., & Housen, A. (2014). Conceptualizing and measuring short-term changes in L2 writing complexity. Journal of Second Language Writing, 26, 42-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.09.005
Crossley, S. A., & McNamara, D. S. (2014). Does writing development equal writing quality? A computational investigation of syntactic complexity in L2 learners. Journal of Second Language Writing, 26, 66-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.09.006
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2008). The Study of Second Language Acquisition (2nd Edition). Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2009). The differential effects of three types of task planning on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy in L2 oral production. Applied linguistics, 30(4), 474-509. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp042
Ellis, R., & Yuan, F. (2004). The effects of planning on fluency, complexity, and accuracy in second language narrative writing. Studies in second Language acquisition, 26(1), 59-84. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263104026130
Ferris, D. R. (1994). Lexical and syntactic features of ESL writing by students at different levels of L2 proficiency. Tesol Quarterly, 28(2), 414-420. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587446
Foster, P., & Tavakoli, P. (2009). Native speakers and task performance: Comparing effects on complexity, fluency and lexical diversity. Language Learning, 59(4), 866-896. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00528.x
Gao, X. (2021). Syntactic complexity in English writing by Chinese EFL learners at different levels. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 53(2), 224-237+319. https://doi.org/10.19923/j.cnki.fltr.2021.02.006.
Granger, S. (1998). The computer learner corpus: A versatile new source of data for SLA research. In S. Granger (Ed.), Learner English on Computer (pp. 3-18). Addison Wesley Longman.
Granger, S. (2002). A bird’s eye view of computer learner corpus research, In S. Granger, J. Hung, & S. Petch-Tyson (Eds.), Computer learner corpora, second language acquisition and foreign language teaching (pp. 3-33). John Benjamins.
Housen, A., & Kuiken, F. (2009). Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language acquisition. Applied linguistics, 30(4), 461-473.
https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp048
Ishikawa, S. (1995). Objective measurement of low-proficiency EFL narrative writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 4(1), 51-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/1060-3743(95)90023-3
Knoch, U., Rouhshad, A., & Storch, N. (2014). Does the writing of undergraduate ESL students develop after one year of study in an English-medium university?. Assessing Writing, 21, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2014.01.001
Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2012). Syntactic complexity, lexical variation and accuracy as a function of task complexity and pro?ciency level in L2 writing and speaking. In A. Houksen, F. Kuiken, & I. Vedder (Eds.), Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency: Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA (pp. 143-170). John Benjamins.
Kyle, K. (2016). Measuring syntactic development in L2 writing: Fine grained indices of syntactic complexity and usage-based indices of syntactic sophistication. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Georgia State University. https://doi.org/10.57709/8501051
Kyle, K., & Crossley, S. A. (2018). Measuring syntactic complexity in L2 writing using fine-grained clausal and phrasal indices. The Modern Language Journal, 102(2), 333-349. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12468
Landauer, T. K., McNamara, D. S., Dennis, S., & Kintsch, W. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of Latent Semantic Analysis. Psychology Press.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1978). An ESL index of development. TESOL Quarterly, 12, 439-448. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586142
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2006). The emergence of complexity, fluency, and accuracy in the oral and written production of five Chinese learners of English. Applied linguistics, 27(4), 590-619. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/aml029
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2009). Adjusting expectations: The study of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 579-589. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp043
Larsson, T., & Kaatari, H. (2020). Syntactic complexity across registers: Investigating (in) formality in second-language writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 45, 100850. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2020.100850
Li, J., & Wang, J. H. (2017). A meta-analysis of the effects of Task complexity on Second Language Writing: a report based on RevMan. Foreign Language World, (5), 65-73. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=WYJY201705008&DbName=CJFQ2017
Li, M. X., & Liu, Y. B. (2016). A corpus-based study on the syntactic complexity of English writing by Chinese middle school English learners. Journal of Northeast Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), (1), 140-145.
https://doi.org/10.16164/j.cnki.22-1062/c.2016.01.028.
Liu, H., & Sun, M. (2022). A review of syntactic complexity in second language writing (2010-2020). Foreign Studies, 10(1), 28-32+106-107. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.2095-5723.2022.01.005
Lu, X. (2010). Automatic analysis of syntactic complexity in second language writing. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 15, 474-496.
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.15.4.02lu
Lu, X. (2011). A corpus-based evaluation of syntactic complexity measures as indices of college level ESL writers’ language development. TESOL Quarterly, 45(1), 36-62. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.240859
Lu, X. (2017). Automated measurement of syntactic complexity in corpus-based L2 writing research and implications for writing assessment. Language Testing, 34(4), 493-511. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532217710675
Lu, X., & Ai, H. (2015). Syntactic complexity in college-level English writing: Differences among writers with diverse L1 backgrounds. Journal of second language writing, 29, 16-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.06.003
Mancilla, R. L., Polat, N., & Akcay, A. O. (2017). An investigation of native and nonnative English speakers’ levels of written syntactic complexity in asynchronous online discussions. Applied Linguistics, 38(1), 112-134.
https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv012
Martinez, A. C. L. (2018). Analysis of syntactic complexity in secondary education EFL writers at different proficiency levels. Assessing Writing, 35, 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2017.11.002
McNamara, D. S., Graesser, A. C., McCarthy, P. M., & Cai, Z. (2014). Automated Evaluation of Text and Discourse with Coh-Metrix. Cambridge University Press.
