A Case Study on the Conceptualization and Teaching Practice of L2 Argumentative Writing Instruction

Zhiying Chen

doi:10.5539/elt.v13n11p30

Abstract

Argumentative writing is one of the main writing types in Second Language Writing (SLW) instruction, as it links with the assessment of language capacity in tests. It is a common course for students of tertiary education, but few instructors have a clear comprehension of it. With the goal of giving circumspect teaching implications, this study serves as an illustration for argumentative writing lecturers in higher education. In this study, semi-structured interview, classroom observation and collected written drafts are used as research tools to discover the conceptualization and teaching practice of two lecturers who are instructing English-major sophomores. The findings show that different teaching beliefs (human-oriented and task-oriented) lead to different teaching process in argumentative writing class. Besides, the assessment criteria and students&rsquo; response are revealed to understand the effects of those instructions accordingly.

Highlights

Argumentative writing is a typical tool for assessing student writers’ language capacity in TOEFL, IELTS and so on, but learners seem to have difficulty in producing argument in EFL contexts (Bacha, 2010)
Argumentative writing instruction is full of challenges to teachers (Kelly, Regev, & Prothero, 2007), especially for green teachers
The data results are presented in two aspects, including the conceptualization of argumentative writing instruction and the real teaching practice

Summary

Introduction

Argumentative writing is a typical tool for assessing student writers’ language capacity in TOEFL, IELTS and so on, but learners seem to have difficulty in producing argument in EFL contexts (Bacha, 2010). Some of the studies indicate that the writing difficulty lies in the negative transfer between the first and the second language (Connor, 1987; Connor & Kaplan, 1987). There are studies claiming that learners are able to overcome such difficulty of cultural parameter with appropriate instructions (Connor, 2001; Kaplan, 2001). The quality of an argument can vary from one to another with accordance to individual expertise (Goldstein, Crowell, & Kuhn, 2009), leading to the important role of argumentative writing instruction. Argumentative writing instruction is full of challenges to teachers (Kelly, Regev, & Prothero, 2007), especially for green teachers

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Conclusion