Even very advanced EFL writing tends to be less sophisticated than native writing. One of the problems seems to be finding the right collocations and the correct register. The aim of this article is to pinpoint what characterizes the development in very advanced Dutch EFL students’ written language production, more specifically the use of appropriate intensifiers. Compared to their native English speaking contemporaries, the Dutch students initially tend to use intensifiers that are found typically in spoken English, such as really and a bit, but these gradually disappear. Alternatively, as students progress, the use of the intensifiers so, quite, and rather, becomes more native-like. Similar observations have been made in the past for Germans learners of English.

Another problem that we have identified is the syntax of sentence beginnings. Dutch learners have a tendency to start the sentences in their EFL texts in much the same way as they would in Dutch texts. They are not sufficiently aware of the pragmatic implications of the various pre-subject constituents they put into their EFL texts. The current presentation will focus both on the development of the use of adjective and adverb intensifiers, as well as the development of the use of pre-subject constituents