Second Language Writing Research Articles

A 3-D Approach to Discovering and Creating the Features of Written Texts

This article outlines a student-centered, ‘hands-on’ approach to the teaching of writing at university level through first discovering and then creating the features of written texts in three dimensions: microtextual (lexico-grammar), macrotextual (rhetoric), and extratextual (context). The ‘3-D’ approach has been designed for novice writers, offering a practical, step-by-step procedure to prepare them to write in specific disciplines and for specific purposes. Though usable with other audiences, the sample material included here is especially appropriate for second-language writers and will be of particular interest to students of science. While the approach is consistent with Systemic-Functional and ESP orientations to text, as contrasted with most ESP pedagogy – especially that geared to students in sciences – the 3-D approach gives particular attention to affect, writer–reader interaction, and shared context. The approach, which starts from analysis of texts and then moves to writing of texts, is first described and then illustrated using several short popular science texts about insects and birds. These texts exemplify lexico-grammatical and rhetorical features of scientific texts while also illustrating other purposes which a writer may seek to fulfill as well as the underlying assumptions and author biases that might exist even in texts which appear to be purely descriptive or ‘objective’. The texts and analyses provided are intended for classroom use to train students in the approach, supplemented by a step by step guide for students to follow. Through the activities provided for the sample texts, students develop awareness of the properties of texts and how these can be discovered through analysis and then written into their own texts.

The quality of Second-Language Writing (Hebrew) among Arab students in Israel

The paper deals with the level of syntactic complexity of subordinate clauses in argument texts spontaneously produced in hebrew by Arab female freshmen specializing in the teaching of Hebrew at Academic College of Education in Israel.

Time to say goodbye: Writing center consultation closings

College and university writing centers offer rich opportunities for peer-to-peer interaction about writing. Closings in these interactions are an important window through which to view participant talk-in-interaction along the mundane-institutional continuum. A study of closings in 58 writing consultations in English was conducted at two university writing centers. A five-phase apparatus was used to analyze closing structure. Subtle differences were found when comparing closings in the two writing centers and when comparing consultations with first- and second-language writers. The infrequency of complete closings and of terminal phases suggested that consultations were often constructed as institutional service encounters. However, some consultants and writers disrupted closings by inserting relational (mundane) talk. These results inform and challenge current writing center theory and consulting practice. They also suggest that all educators would do well to consider conversational closings.

Intensive Reflection in Teacher Training: What is it Good For?

The merits of reflective exercises in teacher training are well known. Reflection through journals, surveys/questionnaires, action research, or supervised teaching and classroom discussion creates opportunities for teachers in training to think critically of what they do in their classes, why they do it, and how they could improve. Sometimes, however, teacher training programs may not be ideally positioned to offer novice student teachers (NSTs) the most extensive and coordinated opportunities for teaching, observation, and reflection. The current study examines the usefulness of an intensive reflective exercise realized as a two-question questionnaire used in a Second Language Writing (SLW) course. The findings indicate that the questionnaire was useful in eliciting a fair amount of critical thinking and integration of prior knowledge, new content, and personal experience. For the teacher trainer, it worked as a tool for assessing student learning and planning lessons. The study reflects on the limitations of the intensive reflection exercise applied in it (such as brevity and isolation from other assignments), and makes pedagogical recommendations for future implementation.

Second language writing as sociocognitive alignment

Second language writing (SLW) researchers have yet to examine writing as a sociocognitive process—one in which mind, body, and ecosocial world function integratively/ecologically rather than as separate phenomena. This study is a first attempt to do so. It proceeds by: (1) introducing the idea of a sociocognitive approach to language use, including SLW; (2) reviewing previous studies of writing which have taken related approaches; (3) providing detailed empirical support for the sociocognitive approach via micro-level, multimodal discourse analysis of a collaborative SLW event; and (4) discussing implications of this research for the SLW field.

Writing to mean in middle school: Understanding how second language writers negotiate textually-rich content-area instruction

Drawing on theoretical perspectives and analytical tools that view writing as meaning-making, we examined student writing associated with an instructional intervention designed to expand the kinds of texts that second-language learners of English were asked to engage with, and produce, in social studies classrooms in a U.S. middle school. Exploring the writing of 40 students on one essay assignment, we documented what students could do with their developing linguistic resources to respond to a prompt that presented unanticipated challenges. Our findings illuminate the dialogic and multimodal process of meaning-making in school-aged second-language writers’ essays. We discuss implications of a meaning-based approach for expanding the textual repertoire of second-language writers in school settings, and for understanding how students navigate the associated challenges.

