THE IMPACT OF SENTENCE LENGTH ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION AND PREFERENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LEARNERS
Keywords:
Sentence length, content comprehension, CEFR, higher educationAbstract
Foreign Language Teaching (FLT), i.e., English as Foreign Language (EFL), is one of the most important factors for modern sustainable development. And teaching is conducted via words and sentences. Length of the sentences in EFL for sustainable learning has been subject to academic research and its/appropriate application. Many studies have demonstrated that the length of sentences impacts students’ EFL. However, its comprehensive approachability, applicability, and sustainability are still debatable. This study aims to discuss the perspective on sentence length and highlights challenges, and what the students regard as important in EFL, i.e., it aims to discuss the sentence length as factors that impact sustained conversation in EFL. One hundred and nineteen higher education students responded to the online questionnaire. The results indicated that more students preferred longer sentences. The students who preferred short sentences for learning EFL were more engaged in classes if the teacher offered shorter, structured sentences, and if there were clear instructions, which led to better learning, less anxiety, and an easier way to learning. However, simplified sentences did not bring more sophisticated language output. Their language output often fell short of expectations, which suggests a need for more targeted activities that support the development of more sophisticated and accurate language production.
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