Bram Bulté
Biographic Data
| ID | 1692207 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bram Bulté |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bram |
| FAMILY NAME | Bulté |
| SIGNATURE | BULTÉ B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Vrije Universiteit Brussel |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2761-9455 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 25 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Exploring complexity at the lexis-grammar interface
On Umbrellas and Omnibuses
This response to the commentaries on our conceptual review article on structural complexity and learning difficulty in second language acquisition (SLA) clarifies the scope and objectives of our framework, the challenges of defining and measuring complexity and difficulty, and the broader relevance of our proposal for both empirical research and theory building in SLA, including its relationships to frameworks such as complexity–accuracy–fluency …
LLMs and Cultural Values
Large Language Models (LLMs) are rapidly being adopted by users across the globe, who interact with them in a diverse range of languages. At the same time, there are well-documented imbalances in the training data and optimisation objectives of this technology, raising doubts as to whether LLMs can accurately represent the cultural diversity of their broad user base. In this study, we look at LLMs and cultural values in particular, and examine ho…
Complexity and Difficulty in Second Language Acquisition
This article presents a theoretical review of and methodological guidelines for the study of two key notions in second language acquisition research, complexity and difficulty. The term complexity has gained considerable currency over the past decades and has taken on a wide range of meanings. We argue for a more restricted interpretation, focusing exclusively on formal, structural properties of linguistic items. The less employed term difficulty…
The impact of CLIL on the L2 French and L1 Dutch proficiency of Flemish secondary school pupils
Since its official introduction in 2014, an increasing number of Flemish secondary schools provide a CLIL program next to their regular monolingual Dutch programs. This longitudinal study investigates the effect of teaching one or several content subjects in French on secondary school pupils’ L2 French listening comprehension (n = 545) and speaking proficiency (n = 273) as well as on their L1 Dutch reading comprehension (n = 579). To ensure compa…
A comparison of automated and manual analyses of syntactic complexity in L2 English writing
Automated tools for syntactic complexity measurement are increasingly used for analyzing various kinds of second language corpora, even though these tools were originally developed and tested for texts produced by advanced learners. This study investigates the reliability of automated complexity measurement for beginner and lower-intermediate L2 English data by comparing manual and automated analyses of a corpus of 80 texts written by Dutch-speak…
Investigating the interrelationship between rated L2 proficiency and linguistic complexity in L2 speech
The Impact of Instruction and Out-of-School Exposure to Foreign Language Input on Learners' Vocabulary Knowledge in Two Languages
This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of length of instruction, out-of-school exposure to foreign language input, and gender on learners' receptive vocabulary knowledge in two foreign languages: French (first foreign language) and English (second foreign language). The findings suggest that, although length of instruction correlated positively with vocabulary knowledge in English and French, the gains remained modest when out-of-scho…
Syntactic complexity in L2 writing
The present study aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of how the L2 production of L2 learners varies over time in terms of syntactic complexity by analyzing a substantive number of English L2 writing samples (n = 11) produced by a sizable group of learners (n = 10) over a relatively long period of time (19 months), using a judicious selection of quantitative measures of syntactic complexity. The focus is on synchronic and diachronic vari…
Evaluating short-term changes in L2 complexity development
This paper reports on a study on the nature and extent of the development of English L2 writing proficiency of 45 adult ESL learners over the time of an intensive short-term EAP program as evaluated by means of objective measures targeting different components of lexical and syntactic complexity. In addition, we compare the scores on these measures with more holistic and subjective ratings of learners' overall writing quality. Results reveal that…
Conceptualizing and measuring short-term changes in L2 writing complexity
Defining and operationalising L2 complexity
This chapter takes a critical look at complexity in L2 research. We demonstrate several problems in the L2 literature in terms of how complexity has been defined and operationalised as a construct. In the first part of the chapter we try to unravel its highly complex, multidimensional nature by presenting a taxonomic model that identifies major types, dimensions and components of L2 complexity, each of which can be independently analysed or measu…
The Impact of Instruction and Out-of-School Exposure to Foreign Language Input on Learners' Vocabulary Knowledge in Two Languages
This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of length of instruction, out-of-school exposure to foreign language input, and gender on learners' receptive vocabulary knowledge in two foreign languages: French (first foreign language) and English (second foreign language). The findings suggest that, although length of instruction correlated positively with vocabulary knowledge in English and French, the gains remained modest when out-of-scho…
Syntactic complexity in L2 writing
