Lexical Cohesion: An Issue only in the Foreign Language?

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish EFL learners’ ability in composing cohesive texts in their first language and in English as their foreign language, and to examine whether there are similarities between lexical reiteration cohesive devices they employ in composing cohesive texts both in Turkish and in English. The study was conducted with the participation of 40 students. The data of the study came from written accounts of a story in both languages based on a set of pictures with eight episodes. The analysis of the data has revealed striking similarities between English and Turkish in terms of the employment of lexical reiteration cohesive devices. The results have shown that repetition of the same lexical items was by far the most frequently used type of lexical cohesion in both languages. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for writing.