{"title":"Beyond accuracy: The development of syntactic complexity in middle school Spanish immersion","authors":"Mandy R. Menke","doi":"10.1111/flan.12746","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Language immersion programs seek to develop multilingual, multiliterate individuals able to engage with academic content. Studies of immersion students' language development provide details regarding language proficiency and accuracy, yet they generally do not address how features of written, academic language, for example, syntactic and lexical complexity, develop. To this end, this study seeks to understand if and how the syntactic complexity of written texts produced by middle school Spanish immersion students differs across grades. It examines discipline-related, persuasive texts written by 186 Grade 6–8 Spanish immersion students from five programs, analyzing syntactic complexity at the phrasal, clausal, and supraclausal levels and considering both length-based and subordination measures. Findings suggest that syntactic complexity does not change significantly in middle school for immersion students unlike findings with nonimmersion students. Explanations for and implications of the findings are explored.</p>","PeriodicalId":47560,"journal":{"name":"Foreign Language Annals","volume":"57 3","pages":"844-866"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/flan.12746","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Foreign Language Annals","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/flan.12746","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Language immersion programs seek to develop multilingual, multiliterate individuals able to engage with academic content. Studies of immersion students' language development provide details regarding language proficiency and accuracy, yet they generally do not address how features of written, academic language, for example, syntactic and lexical complexity, develop. To this end, this study seeks to understand if and how the syntactic complexity of written texts produced by middle school Spanish immersion students differs across grades. It examines discipline-related, persuasive texts written by 186 Grade 6–8 Spanish immersion students from five programs, analyzing syntactic complexity at the phrasal, clausal, and supraclausal levels and considering both length-based and subordination measures. Findings suggest that syntactic complexity does not change significantly in middle school for immersion students unlike findings with nonimmersion students. Explanations for and implications of the findings are explored.
期刊介绍：
Dedicated to the advancement of language teaching and learning, Foreign Language Annals (FLA) seeks to serve the professional interests of classroom instructors, researchers, and administrators concerned with the learning and teaching of languages at all levels of instruction. The journal welcomes submissions of the highest quality that report empirical or theoretical research on language learning or teaching, that describe innovative and successful practice and methods, and/or that are relevant to the concerns and issues of the profession. FLA focuses primarily on language education for languages other than English.
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