The aim
of this paper is to examine how Finnish learners of Swedish at CEFR levels B1,
B2 and C1 use connectors in written narratives. The use of connectors in
learner texts is compared with connector use in texts written by native
speakers of Swedish. The theoretical framework of the study is systemic
functional linguistics (Halliday & Matthiessen 2014). The study
investigates what lexicogrammatical resources learners at different CEFR levels
use in order to realize logic-semantic relations and conjunction -inside and between clauses and
clause complexes.

The
results show that there are no big differences in how learners at different
levels of proficiency use connectors. The more advanced learners at level C1
use less frequent connectors like dessutom
(furthermore) and med andra ord (in
other words). Compared to the native speakers of Swedish, there are some
differences: learners use almost exclusively the connector när (when) when they realize temporal enhancement whereas native
speakers also use the connectors så
(so) and då (then). In case of causal
enhancement native speakers use the connectors för and för att (for)
when L2 writers use the connector eftersom
(because). The results correspond to the descriptors in the CEFR. In future
research, the use of connectors could also be studied during the writing
process and not only in products. Furthermore, it would be advisable to examine
the use of connectors in different text types.