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Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach
Based on 774 argumentative writings produced by Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, this study examined the extent to which Kolmogorov complexity metrics can distinguish the proficiency levels of beginner, lower-intermediate, and upper-intermediate second language (L2) English lear...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9583672/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36275271 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024147 |
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author | Wang, Gui Wang, Hui Wang, Li |
author_facet | Wang, Gui Wang, Hui Wang, Li |
author_sort | Wang, Gui |
collection | PubMed |
description | Based on 774 argumentative writings produced by Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, this study examined the extent to which Kolmogorov complexity metrics can distinguish the proficiency levels of beginner, lower-intermediate, and upper-intermediate second language (L2) English learners. Kolmogorov complexity metric is a holistic information-theoretic approach, which measures three facets of linguistic complexity, i.e., overall, syntactic, and morphological complexity simultaneously. To assess its validity in distinguishing L2 proficiency, Kolmogorov complexity metric is compared with traditional syntactic and morphological complexity metrics as well as fine-grained syntactic complexity metrics. Results showed that Kolmogorov overall and syntactic complexity could significantly distinguish any adjacent pair of L2 levels, serving as the best separators explored in the present study. Neither Kolmogorov morphological complexity nor other complexity metrics at both the syntactic and morphological levels can distinguish between all pairs of adjacent levels. Results of correlation analysis showed that Kolmogorov syntactic complexity was not or weakly correlated with all the fine-grained syntactic complexity metrics, indicating that they may address distinct linguistic features and can complement each other to better predict different proficiency levels. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9583672 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-95836722022-10-21 Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach Wang, Gui Wang, Hui Wang, Li Front Psychol Psychology Based on 774 argumentative writings produced by Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, this study examined the extent to which Kolmogorov complexity metrics can distinguish the proficiency levels of beginner, lower-intermediate, and upper-intermediate second language (L2) English learners. Kolmogorov complexity metric is a holistic information-theoretic approach, which measures three facets of linguistic complexity, i.e., overall, syntactic, and morphological complexity simultaneously. To assess its validity in distinguishing L2 proficiency, Kolmogorov complexity metric is compared with traditional syntactic and morphological complexity metrics as well as fine-grained syntactic complexity metrics. Results showed that Kolmogorov overall and syntactic complexity could significantly distinguish any adjacent pair of L2 levels, serving as the best separators explored in the present study. Neither Kolmogorov morphological complexity nor other complexity metrics at both the syntactic and morphological levels can distinguish between all pairs of adjacent levels. Results of correlation analysis showed that Kolmogorov syntactic complexity was not or weakly correlated with all the fine-grained syntactic complexity metrics, indicating that they may address distinct linguistic features and can complement each other to better predict different proficiency levels. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-10-06 /pmc/articles/PMC9583672/ /pubmed/36275271 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024147 Text en Copyright © 2022 Wang, Wang and Wang. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Psychology Wang, Gui Wang, Hui Wang, Li Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach |
title | Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach |
title_full | Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach |
title_fullStr | Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach |
title_full_unstemmed | Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach |
title_short | Kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing L2 proficiency: An information-theoretic approach |
title_sort | kolmogorov complexity metrics in assessing l2 proficiency: an information-theoretic approach |
topic | Psychology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9583672/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36275271 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024147 |
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