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

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 fifteen-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.

The Relationship Between Orthographic Awareness and Chinese Reading in Hong Kong’s Young CSL Learners

“…Like most CSL learners, Hong Kong’s ethnic minority students who participated in this study recognized the componential radicals when reading characters (Shen & Ke, 2007; Williams, 2013; Wong, 2017b), and their orthographic skills played a crucial role in their Chinese word reading (Zhou & McBride, 2015; Zhou et al, 2018). Previous studies indicate that the orthographic skills of young CSL learners aid their further literacy development in reading comprehension (Leong et al, 2011; Shum et al, 2014; Wong, 2017a) and writing (Leong et al, 2018; Wong, 2018a).…”

Working memory and second language writing: A systematic review

“…Therefore, task selection needs to be justified theoretically and empirically and task demands should be consulted when a study is designed and when results are interpreted. There is evidence for this recommendation, for example genre (e.g., Leong et al, 2019) and task complexity ( ManchónThe role of working memory in second language writing: A systematic review et al, this special issue; Zalbidea, 2017) have been found to moderate the associations between working memory and L2 writing performance.…”

“…Also, as discussed in previous sections, the assessment of overall performance has been conducted in myriad ways and often lacks theoretical basis and empirical evidence for test validity, which may have contributed to the lack of significant results. Notwithstanding the overall lack of significant findings, two studies did find significant correlations between working memory and overall writing performance (Leong et al, 2019;Peng et al, 2022). Leong et al (2019) adopted a more nuanced approach investigating the moderating effect of genre, and Peng et al ( 2022) used a latent-factor approach where working memory and the outcome variable were represented by multiple indicators.…”

“…Overall writing proficiency was rated in many different ways, but the construct validity of the measures needs to be theoretically clarified and empirically tested. One example of theory-based measurement of writing performance is Leong et al (2019), where the rating rubric was based on Halliday's systematic function grammar. Despite the increasing use of CAF measures, there has been confusion over what the measures represent.…”

“…Notwithstanding the overall lack of significant findings, two studies did find significant correlations between working memory and overall writing performance (Leong et al, 2019;Peng et al, 2022). Leong et al (2019) adopted a more nuanced approach investigating the moderating effect of genre, and Peng et al ( 2022) used a latent-factor approach where working memory and the outcome variable were represented by multiple indicators. The implication is that significant effects of working memory on overall writing may become evident if more rigorous methods are used.…”