L1 and L2 pre-university writing experience: what effects on novice Japanese EFL writers?
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: I.Introduction 1.Background 2.The Study II.Method 1.Participants 2.Data Collection (1) Essays (2) Interviews 3.Data Analysis (1) Discourse Type and Essay Structure (2) Discourse Markers (3) Development of Content III.Results 1.Discourse Type 2.Essay Structure (1) Structure of Argumentation Essays (2) Structure of Exposition Essays (3) Structure of Mixed Essays 3.Use of Discourse Markers 4.Development of Content 5.Group Characteristics (1) Group 1 (2) Group 2 (3) Group 3 (4) Group 4 (5) Summary of Group Features IV.Discussion This study investigated the possible effects of L1 or L2 writing experience, or combined L1 and L2 experience, on the English writing of first year university students in a Japanese educational context. In particular, the influence of special preparatory L1 and L2 training in writing short essays for university entrance exams was examined through text analysis, supplemented by in-depth interviews. The participants, all novice L2 writers with intermediate level English proficiency, comprised four groups: (1) those having received intensive essay writing training in both L1 and L2 (N = 9), (2) those with only L1 training (N = 7), (3) those with only L2 training (N = 7), and (4) those with no such special training (N = 5). The results indicate that the intensive L1 training developed meta-cognitive awareness of rhetorical organization, the L2 training facilitated the placement of a position statement toward the beginning of an essay, and each of them taught the need for elaboration of support. Whereas a lack of any intensive training led to self-reflective writing, a combination of the two types of training tended to engender greater audience awareness, more control over organization, and richly elaborated support, suggesting that the combined training promoted the ability to apply the meta-cognitive knowledge the students had acquired.
Authors: Carol Rinnert, Hiroe Kobayashi
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W194956973