ESL learners’ writing as a window onto discourse competence

Jongbong Lee

doi:10.30827/portalin.v0i35.15752

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between writing strategies and the cohesion of writing, and it compares how an ESL learner and a native speaker of English use strategies to organize their written narratives. A text analysis demonstrates that the ESL learner used fewer connectives than the native speaker of English, and produced a less cohesive narrative. Next, taking a qualitative approach, the study explores how the differences in their written products are related to the writers’ uses of different writing strategies and processes. The ESL learner used the strategy of translation from L1 to L2 and focused on grammar and vocabulary; the native English speaker drew on a mental template to organize her narrative. The conclusion discusses implications for L2 writing instruction.

Highlights

For English as a second language (ESL) learners, pursuing higher education in English-speaking countries requires advanced general English skills, writing skills
This study explores the relationship between writing strategies and the cohesion of writing, and it compares how an ESL learner and a native speaker of English use strategies to organize their written narratives
In order to address this research gap, the present study investigates the relationship between L2 writing strategies and cohesion, and compares an L2 learner’s and a native speaker’s writing strategies during the process of writing using qualitative data

Summary

Introduction

For English as a second language (ESL) learners, pursuing higher education in English-speaking countries requires advanced general English skills, writing skills. One of the many approaches to assessing whether an L2 learner’s proficiency is sufficient for higher education is to use writing tasks that require the production of longer discourse units (Kang, 2009). One important feature of written discourse competence is cohesion, which is achieved through the use of indexes that show how meanings relate within a text Cohesion expresses semantic relations in the organization of writing, in part by marking information as new or given. Both grammatical cohesion and lexical cohesion play important roles in connecting parts of texts at the surface level. Studies on contrastive rhetoric have demonstrated that L2 learners have different patterns than native speakers in establishing cohesion (Kang, 2009; Kaplan, 1966, 2000), and that marking new or given information seems to be difficult for L2 learners

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion