scholarly journals Finding a Place for Critical Thinking and Self-voice in College English as a Foreign Language Writing Classrooms

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman Barnawi
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Persuasive Writing ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
College English ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Efl Writing Instruction ◽  
Efl Classrooms

Although the concepts of critical thinking and self-voice have been extensively discussed in a second language writing, little attention has been given, on the pedagogical level, to critical thinking and self-voice in college EFL writing instruction. To fill such a void, this paper attempts to propose some pedagogical tasks namely:  persuasive writing tasks, draft workshops one-on-one mentoring approaches for finding a place for critical thinking and self-voice in EFL classrooms. In doing so, this paper provides the operational definitions of critical thinking and self-voice concepts. It then discusses how these two concepts are closely related to complement EFL writing learning. In what follows, it presents the rationale for finding a place for critical thinking and self-voice in EFL writing. It then touches on some pedagogical practices for developing critical thinking and self-voice in classrooms. Lastly, it addresses some challenges related to implementing critical thinking and self-voice tasks in EFL classrooms.

scholarly journals The Emergence and Development of Syntactic Patterns in EFL Writing in a School Context: A Longitudinal Study

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
M. Luz Celaya
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
School Context ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
The Times

The present longitudinal study analyses the emergence and development of syntactic patterns in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) written production. Data were elicited by means of a paper and pencil task from sixteen school learners at three different times over a time span of 6 years. Studies in the area of Second Language Writing (SLW) have mainly focused on English as a second language and very few longitudinal studies have been carried out with low proficiency learners in a school context. To further contribute to the field, we have tried out a new measure of analysis, namely, the production of syntactic patterns. The results show that most learners produce both a wider variety and a higher number of patterns from one time to another, although statistically significant differences vary across patterns in relation to the times of data collection; secondly, it was found that the behaviour of two of the learners differed from that of the rest of the participants. It is concluded that in an instructional setting, the development of syntactic patterns in EFL writing as proficiency increases does not always show progression towards complexity and that it may be learner dependent.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Research on Portfolio Keeping in English as a Foreign Language Writing

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selami Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Learning Tool ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Sample Group ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Language Writing

Little attention has been paid to the problems about portfolio keeping in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing, while the existing literature mostly focuses on the effects of portfolios on writing skills of learners, rather than those of teachers or pre-service teachers. This study aims to investigate the problems encountered and contributions of portfolios to the language skills of EFL pre-service teachers. The sample group consists of 39 pre-service teachers; a background questionnaire, interviews, a survey, and essays were used for data collection. The results indicate that portfolios significantly contribute to the writing skills, and that there exist potential problems. It was concluded that teachers and teacher trainers should use portfolio as a learning tool after solving the problems.

scholarly journals Translingualism in Composition Studies and Second Language Writing: An Uneasy Alliance

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Williams ◽  
Frank Condon
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Composition Studies ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Writing Theory ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Langue Seconde

Although some translingual advocates call for collaboration amongst composition studies, translingual, and second language writing theorists, current misinterpretations of translingual theory represent the field of second language writing in a negative light, making an alliance amongst the scholars of these elds unlikely. Translingualism is embedded in inclusive rhetorics, which, we demonstrate, equate difference with the ability to think divergently. From this perspective, linguistic difference is a catalyst for critical thinking, and linguistic standardization is discrimination. Although this view is accurate, translingual theorists are at risk of misinterpreting second language classrooms as sites of forced linguistic homogenization. The teaching of form and genre are particularly contentious as translingual theorists, who may be unaware of research in second language writing, believe that these elements are taught in second language classrooms without tolerance of linguistic variation. Because translingualism is deeply rooted in inclusive rhetorics, second language teachers are unable to object to this nega- tive view of their field without affiliating themselves with exclusionary rhetorics. However, theorists such as Larsen-Freeman, Halliday, and Tardy write about form and genre using terms similar to those used by translingual theorists, suggesting that current second language writing theory recognizes linguistic variability and the interdependence of form/genre and context. Therefore, alliances amongst scholars in the elds of composition studies, translingualism, and second language writing would be possible if the negative view of second language writing implied by misinterpretations of translingual theory could be redressed. Bien que quelques tenants du translinguisme prônent une collaboration entre les études en rédaction, les théoriciens en translinguisme et ceux en expression écrite en langue seconde, des interprétations erronées de la théorie du translinguisme présentent actuellement le domaine de la rédaction en langue seconde sous un jour négatif, rendant peu probable une alliance entre les chercheurs de ces domaines. Le translinguisme est intégré à la rhétorique de l’inclusion qui, nous le démontrons, présente la notion de la différence comme synonyme de capacité de raisonnement divergent. Selon ce e perspective, la différence linguistique est un catalyseur pour la pensée critique et la normalisation linguistique constitue une forme de discrimination. Même si ce point de vue est valide, les théoriciens en translinguisme risquent de mal interpréter les cours en langue seconde comme des sites d’uniformisation linguistique imposée. L’enseignement de la forme et du genre est particulièrement controversé car les théoriciens en translinguisme, ignorant peut-être la recherche portant sur la rédaction en langue seconde, croient que l’enseignement de ces éléments dans les cours de langue seconde se fait sans tolérer la variation linguistique. Puisque le translinguisme est fermement ancré dans la rhétorique de l’inclusion, les enseignants en langue seconde ne peuvent contester ce e vision négative de leur domaine sans s’a lier à la rhétorique de l’exclusion. Toutefois, certains théoriciens comme Larsen-Freeman, Halliday et Tardy s’expriment sur la forme et le genre en employant des expressions qui sont similaires à celles qu’emploient les théoriciens en translinguisme, ce qui permet de croire que la théorie actuelle portant sur la rédaction en langue seconde reconnait la variation linguistique et l’interdépendance de la forme, du genre et du contexte. Des alliances entre les chercheurs des trois domaines (rédaction, translinguisme et langue seconde) sont donc envisageables si l’on corrige l’opinion négative face à la rédaction en langue seconde qui ressort des mauvaises interprétations de la théorie translingue. 

