Startseite N-gram use in EFL learners’ retelling and monologic tasks
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N-gram use in EFL learners’ retelling and monologic tasks

  • Xiaopeng Zhang ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Baoshan Zhao und Wenwen Li
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 27. September 2021
International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching
Aus der Zeitschrift International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching Band 61 Heft 3

Abstract

This study examined n-gram use in oral production by Chinese college-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at four distinct proficiency levels. Thirty indices regarding range, frequency, and association strength of bi- and tri-grams obtained from retelling and monologic samples were analyzed. Results suggest that, i) the four proficiency levels differed in measures for frequency and association strength of bi- and tri-grams, ii) academic bi- and tri-gram proportions and association strength (captured by MI- and t-scores) were predictive of EFL speaking proficiency for both the retelling and monologic samples but the effects were small, and iii) EFL learners used more well-attested bi- and tri-grams in monologues than in retelling, demonstrating that higher rated samples tended to contain more strongly-associated bi- and tri-grams, a greater proportion of frequent attested academic tri-grams, and that EFL n-gram use was task-sensitive. These findings help enrich our understanding on EFL development of multi-word sequences and have potentially useful implications for EFL pedagogy.

Keywords: EFL speaking proficiency; linear stepwise regression modeling; monologue; n-gram measures; retelling
Corresponding author: Xiaopeng Zhang, School of Foreign Studies, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, E-mail:

Funding source: National Social Science Foundation of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 20BYY084

  1. Research funding: This work was supported by National Social Science Foundation of China (grant number 20BYY084).

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0080).

Received: 2021-04-15
Accepted: 2021-09-12
Published Online: 2021-09-27
Published in Print: 2023-09-26

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. English and Spanish speakers’ interpretations of L2 Chinese applicative double object constructions
  4. (Mis) perception of consonant clusters and short vowels in English as a foreign language
  5. Phraseological complexity and low- and intermediate-level L2 learners’ writing quality
  6. The use of blocking and inhibition training in processing instruction
  7. Second language listening instruction and learners’ vocabulary knowledge
  8. Acquisition of attributive adjectives and noun adjuncts by L3 learners of French and German: further evidence for the typological primacy model (TPM)
  9. Non-canonical word order as a measure of syntactic complexity in advanced L2 German
  10. Acquisition of morphology by L2 children in naturalistic environments: a case of Japanese case markers
  11. N-gram use in EFL learners’ retelling and monologic tasks
  12. The structure of L2 lexical-semantic networks as seen from a social network perspective
  13. Deciphering the role of multilingualism in creativity at university: the influence of context
  14. The associations between working memory and the effects of multimedia input on L2 vocabulary learning
  15. The acquisition of relative clauses by Spanish-Basque learners of L3 English: does dominance play a role?
  16. The impact of pragmalinguistic support on video-conferenced collaborative suggestion-giving task
  17. L2 writing development through two types of writing task repetition
  18. Learning aspect in Italian as additional language. The role of second languages
  19. Immediate and long-term improvement in lexical stress perception: the role of teacher and peer feedback
  20. Exploring the pseudo-longitudinal development of specific morphosyntactic features and syntactic complexity in CLIL young learners
  21. Measurement of engagement in the foreign language classroom and its effect on language achievement: the case of Chinese college EFL students
https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0080
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
EFL speaking proficiency; linear stepwise regression modeling; monologue; n-gram measures; retelling

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. English and Spanish speakers’ interpretations of L2 Chinese applicative double object constructions
  4. (Mis) perception of consonant clusters and short vowels in English as a foreign language
  5. Phraseological complexity and low- and intermediate-level L2 learners’ writing quality
  6. The use of blocking and inhibition training in processing instruction
  7. Second language listening instruction and learners’ vocabulary knowledge
  8. Acquisition of attributive adjectives and noun adjuncts by L3 learners of French and German: further evidence for the typological primacy model (TPM)
  9. Non-canonical word order as a measure of syntactic complexity in advanced L2 German
  10. Acquisition of morphology by L2 children in naturalistic environments: a case of Japanese case markers
  11. N-gram use in EFL learners’ retelling and monologic tasks
  12. The structure of L2 lexical-semantic networks as seen from a social network perspective
  13. Deciphering the role of multilingualism in creativity at university: the influence of context
  14. The associations between working memory and the effects of multimedia input on L2 vocabulary learning
  15. The acquisition of relative clauses by Spanish-Basque learners of L3 English: does dominance play a role?
  16. The impact of pragmalinguistic support on video-conferenced collaborative suggestion-giving task
  17. L2 writing development through two types of writing task repetition
  18. Learning aspect in Italian as additional language. The role of second languages
  19. Immediate and long-term improvement in lexical stress perception: the role of teacher and peer feedback
  20. Exploring the pseudo-longitudinal development of specific morphosyntactic features and syntactic complexity in CLIL young learners
  21. Measurement of engagement in the foreign language classroom and its effect on language achievement: the case of Chinese college EFL students
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