Use of linking words in argumentative written texts Comparison between L1 and L2

Abstract

This paper explores the use that Spanish-speaking 1^st-year university students make of connectors and stance markers between paragraphs in both their L1 (Spanish) and their L2 (English), aiming at figuring out the ability that students have at the beginning of their university studies to unite written discourse in an argumentative text by means of cohesive devices. To that end, an ad-hoc corpus of argumentative texts with a predetermined structure, in both their mother tongue and English as a foreign language, was compiled. Comparing the data in both languages makes it possible to identify linguistic transfer in their written production. Despite being present in the pre-university curriculum, the use of connectors as common elements to unite discourse and introduce new paragraphs seems to entail some difficulties, more evident in the foreign language. Results point to the need for a multilingual approach, favouring metalinguistic reflection, in the teaching of this type of texts.