scholarly journals Written Teacher Feedback: Student Perceptions, Teacher Perceptions, and Actual Teacher Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Teacher Feedback ◽  
Writing Teachers ◽  
College English ◽  
Content Organization ◽  
Writing Instructions ◽  
Writing Class ◽  
Language Writing

<p>This study sets out to investigate a teacher’s and her students’ perceptions of written teacher feedback in a college English as a foreign language (EFL) writing class in China. Essays, questionnaires, and interviews were employed to identify the types of feedback given by the teacher, the perceptions and preferences of students and the perceptions of the teacher. The teacher and her six students were interviewed, and sixty two students completed the questionnaires. The results are that the written teacher feedback covered content, organization, vocabulary, grammar and mechanics, and students reported that they benefited most from feedback on organization, which was focused on by the teacher but not specific enough and in a small amount. Moreover, the preferences of students were not expected by the teacher. Foreign language writing teachers were suggested to communicate more with their students about their feedback practices, and be aware of students’ perceptions and preferences, so that their writing instructions could be more effective.</p>

Reading and writing

2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
British Educational Research Journal

04–64Andrews, Richard (U. of York, UK). Where next in research on ICT and literacies?English in Education (Sheffield, UK), 37, 3 (2003), 28–41.04–65Beard, Roger (Leeds U., UK; Email: [email protected]). Not the whole story of the national literacy strategy: a response to Dominic Wyse. British Educational Research Journal (London, UK), 29, 6 (2003), 917–928.04–66Bournot-Trites, M. and Seror, J. (University of British Columbia, Canada; Email: [email protected]). Students' and teachers' perceptions about strategies which promote proficiency in second language writing. Revue Canadienne de Linguistique Appliquée/Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Ottawa, Canada), 6, 2 (2003), 129–157.04–67Gardner, Dee (Brigham Young University, USA). Vocabulary input through extensive reading: a comparison of words found in children's narrative and expository reading materials. Applied Linguistics (Oxford, UK), 25, 1 (2004), 1–37.04–68Hu, Jim (U. College of the Cariboo, Canada). Thinking languages in L2 writing: research findings and pedagogical implications. TESL Canada Journal/Revue du TESL Canada (Burnaby, Canada), 21, 1 (2003), 39–63.04–69Jarvis, Scott (Ohio University, USA; Email: [email protected]), Grant, Leslie, Bikowski, Dawn and Ferris, Dana. Exploring multiple profiles of highly rated learner compositions. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 12, 4 (2003), 377–403.04–70Mihwa Chung, Teresa and Nation, Paul (Victoria University of Wellington, NZ). Technical vocabulary in specialised texts. Reading in a Foreign Language (Hawai'i, USA), 15, 2 (2003), 103–116.04–71Ndiaye, M. and Vandeventer Faltin, A. (University of Geneva, Switzerland; Email: [email protected]). A spell checker tailored to language learners. Computer Assisted Language Learning (Lisse, The Netherlands), 16, 2–3 (2003), 213–232.04–72Pecorari, Diane (Stockholm University, Sweden; Email: [email protected]). Good and original: Plagiarism and patchwriting in academic second-language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 12, 4 (2003), 317–345.04–73Ridgway, Tony (Queen's U., UK). Literacy and foreign language reading. Reading in a Foreign Language (Hawai'i, USA), 15, 2 (2003), 117–129.04–74Shi, L., Wang, W. and Wen, Q. (University of British Columbia, Canada; Email: [email protected]). Teaching experience and evaluation of second-language students' writing. Revue Canadienne de Linguistic Appliquée/Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Ottawa, Canada), 6, 2 (2003), 219–236.04–75Stuart, Morag (U. of London; Email: [email protected]). Getting ready for reading: a follow-up study of inner city second language learners at the end of Key Stage 1. British Journal of Educational Psychology (Leicester, UK), 74 (2004), 15–36.04–76Stuart, Morag (U. of London, UK; Email: [email protected]), Dixon, Maureen, Masterson, Jackie and Gray, Bob. Children's early reading vocabulary: description and word frequency lists. British Journal of Educational Psychology (Leicester, UK), 73 (2003), 585–598.04–77Takagaki, Toshiyuki.The revision patterns and intentions in L1 and L2 by Japanese writers: a case study. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL du Canada (Burnaby, Canada), 21, 1 (2003), 22–38.04–78Van de Poel, K. and Swanepoel, P. (Centre for Language and Speech, University of Antwerp, Belgium; Email: [email protected]). Theoretical and methodological pluralism in designing effective lexical support for CALL. Computer Assisted Language Learning (Lisse, The Netherlands), 16, 2–3 (2003), 173–211.04–79Wang, Lurong (University of Toronto, Canada; Email: [email protected]). Switching to first language among writers with differing second-language proficiency. Journal of Second Language Writing (New York, USA), 12, 4 (2003), 347–375.04–80Warner, Lionel (Newlands Girls' School, Maidenhead, UK). Wider reading. English in Education (Sheffield, UK), 37, 3 (2003), 13–18.04–81Williams, Mary (Brunel U., UK). The importance of metacognition in the literacy development of young gifted and talented children. Gifted Education International (Bicester, UK), 17, 3 (2003).04–82Wyse, Dominic (Liverpool John Moores U., UK; Email: [email protected]). The national literacy strategy: a critical review of empirical evidence. British Educational Research Journal (London, UK), 29, 6 (2003), 903–916.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SCHOLARSHIP IN SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING: 1993–1997. Tony Silva, Colleen Brice, and Melinda Reichelt. Westport, CT: Ablex, 1999. Pp. xii + 209. $73.95 cloth, $39.50 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-440
Author(s):  
Charlene G. Polio
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Annotated Bibliography ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Alphabetical Order ◽  
Language Writing

