TraWL is a research project where the main objective is to explore young Norwegian learners' second language acquisition (SLA) and their development of writing skills in second/foreign languages (L2), to identify factors that may affect the development, and distinctive features related to the transition between different L2 educational levels.
The theoretical foundation is a functional approach to language, entailing empirical data from authentic communication as a basis for research. To map development, the data need to be tracked over a period of time. Hence, the research will be integrated with and contingent upon the collection of pupil texts from schools over a three-year period, combined with information retrieved from teacher interviews, etc.
The first stage will enable analysis of cross-sectional data by comparing texts from different levels. At the second stage the data will be genuinely longitudinal, i.e. texts from the same pupils over a period of time, and will contribute with unique empirical evidence for L2 proficiency development. The texts will be compiled into a learner language corpus.
The research will be organized in four interconnected sub-studies: the relationship between specific and/or individual L2 developmental stages and universal SLA stages; the development of and interaction between L2 lexis and grammar; comparative development of syntactic and textual complexity in L1 and L2 writing; and L2 subjects and pupils’ transition between lower and upper secondary school.
The outcomes will contribute to the research field of L2 learning in general, but also further the knowledge and awareness of L2 teachers and improve the construction of teaching materials. In addition, the TraWL Corpus will remain accessible as a resource for both researchers, teachers and teacher educators after the end of the project.
