scholarly journals Coherence Problems of EFL Students’ Writing in Light of the Gricean Maxims

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-313
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Khonamari ◽  
Ehsan Hashemi ◽  
Martina Pavlikova ◽  
Bozena Petrasova
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Basic Problem ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Cooperative Principle ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Gricean Maxims ◽  
Efl Students

Aim. In academic writing, lack of coherence is thought to occur mostly due to the lack of necessary linguistic skills and knowledge in L2. Thus, the analysis of a written text is concerned with understanding the local relations among the ideas conveyed in a text. Concept. As is usually the case, students writing in a second language generally produce texts that contain varying degrees of grammatical and rhetorical errors. Most of the studies have been conducted with only one criterion for the analysis of coherence and they reported different results. Also, most of them have been conducted on a small scale in terms of the number of participants, and writing samples collected. Therefore, this study tries to investigate the coherence problems/errors of university students in their writing, if any, on a fairly large scale in light of the Cooperative principle and its maxims. Results and conclusion. The study revealed that the basic problem of the students in their essay writing was the way the text should be structured with reference to how cohesion and coherence are established. In the analysis of maxim violations, the violation of the Quality maxim was identified as making overgeneralisations or giving inadequate or no evidence/support for the claims/ideas. The violation of the Quality maxim indicates that students tend to do it due to their linguistic inadequacies.

scholarly journals Toward an Intercultural Rhetoric: Improving Chinese EFL Students’ Essay Writing through Outline Writing

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Fang Li ◽  
Yingqin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Intercultural Rhetoric ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Main Ideas ◽  
English Academic Writing ◽  
Chinese And English

This study explores the effects of teaching EFL students to use an outline in their English essays. The researchers maintain that using outlines can raise students’ awareness of different audience expectations embedded in the rhetoric of the target language (English) and culture and can improve their English academic writing. The study was based on a four-week long case study at a university in Xi’an, China, in which 24 Chinese EFL students at the College of Translation Studies participated. A discourse analysis was conducted by comparing the Chinese EFL students’ English essays produced at the beginning of the study with those produced at the end of the study after learning and practicing outlining for writing the English essays. Email inquiries were used for understanding the participants’ viewpoints on learning how to write English essay outlines. The findings reveal that teaching EFL students to use outlining in their English essays is an effective way to help them improve their essay writing. Not only can it enhance the students’ understanding about using the English thesis statements, but it can also help improve the use of related, logical, and specific detailed examples to support the main ideas in their essays. The email inquiries also revealed that the students believe that outline learning helped them to understand the differences between Chinese and English essay writing. The implications of the study for intercultural rhetoric are also discussed.

scholarly journals Teaching Writing in EAP Contexts

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viorica Condrat
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Process Development ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Discourse Community ◽  
State University ◽  
Efl Students

Academic writing is a particular type of scholarly interaction which signals the writer’s affiliation to a specific discourse community. Developing academic writing skills should become a priority for higher education. This paper describes a small-scale study which investigates the role of blogging in developing academic writing skills in undergraduate students. Blogging is viewed as a platform where the scholarly interaction between members of the same discourse community can take place. The paper is based on the survey data and observation during the experiment conducted at Alecu Russo Balti State University of Moldova. It reports on how EFL students reacted to the use of blogs for academic writing tasks. The findings suggest that students seem to have a positive attitude to blogging pointing out to such benefits as: enhanced self-efficacy, awareness of the writing process, development of reader awareness, increased responsibility for the quality of the writing. We argue that blogging can yield significant improvement in undergraduate students’ academic writing.

scholarly journals RHETORICAL PATTERN IN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY WRITING BY EFL STUDENTS OF IAIN SURAKARTA

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Sujito Sujito ◽  
Wildan Mahir Muttaqien
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Slow Learner ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Fast Learner ◽  
Strong Connectivity ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Thesis Statement

  This study reports pattern of rhetoric in argumentative essay of academic writing accros three achievement categories: fast learner, medium learner, and slow learner.  Descriptive correlation between the  pattern of the rhetoric and overall quality of academic writing was also identified. This research was descriptive study using content analysis approach. The research subjects were 3 classes of semester VII EFL student out of 9 classes selected  in purposive sampling. Pattern of rhetoric in students work was analyzed in seven categories: thesis statement, reservation, background information, rational appeal, affective appeal, conclusion, and hesitation. ESL composition profile by Jacobs was employed  to measure students’ academic argumentative essay. The finding showed that rhetoric pattern categories in three different writing achievers was failed to use. However, strong connectivity between pattern of the seven rhetoric categories and overall quality of academic writing across level of achievement was significantly linked.  

