A quantitative study on the application and comprehension of English connectors by Swedish L2 learners of English in upper secondary schools

Abstract: This study focuses on L2 learners of English in Swedish upper secondary schools and their ability to comprehend and use connectors in a multiple-choice cloze procedure. Connectors are used in text to signal the text structure and make explicit the relation between text segments. A study by Geva (1992) suggests that with an increased proficiency, learners also improve their ability to comprehend text relations and the use of connectors. The present study applies the suggestions of Geva’s results in a Swedish context. English in Swedish upper secondary schools, is taught at three levels (designated English 5, 6, 7) with increasing difficulty and proficiency level requirements. This study tests the ability to comprehend the context and use the correct connector on pupils in the two mandatory courses (English 5 & 6). Similar to previous studies, the aim is to investigate the relationship between levels of English and the ability to use connectors. This empirical survey investigates the English 5 & 6 pupils’ success in applying the appropriate connector in relation to the level of English they are placed in, in order to analyze whether there is any perceived development, as is presupposed by the English curriculum. Furthermore, the study also aims to analyze what type of connectors the pupils excel at or struggle with and any factors that might affect pupils’ performance. The test consisted of three categories: adversative (6 questions), additive (5 questions), and causal connectors (4 questions), a total of 15 questions, with one point being awarded for each correct response. The results of the two groups were similar and a subsequent t-test revealed that there was no statistical significance between the two groups in any of the categories. This suggests that in the sample which was tested there is no proficiency increase in terms of connectors and comprehending inter-/intrasentential relationships. Furthermore, the results indicate that the pupils are more likely to correctly select the appropriate adversative and causal connectors, but struggled in selecting the additive connectors. Keywords: connectors, comprehension, intrasentential & intersentential relationships, teaching, coherence, cohesion