It is noticeable that the academic papers written by Chinese English learners are lacking in academic features largely due to their poor ability to use nominalization.Therefore,the instruction of nominalization in an ...It is noticeable that the academic papers written by Chinese English learners are lacking in academic features largely due to their poor ability to use nominalization.Therefore,the instruction of nominalization in an academic English writing course is badly needed.The author conducted onesemester-long instruction of nominalization to 90 non-English majors under the guidance of the production-oriented approach(POA).This research demonstrated how to apply POA,specifically,the enabling procedure to the teaching of nominalization.By triangulating the data of students’interviews,learning journals and written output,and the data of 4 teachers’class observations and interviews,this study found that the accurate application of the three criteria of effective enabling contributed to the improvement of the quantity and quality of nominalization in academic writing.展开更多
Revision is an important part of writing process but it often baffles the researchers due to the difficulties in recording the revision process of students. Based on a self-made questionnaire and the online record of ...Revision is an important part of writing process but it often baffles the researchers due to the difficulties in recording the revision process of students. Based on a self-made questionnaire and the online record of the revision process, this study describes the English learners＇ revision behaviors and process in their second semester of a two-year writing course. The analysis indicates that the English learners hold a positive attitude towards revision and but passive in resorting to outside sources for help. The source of the feedback has a great influence on their motivation of revision. On the other hand, although they use all types of revision operations, they concentrate on surface changes and simple operations.展开更多
Since the process writing was raised in the L2 writing in 1970s, the feedback has been an important part of teaching. A range of researchers have investigated the effect of different types of error feedback to find wh...Since the process writing was raised in the L2 writing in 1970s, the feedback has been an important part of teaching. A range of researchers have investigated the effect of different types of error feedback to find whether the feedback can help L2 writers improve the accuracy of their writing. Similar to the previously discussed question, they have also reached rather controversial conclusions. Most often, these studies have categorized corrective feedback as either direct or indirect. To explore the effects of corrective feedback in L2 writing, the paper investigated the types of feedback given to 30 college students of Tianhe College in Guangdong province. The study improved that correction feedback can improve accuracy in student writing.展开更多
Vocabulary knowledge is an important component of the writing skill and it has many dimensions, such as size, depth, and productive, in interaction with writing skill. To evaluate this relation and determine which dim...Vocabulary knowledge is an important component of the writing skill and it has many dimensions, such as size, depth, and productive, in interaction with writing skill. To evaluate this relation and determine which dimension is the most effective for second language writing quality, the present study was conducted. Turkish EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners＇ lexical competence and writing abilities were examined through their vocabulary profiles and academic essays. The results of each vocabulary measure indicated that the participants had a limited vocabulary size, containing words mostly from 2,000 to 3,000 frequency bands and thus, the productive vocabulary knowledge of the participants mostly consisted of lk ＋ 2k words and the use of academic words in their essays was very low. The results of the study revealed that the lexical competence covering the main components of vocabulary knowledge was a good predictor of the students＇ quality of writing performance.展开更多
English majors＇ B.A. （Bachelor of Arts） thesis writing is an important part and test of the students＇ four-year undergraduate education. It lays solid foundation for their future study and work. Yet serious proble...English majors＇ B.A. （Bachelor of Arts） thesis writing is an important part and test of the students＇ four-year undergraduate education. It lays solid foundation for their future study and work. Yet serious problems exist during the process. The author of the paper collects and analyzes the 289 titles of English majors＇ B.A. writing in the recent two years in Changchun University, China. The results of the analysis reveal that almost 40% of the titles are on literature every year and among them there are some similar titles. In view of this situation, the author first explores the reasons that caused those problems. One of the important reasons is that the increasing of the supervisors and reference materials cannot keep the pace of the expanding of students＇ numbers. The author, after that, makes some reflections on those problems, then proposes five practical supervising strategies, and makes some relevant suggestions for English major＇s thesis writing. Meanwhile some other related problems in thesis writing in China are also discussed.展开更多
This study examined the effectiveness of positive self-evaluation used as an intervention to cultivate students＇ English writing self-efficacy and improve their writing performance. Multiple sources of data were coll...This study examined the effectiveness of positive self-evaluation used as an intervention to cultivate students＇ English writing self-efficacy and improve their writing performance. Multiple sources of data were collected from 90 students of grade 10 at a high school in Beijing, including the pretest and posttest writings, writing self-efficacy questionnaires, interviews, and follow-up questionnaires over one semester. Data analyses showed that the experimental group excelled the control group in writing performance and became more confident in writing at the end of positive self-evaluation practices. This study also found that writing self-efficacy and writing performance were positively related. The students with high writing self-efficacy tended to perform better in their writing than those with low writing self-efficacy.展开更多
This article, based on a solid literature review, provides an in-depth exploration of L2 writing process, including a detailed description of L2 writing behaviors and habits and the differences in the writing process ...This article, based on a solid literature review, provides an in-depth exploration of L2 writing process, including a detailed description of L2 writing behaviors and habits and the differences in the writing process between advanced and unskilled L2 learners. Findings indicate that writing is a dynamic, recursive interplay of three major processes: planning, drafting, and revising. Experiencing this writing process, L2 learners have more to write and write it well. Therefore, this article suggests incorporating literature into L2 writing process as an effective way to improve traditional writing instruction.展开更多
The research is designed to examine current teaching practices and perceptions of elementary and secondary school language teachers so as to inform the design of a large-scale project on AWE （Automated Writing Evalua...The research is designed to examine current teaching practices and perceptions of elementary and secondary school language teachers so as to inform the design of a large-scale project on AWE （Automated Writing Evaluation） application in the Chinese classroom. The data indicated that teachers were confident in their computer use and understood formative assessment notions and their role in technology-enhanced teaching and learning. However, concerns were raised on the writing rubrics interpretation, the pedagogy on integrating AWE into teaching, and the suitability of the whole English software to Chinese learners. Solutions and suggestions were discussed. Sample lesson plans, pedagogy training and technical support were considered necessary for the participating teachers.展开更多
文摘It is noticeable that the academic papers written by Chinese English learners are lacking in academic features largely due to their poor ability to use nominalization.Therefore,the instruction of nominalization in an academic English writing course is badly needed.The author conducted onesemester-long instruction of nominalization to 90 non-English majors under the guidance of the production-oriented approach(POA).This research demonstrated how to apply POA,specifically,the enabling procedure to the teaching of nominalization.By triangulating the data of students’interviews,learning journals and written output,and the data of 4 teachers’class observations and interviews,this study found that the accurate application of the three criteria of effective enabling contributed to the improvement of the quantity and quality of nominalization in academic writing.
