This study assessed the effect of six weeks of sentence-combining activities on the syntactic maturity of first-year university students. The Syntactic Maturity Test (SMT) and a free writing exercise were used as pre/post instruments to determine words-per-T-unit and words-per-clause ratios. Significant results favoring the experimental group were…

Ease of language processing varies with the nature of the language involved. Ordinary spoken language is the easiest kind to produce and understand, while writing is a relatively new development. On thoughtful inspection, the readability of writing has shown itself to be a complex topic requiring insights from many academic disciplines and…

Indicates that, in relation to oral systems, written systems are more complex in structure, reveal more adjectival but less adverbial elaboration, show more complex verbal structures, and contain fewer indices of personal reference. (RL)

Discusses the difficulty of teaching Asian languages, because their mindsets and writing systems are unfamiliar to English speakers. Cites further complications, such as staffing necessities, the history of these languages as a part of area studies, and the varied needs of heritage speakers among the learners. (Author/VWL)

A study investigated patterns in the apparent syntactic errors of native English-speaking, upper-level learners of Arabic as a foreign language. One hundred writing samples, including summaries, criticisms, and free composition, were gathered from a number of university courses. Error types analyzed included articles, subordinate clauses, two-word…