scholarly journals A Study of EFL Students’ Interpretations of Cultural Aspects in Foreign Language Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Osiris Hernández Castro ◽  
Yolanda Samacá Bohórquez
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Efl Students

This article explores the relevance of implementing the cultural aspects of both foreign and own countries as a paramount issue in the teaching of a target language. This small scale research project was developed as a component of the seminar on Bilinguism offered by Universidad Distrital in Bogotá as part of its Master ́s program in Applied Linguistics to the Teaching of English. The authors of this research collected data to find out and compare how university students from Tunja and Bogotá –two major Colombian cities– assess the incorporation of cultural aspects of the foreign country into the teaching of the foreign language. Thus, the guiding question of this research is: How do EFL students interpret cultural aspects embedded in foreign language learning?

The Effect of Using Mobile Devices on Students' Performance in Writing

2016 ◽  
pp. 250-270
Author(s):  
Marielle Patronis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Large Scale Integration ◽  
Scale Integration ◽  
The Impact

The number of projects exploring the potential of mobile device-facilitated learning is steadily growing in higher education, prompted, in part, by the use of mobile technology in the work place. The use of mobile devices has expanded from short-term trials on a small scale to large-scale integration in educational settings from primary to higher education. With this increase, the use of textual-based communication has also increased. Hence, the mode of writing faces a new environment from printed text to the digital. However, there remains a lack of analysis that brings together the findings of the impact of using mobile devices on students' performance in academic writing. Consequently, the aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of how mobile devices impact students' performance in writing along with recommendations for possible future pedagogical uses of mobile technologies. The chapter builds on a pilot study conducted in spring 2014 at a university in Dubai, UAE, which explored the effect of using the iPad on learners' writing performance.

British Students' Academic Writing

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Sultan
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
University Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Remedial Measures ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
The North ◽  
Word Selection

The problem of poor academic writing among British university students is a major cause of concern for universities and their tutors; and it is also of concern to employers struggling to recruit individuals able to communicate clearly and accurately. This article reports on a study designed to highlight some of the reasons for the lack of writing skills, with a view to identifying remedial measures that could be taken to address the problem. The object of the study is an Academy (secondary school) in the North of England, referred to as Northland Academy (NA), one of the new Academies first introduced by the Labour Government in 2000 and now enthusiastically endorsed and promoted in England by the current UK Coalition Government. A first group of students at NA was given relatively simple tests of punctuation and word selection and essay writing; and, separately, a second group was presented with a research proposal and given the task of writing an essay on it. It is suggested that a change in Government policy is needed in order to emphasize and include the importance of academic writing for secondary and FE students intending to progress into HE.

scholarly journals ENHANCING ACADEMIC WRITING PERFORMANCE THROUGH DIRECT INSTRUCTION OF THE ACADEMIC FORMULAS

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 850-861
Author(s):  
Nor Ashikin Ab Manan ◽  
Paramaswari Jaganathan ◽  
Ambigapathy Pandian
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Direct Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Writing Performance ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Small Effect Size ◽  
Before And After ◽  
And Control

This paper discusses the results of a study on formula instruction conducted among mixed-ability diploma level university students. The main objective of the study was to investigate whether incorporating direct instruction of academic formulas (DIAF) into an academic writing class would encourage the use of the target academic formulas (TAF) in the post academic essay writing (AEW) test, and improve the subjects’ academic writing performance. Two intact groups of diploma level university students enrolled in an academic writing course employing a process-oriented writing approach participated in the study. Both groups consisted of forty students and were assigned as the experimental and control groups. DIAF was incorporated into the existing academic writing course’s syllabus and was conducted two hours per week over six out of the fourteen-week semester. Pre and post AEW tests were used to assess the subjects’ academic writing performance before and after the treatment. The results of the study are discussed by addressing three research questions: 1) What are the effects of DIAF on the TAF use in the post AEW test? 2) What is the effect of TAF use on the post AEW test scores? 3) What are the effects of DIAF on the subjects’ academic writing performance? It was concluded that DIAF encourages the use of more TAF and a more varied selection of TAF in the post AEW test. There is a significant but weak positive linear relationship between the number of TAF used in the post AEW test and the post AEW test scores (r=0.473), and the number of TAF used is a significant predictor in estimating the scores for all the three AEW test components. DIAF is also beneficial at enhancing the subjects’ academic writing performance with a large effect size of 0.98 for ‘language’ component, 0.86 for ‘organization’ component and a small effect size of 0.45 for ‘content’ component.

