Assessing change in English second language writing performance. KhaledBarkaoui & AliHadidiNew York/London: Routledge,2020, Innovations in language learning and assessment at ETS, 218 pp. ISBN: 9780367551902 (pbk)

Author(s):  
Lirong Xu
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Siyanova ◽  
S Spina

© 2019 Language Learning Research Club, University of Michigan In the present study, we sought to advance the field of learner corpus research by tracking the development of phrasal vocabulary in essays produced at two different points in time. To this aim, we employed a large pool of second language (L2) learners (N = 175) from three proficiency levels—beginner, elementary, and intermediate—and focused on an underrepresented L2 (Italian). Employing mixed-effects models, a flexible and powerful tool for corpus data analysis, we analyzed learner combinations in terms of five different measures: phrase frequency, mutual information, lexical gravity, delta Pforward, and delta Pbackward. Our findings suggest a complex picture, in which higher proficiency and greater exposure to the L2 do not result in more idiomatic and targetlike output, and may, in fact, result in greater reliance on low frequency combinations whose constituent words are non-associated or mutually attracted.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Jason DePolo

There has been much research conducted on second language writing. In addition, there exists a significant amount of studies conducted with African American student writers. However, the fields of Second Language Writing and Composition Studies rarely if ever dovetail in the research literature. The purpose of this article is to argue how English language learners and bidialectal (English as a second dialect) learners share similar learning experiences and how sociocultural theories of English language pedagogy can inform composition theory, specifically as it relates to African American student writers. The study of writer identity provides insights into both bilingual and bidialectal learners’ authorial identity constructions and their experiences in English language learning contexts. Based on these similarities, I argue the need for composition theory to integrate sociocultural theories of second language learning and identity to better address the needs of bidialectal learners.


2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-66

04–64Andrews, Richard (U. of York, UK). Where next in research on ICT and literacies?English in Education (Sheffield, UK), 37, 3 (2003), 28–41.04–65Beard, Roger (Leeds U., UK; Email: [email protected]). Not the whole story of the national literacy strategy: a response to Dominic Wyse. British Educational Research Journal (London, UK), 29, 6 (2003), 917–928.04–66Bournot-Trites, M. and Seror, J. (University of British Columbia, Canada; Email: [email protected]). Students' and teachers' perceptions about strategies which promote proficiency in second language writing. Revue Canadienne de Linguistique Appliquée/Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Ottawa, Canada), 6, 2 (2003), 129–157.04–67Gardner, Dee (Brigham Young University, USA). Vocabulary input through extensive reading: a comparison of words found in children's narrative and expository reading materials. Applied Linguistics (Oxford, UK), 25, 1 (2004), 1–37.04–68Hu, Jim (U. College of the Cariboo, Canada). Thinking languages in L2 writing: research findings and pedagogical implications. TESL Canada Journal/Revue du TESL Canada (Burnaby, Canada), 21, 1 (2003), 39–63.04–69Jarvis, Scott (Ohio University, USA; Email: [email protected]), Grant, Leslie, Bikowski, Dawn and Ferris, Dana. Exploring multiple profiles of highly rated learner compositions. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 12, 4 (2003), 377–403.04–70Mihwa Chung, Teresa and Nation, Paul (Victoria University of Wellington, NZ). Technical vocabulary in specialised texts. Reading in a Foreign Language (Hawai'i, USA), 15, 2 (2003), 103–116.04–71Ndiaye, M. and Vandeventer Faltin, A. (University of Geneva, Switzerland; Email: [email protected]). A spell checker tailored to language learners. Computer Assisted Language Learning (Lisse, The Netherlands), 16, 2–3 (2003), 213–232.04–72Pecorari, Diane (Stockholm University, Sweden; Email: [email protected]). Good and original: Plagiarism and patchwriting in academic second-language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 12, 4 (2003), 317–345.04–73Ridgway, Tony (Queen's U., UK). Literacy and foreign language reading. Reading in a Foreign Language (Hawai'i, USA), 15, 2 (2003), 117–129.04–74Shi, L., Wang, W. and Wen, Q. (University of British Columbia, Canada; Email: [email protected]). Teaching experience and evaluation of second-language students' writing. Revue Canadienne de Linguistic Appliquée/Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Ottawa, Canada), 6, 2 (2003), 219–236.04–75Stuart, Morag (U. of London; Email: [email protected]). Getting ready for reading: a follow-up study of inner city second language learners at the end of Key Stage 1. British Journal of Educational Psychology (Leicester, UK), 74 (2004), 15–36.04–76Stuart, Morag (U. of London, UK; Email: [email protected]), Dixon, Maureen, Masterson, Jackie and Gray, Bob. Children's early reading vocabulary: description and word frequency lists. British Journal of Educational Psychology (Leicester, UK), 73 (2003), 585–598.04–77Takagaki, Toshiyuki.The revision patterns and intentions in L1 and L2 by Japanese writers: a case study. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL du Canada (Burnaby, Canada), 21, 1 (2003), 22–38.04–78Van de Poel, K. and Swanepoel, P. (Centre for Language and Speech, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Email: [email protected]). Theoretical and methodological pluralism in designing effective lexical support for CALL. Computer Assisted Language Learning (Lisse, The Netherlands), 16, 2–3 (2003), 173–211.04–79Wang, Lurong (University of Toronto, Canada; Email: [email protected]). Switching to first language among writers with differing second-language proficiency. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 12, 4 (2003), 347–375.04–80Warner, Lionel (Newlands Girls' School, Maidenhead, UK). Wider reading. English in Education (Sheffield, UK), 37, 3 (2003), 13–18.04–81Williams, Mary (Brunel U., UK). The importance of metacognition in the literacy development of young gifted and talented children. Gifted Education International (Bicester, UK), 17, 3 (2003).04–82Wyse, Dominic (Liverpool John Moores U., UK; Email: [email protected]). The national literacy strategy: a critical review of empirical evidence. British Educational Research Journal (London, UK), 29, 6 (2003), 903–916.


