AGE-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITTEN PRODUCTION. AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF EFL SCHOOL LEARNERS'
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyse the development of the written production of two groups of EFL leamers (N = 63) in a school context. The two groups started instruction at different ages (8 and 11, respectively). Their written production was measured afier 200 and 416 hours of instruction. and analysed longitudinally. Both intragroup and intergroup analyses were carried out a) to analyse the development of the participants' written production as measured by three indicators of writing proficiency (fluency, complexity and accuracy); and b) to ascertain whether the differences observed (both in terms of attainment and rate of development) could be attributed to the age at which the groups of participants initiated their contact with the L2. Results show that not all the areas of writing proficiency (fluency, complexity and accuracy) develop in parallel and that an earlier start does not seem to show clear advantages in the development of EFL written production.Downloads
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