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Applied Linguistics 2003 24(4):492-518; doi:10.1093/applin/24.4.492
© 2003 by Oxford University Press
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Syntactic Complexity Measures and their Relationship to L2 Proficiency: A Research Synthesis of College-level L2 Writing

Lourdes Ortega1

1 Northern Arizona University

In this study I evaluate the cumulative evidence on the use of syntactic complexity measures as indices of college-level L2 writers' overall proficiency in the target language. Based on a synthesis of twenty-five studies, I arrive at several substantive findings. First, I conclude that the relationship between L2 proficiency and L2 writing syntactic complexity varied systematically across studies depending on whether a second or a foreign language learning context was investigated and whether proficiency was defined by programme level or by holistic rating. Second, aggregating available cross-sectional findings, I propose critical magnitudes for between-proficiency differences in syntactic complexity for four measures. Finally, I interpret the limited longitudinal evidence to suggest that an observation period of roughly a year of college-level instruction is probably needed for substantial changes in the syntactic complexity of L2 writing to be observed. I conclude the paper by discussing implications of these findings for future primary research.

Received January 2003.


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