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Volume 17 Number 2, Summer 2020, Pages 319-757   


 http://dx.doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2020.17.2.12.493 PDF Download
   

Analysis of Referential Cohesion in L2 Written Narratives Within an English Immersion Education Context

    Jongbong Lee


This study explored the effects of English immersion education on referential cohesion in L2 writing. To measure the discourse competence arising from a curricular difference, referential use was chosen to be investigated in order to find the effect of English immersion education. Written personal narratives of 29 students in an immersion school and 35 students in regular high schools were examined to compare the two groups' use of reference. The only significant group difference was found in the use of zero anaphora. In order to extend their writing as well as construct cohesion in their writing, the students in the immersion school used zero anaphora more often than those in the regular high school. In addition, the regular high school students showed a tendency to produce more errors with third-person singulars and demonstratives. These differences can be attributed to curriculum differences, and in particular to English immersion education's greater language input, which facilitates textual cohesion in immersion students' writing.

Keywords: narrative, EFL learners, English immersion education, reference, discourse analysis