The primary focus of this study is to determine how
clausal complexity and accuracy develop over the course of three academic years
of intermediate to advanced-level German.
This study aims to shed light on issues related to learner development
of writing during advanced stages of language acquisition, particularly after
conducting a study abroad. The main goal
of this study will be to track the writing complexity and accuracy of multiple
students longitudinally. This paper will
identify Weighted Clause Ratio (Foster & Wigglesworth, 2016), as well as
address Skills Acquisition Theory (DeKeyser, 2007), Interaction Hypothesis
(Swain, 1985), and the Limited Attentional Capacity Theory (Skehan, 1998). In addition to this, the study will discuss
the impact of a study abroad on the language-learning process, task complexity,
and the language-learning plateau.
Following a review of terminology, I will discuss how Weighted-Clause
Ratio will be used to determine clausal accuracy and complexity. The data of this study will be analyzed with
results shown in intervals throughout three academic years, comparing each of
the three years with one another. Results
indicate that accuracy increases drastically over the final two years when
compared to the change in the first two years, confirming the effect that study
abroad has on the written accuracy of learners, and the complexity showed
improvements in some measures over the course of the study, but varied in other
measures. I conclude the thesis by discussing
by discussing the implications of these findings for our understanding of
writing complexity and accuracy, and the long-term effects of study abroad.