Projects per year
Abstract
This chapter takes a critical look at complexity in L2 research. We demonstrate several problems in the L2 literature in terms of how complexity has been defined and operationalised as a construct. In the first part of the chapter we try to unravel its highly complex, multidimensional nature by presenting a taxonomic model that identifies major types, dimensions and components of L2 complexity, each of which can be independently analysed or measured. The second part evaluates how complexity has been measured in empirical SLA research. Using the taxonomy of L2 complexity from part 1 as a framework, we inventory the measures of L2 complexity that have been used in a sample of forty recent L2 studies. Next we discuss the construct validity of several widely used measures of grammatical complexity by identifying their underlying logic as well as the methodological and practical challenges that their computation presents.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Dimensions of L2 Performance and Proficiency |
Subtitle of host publication | Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in SLA |
Editors | Alex Housen, Folkert Kuiken, Ineke Vedder |
Place of Publication | Amsterdam |
Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing Company |
Pages | 21-46 |
Number of pages | 25 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-90-272-7326-0 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-90-272-1305-1 |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Publication series
Name | Language Learning & Language Teaching |
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Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing |
Volume | 32 |
ISSN (Print) | 1569-9471 |
Bibliographical note
Alex Housen, Folkert Kuiken, Ineke VedderKeywords
- second language acquisition
- language proficiency
- complexity
- accuracy
- fluency
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Defining and operationalising L2 complexity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 4 Finished
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OZR1360: De interne structuur en longitudinale ontwikkeling van taalvaardigheid in een eerste en tweede taal: een statistische analyse.
1/01/07 → 31/12/07
Project: Fundamental
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FWOAL255: Linguistic complexity, accuracy and fluency in second language acquisition
1/01/03 → 31/12/06
Project: Fundamental
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OZR661: Crosslinguistic influence, complexity, a instructional input in the 2nd-languageacquisition of grammatic structures.
1/01/02 → 31/12/03
Project: Fundamental