A Dynamic Case Study On The Development Of Syntactic Complexity Of Second Language Learners’ Written English

Based on the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory(CDST),this study examined the syntactic complexity of 72 essays written by six non-English major freshmen at various proficiency levels.They were from a maritime university in northeastern part of China.A mixed-methods approach was used to explore,from the perspectives of breath-depth dimensions and sentential-clausal-phrasal levels,the dynamic development of syntactic complexity in the writings by the L2 learners at different proficiency levels,as well as the influencing factors.Results are as follows.(1)Syntactic complexity trajectories of the six L2 learners’ writings are non-linear,with peaks and throughs,progress and backsliding.The development of syntactic complexity in their written English is obviously dynamic and variable.(2)As for syntactic breadth,at sentence level,in the first term syntactic complexity of the writings by the high proficiency learners increased while that by the low proficiency learners did not show obvious trend.In the second term,syntactic complexity of the writings by the high proficiency learners decreased while that by the low proficiency learners did not display obvious trend.At clause level,both demonstrated growing trend in the first term whereas both revealed decreasing trend in the second term.At phrase level,neither showed obvious characteristics in both the first and second semesters.In terms of syntactic depth,at sentence level,both demonstrated decreasing trend in the first term.At clause level,syntactic complexity of the writings by the high proficiency learners decreased first and then improved in the first semester while that by the low proficiency learners showed opposite trend.In the second term,both decreased first and then increased.At phrase level,syntactic complexity of the writings by the high proficiency learners decreased first and then improved in the first semester while that by the low proficiency learners displayed no obvious trend.In the second semester,syntactic complexity of the writings by the high proficiency learners revealed no obvious trend whereas that by the low proficiency learners improved first and then decreased.(3)The development of syntactic complexity of the participants’ written English displays multidimensional paths,with varying degrees in different dimensions and levels.Syntactic complexity in writings by the learners at high proficiency level interacts at the clause level and the phrase level whereas,as for syntactic complexity in writings by the learners at low proficiency level,there exist interactions at the sentence level and phrase level.Theoretically,this research provides more empirical data for the studies of quality features of the writings by students at different proficiency levels from a CDST perspective.Pedagogically,it helps teachers better understand the dynamic changes of the L2 learners’ writing quality at various proficiency levels,and accordingly adjust their teaching strategies so as to improve the effect of writing teaching.