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Differential contribution of psycholinguistic and cognitive skills to written composition in Chinese as a second language

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Abstract

This study examined the contribution of the constructs of orthographic processing (orthographic choice and orthographic choice in context), syntactic processing (grammaticality and sentence integrity), and verbal working memory (two reading span indicators) to written Chinese composition (narration, explanation, and argumentation) in 129 15-year-old L2 learners. A matrix task was also administered as a control task to tap cognitive flexibility. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis with written composition as a latent variable revealed orthographic processing and working memory as two significant, independent contributors, whereas the unique contribution of syntactic processing was not significant. Subsequent SEM analysis with narration, explanation, and argumentation as separate endogenous variables found varied patterns of the contribution of each latent predictor to written composition in different genres. These patterns are discussed in light of the importance of attention to learners’ developmental stage and genre-sensitive measures to capture the psycholinguistic and cognitive underpinnings of written composition in L2 Chinese.

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Acknowledgements

The study was assisted with a Grant from the Hong Kong Education Bureau. The views expressed are ours and do not necessarily represent those of HKEDB. We thank the teachers, students and our assistants for their work in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, University of Saskatchewan, 28 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0X1, Canada

    Che Kan Leong

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China

    Mark Shiu Kee Shum, Chung Pui Tai & Wing Wah Ki

  3. Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, St. Luke’s Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK

    Dongbo Zhang

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  1. Che Kan Leong
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Correspondence to Che Kan Leong.

Appendix

Appendix

Rubric for scoring written Chinese compositions.

語篇 (Discourse)

詞彙 lexis

詞彙是指作者用來建立文章語場的字詞選擇。請標示出作者使用到的字詞。作者使用的字詞是否多樣化?字詞的使用是否恰當?

Lexis refers to the choice of characters and words to establish the linguistic “field”. Are the characters and words used appropriately? Are there varieties of words?

0–3

評價 appraisal

這是指作者用來評價的字詞, 包括感覺、對人物的評論、對事物的評賞, 與及增強和減弱的詞語。請標示出作者使用到的評價字詞。作者用來評價的字詞是什麼?是否能恰當的使用評價字詞以達到吸引、游說和評審的目的?

Appraisal refers to the use of suitable words to show emotion, the assessment of people, ideas and objects. What and how are the appraisal words used? Do they achieve the aim of persuasion and assessment?

0–3

連詞 conjunction

連詞表示出句子間和句子內的邏輯關係。請標示出作者使用到的連詞。有時句子的邏輯關係也可能是隱性的。是否所有句子的邏輯關係皆為清晰?

Conjunction shows the inter-relation and integration of sentences. What and how well are the inter-sentential connectives used? Are they clear and explicit?

0–3

照應 reference

照應是用以追踪文本中人和事的字詞,包括代名詞、指示詞 (這個、那個)等。請標示出所有照應詞。每句所照應的人物或事物是否清晰?

References include the use of anaphoras (pronouns), linguistic pointers (e.g., this, that), discourse pointers, and contrastives to show temporal relations. Are the references well used?

0–3

語法 (Grammar)

 

中文書面語的語法運用是否準確? 就其所處的學習階段, 文中使用的句式和詞組是否多樣化? 句法使用是否恰當或過於簡單?

Proper use of grammar will serve as inter-language to bridge the gap between spoken Cantonese and modern written Chinese. Are there varieties of sentences, both simple and complex? Is the usage suitable?

0–3

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Leong, C.K., Shum, M.S.K., Tai, C.P. et al. Differential contribution of psycholinguistic and cognitive skills to written composition in Chinese as a second language. Read Writ 32, 439–466 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9873-2

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