文摘Revision is an important part of writing process but it often baffles the researchers due to the difficulties in recording the revision process of students. Based on a self-made questionnaire and the online record of the revision process, this study describes the English learners＇ revision behaviors and process in their second semester of a two-year writing course. The analysis indicates that the English learners hold a positive attitude towards revision and but passive in resorting to outside sources for help. The source of the feedback has a great influence on their motivation of revision. On the other hand, although they use all types of revision operations, they concentrate on surface changes and simple operations.
文摘Since the process writing was raised in the L2 writing in 1970s, the feedback has been an important part of teaching. A range of researchers have investigated the effect of different types of error feedback to find whether the feedback can help L2 writers improve the accuracy of their writing. Similar to the previously discussed question, they have also reached rather controversial conclusions. Most often, these studies have categorized corrective feedback as either direct or indirect. To explore the effects of corrective feedback in L2 writing, the paper investigated the types of feedback given to 30 college students of Tianhe College in Guangdong province. The study improved that correction feedback can improve accuracy in student writing.
文摘Vocabulary knowledge is an important component of the writing skill and it has many dimensions, such as size, depth, and productive, in interaction with writing skill. To evaluate this relation and determine which dimension is the most effective for second language writing quality, the present study was conducted. Turkish EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners＇ lexical competence and writing abilities were examined through their vocabulary profiles and academic essays. The results of each vocabulary measure indicated that the participants had a limited vocabulary size, containing words mostly from 2,000 to 3,000 frequency bands and thus, the productive vocabulary knowledge of the participants mostly consisted of lk ＋ 2k words and the use of academic words in their essays was very low. The results of the study revealed that the lexical competence covering the main components of vocabulary knowledge was a good predictor of the students＇ quality of writing performance.
文摘English majors＇ B.A. （Bachelor of Arts） thesis writing is an important part and test of the students＇ four-year undergraduate education. It lays solid foundation for their future study and work. Yet serious problems exist during the process. The author of the paper collects and analyzes the 289 titles of English majors＇ B.A. writing in the recent two years in Changchun University, China. The results of the analysis reveal that almost 40% of the titles are on literature every year and among them there are some similar titles. In view of this situation, the author first explores the reasons that caused those problems. One of the important reasons is that the increasing of the supervisors and reference materials cannot keep the pace of the expanding of students＇ numbers. The author, after that, makes some reflections on those problems, then proposes five practical supervising strategies, and makes some relevant suggestions for English major＇s thesis writing. Meanwhile some other related problems in thesis writing in China are also discussed.
文摘This study examined the effectiveness of positive self-evaluation used as an intervention to cultivate students＇ English writing self-efficacy and improve their writing performance. Multiple sources of data were collected from 90 students of grade 10 at a high school in Beijing, including the pretest and posttest writings, writing self-efficacy questionnaires, interviews, and follow-up questionnaires over one semester. Data analyses showed that the experimental group excelled the control group in writing performance and became more confident in writing at the end of positive self-evaluation practices. This study also found that writing self-efficacy and writing performance were positively related. The students with high writing self-efficacy tended to perform better in their writing than those with low writing self-efficacy.
文摘This article, based on a solid literature review, provides an in-depth exploration of L2 writing process, including a detailed description of L2 writing behaviors and habits and the differences in the writing process between advanced and unskilled L2 learners. Findings indicate that writing is a dynamic, recursive interplay of three major processes: planning, drafting, and revising. Experiencing this writing process, L2 learners have more to write and write it well. Therefore, this article suggests incorporating literature into L2 writing process as an effective way to improve traditional writing instruction.
基金funded by a key MoE project titled "Using Automated Writing Assessment in China EFL Classrooms"(Project number:GFA097005)
文摘The research is designed to examine current teaching practices and perceptions of elementary and secondary school language teachers so as to inform the design of a large-scale project on AWE （Automated Writing Evaluation） application in the Chinese classroom. The data indicated that teachers were confident in their computer use and understood formative assessment notions and their role in technology-enhanced teaching and learning. However, concerns were raised on the writing rubrics interpretation, the pedagogy on integrating AWE into teaching, and the suitability of the whole English software to Chinese learners. Solutions and suggestions were discussed. Sample lesson plans, pedagogy training and technical support were considered necessary for the participating teachers.
