G5 Doctoral dissertation (article)
Kompleksisuus osana suomenoppijan kielitaitoa (2024)
Complexity in Finnish learner language

Mylläri, T. (2024). Kompleksisuus osana suomenoppijan kielitaitoa [Doctoral dissertation]. Jyväskylän yliopisto. JYU Dissertations, 783. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0149-4

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Mylläri, Taina

eISBN: 978-952-86-0149-4

Journal or series: JYU Dissertations

eISSN: 2489-9003

Publication year: 2024

Number in series: 783

Number of pages in the book: 1 verkkoaineisto (65 sivua, 91 sivua useina numerointijaksoina, 4 numeroimatonta sivua)

Publisher: Jyväskylän yliopisto

Place of Publication: Jyväskylä

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: Finnish

Persistent website address: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0149-4

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on syntactic complexity in texts written by second language learners of Finnish. It aims to explore the changes in syntactic complexity between CEFR proficiency levels in learner Finnish. By providing empirical evidence from a morphologically rich language, this dissertation also aims to contribute to the discussion on learner language complexity. In this study, complexity in learner Finnish is first analysed with seven frequently used quantitative measures of syntactic complexity. The reliability of the production units used in these measures and the applicability of the measures to learner Finnish are tested. Then, the focus is shifted to the use of conjunctions and multi-verb constructions in the learners' texts. The data of the study are drawn from the University of Jyväskylä Cefling project corpus. The data contain formal and informal messages together with argumentative texts written by adult and adolescent learners, and they cover CEFR levels A1 to C2. The results of the study are reported in four articles. They show that although syntactic complexity at different proficiency levels is by no means similar, the quantitative measures often do not differentiate between proficiency levels. This may partly be explained by qualitative differences in the units used for measuring complexity, variance within proficiency levels and differences between task types. The findings also show differences in complexity between adult and adolescent learners' texts. This supports the view that the relation between learner language complexity and proficiency cannot be assumed to be straight-forward. The findings also resonate with the view that quantitative measures only gauge some facets of complexity. The results suggest that the study of complexity could benefit from a more qualitative approach and from looking at syntactic, morphological and lexical complexity together instead of treating them as separate dimensions of learner language complexity.

Keywords: Finnish as a second language; complexity; language skills; evaluation; doctoral dissertations

Free keywords:  Finnish as a second language; syntactic complexity; CEFR

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes