STANCE COMPLEMENT CLAUSES CONTROLLED BY ADJECTIVES IN ESL AND EFL STUDENTS' ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS

Adinda Faiz(1*), Aris Munandar(2),

(1) Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(2) Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(*) Corresponding Author


Abstract


Stance becomes an important evaluative discourse feature that aids writers in conveying their arguments effectively. Studies have focused on comparing the stance of non-native speakers of English to that of native speakers and have not yet addressed the issue between English learners from different contexts. This study analyzes stance complement clauses controlled by adjectives by Singaporean ESL and Indonesian EFL students. It aims to uncover the frequency and distribution of stances and to explain why Singaporean students' stances differ from those of their Indonesian EFL counterparts. This study used quantitative and qualitative methods. The chi-squared test was carried out to determine whether there was a significant difference. The data were extracted from a sub-written ICNALE corpus, the essays by Singaporean and Indonesian students at the B1_2 level. The chi-squared test indicates there is a significant difference. The results reveal a higher use of stance adjectives among Singaporean ESL students compared to Indonesian EFL students. This study has important implications. Explicit teaching and learning of stance features used adequately in the argument's structure are needed, especially highlighting adjectival repertoire for variety and nuance to the EFL students' stance. 


Keywords


Argumentative essay, ESL and EFL, L2 writing, Stance, Stance adjectives

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ahmad, M., Mahmood, M. A., & Farukh, A. (2020). Use of Modals as Stance Markers: A Corpus-Based Study on Pakistani English Newspaper Editorials. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 30(1), 108–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1326365X20945424

Akoto, O. Y., & Afful, J. B. A. (2020). Variations in Metadiscourse Use in English Language Introduction and Literature Review Thesis Chapters. Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching, 4(2), 390–408. https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v4i2.2601

Al Zumor, A. Q. (2021). Stance in Advanced Academic Writing by Saudi EFL Postgraduates: A Corpus-based Study of Critique Writing. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 9(4), 371–384. https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v9i4.4288

Amaliah, A., Sari, F., & Wahyudi, A. (2024). A Case Study of Argument Patterns in Japan and Korean EFL Learners' Argumentative Essays. Premise: Journal of English Education, 13(1), 263–279. https://doi.org/10.24127/pj.v13i1.8792

Anthony, L. (2005). AntConc: Design and Development of a Freeware Corpus Analysis Toolkit for the Technical Writing Classroom. IEEE International Professional Communication Conference Proceedings, 729–737. https://www.laurenceanthony.net/research/ipcc_2005_anthony_antconc.pdf

Aull, L. L., & Lancaster, Z. (2014). Linguistic Markers of Stance in Early and Advanced Academic Writing. Written Communication, 31(2), 151–183. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088314527055

Barbara, S. W. Y., Afzaal, M., & Aldayel, H. S. (2024). A corpus-based comparison of linguistic markers of stance and genre in the academic writing of novice and advanced engineering learners. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 284. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02757-4

Barrot, J., & Gabinete, M. K. (2021). Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in the argumentative writing of ESL and EFL learners. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 59(2), 209–232. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2017-0012

Bautista, M. L. S., & Gonzalez, A. B. (2006). Southeast Asian Englishes. In B. Kachru, Y. Kachru, & C. L. Nelson (Eds.), The Handbook of World Englishes. Blackwell Publishing.

Biber, D. (2006). Stance in spoken and written university registers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(2), 97–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.05.001

Biber, D., & Finegan, E. (1988). Adverbial stance types in English. Discourse Processes, 11(1), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/01638538809544689

Biber, D., & Finegan, E. (1989). Styles of stance in English: Lexical and grammatical marking of evidentiality and affect. Text - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Discourse, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/text.1.1989.9.1.93

Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Pearson Education Limited.

