Multi‐Word Expressions in Second Language Writing: A Large‐Scale Longitudinal Learner Corpus Study

• Published in: Language learning Vol. 70; no. 2; pp. 420 - 463
• Main Authors: Siyanova‐Chanturia, Anna, Spina, Stefania
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley-Blackwell 01.06.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Computational Linguistics; Corpus analysis; Corpus linguistics; Data Analysis; Essays; Figurative Language; Italian; Italian as a second language; Language Proficiency; Language Usage; learner corpora; longitudinal; Longitudinal Studies; mixed‐effects modeling; multi‐word expressions; Phrase Structure; second language acquisition; Second Language Learning; Second language vocabulary learning; Second language writing; Second Languages; Vocabulary Development; Word Frequency; Writing Evaluation
• ISSN: 0023-8333; 1467-9922
• DOI: 10.1111/lang.12383

In the present study, we sought to advance the field of learner corpus research by tracking the development of phrasal vocabulary in essays produced at two different points in time. To this aim, we employed a large pool of second language (L2) learners (N = 175) from three proficiency levels—beginner, elementary, and intermediate—and focused on an underrepresented L2 (Italian). Employing mixed‐effects models, a flexible and powerful tool for corpus data analysis, we analyzed learner combinations in terms of five different measures: phrase frequency, mutual information, lexical gravity, delta Pforward, and delta Pbackward. Our findings suggest a complex picture, in which higher proficiency and greater exposure to the L2 do not result in more idiomatic and targetlike output, and may, in fact, result in greater reliance on low frequency combinations whose constituent words are non‐associated or mutually attracted.