THE EFFECTS OF VOCABULARY RESOURCE USE ON LEXICAL RICHNESS IN L2 WRITING

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of dictionary and thesaurus use on lexical sophistication and variation, two of the components of lexical richness in second language (L2) writing. After writing a take-home essay as part of their studies, 27 learners enrolled in an English preparatory program at a state university in Turkey received brief instructions in lexical sophistication and variation. Following the instructions, the learners were asked to revise their essays by using a dictionary and a thesaurus. A comparison of the take-home essays and their revised versions showed that revising take-home essays with the help of vocabulary resources led to a significant increase in lexical sophistication. Significant increases were also found for the measures used for lexical variation, except one of them. The different results obtained for lexical variation will be discussed in relation to the specific characteristics of the lexical measures used.

Keywords

• dictionary
• revision
• L2 writing
• lexical richness

SÖZCÜKSEL KAYNAK KULLANIMININ İKİNCİ DİLDE YAZMADA SÖZCÜKSEL ZENGİNLİĞE ETKİLERİ

Abstract

Bu çalışma, sözlük ve eş anlamlılar sözlüğü kullanımının, ikinci dilde yazmada sözcüksel zenginliğin bileşenlerinden olan nadir ve çeşitli sözcük kullanımına olan etkisini incelemektedir. Türkiye’de bir devlet üniversitesinin İngilizce hazırlık programına kayıtlı 27 öğrenci, derslerinin bir parçası olarak okul dışında bir kompozisyon yazıp teslim etmiş ve daha sonra bu öğrencilere nadir ve çeşitli sözcük kullanımı hakkında kısa bir eğitim verilmiştir. Bu eğitimi takiben öğrencilerden yazmış oldukları kompozisyonları sözlük ve eş anlamlılar sözlüğü kullanarak düzeltmeleri istenmiştir. Okul dışında yazılan kompozisyonlar düzeltilen kompozisyonlarla karşılaştırıldığında sözlük ve eş anlamlılar sözlüğü kullanarak yapılan düzeltmelerin nadir sözcük kullanımında anlamlı bir artış meydana getirdiği görülmüştür. Biri hariç olmak üzere, çeşitli sözcük kullanımını ölçen araçlarda da anlamlı artışlar bulunmuştur. Kelime çeşitliliğiyle ilgili olarak elde edilen farklı bulgular, kullanılan sözcük ölçme araçlarının kendilerine has özellikleri üzerinden tartışılacaktır.

Keywords

• sözcüksel zenginlik
• ikinci dilde yazma
• revizyon
• sözlük

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