English learners' orientations towards complexity, accuracy, and fluency: Learner factors and L2 writing performance

In the second language acquisition domain, researchers have devoted tremendous efforts to studying the relationship between L2 learning and some socio-affective factors, such as anxiety, motivation, etc. However, little research has been done to examine whether and how perfectionism, a psychological trait, affects L2 learning and L2 performance. The present study aims to fill this gap and investigate the relationship between the level of perfectionism and L2 performance among Chinese EFL college learners. Two specific questions are raised: (1) What is the relationship between perfectionism and L2 writing performance in terms of linguistic complexity, accuracy, and fluency? (2) What is the relationship between the six dimensions of perfectionism (Concern over Mistakes, Personal Standards, Parental Expectations, Parental Criticism, Doubts about Actions, Organization) and L2 writing performance in terms of linguistic complexity, accuracy, and fluency? To answer these questions, forty second-year students from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies majoring in English participated in the present study. The participants were required to compose a piece of English argumentative writing on the online system and then complete a 35-item Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale online immediately. The collected data were then processed and analyzed through SPSS (v. 17). The results of the analysis revealed that: (1) one of the measures of syntactic complexity has a significant negative relationship with perfectionism; (2) Personal Standards, one of the six dimensions of perfectionism, has a significant negative relationship with the participants’ L2 writing performance; (3) both Parental Expectations and Parental Criticism are found negatively correlated with the fluency aspect of the writing performance and the relationships have a significant effect. The implications of the findings are suggested for pedagogy and L2 learning.

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The effect of different aspects of audience on Korean EFL university learners’ L2 writing performance

Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.17154/kjal.2021.6.37.2.91 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 91-121

Author(s):

Jee Eun Kim

Keyword(s):

L2 Writing ◽

Writing Performance

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Examining the role of learning context and individual differences in gains in L2 writing performance: the case of teenagers on an intensive study-abroad programme

Language Learning Journal ◽

10.1080/09571736.2015.1020332 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 201-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Àngels Llanes ◽

Elsa Tragant ◽

Raquel Serrano

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Study Abroad ◽

L2 Writing ◽

Intensive Study ◽

Learning Context ◽

Writing Performance

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Effect of the Comparative Continuation on L2 Writing Performance

English Language Teaching ◽

10.5539/elt.v13n8p27 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Jia-ling Han

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

L2 Writing ◽

Writing Performance ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Input Text ◽

Reading Materials ◽

Language Writing ◽

Writing Task

This study is a follow-up study of the continuation task, aiming to investigate the long-term alignment effects of the comparative continuation on L2 writing performance. The research lasted for a period of 16 weeks and employed a pretest-treatment-posttest research design. Two comparable groups of fifty-five Chinese undergraduate EFL learners participated. Both groups were assigned the same writing tasks i.e. writing an argument essay of the same topic within 30 minutes. One group was given an input text with comparative ideas before writing, while another group did not have any reading materials. After 8-week treatment, both groups received a posttest, in which the data were compared and analyzed with those of pretest. Results showed that (i) the comparative continuation task resulted in greater improvement in EFL learners’ writing performance than topic-writing task. (ii) the comparative continuation task was superior to the topic-writing task in incurring less meaning-based errors, but there was no difference in form-based errors between the two groups. The results can provide some enlightenment for teaching and research of foreign language writing.

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Investigating Metalinguistic Written Corrective Feedback Focused on EFL Learners' Discourse Markers Accuracy in Mobile-mediated Context

10.21203/rs.3.rs-66139/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Natasha Pourdana ◽

Payam Nour ◽

Fariba Yousefi

Keyword(s):

Corrective Feedback ◽

Preliminary Test ◽

Discourse Markers ◽

L2 Writing ◽

Chi Square ◽

Writing Performance ◽

Efl Learners ◽

Intact Group ◽

Written Corrective Feedback ◽

Learning Platform

Abstract Among a growing body of research that examined the contradictory role of written corrective feedback (WCF) in development of L2 writing accuracy, this study investigated the possible impact of focused metalinguistic WCF on discourse markers (DMs) in writing performance of an intact group of 42 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners over an eight-week period. In an authentic, situated, and personalized learning platform, giving and receiving WCF were made possible only through the mobile-mediated application of WhatsApp. Before participants wrote on selected elicitation topics, they had taken part in a 2004 version of Oxford Preliminary Test in order to be screened for their initial differences in writing performance. After receiving metalinguistic WCF on their scripts, participants were required to work on the coded feedback and try to eliminate the DM errors in their revised writing assignment. After collecting the scripts over an eight-week period, the content of written assignment was thematically analyzed using NVivo 21 Software for the additive, adversative, causal and temporal DMs, following Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) typology. In a convergent mixed-methods design, the content analysis of the qualitative data showed a larger distribution of additive DM than adversative, causal, and temporal DMs in all participants’ written scripts. Exploring the possible impact of metalinguistic WCF on improving the DMs accuracy, analysis of the frequency count data with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) multivariate Chi-square test reported the fluctuation and unsystematic patterns of distribution for four types of DMs with no sign of significant long-term improvement in DMs accuracy after receiving metalinguistic WCF. These findings implied further research on practicing alternative WCF strategies focused on variety of error types in actual and virtual L2 writing environments.

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