Bolton, K., Botha, W., & Bacon-Shone, J. (2017). English-medium instruction in Singapore higher education: policy, realities and challenges. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38(10), 913–930. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2017.1304396

Council of Europe. (2025). The CEFR Levels. In Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Website. Council of Europe 2025. https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/level-descriptions

Crosthwaite, P., Cheung, L., & Jiang, F. (Kevin). (2017). Writing with attitude: Stance expression in learner and professional dentistry research reports. English for Specific Purposes, 46, 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2017.02.001

Dixon, R. M. W., & Aikhenvald, A. Y. (2004). Adjective Classes: A Cross-linguistic Typology (R. M. W. Dixon & A. Y. Aikhenvald, Eds.). Oxford University Press.

Gray, B., & Biber, D. (2015). Stance Markers. In K. Aijmer & C. Rühlemann (Eds.), Corpus Pragmatics. Cambridge University Press.

Ho, V., & Li, C. (2018). The use of metadiscourse and persuasion: An analysis of first year university students' timed argumentative essays. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 33, 53–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.02.001

Hyland, K. (1990). A Genre Description of the Argumentative Essay. RELC Journal, 21(1), 66–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368829002100105

Hyland, K. (2005). Stance and engagement: a model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(2), 173–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365

Hyland, K. (2019). Second Language Writing (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Ishikawa, S. (2013). The ICNALE and Sophisticated Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis of Asian Learners of English. Learner Corpus Studies in Asia and the World, 1, 91–118. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24546/81006678

Ishikawa, S. (2023). The ICNALE Guide: An Introduction to a Learner Corpus Study on Asian Learners' L2 English (1st ed.). Routledge.

Jalali, H. (2017). Reflection of stance through it bundles in applied linguistics. Ampersand, 4, 30–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2017.06.001

Jiang, F. (Kevin). (2015). Nominal stance construction in L1 and L2 students' writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 20, 90–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.07.002

Kachru, B. (1990). World Englishes and applied linguistics. World Englishes, 9(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.1990.tb00683.x

Kirmizi, O., & Kirmizi, G. D. (2022). Nominal Stance in Cross-disciplinary Academic Writing of L1 and L2 Speakers in Noun + that Constructions. Journal of Language and Education, 8(2), 80–91. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12252

Kitjaroonchai, N., & Duan, J. (2019). Stance and Engagement Use in a Timed Argumentative Essay by Asian First-Year University Students Studying English as a Foreign Language. Human Behavior, Development and Society, 20(3), 105–115. https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/hbds/article/view/216760

Kozáčiková, Z. (2021). Stance complement clauses controlled by verbs in academic research papers. Topics in Linguistics, 22(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2021-0002

Lee, J. J., & Deakin, L. (2016). Interactions in L1 and L2 undergraduate student writing: Interactional metadiscourse in successful and less-successful argumentative essays. Journal of Second Language Writing, 33, 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2016.06.004

Loi, C.-K., Lim, J. M.-H., & Wharton, S. (2016). Expressing an evaluative stance in English and Malay research article conclusions: International publications versus local publications. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 21, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2015.08.004

Man, D., & Chau, M. H. (2019). Learning to evaluate through that-clauses: Evidence from a longitudinal learner corpus. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 37, 22–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2018.11.007

Mei, W. S. (2006). Creating a Contrastive Rhetorical Stance. RELC Journal, 37(3), 329–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071316

Meyer, H. (2005). Analysing argumentative writing. English in Education, 39(3), 78–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1754-8845.2005.tb00626.x

Min, S., Paek, J. K., & Kang, Y. (2019). Exploring the Use of Hedges and Stance Devices in Relation to Korean EFL Learners' Argumentative Writing Qualities. English Teaching, 74(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.74.1.201903.3

Moafian, F., Talati-Baghsiahi, A., & Yarahmadzehi, N. (2018). Modal Auxiliaries as Stance-Taking Devices in Linguistics Research Articles: A Functional Contrastive Analysis. Linguistik Online, 91(4). https://doi.org/10.13092/lo.91.4396

