Academic Writing Proficiency: The Role Of Academic Writing Instruction In Efl Preparatory Programs

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Mcdonald ◽  
Hannah Murtagh
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Preparatory Programs

The Role of Online Tools in Promoting EFL Writing

2015 ◽  
pp. 248-267
Author(s):  
Shaimaa Abd El Fattah Torky
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Asynchronous Communication ◽  
Process Writing ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Technological Revolution ◽  
Written Production ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Efl Writing Instruction

Taking into account the paradigm shift we are witnessing because of the technological revolution, the call for drastic changes in writing instruction has grown louder and stronger in recent years. In this chapter, the potential for incorporating technology into EFL writing instruction is explored. It offers a detailed account of how to incorporate online synchronous and asynchronous communication into writing instruction and mentions the precedence of asynchronous tools in this respect. It then follows a description of possible online activities claimed to promote EFL writing proficiency as well as pitfalls that might be encountered. Clear guidelines are provided for online written communication, and emphasis is on the resulting drastic change in the teacher's role. The chapter ends by explaining how to integrate online asynchronous communication and the process writing approach to enhance EFL written production.

scholarly journals Examining the Application of Grammatical Metaphors in Academic Writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Lexical Density ◽  
Academic Register ◽  
Text Cohesion ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Competence

English academic writing is a challenging task for Chinese EFL learners. For graduate students, they need systematic and explicit guidance to improve their academic writing competence. Grammatical metaphors are important resources for constructing academic discourse, and nominalization in ideational metaphors is regarded as the most powerful tool for achieving formality, objectivity, lexical density and text cohesion typical of academic papers. This article focuses on the role of grammatical metaphors in the production of quality academic written texts. It analyzes the function of grammatical metaphors in academic register and the application of these grammatical metaphors in creating academic meanings. The paper also provides some pedagogical implications for academic writing instruction for advanced EFL learners.

scholarly journals ‘Tutoring Is Not Proofreading’. Exploring the Perceptions of Writing Tutors at University Writing Centres, Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Rehab Alowayid
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Academic Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Writing Tutorials ◽  
Interpretive Inquiry ◽  
Writing Tutors

Academic discourse is highly complex and requires writers to follow specific writing conventions. Many Saudi university students have underdeveloped writing skills (Al-Khairy, 2013). One way to assist second language (L2) learners and develop their academic writing skills is through academic language support offered by writing centres. The challenge for writing centre tutors lies in the predominant belief among many L2 students that tutors’ only role is to fix students’ mistakes. Although there has been significant growth in writing centres in Saudi universities, the perceptions of writing tutors concerning tutoring non-native students are still under-researched. This study uses thematic analysis to explore the role of writing tutorials as perceived by writing centre tutors in Saudi settings. Data were obtained using an interpretive inquiry through individual interviews of two tutors. The main findings of the interviews were that tutors perceived proofreading requests, low writing proficiency of tutees and tutees’ understanding of tutors’ role as influencing their tutorial practices. The implementation of this study may help regulate the role of tutors in writing centres in Saudi universities by highlighting new avenues that can improve writing tutorials, especially in Saudi Arabia.

scholarly journals English academic writing proficiency in higher education: Facilitating the transition from metalinguistic awareness to metalinguistic competence

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingunn Ofte
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Metacognitive Skills ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Academic Vocabulary ◽  
Initial Questionnaire ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
Further Development

Students entering higher education are expected to develop into proficient academic writers in the course of their studies. The article focuses on metalinguistic awareness in the development of English (L2) academic writing proficiency in higher education. It builds on an on-going study investigating the role of metacognitive skills in the development of L2 academic writing proficiency in higher education. It bases its findings on an initial questionnaire which aimed at clarifying the students’ understanding of “an academic text” and “academic writing” in English, and how well they perceived themselves to mastering L2 academic writing. The article sheds light on the extent to which metalinguistic awareness of L2 academic vocabulary and language is present in the students’ thoughts about L2 academic writing as expressed in their responses to the questionnaire, and discusses the findings and their implications for how to further facilitate students’ development of L2 academic writing proficiency. The analysis reveals that the students possess elements of metalinguistic awareness about L2 academic writing but that their awareness is limited, particularly in relation to practical use of academic vocabulary. The results also indicate that the students lack the metalinguistic competence necessary to put their awareness into practice. The study concludes that raising students’ metalinguistic awareness is necessary to facilitate their further development in L2 academic writing proficiency. It argues that metalinguistic conversations can be an important tool in this process, and emphasizes that greater focus on such conversations as facilitators of L2 academic writing proficiency is needed within L2 higher education.

