scholarly journals Past and future research agendas on writing strategies: Conceptualizations, inquiry methods, and research findings

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-267
Author(s):  
Rosa M. Manchón
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Feedback Processing ◽  
Research Agendas

This paper offers a retrospective narrative review of research on L2 writing strategies and a prospective discussion of potential theoretical and pedagogical relevant lines of inquiry to be explored in future research agendas. The retrospective analysis will synthesize the main trends observed in the conceptualization of writing strategies as well as central directions followed in empirical research in the domain. The prospective discussion tries to advance research agendas on the basis of several observations about L2 writing that are presented as key points to be considered when analyzing existing or thinking about future research in the domain. Special mention will be made of future research avenues centrally concerned with theoretical and empirical questions on the manner in which strategic behavior during writing and during written corrective feedback processing may foster language learning. It will be suggested that following this route can result in interesting and profitable synergies between research on language learning strategies and recent SLA-oriented L2 writing research initiatives on the language learning potential associated with L2 writing.

The Use of Models as Written Corrective Feedback in English as a Foreign Language (EFL)Writing

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 110-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
María del Pilar García Mayo ◽  
Udane Loidi Labandibar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Feedback Processing ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Written Corrective Feedback ◽  
Writing Task

ABSTRACTThe language learning potential of writing has been an underresearched topic in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The present study investigates what Basque-Spanish EFL teenage learners (n = 60) notice when writing a composition in response to visual stimuli in a three-stage writing task including output, comparison, and delayed revision. The present study also explores how this noticing and feedback processing affects their subsequent revisions. The findings revealed that participants noticed mainly lexical problems, although they also paid attention to content features. Moreover, more proficient learners and guided learners noticed more features. A qualitative analysis of the results indicated that, overall, learners had a negative attitude toward writing and modeling, but those with more positive beliefs incorporated more items in subsequent revisions. A number of implications for research and pedagogy will be discussed.

scholarly journals An Investigation into Writing Strategies and Writing Proficiency of University Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeid Raoofi ◽  
Massoud Binandeh ◽  
Saifullah Rahmani
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Writing Proficiency ◽  
Social Strategy ◽  
Writing Strategy ◽  
Effort Regulation

This paper reports on an investigation into the relationship between writing strategy use and L2 writing proficiency. Although research into language learning strategies is extensive, only a few studies have addressed L2 writing strategies of university students. 312 undergraduate students learning English as a second language took a writing proficiency test and completed a writing strategy questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the participants generally had a relatively high level of ESL writing strategy use. It was also found that Effort regulation strategy and metacognitive strategy were reported as the first and second most frequently used writing strategies respectively, while social strategy was reported as the least frequently used category. The results also showed that students with high writing abilities reported a significantly higher level of writing strategy use compared with those who had intermediate or low writing proficiency. It was found that students with higher writing ability reported using significantly more metacognitive, cognitive, affective and effort regulation strategies than those with lower writing proficiency. The discussion of the results, implications for language classroom and writing instruction are articulated. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also presented.

LANGUAGE REFLECTION FOSTERED BY INDIVIDUAL L2 WRITING TASKS

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia López-Serrano ◽  
Julio Roca de Larios ◽  
Rosa M. Manchón
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Problem Solving Strategy ◽  
Methodological Considerations

AbstractThere has been a growing interest in the study of writing from the perspective of its potential contribution to language development. However, scant attention has been paid to key methodological considerations regarding the analysis of the connection between L2 writing processes, reflection on language while writing, and language learning. In an attempt to advance in this domain, and informed by models of L2 writing, and cognitive L2 writing research framed in the problem-solving paradigm, this study provides a comprehensive description of the language reflection individual writers engage in when solving the linguistic problems they face while completing writing tasks in their L2. The think-aloud protocols generated by 21 EFL learners while writing an individual argumentative essay were analyzed on the basis of a reconceptualization of language-related episodes as problem-solving strategy clusters. The result is a comprehensive, theoretically motivated, and empirically based coding system that is offered as a basis for future research in the domain. We discuss the methodological implications of our analytic approach and advance some theoretical implications for future debates on the language learning potential of individual writing tasks.

