Journal of Second Language Writing最新文献

Genre-based approaches have become a mainstay in the teaching of second language writing. While there have been significant developments in genre-based writing instruction and important advances in genre theory, some long-standing questions about genre-based instructional tasks and materials remain unanswered. One of these relates to which genre-based tasks and learning materials may meet the dual goals of supporting students’ development of genre-specific knowledge and of broader genre awareness. This research report addresses this question using an innovative methodological approach, the analysis of genre-related episodes (GREs). It provides a brief overview of the findings from classroom observations focused on GREs that took place while students were engaged in collaborative genre analysis tasks and discusses the findings in relation to task type and genre knowledge. The report concludes with an overview of a few pedagogical and research implications.

Given the crucial role that student assessment literacy plays in the development of L2 writing, the present mixed-method study seeks to develop and validate a student writing assessment literacy (SWAL) scale to measure this key construct with learners across multiple languages. Interviews were first conducted and coded to partially inform the follow-up scale development. The scale was validated by using questionnaires. In analyzing the questionnaire data, factor analysis and structural equation modeling were utilized. Results showed that the developed scale had higher reliability and validity, and can be generalized across three language groups (English, French, and Japanese) in the higher education context. Further, SWAL significantly predicted positive engagement in the L2 writing context. Implications for L2 writing instruction are discussed in light of the findings.

Drawing on Hattie and Timperley’s (2007) feedback model, the current study explored how feedback at the process and self-regulation levels impacted the development of EFL learners’ self-regulated writing strategies. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and artefacts from nine participants in a Chinese university writing classroom. Data analysis revealed that students increased their goal-oriented planning for the writing task and the monitoring of their learning process in metacognitive learning activities. Changes in cognitive writing strategies for the enhancement of strategic text processing were apparent, as well as the development and use of strategies for processing learning resources. While students heightened their interest in the multiple-draft practice, developed self-reinforcement in motivational regulation strategies, and became more proactive in feedback inquiry, they remained less active in peer learning. The findings suggest that process and self-regulatory oriented feedback can facilitate EFL writers to develop and deploy self-regulated writing strategies. A number of theoretical and pedagogical implications are offered based on the findings of the study.

This manuscript features the curriculum design and pilot results of Professional English Language Skills (PELS), an asynchronous non-credit supplemental English for Academic Writing Program at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Affiliated with academic courses as supplementary literacy instruction, PELS pursues a dual pedagogical goal to support the academic, linguistic, and cultural needs of diverse students on campus and actualize institutional initiatives of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). To assess PELS’ effectiveness, we adopted a Critical Language Awareness framework (Shapiro, 2022) to analyze students’ course survey responses and written reflections and trace their engagement with interventions on language awareness (LA) and critical language awareness (CLA) development. Findings suggest that students develop LA and CLA simultaneously at varying degrees. Written reflections reveal that students understand the institutionalization of standard English and the benefits of using academic writing conventions to write more effectively; however, they also recognize the legitimacy and cultural values of other English varieties. Linguistically and socioculturally diverse student groups demonstrate distinct aspects of CLA correspondent to their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Overall, English as an Additional Language (EAL) and non-EAL students value the exposure to linguistic diversity and cross-cultural interactions which educate them about sociolinguistics and EDI. These findings reflect “a dual commitment to pragmatism and progressivism” in language teaching in PELS’ curricular design (Shapiro, 2022).

Task complexity has attracted the attention of researchers interested in syllabus design and language pedagogy since the eighties. A scarcely investigated feature is storyline complexity, and its effects on complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) in narrative writing. This study examines the effects of storyline complexity in the narratives of 60 low to upper-intermediate Swedish secondary school learners of Spanish as a foreign language. Furthermore, the study addresses the role of proficiency in mediating these effects, as it sets out to ascertain whether storyline complexity affects different dimensions of CAF performance to the same extent at different proficiency levels. To elicit data, two narrative tasks were used. Both of them had a loose structure but differed in their storyline complexity, with the simple task having a single storyline and the complex task a dual storyline. In turn, to assess the learners’ proficiency level, a multiple-choice test was employed. The study used a between-subjects design, and the statistical treatment relied on a two-way analysis of variance (2 storyline complexity conditions x 2 proficiency levels). Complexity and fluency turned out to be higher in the complex condition irrespective of proficiency, whereas mixed results were found for accuracy at different proficiency levels.