Analyzing Grammatical Complexity in Second Language English Development: A Linguistically Grounded Approach

Abstract The present paper introduces a methodological approach to analyzing learner text complexity in terms of specific grammatical complexity features. We begin by arguing that grammatical complexity should be treated as a formative construct composed of particular linguistic structures rather than as a reflective construct that could be measured but not directly observed. Then, building on that, we tackle the practical question of how to analyze the complexity of learner texts in terms of the specific features that comprise the system of grammatical complexity. Two complementary procedures are introduced: analyzing developmental trends with respect to literate versus oral complexity dimensions and using a heatmap approach to analyze the trends for each individual complexity feature across developmental levels, interpreted relative to the entire system of grammatical complexity. We provide detailed explanations of the methods and illustrate them through analyses of developmental trends for grammatical complexity across three levels of English language instruction.