This annotated bibliography is a list of 676 journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, and ERIC documents related to the teaching and learning of second and foreign language writing. The list is a compilation of bibliographies published in the Journal of Second Language Writing during the years 1993–1997, with entries dating from 1991 to 1997. After a brief introduction, which includes the databases that were searched and the periodicals that were examined, the bibliography presents the entries in alphabetical order by author. Following an author index is a 23-page subject index to the entries.

scholarly journals Developing College EFL Writers’ Critical Thinking Skills Through Online Resources: A Case Study

SAGE Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401882038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaodong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
Writing Classroom ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Student Writers

This study reports on how the supplementation of online resources, informed by systemic functional linguistics (SFL), impacted English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) student writers’ development of critical thinking skills. Through qualitative analyses of student-teacher interactions, interviews with students, and students’ written documents, the case study shows that through 1 semester of intensive exposure to SFL-based online resources in a college Chinese EFL writing classroom, EFL writers were able to develop critical thinking skills in regard to the construction of effective academic writing, although it was a process of encountering and overcoming challenges. Through teacher mediation and their own efforts, they could adjust to the online resources-based classroom, exemplified by their utilization of SFL-related categories offered through online resources to analyze and evaluate the interrelationship between language features and the content manifested in valued texts, and regulate the content of their own academic writing.

Wiki effect on English as a foreign language writing achievement

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-227
Author(s):  
Seyda Savran Celik ◽  
Selami Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Writing Achievement ◽  
Efl Writing ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Sample Group ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Efl Learning

The number of the studies conducted on the use of wikis on the English as a foreign language (EFL) learning process has remained fairly limited. More specifically, in the Turkish EFL context, little attention has been paid to the effects of wikis on EFL writing achievement. Thus, this study aims to examine the effects of a wiki-based writing environment in terms of EFL writing achievement in the Turkish EFL context. In this experimental study, a background questionnaire, a writing achievement pre- and a post-test were administered to a sample group of 42 EFL learners. Results indicate that the use of wiki-based online writing environment increases writing achievement regarding content. It is recommended that wikis as appropriate tools to increase learners’ EFL writing achievement should be integrated into the EFL learning process. The advantages that wikis serve should not be ignored but exploited by the teachersKeywords:English as a foreign language, wiki, writing, achievement

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 The Impact of Translation Strategies on Second Language Writing

Fachsprache ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 140-154
Author(s):  
Carine Graff
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Lexical Choice ◽  
Skopos Theory ◽  
Language Writing ◽  
The Impact

This paper seeks to demonstrate the importance of translation strategies as informed by Translation Studies in the foreign language (FL) classroom. The current study aims to map how translation, as perceived in Translation Studies, can be beneficial for students’ writing skills in the FL classroom. It focuses on undergraduate students in three French Composition classes: a control class in fall 2014, a second control class in fall 2015, and an experimental class in spring 2016, and explores how the students’ writing in the latter class improved after being exposed to translation strategies, such as explicitation, amplification, modulation, and approaches, such as Skopos theory. To determine whether translation strategies enable students to improve naturalness in L2 writing, their compositions and summaries were error coded using Kobayashi/Rinnert’s (1992) method of awkward form and wrong lexical choice, McCarthy’s collocation search, and Owen’s (1988) native speaker input. Statistical analyses were also performed. Results show that translation strategies are a useful tool to help students understand the foreign language and write more naturally.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document