Nirwanto, R. (2021). The Adoption of Cohesive Devices (CDs) in Indonesian Students of EFL's Opinion Essays. Premise: Journal of English Education, 10(1), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.24127/pj.v10i1.3239

Papangkorn, P., & Phoocharoensil, S. (2021). A Comparative Study of Stance and Engagement Used by English and Thai Speakers in English Argumentative Essays. International Journal of Instruction, 14(1), 867–888. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2021.14152a

Peacock, M. (2015). Stance adverbials in research writing. Ibérica, 29, 35–62. https://revistaiberica.org/index.php/iberica/article/view/248

Pemberton, C. (2020). In My Opinion: Modality in Japanese EFL Learners' Argumentative Essays. Asia Pacific Journal of Corpus Research, 1(2), 57–72. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22925/apjcr.2020.1.2.57

Pérez-Paredes, P., & Díez-Bedmar, M. B. (2019). Certainty adverbs in spoken learner language. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 5(2), 253–279. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijlcr.17019.per

Pyykönen, M. (2023). Epistemic stance in written L2 English: The role of task type, L2 proficiency, and authorial style. Applied Corpus Linguistics, 3(1), 100040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acorp.2022.100040

Sabzevar, A., Haghverdi, H., & Biriya, R. (2020). A Corpus-based Analysis of Epistemic Stance Adverbs in Essays Written by Native English Speakers and Iranian EFL Learners. The Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice, 12(25), 32–52. https://sanad.iau.ir/Journal/jal/Article/961390

Soler, V. (2002). Analysing adjectives in scientific discourse: an exploratory study with educational applications for Spanish speakers at advanced university level. English for Specific Purposes, 21(2), 145–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00034-X

Turmudi, D. (2020). Investigating the Indonesian EFL Students' Argument in Argumentative Essay. Premise: Journal of English Education, 9(2), 251–276. https://doi.org/10.24127/pj.v9i2.3079

Uccelli, P., Dobbs, C. L., & Scott, J. (2013). Mastering Academic Language. Written Communication, 30(1), 36–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088312469013

Wang, L., & Liu, S. (2022). A Corpus-Based Study: A Comparison between Native Speakers and Chinese EFL Learners in Using Adjectives in Argumentative Writings. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 12(02), 158–178. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2022.122013

Yoo, H., & Kim, H. (2023). A cross-modal analysis of lexical sophistication: EFL and ESL learners in written and spoken production. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2023-0204

Zareva, A. (2018). Evaluation in moderation: Evaluative adjectives in student academic presentations. Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 12(2), A149–A162. https://journal.aall.org.au/index.php/jall/article/view/574

Zhang, C., & Kang, S. (2022). A comparative study on lexical and syntactic features of ESL versus EFL learners' writing. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1002090




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24127/pj.v14i2.11647

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Authors

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Published by Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro 

Scientific Publication Unit (UPI)

Gd. HI, Lt1 Kampus 1 Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro 

Jl. Ki Hajar Dewantara 116 A 

Kota Metro Lampung 34145  Indonesia 

Email  : help.upi@ummetro.ac.id

Phone : +62-725-42445 

Fax     : +62-725-42454

Mobile : +62-8570914-1060

Certificate of Accreditation (Volume 11 No 1, 2022-Volume 15 No 2, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

Publisher

Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro

Unit Publikasi Ilmiah (Scientific Publication Unit)

Address:

Gedung HI Lt 1, Ruang UPT Publikasi Ilmiah Universitas Muhammadiyah Metro

Jl. Ki Hajar Dewantara No.116, Iringmulyo, Metro Timur, Kota Metro, Lampung 34111
Phone/WA: +6285709141060

Email:upi@ummetro.ac.id 

======================

e-ISSN-2442-482x  p-ISSN-2089-3345

Download Premise Official Template  June -October 2023

Certificate