Integrated Practice of Metacognitive Strategies And Second Language Writing

2021 ◽  
pp. 118-136
Author(s):  
Mekala Sethuraman ◽  
Geetha Radhakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Metacognitive Strategies ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Control Engineering ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Teacher Researcher ◽  
Integrated Practice ◽  
And Control

Writing is a cardinal skill for effective communication practised extensively from primary education, but the students are not exhibiting adequate writing proficiency in their higher education and at their workplace. This experimental study focuses on enhancing the students’ writing skills by promoting metacognitive strategies in the classroom. The participants of this study are 51 pre-final year Diploma students belonging to the Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering of an autonomous polytechnic institute in Tamil Nadu. The teacher-researcher has facilitated students’ cognizance with metacognitive strategies employed in the writing tasks administered during the course. The results have exhibited improvement apropos of coherence and unity in the students’ writing skill. It implies the indispensable role of metacognitive strategies in developing the capacity of the learners’ strategic thinking and guiding them to plan, progress, and process their writing into a coherent text.

scholarly journals PhD Students Learning the Process of Academic Writing: The Role of the Rhetorical Rectangle

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 136-162
Author(s):  
Beverly FitzPatrick ◽  
Mike Chong ◽  
James Tuff ◽  
Sana Jamil ◽  
Khalid Al Hariri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Formal Group ◽  
Scholarly Writing ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Writing Group ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Doctoral Writing

PhD students are enculturated into scholarly writing through relationships with their supervisors and other faculty. As part of a doctoral writing group, we explored students’ experiences that affected their writing, both cognitively and affectively, and how these experiences made them feel about themselves as academic writers. Six first and second year doctoral students participated in formal group discussions, using Edward de Bono’s (1985/1992) Six Thinking Hats to guide the discussions. In addition, the students wrote personal narratives about their writing experiences. Data were analyzed according to the rhetorical rectangle of logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos. Analysis revealed that students were having struggles with their identities as academic writers, not feeling as confident as they had before their programs, and questioning some of the pedagogy of teaching academic writing.

Integrating Culture in Language Preparatory Programs

2020 ◽  
pp. 433-451
Author(s):  
Enisa Mede ◽  
Zeynep Mutlu Cansever
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Preparatory Program ◽  
Culture Teaching ◽  
Preparatory Programs ◽  
Program Data

This chapter aims to investigate the role of culture in English Language Preparatory Programs in Turkey. Specifically, the chapter attempts to gain insights on what types of culture teaching activities native and non-native English instructors use in their classroom, find out if there is any difference between the two groups of participants and lastly, identify to what extent they implement culture in their teaching practices.. The sample population of this study were 95 (44 native and 51 non-native) EFL instructors working in the preparatory program. Data were collected from a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The findings revealed that both groups of instructors agreed that language and culture are closely related and that culture should be integrated in classrooms frequently to help students to become intercultural speakers as well as become more competent in how to develop a relationship with people of other languages and cultures.

I See Therefore I Think

2018 ◽  
pp. 62-76
Author(s):  
J. T. Torres
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Visual Learning ◽  
Phonological Loop ◽  
Narrative Writing ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
The World ◽  
Processing Information

This chapter uses cognitive theory of information processing to demonstrate the role of visual learning in the context of reading and writing. According to the theory, individuals do not take a singular approach to processing information. Rather, they experience the world through visual and verbal channels. Information is then organized by working memory into more comprehensive models—the visuo-spatial sketchpad and the phonological loop. The author considers pedagogical strategies for writing instruction that rely on the multimedia principle, which states that our minds work best when learning combines the visual with the aural. The specific mission of the chapter is to show how the multimedia principle can benefit writing instruction in three different contexts: 1) reading and writing comprehension, 2) narrative writing, and 3) grammar usage. The chapter concludes with the suggestion that learning through images is not just a cultural phenomenon, but also a scientific one.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document