Are My Learners Advanced?: Using Measures of Complexity and Accuracy to Analyze L2 Spanish Writing

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Are My Learners Advanced?: Using Measures of Complexity and Accuracy to Analyze L2 Spanish Writing
Language: English
Authors: Marie Mangold
Source: Foreign Language Annals. 2025 58(2):326-345.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 20
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Spanish, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Accuracy, Teaching Methods, Writing Processes, Rating Scales, Guidelines, Correlation, Syntax, Criticism, Writing Skills, Phrase Structure, Error Patterns, Advanced Students
DOI: 10.1111/flan.12788
ISSN: 0015-718X
1944-9720
Abstract: One of the critiques of proficiency as defined by scales, such as that of ACTFL, is its lack of grounding in linguistic realities. Measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency provide a route in which proficiency can be quantitatively measured by identifying linguistic correlates (see Brown et al., 2017; Long et al., 2012). This project aimed to identify the linguistic correlates that distinguish L2 Spanish writing at intermediate-high and advanced-low proficiency levels as defined by the Language Ability Self-Evaluation Resource. Forty writing samples comprised the data. Measures of lexical complexity (density and diversity), syntactic complexity (mean length of T-unit, number of clauses per T-unit, average length of error-free T-unit), and accuracy (ratio of error-free T-unit, number of errors per 100 words) were used to analyze the samples. Findings suggest that accuracy is the linguistic feature that best distinguishes intermediate from advanced proficiency in L2 Spanish writing. The implications of these findings for research and pedagogy are examined.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1477333
Database: ERIC
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