Actividades que se realizan al Inicio del segundo semestre

In this section of the chapter, I am going to discuss the results for both word count and rhetorical control analysis. Because each of these analyses yields a single number for each composition and the results for each are similar, it is unnecessary to present them separately. Before turning to the tables, remember that the compositions were rated holistically on a five-point scale for rhetorical control. Table 5-11 summarizes the results for the participants whose education began outside the US.

Table 5-11: Averages for Number of Words and Rhetorical Control for Compositions by Participants with Education Outside the US Cohort # Words Rhet Control

L1 into high school 310 2.7

L1 into middle school 253 2.6 L1 in elementary only 364 3.3

The results in Table 5-11 do not support my hypothesis because the participants who received the least L1 education wrote the most words and demonstrated the most rhetorical control. However, the cohort I expected to write the highest-rated compositions had higher average scores than the cohort of participants whose families immigrated while they were in middle school.

Table 5-12 presents the results for the compositions by participants whose education took place solely in the US.

Table 5-12: Averages for Number of Words and Rhetorical Control in Compositions by Participants Educated in US Schools

Cohort # Words Rhet Control

L1 in high school 360 3.7

L1 at church only 311 3.2

No formal L1 408 4.1

The average scores for this major group of participants show the same trend as those for the participants whose education began outside the US. The cohort I expected to write the lowest-rated compositions—the participants with no formal L1 education—

actually wrote the highest-rated compositions, confounding my hypothesis. On the other hand, the cohort I expected to write the strongest compositions (those who studied their L1 in high school) wrote more highly rated compositions than the cohort who had studied their L1 in church-sponsored programs.

5.3.2 Rhetorical markers

To examine the participants’ use of rhetorical markers, I analyzed the compositions for the percentage of each of two kinds of markers: coordinating and

logical. Recall that higher percentages of markers tend to correlate with compositions that overuse these markers to signal thought relationships. The results for the participants who began their schooling outside the US are presented in Table 5-13.

Table 5-13: Averages for Rhetorical Markers in Compositions by Participants with Education Outside the US

Cohort Coordinating % Logical %

L1 into high school 41 34

L1 into middle school 61 25

L1 in elementary only 82 36

The results for the coordinating markers support my hypothesis. The cohort with the most L1 education was able to coordinate ideas without overusing words and phrases such as “and,” “but,” “and so,” etc. The cohort with the least L1 education relied on coordinating markers more heavily than the other two cohorts. The results for the use of logical markers, on the other hand, do not support my hypothesis: the cohorts with the most and the least L1 education average nearly the same percentage of logical markers.

The middle cohort uses fewer logical markers than either of the other two.

The results for rhetorical marker use by the participants educated in only US schools are displayed in Table 5-14.

Table 5-14: Averages for Rhetorical Markers in Compositions by Participants Educated in US Schools

Cohort Coordinating % Logical %

L1 in high school 63 24

L1 at church only 80 26

No formal L1 50 25

We see very little difference in the use of logical markers between the three cohorts, but the differences between the use of coordinating markers is marked. Contrary to my hypothesis, the cohort with no formal L1 education wrote compositions that used the fewest coordinating markers. The cohort that used the most was the one that had studied their L1 outside of school.

5.3.3 Coherence

Recall that for a composition to be considered coherent, it must not introduce too many new topics (% Topics); therefore, compositions with lower percentages of topics are considered to be more coherent. By contrast, higher percentages of parallel and extended parallel T-units (% Parallel & Extended) indicate that a writer has succeeded in semantically signaling connections between the various topics she has discussed. The coherence results for the compositions by the participants who began their education outside the US are presented in Table 5-15.

Table 5-15: Averages for Coherence in Compositions by Participants with Education Outside the US

Cohort % Topics % Parallel & Extended

L1 into high school 37 66

L1 into middle school 45 59

L1 in elementary only 39 65

The results for coherence partially support my hypothesis. The participants who studied in their L1 into high school average the highest scores, as my hypothesis

predicted. However, the participants who had the least education in their L1 also wrote compositions that averaged nearly the same score. The cohort that wrote the least coherent compositions was the cohort that immigrated to the US during or just after middle school.

Table 5-16 displays the results for the participants who received all of their education in US schools.

Table 5-16: Averages for Coherence in Compositions by Participants Educated in US Schools

Cohort % Topics % Parallel & Extended

L1 in high school 42 62

L1 at church only 43 61

No formal L1 35 61

From the table we can see that all of the averages are similar. The only cohort that stands out is the cohort with no formal L1 education. Contrary to my hypothesis, their compositions are more coherent because they introduce fewer new topics as they are writing.

5.4 Closing thoughts

Tables 5-17 and 5-18 summarize the findings in relation to my expectation that the more years a participant was educated in her own language, the more highly-rated her composition would be.

Table 5-17: Summary of Results Rankings According to Cohorts for Participants with Education Outside the US

EFC E DC C/T WT SWT #W Rhet Coord Logi Topi P&EP

L1 HS - ~ - H H m~ - m m - m~ H~ H~

L1 MS m~ m - - - ~ m - - m - - -

L1 Ele H H m m H H H H H H~ m~ m~

~ = averages differ by fewer than 3 percentage points

* = averages are the same

The results for the participants whose education began outside the US do not support my hypothesis. According to my hypothesis, the participants who arrived in the US when they were in elementary school would have written compositions that

consistently received the lowest scores. Instead, their compositions never averaged the lowest scores and, in fact, usually averaged the highest scores. Interestingly, however, the

cohort that averaged the most grammatically complex and coherent compositions was the one I had predicted would write the strongest compositions: the cohort of participants who had studied in their home countries into high school. Finally, it is surprising that the cohort that generally wrote the weakest compositions, according to the measures I used, is the cohort made up of participants whose families arrived in the US while their

daughters were in middle school. Their years of schooling in their family’s home country should have given them a good foundation in their L1, and their AOA should have given them enough time to catch up with their monolingual English-speaking peers.

Table 5-18 summarizes the overall results for the participants who were educated only in US schools.

Table 5-18: Summary of Results Rankings According to Cohorts for Participants Educated in US Schools

EFC E DC C/T WT SWT #W Rhet Coord Logi Topi P&EP

Formal H H m H* H H m m m H~ m~ H~

Church - ~ - H H* - ~ m - - H - ~ - ~ -*~

None m~ m - - m~ - H H - m~ H -*~

The results for the participants educated only in US schools partially support my hypothesis. The participants who received bilingual education (and, therefore, the most formal L1 education) average the highest writing scores. In fact, the averages for this cohort were never the lowest of the three groups. The strong averages for the participants who received bilingual education support my hypothesis that more formal knowledge of the L1 correlates with stronger CPA compositions. However, my hypothesis predicted that the participants that received no formal L1 education would average the lowest scores. Instead, the cohort that received some L1 instruction through religious institutions averaged the lowest scores.