scholarly journals Investigating writing difficulties in essay writing: Tertiary students’ perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Suhaimah Bulqiyah ◽  
Moh. Arif Mahbub ◽  
Dyah Ayu Nugraheni
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Writing Difficulties ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Language And Education ◽  
Cognitive Problems

This study is primarily designed for investigating the tertiary students’ perspectives on the writing difficulties of essays. This study was conducted in explanatory research in which quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from the web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interview, then analyzed separately. 21 undergraduate students have enrolled in the survey and 6 of them were invited to the interview section. This research reveals tertiary students' problems in essay writing course are categorized into: affective problems which raise from students’ and lecturers’ attitude while teaching and learning Essay Writing Course, cognitive problems that considered as the difficulties in the areas of writing viewpoint, transferring language, and the process of writing, and linguistic problems in the area of lexico-grammar, vocabulary, and the structure of the essay. Due to the findings, those aspects of academic writing should be serious attention for both EFL students and teachers to overcome the problems. The findings of this study have implications for EFL writing course designers as basic data of material improvement and for researchers particularly in the realms of language and education.

scholarly journals Culture and Innovation in Essay Writing Project: EFL Students’ Perceptions

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1433
Author(s):  
Bambang Yudi Cahyono
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
State University ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Writing Project ◽  
Innovation Culture ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Creative Products ◽  
Writing Competence

Two important concepts in education nowadays are “culture” and “innovation.” Culture is important as it goes along with the way people think, feel, and do and their phases of life, while innovation is important as it suggests development. In the context of education in the globalization, culture reflects identity, while innovation reflects creative products beyond conventional practices. This small-scale study examined EFL students’ perceptions on the essay writing project incorporating both culture and innovation. It involved 25 students attending an essay writing course in the English Department of a state university in Indonesia, Following the completion of the teaching and learning actvites: the students’ perceptions were elicited on the basis of three criteria: development of idea for writing, meaningfulness of the writing project, and writing competence of the students. The results showed that the EFL students perceived combination of local culture and innovation in the form of video making helped them developing essays. They also thought that the essay writing project was meaningful and they felt that their writing competence improved after following the writing project.

scholarly journals Corpus Routes and Experiments in Language Teaching

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-53
Author(s):  
O. G. Gorina ◽  
N. S. Tsarakova
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Quantitative Aspect ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Lexical Bundles ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Awareness Tool ◽  
Subjective Phenomenon

Corpus quantitative approach in teaching, which is of growing interest, entails some revision of the L2 vocabulary selection procedures and provides solutions for a wide range of practical problems. The focus throughout is on the discussion of research on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of language which both teaching content and language acquisition practice could draw on. This research regards human language as a rank distribution, which has serious implications on quantitative aspect of learner’s vocabulary. We also looked into the ways to factor in the data from a small professional discourse corpus in order to target the units that have the greatest statistical prominence. Both BNC and our own collection of texts are explored. The study also elaborates on academic writing cohesive devices and grammar patterns introduction, which is approached through concordancing corpus strings to (i) provide frequency evidence and (ii) introduce a contrast in usage in various corpus genres. Striking differences that are evidenced by the frequency lists could be related not only to register, but also to the choice and instances of academic cohesive clusters which are favoured by the apprentice writers and the expert writers. With the aim of capitalizing on corpus approach a number of small-scale corpus research tasks were developed. This study also uses corpus tools and data to give a seemingly subjective phenomenon of hedging some quantitative measurement. While experimenting on corpus in the classroom, the attention of learners was drawn to various means of hedging, such as lexical bundles or down-toners that manifest themselves as important communicative strategies. Thus, corpus was used to inform both the language instructor and the student in the classroom to look in detail at differences in the use of lexical and grammatical units in different varieties of language, address contrasting register variations, and readily provide contemporary professionally relevant examples of actual language usage. It has to be noted that university students have a tendency not to perceive register violations as language errors on a par with those of grammar, lexis or punctuation. Hence, corpus investigation as raising awareness tool also proved to be an effective teaching material generator. Nowadays syllabi have the opportunity to be rather sensitive to the quantitative evidence that corpora offer us; what is more, as a result of this study, we would conclude that university students are responsive to the small-scale investigation of register differences, lexico-grammatical frequency and patterning, which have been brought directly into the L2 classroom.

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