Linguistic Imput in Formal Second Language Learning: The Issues of Syntactic Gradation and Readability in ESL Materials

A recent trend in research in first and second language acquisition has been renewed interest in the nature of the linguistic input to which language learners are exposed. As regards formal second language learning by adults, a number of studies have examined the oral language which foreign language teachers use in the classroom to communicate with and teach their students. It now seems advisable to expand the scope of these inquiries, since many if not most formal language learning settings involve the use of written text materials which by themselves and through their influence on instructional activities define the nature of the language which learners hear, see and presumably use in forming hypotheses about the target language. The research reported on in this paper involved a syntactic analysis of a sample of ESL readers. The following questions about the nature of the linguistic input provided by these sources were examined: 1) Are these texts graded in syntactic complexity? 2) Do readers which are presumably written for learners at the same level of proficiency present material which is of equivalent syntactic complexity? 3) How can the readability of ESL materials be measured, and how might the relationship between syntactic complexity and readability be clarified?