Previous research on second language vocabulary acquisition has shown that learning to use a new word is not a simple matter of making a form–meaning connection. Knowing a word instead requires mastery of as many as nine different aspects of vocabulary knowledge (Nation, 2001). The current study uses data from five beginning‐level textbooks of German as a foreign language that are widely used at American universities to examine which of these aspects of vocabulary knowledge are addressed in textbook activities. The results show that activities in lower‐level German textbooks focus overwhelmingly on form–meaning connections and grammatical functions while ignoring other aspects, such as collocations, word parts, and concept and referents. A pedagogical approach that takes the entire classroom ecology into account is suggested.

Syntactic complexity, along with accuracy and fluency, has been proposed as an essential construct in the description of second language proficiency. This study examined three dimensions of complexity using oral data from learners of German at the intermediate, advanced, and superior proficiency levels. The data were examined for complexity by subordination, complexity by coordination, and phrasal complexity. The results showed that all three complexity measures showed different patterns of use as proficiency level rises, which supports the understanding of complexity as a multi-dimensional construct. The results also showed that mean clause length was the most useful measure for distinguishing between adjacent proficiency levels. Keywords IntroductionThe study of complexity in learner language has received increased attention in recent years, especially in the context of how it may interact with the development of fluency and accuracy and compete with them for attentional resources (Skehan 2003). One of the foremost challenges in the study of complexity is how to measure it accurately. Norris and Ortega (2009) argued that many measures of complexity employed in recent research are redundant, and that many studies are insufficiently clear about how the measurements they use are related to the construct of complexity.This study attempts to fill in several gaps in the current research on L2 complexity by using a carefully considered approach to its measurement on a bs_bs_banner different type of data than in previous studies. Specifically, the study will examine three different complexity measures that correspond to three different sub-constructs of complexity proposed in the literature. Unlike previous studies that employ only single measures of complexity using written data from a single proficiency level of learners of English, for instance, this study focuses on spoken German data at multiple proficiency levels for evidence of complexity by subordination, complexity by coordination, and mean length of clause. This approach reveals different patterns of complexity across proficiency levels.

This study investigates the use of pragmatic markers (PMs) by learners of English at varying proficiency levels. The study analyzes data from a university-level oral proficiency exam that categorized Chinese and Korean English-as-a-second-language (ESL) speakers into four proficiency levels and compares data with those of native speakers taking the same test. Findings indicate that PM use generally rises with proficiency level. The rates of PM use showed a dramatic increase between the highest and second-highest proficiency group. The highest proficiency ESL group used PMs at the same rate as native speakers. The study also found that the variety of different PMs used goes up steadily with proficiency level. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding how second language learners' use of PMs develops.

Previous research has shown that the degree of structure in a task affects the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of L2 oral production (Foster & Skehan 1999). The acquisition of pragmatic markers may be related to the development of second language fluency, but there is limited research on their use by second language learners on different task types. This study examines the use of pragmatic markers on four different tasks that differ in their degree of inherent structure. The results show that the most structured task, leaving a telephone message, led to a significantly lower frequency of pragmatic marker use than the other tasks. The results also suggest that learners at different proficiency levels react differently to the degree of structure in various tasks.

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