Diversidade lexical e níveis de proficiência (B2 e C1) em português como língua adicional

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the lexical knowledge evidenced in written productions of learners of Portuguese as an additional language. Through an exploratory design, from the corpus (PLA Corpora Collection of the University of Coimbra), the developmental stages of interlanguage (IL) were investigated in an attempt to compare the lexical diversity by examining the variation of the indexes established by the tool textinspector workflow. This research is supported by lexical knowledge studies of Cobb (2003), Engber (1995), Hulstijn (1996, 2001, 2011, 2015), Laufer (1995, 1998, 2004), Meara (1980, 2005), Milton (2009), Nation (2001, 2004, 2011, 2012), Read (2004) and Jarvis (2013a, 1013b), who take written texts as potentially rich sources of information on the vocabulary development of a second or additional language. The underlying assumption is that the interlanguage (IL) stage of development of may serve as an indicator of higher proficiency along with the notion a common core use of the language in question. Departing from a first investigation, an ANOVA analysis of a sample of 139 texts was conducted, establishing as independent qualitative variables: the proficiency levels (B2 and C1), the mother tongue (Romance and non-Romance), and the different topics (on the Individual, Society and the environment). As dependent quantitative variables, the variability index (TTR) and lexical diversity (MTLD) were considered. The results suggest significant changes in TTR and MTLD indexes only between the different topics provided by the corpus. The implications of the findings are discussed from a pedagogical point of view of writing assessment, considering the importance of lexical diversity descriptors for feedback in view of the dynamics of the proficiency levels. Also, the study corroborates the notions of Housen and Bulté (2013) of linguistic complexity as having dimensions of cognitive, linguistic, performance, and developmental facets that can be found in all structural levels and use.