2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-157

03—335 Bacha, Nahla N. (Lebanese American U., Byblos, Lebanon; Email: [email protected]). Developing learners' academic writing skills in higher education: A study for educational reform. Language and Education (Clevedon, UK), 16, 3 (2002), 161—77.03—336 Bimmel, Peter (U. van Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Strategische lessen lernen in der Fremdsprache. [Learning strategic reading in foreign languages.] Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung (Berlin, Germany), 13, 1 (2002), 113—41.03—337 Bloch, Joel (The Ohio State U., USA; Email: [email protected]). Student/teacher interaction via email: The social context of Internet discourse. Journal of Second Language Writing (Norwood, NJ, USA), 11, 2 (2002), 117—34.03—338 Kobayashi, Hiroe (Hiroshima U., Japan; Email: [email protected]) and Rinnert, Carol. High school student perceptions of first language literacy instruction: Implications for second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing (Norwood, NJ, USA), 11, 2 (2002), 91—116.03—339 Lee, Icy (Hong Kong Baptist U.; Email: [email protected]). Teaching coherence to ESL students: A classroom inquiry. Journal of Second Language Writing (Norwood, NJ, USA), 11, 2 (2002), 135—59.03—340 Lindgren, Eva and Sullivan, Kirk P. H. (Umeå U., Sweden; Email: [email protected]). The LS graph: A methodology for visualizing writing revision. Language Learning (Malden, MA, USA), 52, 3 (2002), 565—95.03—341 Schindler, Kirsten (Universität Bielefeld, Germany). Gemeinsames Schreiben in der Fremdsprache: Muster, Kreativität und das Glück des Autors. [Writing together in a foreign language: Models, creativity and the happiness of the author.] Glottodidactica (Poznán, Poland), 28 (2002), 161—84.03—342 Sullivan, Kirk and Lindgren, Eva (Uméa U., Sweden; Email: [email protected]). Self-assessment in autonomous computer-aided second language writing. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK), 56, 3 (2002), 258—66.


Author(s):  
John W. Schwieter

In the present study, Vygotsky’s (1978, 1986) sociocultural framework of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and scaffolding writing (Bodrova & Leong, 1995, 1996; Ross, 1976) are used as the theoretical basis to study the development of second language writing. A course project is presented in which advanced English language learners of Spanish acted as authors and editors to create their own professional magazines for an authentic audience. In the project, each student authored four essays which went through four peer- and instructor-edited stages of scaffolding writing techniques. After each stage, ratings were given by the editors who also facilitated feedback debriefing sessions (Lidz, 1991). Statistical analyses revealed significant improvement within the four essays demonstrating writing development of subsequent revisions of a single essay. There was also significant improvement between the four essays revealing a linear, continuous writing development. In all, these results support a notion that scaffolding writing techniques and feedback debriefing sessions within the ZPD effectively develops writing skills in second language learning when contextualized through a writing workshop involving the creation of a professional magazine designed for an authentic audience.


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