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Modern Linguistics 2024
中小学生英语作文的句法复杂度特征研究
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Abstract:
本研究按年级划分为3组，横向考察了中低水平英语学习者英语作文的句法复杂度特点。句法复杂度包括粗颗粒和细颗粒度句法指标，采用TAASSC软件自动识别并标注中小学生英语作文句法复杂度参数，对比和分析19项句法指标与不同年级段之间的关系。研究发现：初学者通常依赖于并列短语、简单句或存现句，而中低水平者倾向使用从属结构；随着二语水平的提升，名词的后置修饰语比例增加，母语思维的影响逐渐减小。基于以上发现，本研究对英语句法教学提出了几点建议。教师可以利用句法多样性教学，有意识地培养学生在书面写作中使用更为复杂的句法结构，有助于提升中小学生的英语句法能力和语言意识。
This research reports a cross-sectional study on the syntactic complexity features of English writings of low- and intermediate-level English learners in three groups divided by grade level. Syntactic complexity is categorized into large-grained and fine-grained syntactic indices. TAASSC software was used to automatically identify and label the syntactic complexity parameters of English writing of primary and secondary school students, and the relationship between 19 syntactic indices and different grade bands was compared and analyzed. The study reveals that beginners typically rely on coordinate phrases, simple sentences, and existential sentences, while low- and intermediate-level learners tend to use subordinate structures. With the improvement of L2 proficiency, the proportion of post-modified nouns increases, and the influence of native language thinking gradually diminishes. Based on these findings, several suggestions are proposed for English syntactic teaching. Teachers can employ syntactic diversity instruction to deliberately train students in the use of more complex syntactic structures in their writing, which facilitates the enhancement of syntactic ability and linguistic awareness among elementary and secondary school students.
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