Generation 1.5 Writing Compared to L1 and L2 Writing in First-Year Composition

Recently, scholars have suggested that “second-language writers” are made up of two distinct groups: Generation 1.5 (long-term U.S.-resident language learners) and more traditional L2 students (e.g., international or recently arrived immigrants). To investigate that claim, this study compares the first-year composition writing of Generation 1.5 students to the writing of their classmates to determine whether textual markers distinguish demographically identified groups. Results indicate no significant textual differences between Generation 1.5 and L1 (English as a first language) students but do indicate significant differences between Generation 1.5 and L2 students, suggesting that Generation 1.5 writers (broadly defined) may not be second-language writers.

First language influence on second language writing and expression

The case study has its source in the author's attempt to translate his novelette Alitshoni lingaphumi (Waiting for sunrise) into English. Current developments in the sociopolitical arena make it increasingly important for linguists to focus on the interchange between the indigenous languages and the two dominant languages, English and Afrikaans. This would break down the artificial baniers so enthusiastically maintained in the past. Secondly, such an exercise would also help to overcome prejudicial ignorance. Some of the issues highlighted include culturastructural, lexicsyntactic, and semantic differences between Xhosa and English, as exemplified in the text in question. Die vertrekpunt vir die gevallestudie is die skrywer se poging om sy novelle Alitshoni lingaphumi (Wagtend op sonsopkoms) in Engels te vertaal. In die lig van eietydse ontwikkelinge in die sosio-politiese arena, word dit vir linguiste toenemend belangrik om te fokus op die wisselwerking tussen die inheemse tale en die twee dominante tale, Engels en Afrikaans. Dit sou die kunsmatige skeiding wat in die verlede met soveel entoesiasme gehandhaaf is, ajbreek Dit sou ook die onkunde wat uit vooroordeel spruit, oorkom, Van die sake wat na aanleiding van die teks na vore gebring word, sluit die kulturele, strukturele, leksikale, sintaktiese en semantiese verskille tussen Xhosa en Engels in.

Refining the Construct of Classroom-Based Writing-From-Readings Assessment: The Role of Task Representation

This article argues that task representation should be considered as part of the construct of classroom-based academic writing. Task representation is a process that writers move through when creating a unique mental model of the requirements for each new writing task they encounter. Writers' task representations evolve throughout the composing process and continue to change even after a writing assignment is submitted for evaluation. The article presents data from an ethnographic study of an argumentative writing-from-readings assignment given in an academic writing class. The data show that the task representations of the four participants heavily influenced the form and substance of their final written products. It was particularly difficult for these second-language writers to interpret task cues emanating from the teacher and context to understand the boundaries of the writing-from-sources task and construct appropriate task representations. Consequently, two received a score of 0% for plagiarism and one intentionally avoided part of the source use requirement of the writing task. Because the participants' writing performance was partially a result of the accuracy and appropriateness of their task representations, this article argues that task representation should be considered when defining the construct of an academic writing-from-sources assessment.

“Cohesion and Pragmatic Theory in Second-Language Writing Instruction”

Textual coherence is often characterized in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) writing classes as a function of the presence of overt cohesive elements. A common result of a cohesion emphasis is learner overuse of connective expressions. This paper sketches a rationale, grounded in current pragmatic theory, for a pedagogical approach to connectives that addresses both underuse and overuse in relationship to writer audience. Though textbooks typically supply checklist questions centering on audience, these questions are mainly topic-specific. The inclusion of additional questions oriented to more general reader comprehension issues is recommended.

Proactively Addressing Plagiarism and Other Academic Honesty Issues with Second-Language Writers

In response to difficulties in dealing with plagiarism and academic honesty, faculty and staff in a university-based American intensive English program (IEP) took specific measures to help international students understand these issues. The host institution’s policy on academic honesty, which was too difficult and nuanced for second language writers to understand, was replaced with a new policy written in simple language, making concepts and penalties easier to understand. Program-wide measures were implemented in stages to build summarizing and paraphrasing skills for students at all proficiency levels and to support their development as academic writers, and changes were made to the curriculum, incorporating writing from sources at an earlier stage, in scaffolded assignments. Teaching emphasis was shifted from after-the-fact punishment of plagiarism to proactively teaching about concepts of academic honesty and writing from sources. To assist with this, plagiarism detection services were repurposed and used as teaching tools for students instead of policing tools for instructors.

Making Space for Us: German Graduate Student Voices in English

Abstract This paper presents a study which incorporates the voices of graduate students in English and North American Studies programmes at a German university as they reflect on how they have learned to negotiate between established academic writing conventions and expressing who they are. We find that students foresee several opportunities to write in English in their professional and personal lives and they also employ several strategies to use the language to their own end. But many of these students lack a feeling of ‘belonging’ within the academic community and so believe that they cannot develop an authoritative or authentic ‘voice’ within the university context. In response to this finding, we suggest appropriate teaching practices for advanced second-language writers in English which draw on students’ existing experience, expectations and hopes to help them to assert their voices in English and negotiate their demands for the language.