The present study aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of how the L2 production of L2 learners varies over time in terms of syntactic complexity by analyzing a substantive number of English L2 writing samples (n = 11) produced by a sizable group of learners (n = 10) over a relatively long period of time (19 months), using a judicious selection of quantitative measures of syntactic complexity. The focus is on synchronic and diachronic vari…
Investigating the interrelationship between rated L2 proficiency and linguistic complexity in L2 speech
A comparison of automated and manual analyses of syntactic complexity in L2 English writing
Automated tools for syntactic complexity measurement are increasingly used for analyzing various kinds of second language corpora, even though these tools were originally developed and tested for texts produced by advanced learners. This study investigates the reliability of automated complexity measurement for beginner and lower-intermediate L2 English data by comparing manual and automated analyses of a corpus of 80 texts written by Dutch-speak…
Defining and operationalising L2 complexity
This chapter takes a critical look at complexity in L2 research. We demonstrate several problems in the L2 literature in terms of how complexity has been defined and operationalised as a construct. In the first part of the chapter we try to unravel its highly complex, multidimensional nature by presenting a taxonomic model that identifies major types, dimensions and components of L2 complexity, each of which can be independently analysed or measu…
Conceptualizing and measuring short-term changes in L2 writing complexity
Evaluating short-term changes in L2 complexity development
This paper reports on a study on the nature and extent of the development of English L2 writing proficiency of 45 adult ESL learners over the time of an intensive short-term EAP program as evaluated by means of objective measures targeting different components of lexical and syntactic complexity. In addition, we compare the scores on these measures with more holistic and subjective ratings of learners' overall writing quality. Results reveal that…
Syntactic complexity in L2 writing
The present study aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of how the L2 production of L2 learners varies over time in terms of syntactic complexity by analyzing a substantive number of English L2 writing samples (n = 11) produced by a sizable group of learners (n = 10) over a relatively long period of time (19 months), using a judicious selection of quantitative measures of syntactic complexity. The focus is on synchronic and diachronic vari…
The Impact of Instruction and Out-of-School Exposure to Foreign Language Input on Learners' Vocabulary Knowledge in Two Languages
This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of length of instruction, out-of-school exposure to foreign language input, and gender on learners' receptive vocabulary knowledge in two foreign languages: French (first foreign language) and English (second foreign language). The findings suggest that, although length of instruction correlated positively with vocabulary knowledge in English and French, the gains remained modest when out-of-scho…
Investigating the interrelationship between rated L2 proficiency and linguistic complexity in L2 speech
The impact of CLIL on the L2 French and L1 Dutch proficiency of Flemish secondary school pupils
Since its official introduction in 2014, an increasing number of Flemish secondary schools provide a CLIL program next to their regular monolingual Dutch programs. This longitudinal study investigates the effect of teaching one or several content subjects in French on secondary school pupils’ L2 French listening comprehension (n = 545) and speaking proficiency (n = 273) as well as on their L1 Dutch reading comprehension (n = 579). To ensure compa…
A comparison of automated and manual analyses of syntactic complexity in L2 English writing
Automated tools for syntactic complexity measurement are increasingly used for analyzing various kinds of second language corpora, even though these tools were originally developed and tested for texts produced by advanced learners. This study investigates the reliability of automated complexity measurement for beginner and lower-intermediate L2 English data by comparing manual and automated analyses of a corpus of 80 texts written by Dutch-speak…
Exploring complexity at the lexis-grammar interface
On Umbrellas and Omnibuses
This response to the commentaries on our conceptual review article on structural complexity and learning difficulty in second language acquisition (SLA) clarifies the scope and objectives of our framework, the challenges of defining and measuring complexity and difficulty, and the broader relevance of our proposal for both empirical research and theory building in SLA, including its relationships to frameworks such as complexity–accuracy–fluency …
LLMs and Cultural Values
Large Language Models (LLMs) are rapidly being adopted by users across the globe, who interact with them in a diverse range of languages. At the same time, there are well-documented imbalances in the training data and optimisation objectives of this technology, raising doubts as to whether LLMs can accurately represent the cultural diversity of their broad user base. In this study, we look at LLMs and cultural values in particular, and examine ho…
Complexity and Difficulty in Second Language Acquisition
This article presents a theoretical review of and methodological guidelines for the study of two key notions in second language acquisition research, complexity and difficulty. The term complexity has gained considerable currency over the past decades and has taken on a wide range of meanings. We argue for a more restricted interpretation, focusing exclusively on formal, structural properties of linguistic items. The less employed term difficulty…
Second Language Acquisition and Learning (11 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Psychology (7 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (6 works) · Artificial Intelligence (4 works) · Natural language processing (4 works) · Natural Language Processing Techniques (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Cognitive psychology (3 works)