Generation
1.5
written
error
patterns:
A
comparative
study
Stephen
M.
Doolan
a,
*
,
Donald
Miller
b
a
Texas
A&M
University,
English
Department,
6300
University
Drive,
Corpus
Christi
TX,
78412,
USA
b
Northern
Arizona
University,
English
Department
(Applied
Linguistics),
P.O.
Box
6032,
Flagstaff,
AZ
86011-6032,
USA
Abstract
In
an
attempt
to
contribute
to
existing
research
on
Generation
1.5
students,
the
current
study
uses
quantitative
and
qualitative
methods
to
compare
error
patterns
in
a
corpus
of
Generation
1.5,
L1,
and
L2
community
college
student
writing.
This
error
analysis
provides
one
important
way
to
determine
if
error
patterns
in
Generation
1.5
student
writing
are
distinct
from
L1
and
L2
student
writing,
thereby
supporting
or
refuting
claims
made
in
prior
research
about
writing
error
frequency
and
type
(e.g.,
Ferris,
2009;
Frodesen,
2009;
Frodesen
&
Starna,
1999;
Reid,
1997),
as
well
as
addressing
the
role
of
errors
as
a
defining
criterion
of
Generation
1.5
writing
in
post-secondary
contexts.
Results
reported
in
this
study
reveal
significantly
more
errors
were
made
by
Generation
1.5
writers
versus
L1
writers
within
the
error
types
of
verb
errors,
prepositional
phrase
errors,
word
form
errors,
and
total
identified
errors.
A
qualitative
analysis
also
identified
specific
patterns
of
difference
between
Generation
1.5,
L1,
and
L2
verb
error
production.
Differences
found
in
both
the
quantitative
and
the
qualitative
analyses
suggest
that
the
category
of
Generation
1.5
writing
may
indeed
be
characterized
in
part
by
an
increased
likelihood
of
difficulty
in
controlling
the
accuracy
of
various
language
forms.
Findings
are
discussed
in
relation
to
claims
made
in
prior
research
about
Generation
1.5
writing
error
frequency
and
type,
as
well
as
the
role
of
errors
as
a
defining
characteristic
of
Generation
1.5
writing
in
post-
secondary
contexts.
#
2011
Elsevier
Inc.
All
rights
reserved.
Keywords:
Generation
1.5;
Developmental
writing;
L2
writing;
Error
analysis;
Text
analysis;
Quantitative
research
methods
Introduction
As
long
ago
as
the
1950s,
Slager
(1956)
identified
a
category
of
ESL
students
in
writing
classes—long-term
immigrant
students—that
he
considered
to
be
distinct
from
international
visa
ESL
students
and
L1
students
with
respect
to
the
challenges
they
face
with
academic
literacy.
Forty
years
later,
Leki
(1992)
and
Valdez
(1992)
wrote
extensively
on
this
group
of
long-term
U.S.
resident
language
learners
(here
referred
to
as
Generation
1.5)
as
a
group
of
student
writers
distinct
from
L1
students
or
more
recently
arriving
international
students.
Today,
Generation
1.5
students
are
commonly
described
according
to
the
following
four
criteria.
Generation
1.5
students
are
students
who:
(a)
have
been
in
the
U.S.
educational
system
for
more
than
4
years,
(b)
regularly
speak
a
language
other
than
English
at
home,
(c)
have
relatively
strong
English
speaking
and
listening
skills,
and
(d)
are
younger
than
25
years
old.
Though
definitions
vary
to
some
degree,
these
criteria
take
into
account
most
existing
empirical
research
on
Generation
1.5
students
(e.g.,
Doolan,
2011;
di
Gennaro,
2009;
Frodesen,
2009;
Frodesen
&
Starna,
1999;
Mikesell,
2007;
Patthey,
Thomas-Spiegel,
&
Dillon,
2009).
Available
online
at
www.sciencedirect.com
Journal
of
Second
Language
Writing
21
(2012)
1–22
*
Corresponding
author.
Tel.:
+1
361
825
3643;
fax:
+1
928
523
7074.
E-mail
addresses:
Stephen.Doolan@tamucc.edu
(S.M.
Doolan),
Donald.Miller@nau.edu
(D.
Miller).
1060-3743/$
–
see
front
matter
#
2011
Elsevier
Inc.
All
rights
reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2011.09.001