Focused Tasks, Mental Actions and Second Language Learning. Cognitive and Connectionist Accounts of Task Effectiveness

2006 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Machteld Moonen ◽  
Rick de Graaff ◽  
Gerard Westhoff
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Depth Of Processing ◽  
Mental Actions ◽  
Involvement Load Hypothesis

Abstract This paper presents a theoretical framework to estimate the effectiveness of second language tasks in which the focus is on the acquisition of new linguistic items, such as vocabulary or grammar, the so-called focused tasks (R. Ellis, 2003). What accounts for the learning impact offocused tasks? We shall argue that the task-based approach (e.g. Skehan, 1998, Robinson, 2001) does not provide an in-depth account of how cognitive processes, elicited by a task, foster the acquisition of new linguistic elements. We shall then review the typologies of cognitive processes derived from research on learning strategies (Chamot & O'Malley, 1994), from the involvement load hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001), from the depth of processing hypothesis (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) and from connectionism (e.g Broeder & Plunkett, 1997; N. Ellis, 2003). The combined insights of these typologies form the basis of the multi-feature hypothesis, which predicts that retention and ease of activation of new linguistic items are improved by mental actions which involve a wide variety of different features, simultaneously and frequently. A number of implications for future research shall be discussed.

scholarly journals An Investigation of the Relationship between Language Learning Strategies and Learning Styles in Turkish Freshman Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Ozgul Balci
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Freshman Students ◽  
Faculty Of Education ◽  
Education In Turkey ◽  
The Relationship

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the language learning strategies of freshman students and their learning styles. This study is a descriptive research and employs a relational screening model. Participants of the study were 328 freshman students majoring in different fields at Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Keleşoğlu Faculty of Education in Turkey. Data were collected via Turkish version of “Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL)”, originally developed by Oxford (1990) and adapted into Turkish by Cesur and Fer (2007) and “Big 16 Learning Modality Inventory” by Şimşek (2002). Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The research results revealed that learning styles have a significant effect on language learning strategy use. The results and implications of the study are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.

scholarly journals EFL Students’ Writing Strategies in Saudi Arabian ESP Writing Classes: Perspectives on Learning Strategies in Self-access Language Learning

2012 ◽  
pp. 407-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alnufaie ◽  
Michael Grenfell
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Writing Strategies ◽  
Writing Classes ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Process Oriented ◽  
Almost All

This study was part of a PhD research to explore the writing strategies of 121 second-year undergraduate Saudi student writers who are studying English as a foreign language and for specific purposes in one of the Saudi industrial colleges: Jubail Industrial College (JIC). The writing strategies under investigation had been classified into two categories (process-oriented writing strategies and product-oriented writing strategies) based on their instructional philosophies. A strategy questionnaire was designed to collect data. Although JIC writing classes were assumed to be product-oriented as reported by the majority of the participants’ description of their teachers’ writing approach, the results showed that almost all of the participants (95.9%) were mixing the two kinds of strategies. More surprisingly, the top five writing strategies used by the participants were process-oriented.

scholarly journals Conceptual issues in strategy research: Examining the roles of teachers and students in formal education settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Thomas ◽  
Heath Rose ◽  
Punjaporn Pojanapunya
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Strategic Development ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Learner Agency

AbstractThis article provides an overview of the field of language learning strategies, focusing on definitional and conceptual issues as they relate to strategy use in formal education settings. The article first provides evidence of the conflation of language learning strategies with concepts related to self-directedness. It provides evidence via a corpus-based analysis of published papers over time to illustrate that the field has moved away from instructed settings and towards a view of learner agency and self-regulation. We argue that this is a dangerous trend for language education researchers, as current definitions minimize the role of the teacher and classroom contexts in influencing strategic behavior in their students. A conceptualization and subsequent definition that does not stigmatize or exclude learners who are not self-directed, for whatever reason(s), is crucial to advance the field. As a solution, we propose that self-regulation be defined as a dynamic characteristic of learning strategies in order to allow for other-regulated strategies in research. Theorizing the interplay of the self and strategies on a continuum helps to emphasize the dynamic processes of strategic development, and the roles teachers and students in instructed settings can play in this process.

Investigating language learning strategies: Prospects, pitfalls and challenges

2019 ◽  
pp. 136216881987615
Author(s):  
Mirosław Pawlak
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Definition Of

Major advances have been made in research on language learning strategies (LLS) since it was triggered by good language learner studies (e.g. Rubin, 1975). Numerous accounts of strategy use have been compiled, key classifications have been proposed, some progress has been made towards furthering our understanding of the complex relationship between LLS use and attainment, an array of factors impacting strategy use has been investigated, some evidence has been gathered for the beneficial role of strategies-based instruction, and new data collection tools have been developed (see e.g. Cohen, 2011; Cohen & Griffiths, 2015; Cohen & Macaro, 2007; Griffiths, 2018, 2019; Griffiths & Oxford, 2014; Oxford, 2017; Oxford & Amerstorfer, 2018; Pawlak, 2011; Pawlak & Oxford, 2018). While acute problems related to the definition of LLS, their characteristics, their separation from regular learning activities or their actual utility have surely not disappeared, some promising solutions have been proposed (Griffiths, 2018; Oxford, 2017) and calls to abandon the concept have been countered (Dörnyei, 2005). This said, a question arises as to what can be done to move the field forward. Following a brief overview of existing research, the article tackles this issue with respect to the following areas: (1) foci of future research, (2) methodological choices, and (3) consideration of how research findings can inform pedagogy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document