A Study of Phono-Syntactic Variations in Selected Adolescent L2 Learners’ Reading and Writing Tasks

Abstract

This study leveraged the fact that Nigerian Adolescents’ English language usage at the
phonological and syntactic levels is influenced by pronunciation irregularities, non-standard
expressions, wrong spellings and grammatical errors in their reading/pronunciation task as well
as essay writing. Therefore, study set out to investigates phono-syntactic variations in selected
adolescents’ L2 learners’ reading and essay writing tasks. The data for this study constituted of 15
purposively selected recurring words that were extracted from the recordings of reading tasks
assigned to 60 adolescent learners at two secondary schools at Ogbomosho metropolis, Nigeria.
Data were drawn from sample essay writings of the studied secondary students. The instruments
for data collection were WASSCE SSCE questions on English language test 2017 passage six and
an essay writing question. Tape recorder was adopted for recording participants’ utterances for
phonological analysis. The study adopted a blend of the Complex Dynamic Systems theory and
Interlanguage Theory for data interpretations. The study found that phonemes substitutions and
characterise the phonological variations of the adolescents which reflect overriding influence of
Yoruba phonology on the learners’ English pronunciation. Also, at the level of syntactic analysis,
the study recorded syntactic variations in forms of incorrect word formations, mis-spellings, and
inappropriate compound formations, all of which impact on the intended meaning
communicated in the essays. The study concluded that even though pho-syntactic variations are
noticeable, the writers’ intended messages remain largely recoverable by virtue of contextual
interpretations.

Keywords: adolescent language usage, interlanguage phonology, L2 learning, syntactic
variation