Making Space for Us: German Graduate Student Voices in English

This paper presents a study which incorporates the voices of graduate students in English and North American Studies programmes at a German university as they reflect on how they have learned to negotiate between established academic writing conventions and expressing who they are. We find that students foresee several opportunities to write in English in their professional and personal lives and they also employ several strategies to use the language to their own end. But many of these students lack a feeling of ‘belonging’ within the academic community and so believe that they cannot develop an authoritative or authentic ‘voice’ within the university context. In response to this finding, we suggest appropriate teaching practices for advanced second-language writers in English which draw on students’ existing experience, expectations and hopes to help them to assert their voices in English and negotiate their demands for the language.

Fluency and Cognitive Effort During First- and Second-Language Notetaking and Writing by Undergraduate Students

This study concerns the cognitive effort expended and the difficulties experienced by undergraduate students as they took notes and wrote a text based on a lecture given in French, their primary language (L1), and in English (L2). The 21 participants had studied English (L2) for 7 years before attending the university and they had taken 3 years of intensive courses at the university in order to obtain their first diploma in English (“license”). Participants were first trained on a secondary task that allowed us to measure their cognitive effort while they performed two other main tasks in both languages, namely (1) listening and taking notes on the main ideas of the lecture, and (2) writing a text based on their notes. Participants also answered a questionnaire about their difficulties with comprehension, taking notes, making use of their notes, and writing in both languages. The results indicated that writing processes were more effortful than notetaking. Students’ performance on the writing task did not vary across languages. In contrast, the cognitive effort associated with taking notes was greater for L2 than for L1, and writing speed was slower. More difficulty was also experienced for notetaking, especially in L2, than in writing.

'Fire your proofreader!' Grammar correction in the writing classroom

This article critically reviews the usefulness of grammar correction in second language writing instruction through the eyes of five second-language writers. It first examines the validity of four teaching principles that appear to influence how writing instructors approach error correction in classrooms and concludes with discussions as to why grammar correction is necessary for second-language writers.

SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING SYSTEMS, Vivian Cook and Benedetta Bassetti (Eds.)

SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING SYSTEMS.Vivian Cook and Benedetta Bassetti (Eds.). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2005. Pp. xi + 448. $69.95 cloth.This wide-ranging collection explores the oft-neglected question of how writing systems impact the learning of second language (L2) reading and writing. The excitement with which I greeted this volume was sustained by the introductory chapter in which the two editors, both linguists at University of Essex, United Kingdom, present an overview of research in L2 writing systems.

Effects of First Language on Second-Language Writing.

Effects of First Language on Second-Language Writing.

SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING RESEARCH: PERSPECTIVES ON THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION

SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING RESEARCH: PERSPECTIVES ON THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION. Paul Kei Matsuda and Tony Silva (Eds.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. xv + 254, 29.95 paper.This collection of articles, edited by Matsuda and Silva, is a valuable resource for both new and established researchers in the field of second language (L2) writing. The main goal of the text is to give readers insight into the messy realities of conducting research in this area by discussing issues that are not included in introductory books on research methodology. The volume is divided into three parts: “Research as Situated Knowledge Construction,” “Conceptualizing L2 Writing Research,” and “Collecting and Analyzing Data.”

The Writing Conference as a Locus of Emergent Agency

This article examines writing conference discourse in one English as a Second Language (ESL) basic composition course. The study is based on a 25,000-word corpus of 10 writing conference interactions between the instructor and seven students. Through a microlevel analysis, the authors demonstrate how and to what degree the writing conference can serve as a locus of “emergent agency,” with a particular focus on the second-language writer. The data exhibit patterns in the students’ discourse such that earlier segments in the interactions tend to reflect uncertainty, confusion, negative self-evaluation, and negative other-evaluation. As the sessions progress, the authors note shifts in stance whereby students begin to propose candidate solutions to actual or perceived problems and evince more authorial direction. The authors demonstrate that the practice can serve as an effective pedagogical activity in which novice writers learn to navigate through challenges and obstacles associated with university-level reading and writing tasks.

The Myth of Linguistic Homogeneity in U.S. College Composition

The author suggests that English-only classrooms are not only the implicit goal of much language policy in the United States, but also assumed to be already the case, an ironic situation in light of composition’s historical role as “containing” language differences in U.S. higher education. He suggests that the myth of linguistic homogeneity has serious implications not only for international second-language writers in U.S. classrooms but also for resident second-language writers and for native speakers of unprivileged varieties of English, and that rather than simply abandon the placement practices that have worked to contain—but also to support—multilingual writers, composition teachers need to reimagine the composition classroom as the multilingual space that it is, where the presence of language differences is the default.