scholarly journals Second Language Writing and Assessment: Voices from Within the Saudi EFL Context

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Obeid
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Students

This small scale, quantitatively based, research study aimed at exploring one of the most debated areas in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL); and that is, the perceptions and attitudes of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers as well as EFL learners at an English Language Institute (ELI) at a major university in the Western region of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz University, towards second language writing assessment. The research study involved, randomly selected twenty-two EFL teachers and seventy-eight EFL students between the period of September 2016 and December 2016. Two, purposefully designed, twenty-item, Likert scale questionnaires were distributed amongst the teachers and students. One for the participating EFL teachers and one for the participating EFL students. Data analysis using descriptive statistical methods indicated several concerns which EFL teachers and students have with regards to the writing assessment in general and to the obstacles EFL teachers face when teaching and assessing writing. In addition, there was an indication of general resentments and strong feelings amongst the EFL students where the majority indicated that they are sometimes graded unfairly and writing assessment should take another, more holistic approach rather a narrow one. The study makes recommendations for future research.

Peer and teacher assessment of second-language writing in high- and low-stakes conditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Rezaei ◽  
Khaled Barkaoui
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Teacher Assessment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
Rater Severity ◽  
Rating Criteria

Abstract This study aimed to compare second-language (L2) students’ ratings of their peers’ essays on multiple criteria with those of their teachers’ under different assessment conditions. Forty EFL teachers and 40 EFL students took part in the study. They each rated one essay on five criteria twice, under high-stakes and low-stakes assessment conditions. Multifaceted Rasch Analysis and correlation analyses were conducted to compare rater severity and consistency across rater groups, rating criteria and assessment conditions. The results revealed that there was more variation in students’ ratings than the teachers’ across assessment conditions. Additionally, both rater groups had different degrees of severity in assessing different criteria. In general, students were significantly more severe on language use than were teachers; whereas teachers were significantly more severe than were peers on organization. Student and teacher severity also varied across rating criteria and assessment conditions. The findings of this study have implications for planning and implementing peer assessment in the L2 writing classroom as well as for future research.

scholarly journals First Person and Second Person Markers as Representatives of a Case in a Verb Form

2021 ◽  
Vol X (3) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
Liliya Makovskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Oral Feedback ◽  
Electronic Feedback ◽  
Language Writing

Feedback has always been considered important in second language writing. Quite recently due to various reasons, electronic feedback has become one of the frequently applied types (Zareekbatani, 2015; Ene & Upton, 2018). The aim of the research study was therefore to identify lecturers’ and students’ views on the use of online comments provided on the second language writing tasks. The data was collected through conducting online semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students and lecturers of one Uzbek university. The findings revealed that a variety of comments given on different aspects of the written assessment tasks in the Google documents and combined with additional oral feedback were effective. The article aims at discussing the detailed findings of the research study and providing possible suggestions for language teachers on the use of electronic feedback in L2 writing.

scholarly journals A REVIEW OF THEORIES AND RESEARCH INTO SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Duong Thu Mai
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Major Development ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Criterion Referenced ◽  
Writing Competence

As language assessment in Vietnam is being intensively attended to by the Ministry of Education and Training and is actually critically transformed, criterion-referenced assessment has gradually been a familiar term for language teachers, assessors and administrators. Although the name of the approach has been extensively used, most teachers of English at all levels of language education still face the challenge of identifying “criteria” for writing assessment scales. This paper attempts to provide a reference for teachers and researchers in second language writing  concerning on the major development in the field in defining this construct of “writing competence”. The paper focuses more on the existing and published literature globally on English writing teaching approaches, research and practices. These contents are reviewed and summarized into two major strands: the product-oriented considerations and the process-oriented considerations.

scholarly journals Teacher Electronic Written Corrective Feedback, Trends and Future Directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-322
Author(s):  
Omar Abdullah Altamimi ◽  
Mona Masood
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Written Corrective Feedback ◽  
Language Writing

The past two decades witnessed increased attention in the role of Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in improving the English as a second language(ESL) students’ written linguistic accuracy. Several methods were suggested, including the use of the electronic means of providing corrective feedback. The electronic methods proved to be effective despite the limited numbers and contexts. However, the extent of these studies is still unknown. Furthermore, no comprehensive review of the studies had been conducted to date. This systematic literature review will identify and classify the research on providing ESL teachers with Electronic Written Corrective Feedback (EWCF). A survey of several experimental and analytical studies that focused on testing the effect of different methods of EWCF on ESL students was conducted, covering the period between 2006 and 2020. Two major groups of studies emerged from this research, and several gaps were identified. The research concluded with several recommendations regarding the potential tracks for future research on EWCF. The current research will serve as a guideline for ESL writing practitioners and researchers on future teacher corrective feedback in second language writing.

The Effects of Pre-Task Planning on Second Language Writing: A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-165
Author(s):  
Rod Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Writing Quality ◽  
Moderating Variables ◽  
Online Planning ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract There are both pedagogical and theoretical grounds for asking second language writers to plan before they start writing. The question then arises whether pre-task planning (PTP) improves written output. To address this question, this article reviewed 32 studies by comparing the effect of PTP either with no planning or with unpressured online planning (OLP). These studies also investigated the moderating effect of variables relating to the writer participants, the nature of the planning, and the writing tasks. The main findings are: (1) There is no clear evidence that PTP leads to better overall writing quality when this is measured using rating rubrics, (2) PTP generally results in more fluent writing, (3) its impact on syntactical and lexical complexity is inconsistent and negligible, (4) OLP does sometimes result in increased linguistic accuracy, and (5) there is insufficient evidence to reach clear conclusions about the role that moderating variables have on the impact of PTP, but the results suggest that collaborative (as opposed to individual planning) can lead to increased accuracy and that PTP tends to lead to more complex language when the writing task is a complex one. The article concludes with a set of principles to ensure better quality research and three general proposals for the kind of future research needed.

SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING RESEARCH AND WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN SLA

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana R. Ferris
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Written Corrective Feedback ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
History Of

For more than a decade now, a great deal of research has been done on the topic of written corrective feedback (CF) in SLA and second language (L2) writing. Nonetheless, what those research efforts really have shown as well as the possible implications for practice remain in dispute. Although L2 writing and SLA researchers often examine similar phenomena in similar ways, they do not necessarily ask the same questions. SLA-focused researchers investigate whether written CF facilitates the acquisition of particular linguistic features. In contrast, L2 writing researchers generally emphasize the question of whether written CF helps student writers improve the overall effectiveness of their texts. Understanding these differences in starting points is important because it provides a possible explanation for the conflicting methodologies and conclusions of various reviews on this topic (e.g., Ferris, 2003, 2004; Truscott, 1996, 2007). This article briefly traces the history of these two parallel lines of research on written CF and notes both contrasts and convergences. It then moves to a focused discussion of the possible implications and applications of this body of work for the L2 language and writing classroom and for future research efforts.

What we need to know about student writers’ grammar learning and correction

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chian-Wen Kao ◽  
Barry Lee Reynolds ◽  
(Mark) Feng Teng
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Grammar Correction ◽  
Grammar Learning ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Students

AbstractThe question of whether grammar learning and correction is effective for second language writing development depends on students’ needs and tendency to study grammar. While the extent of the influence of grammar learning, grammar correction, and learner beliefs on second language writing for English as a second language settings and learners has been heavily debated, little of the research has considered the backgrounds and beliefs of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To explore factors that have influenced EFL students’ writing, the current study investigated beliefs regarding grammar learning and correction of 306 EFL students studying at universities of science and technology. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on questionnaire data gathered from the Taiwanese EFL student writers. The analysis uncovered four significant factors including (1) emphasis on the connection between grammar learning and writing, (2) positive attitude towards analyses of grammar rules, (3) positive attitude towards written correction, and (4) negative attitude towards oral correction. Qualitative data gathered through ten open-ended questions further indicated that EFL student writers welcomed teachers’ written correction of grammar errors especially when grammar correction was received for writing produced during writing tasks tailored to students’ future work-related needs. Pedagogical implications and future materials development for university of science and technology EFL student writers were discussed.

Peer Feedback on Second Language Writing through Blogs

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuong Thi Tuyet Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Peer Revision ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Students First ◽  
Efl Students

This study explores how Vietnamese EFL students view blogs as tools with which to practise writing, examines whether student comments assist in peer revision, and evaluates whether peer comments result in substantive revisions of written drafts. Participants in this study included 11 students in an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom in Vietnam. Data collected included students’ first and final drafts for two writing topics, comments posted online, and student responses to a questionnaire. Student responses to the questionnaire were analysed and their comments were coded as revision-oriented or non-revision-oriented (Liu & Sadler, 2003). This study’s findings indicate that most students expressed positive attitudes toward using blogs to practise second language (L2) writing and that most students made revision-oriented comments on their peers’ drafts. There is also evidence that students used their peers’ comments to revise their own final drafts. The implications of this study for language teaching practice are discussed.

scholarly journals Teacher Electronic Written Corrective Feedback, Trends and Future Directions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Abdullah Altamimi ◽  
Mona Masood
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Esl Writing ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Written Corrective Feedback ◽  
Language Writing

The past two decades witnessed increased attention in the role of Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) in improving the English as a second language(ESL) students’ written linguistic accuracy. Several methods were suggested, including the use of the electronic means of providing corrective feedback. The electronic methods proved to be effective despite the limited numbers and contexts. However, the extent of these studies is still unknown. Furthermore, no comprehensive review of the studies had been conducted to date. This systematic literature review will identify and classify the research on providing ESL teachers with Electronic Written Corrective Feedback (EWCF). A survey of several experimental and analytical studies that focused on testing the effect of different methods of EWCF on ESL students was conducted, covering the period between 2006 and 2020. Two major groups of studies emerged from this research, and several gaps were identified. The research concluded with several recommendations regarding the potential tracks for future research on EWCF. The current research will serve as a guideline for ESL writing practitioners and researchers on future teacher corrective feedback in second language writing.

L2 French Writing Assessment: A Methodological Critique

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-25
Author(s):  
Sheri Dion
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
L2 Writing ◽  
Time On Task ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
L2 Development

This paper presents a methodological critique of three empirical studies in second language (L2) French writing assessment. To distinguish key themes in French L2 writing assessment, a literature review was conducted resulting in the identification of 27 studies that were categorized into three major themes. The three studies examined in this article each represent one theme respectively. Within this analysis, the underlying constructs being measured are identified, and the strengths and limitations are deliberated.  Findings from this detailed examination suggest that three examined studies in L2 French writing assessment have significant methodological flaws that raise questions about the claims being made. From this investigation, several studyspecific  recommendations are made, and four general recommendations for improving French L2 writing assessment are offered: (1) the social setting in which L2 assessments take place ought to be a consideration (2) the difficulty of tasks and time on task should be taken into account (3) greater consistency should be used when measuring and denoting a specific level of instruction (i.e. “advanced”) and (4) universal allusions to “fluency” should be avoided when generalizing one component of L2 competency (such as writing achievement) to other aspects of L2 development. Key words: French writing, methodological critique, written assessment, language assessment, second language writing assessment

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