A Corpus-Based Study of the Use of Shell Nouns as Cohesive Devices in Korean EFL Writing

The current study examines the use of shell nouns in argumentative essays written by Korean EFL college writers. Shell nouns are a group of abstract nouns that requile lexical 1ealization in order to establish full meaning of the nouns. Fact, problem and reason are the representative items of shell nouns. Using a corpusbased method, this study analyzes shell nouns in EFL written production in terms of cohesive devices. The result indicates that both the total frequency of shell nouns and the use of shell nouns with demonstratives move closer to that of the native group, as L2 proficiency level goes higher. In addition, the qualitative analysis discloses that the L2 writers use shell nouns as exophoric references and deploy shell nouns without elaboration. It is also shown that, regardless of L2 levels, the EFL writers underuse demonstrative and shell noun phrases in sentence initial position, which is critical to establish cohesion for argumentative essays. It indicates that Korean EFL learners also have difficulties in using the cohesive property fitted into argumentative writing. These findings provide pedagogical implications that can be applied to second language writing instruction.