Ricchezza lessicale e uso delle collocazioni in produzioni scriitte di italiano L2 e italiano L1

In this chapter we report on an experiment set up to analyze lexical richness in the writing of 39 low-intermediate and intermediate learners of Italian assessed by means of a lexical frequency profiling method (Laufer-Nation, 1995). The study focuses on the relationship in L2 between lexical richness, operationalized in terms of lexical frequency, and the general proficiency level of the L2 learners, as measured by a C-test. In order to get a better insight into the development of lexical skills in L2, an additional analysis of the occurrence of collocations is carried out. Subsequently, the texts of the L2 learners are compared with the written output of 18 native speakers of Italian. Results show that, although a relationship between lexical richness and language proficiency in Italian L2 cannot not be demonstrated, there appears to be a number of differences in lexical richness and collocation use between L2 and L1 writers.