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2009). Towards an organic approach to investigating CAF in instructed SLA: The case of complexity. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 555-578. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp044
Ortega, L. (2000). Understanding syntactic complexity: The measurement of change in the syntax of instructed L2 Spanish learners. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Hawaii.
Ortega, L. (2003). Syntactic complexity measures and their relationship to L2 proficiency: A research synthesis of college-level L2 writing. Applied Linguistics, 24(4), 492-518. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/24.4.492
Ortega, L. (2012). Interlanguage complexity: A construct in search of theoretical renewal. In B. Kortmann & B. Szmrecsanyi (Eds.), Linguistic complexity: Second language acquisition, indigenization, contact (pp. 127–155). Berlin: De Gruyter.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110229226.127
Rahimi, M., & Zhang, L. J. (2018). Effects of task complexity and planning conditions on L2 argumentative writing production. Discourse Processes, 55(8), 726-742.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0163853X.2017.1336042
Ruiz-Funes, M. (2015). Exploring the potential of second/foreign language writing for language learning: The effects of task factors and learner variables. Journal of Second Language Writing, 28, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.02.001
Skehan, P. (1998). A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford University Press.
Staples, S., & Reppen, R. (2016). Understanding first-year L2 writing: A lexico-grammatical analysis across L1s, genres, and language ratings. Journal of Second Language Writing, 32, 17-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2016.02.002
Stockwell, G. (2005). Syntactic and lexical development in NNS-NNS asynchronous CMC. The JALT CALL Journal, 1(3), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v1n3.16
Tavakoli, P., & Foster, P. (2008). Task design and second language performance: The effect of narrative type on learner output. Language Learning, 58(2), 439-473.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00642.x
Vercellotti, M. L. (2017). The development of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language performance: A longitudinal study. Applied linguistics, 38(1), 90-111. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv002
Wang, J. P. (2013). The influence of resource-guided task complexity on language performance in L2 writing. Foreign Language Education, 34(4), 65-68+104. https://doi.org/10.16362/j.cnki.cn61-1023/h.2013.04.006.
Wang, L. P., Wu, H. Y., & Zhang, J. L. (2020). Effects of Task Complexity on Linguistic Complexity in EFL Writing. Modern Foreign Languages, 43(4), 503-515.
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=XDWY202004006&DbName=DKFX2020
Wen, Q., Liang, M., & Yan, X. (2008). Spoken and Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners (Version 2.0). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Wen, Q., Wang, L., & Liang, M. (2005). Spoken and written English corpus of Chinese learners. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Wolfe-Quintero, K., Inagaki, S., & Kim, H.-Y. (1998). Second language development in writing: Measures of fluency, accuracy and complexity. Honolulu HI: University of Hawaii Press.
Wu, X., & Lei, L. (2018). A Meta-analysis of L2 Writing Proficiency and Syntactic Complexity. Modern Foreign Languages, 41(4), 481-492.
https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=XDWY201804004&DbName=CJFQ2018
Yang, W., & Kim, Y. (2020). The effect of topic familiarity on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of second language writing. Applied Linguistics Review, 11(1), 79-108. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2017-0017
Yang, W., Lu, X., & Weigle, S. C. (2015). Different topics, different discourse: Relationships among writing topic, measures of syntactic complexity, and judgments of writing quality. Journal of Second Language Writing, 28, 53-67.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.02.002
Yang, Y., & Geng, H. (2021). A Quantitative Comparison of Syntactic Complexity Between British and American University Students’ ENL Writing. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of Languages, Education and Tourism (ICLET), 29-43. https://conference.iium.edu.my/iclet2021/
Yoon, H. J. (2017). Linguistic complexity in L2 writing revisited: Issues of topic, proficiency, and construct multidimensionality. System, 66, 130-141.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.03.007
Zheng, Y. Y. (2011). Towards a Dynamic Systems Theory approach to second language acquisition research. Modern Foreign Languages, 34(3), 303-309+330. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=XDWY201103012&DbName=CJFQ2011
Zheng, Y. Y., & Feng, Y. L. (2017). A Dynamic Systems study on Chinese EFL learners’ syntactic and lexical complexity development. Modern Foreign Languages, 40(1), 57-68+146. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=XDWY201701006&DbName=CJFQ2017
In-Text Citation: (Yang et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Yang, Y., Yap, N. T., & Ali, A. M. (2022). A Review of Syntactic Complexity Studies in Context of EFL/ESL Writing. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(10), 441 – 454.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non0-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode