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Selected bibliography of recent scholarship in second language writing
JOURNAL OF SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING, 2 (1), 91-95 (1993)
Selected Bibliography of Recent Scholarship in Second Language Writing TONY SILVA MELINDA REICHELT
Purdue University
This bibliography cites and summarizes theoretically grounded reports of research and discussions of central issues in second and foreign language writing and writing instruction that have become available to its compilers during the period of April 1 through July 31, 1992. The categories used represent an attempt to aid readers, not to pigeonhole studies. WRITERS Carson, J., & Kuehn, P. (1992). Evidence of transfer and loss in developing second language writers. Language Learning, 42(2), 157-182. The authors investigated the relationship between LI and L2 (English) writing ability in university-level native speakers of Chinese. Results suggested that educational experience plays an important role in writing development, that good LI writers are likely to become good L2 writers, and that L1 writing ability decreases as L2 writing ability increases. Liebman, J. (1992). Toward a new contrastive rhetoric: Differences between Arabic and Japanese rhetorical instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2), 141-165. Native Japanese- and Arabic-speaking students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock were asked how writing was taught in their native cultures. The subjects' perceptions suggested that the focus of Japanese writing instruction was expressive writing, whereas in the Middle East, the transactional function of writing was emphasized.
PROCESSES Alhaidari, A. (1991). How Arab students summarize English prose and how they revise their summaries. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(10), 3569A. Think-aloud procedures were used to examine the English summarizing and revising strategies of Saudi college students. Findings are reported in terms of the
91
92
1". Silva and M. Reichelt
extent and ease of application of summarization rules and the types (with regard to purpose and level) of revisions made. Kobayashi, H., & Rinnert, C. (1992). Effects of first language on second language writing: Translation versus direct composition. Language Learning, 42(2), 1 8 3 - 2 1 5 . Japanese university students produced English texts using two processes: (a) writing in Japanese and then translating into English, and (b) writing directly in English. Subjects with lower English proficiency benefited more from translation and had fewer meaning-obscuring errors than those with higher English proficiency. All subjects exhibited greater syntactic complexity in translations. Lam, C. (1991). Revision processes of college ESL students: How teacher comments, discourse types, and writing tools shape revision. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(12), 4248A. Case study and classroom data were examined to learn about college ESL writers' revising behaviors. Generally, subjects given explicit comments were more reliant on revision directions; different discourse types (expressive, persuasive, transactional) did not alter revision processes; and computer users (as opposed to pen-andpaper users) revised more and did so more recursively. Moragn6 e Silva, M. (1991). Cognitive, affective, social, and cultural aspects of composing in a first and second language: A case study of one adult writer. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(12), 4249A. The LI (Portuguese) and L2 (English) composing of one adult subject responding to a variety of academic writing tasks was examined. Findings indicated that the subject's LI and L2 composing were similar with regard to problem representation, goal creation, and high-level planning, and different in terms of planning and achieving low-level goals. TEXTS Benson, B., Deming, M., Denzer, D., & Valeri-Gold, M. (1992). A combined basic writing/English as a second language class: Melting pot or mishmash? Journal of Basic Writing, H(1), 58-74. A study comparing the English texts of college-level native English-speaking basic writers and ESL writers is reported. Results indicate that the ESL writers' texts were shorter and exhibited a greater number and variety of errors. It is concluded that both groups require specialized instructors and materials.
Bibliography
93
Gruter, H. (1990). Case study explorations of second language development in Early French Immersion grade one students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(11), 3846A. Twenty-three students in a whole language classroom were studied. It was reported that girls wrote more than boys, quantity of writing was greater in journals than in stories, subjects wrote primarily on personal topics, the teacher was the audience most frequently addressed, and spelling errors were not random. Hwang, H. (1991). The development of English writing proficiency among Korean students from ninth-grade to college juniors. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(11), 3814A. The written English texts of Korean EFL writers (9th, 10th, and llth graders and college juniors) were examined for evidence of developmental patterns in general writing proficiency and syntactic and semantic errors. Results indicated a clear pattern of development, with holistic scores rising and number of errors falling, as grade level increased. Reid, J. (1992). A computer text analysis of four cohesion devices in English discourse by native and nonnative writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, •(2), 79-107. The author investigated the use of cohesion devices (pronouns, coordinate conjunctions, subordinate conjunctions, prepositions) in compositions written by college-level subjects from different language backgrounds (Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish) in response to two topic types (comparison/contrast, chart/ graph). Significant differences in cohesion device use across languages and topic types were reported.
READERS Casanave, C., & Hubbard, E (1992). The writing assignments and writing problems of doctoral students: Faculty perceptions, pedagogical issues, and needed research. English for Specific Purposes, 11(1), 33-49. Graduate faculty at Stanford University were surveyed about the writing required of first-year doctoral students (ESL and native English speaking), writing evaluation criteria, and student writing problems. Findings raised questions regarding global versus local writing difficulties, vocabulary teaching, discipline specific instruction, and timing of ESL writing support courses.
94
T. Silva and M. Reichelt
Gosden, H. (1992). Research writing and NNSs: From the editors. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2), 123-139. Editors of scientific journals published in English in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. responded to a questionnaire focusing on the linguistic and sociopragramatic challenges faced by nonnative English-speaking submittors. Findings involve sentence-level concerns, discourse-level features, negotiation of knowledge claims, and the workings of the review process. Janopoulos, M. (1992). University faculty tolerance of NS and NNS writing errors: A comparison. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2), 109-121. University faculty were asked to judge the acceptability of sentences containing errors. Half were told the sentences were written by native speakers; the other half, by ESL writers. Faculty seemed more tolerant of normative speaker errors. The author suggests that this tolerance could disadvantage ESL writers taking standardized writing exams. Kobayashi, T. (1992). Native and non-native reactions to ESL compositions. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 81-112. Native English and Japanese speakers were asked to evaluate and edit the English compositions of Japanese college students. The native English speakers rated grammaticality lower and clarity of meaning and organization higher, made more, and more accurate, corrections, and offered more lexical options than the native Japanese speakers. Shohamy, E., Gordon, C., & Kraemer, R. (1992). The effect of raters' background and training on the reliability of direct writing tests. Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 27-33. T h e researchers compared the reliability of professional (EFL teachers) and lay raters and of trained and untrained raters evaluating the English writing of Grade 12 students in Israel. They reported that, although all raters were reliable, trained raters did better than their untrained peers. No differences were found between professional and lay raters. CONTEXT Lopez, S. (1991). Writing in a first-grade bilingual education classroom: A qualitative case study. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(11), 4220A. Collecting both qualitative and quantitative data, the author investigated students' writing in a first-grade bilingual classroom. He found that positive change in a teacher's theories and attitudes can have a positive classroom effect, and that when provided with relevant contexts, topics, and audiences, children wrote in ways unexpected of their age group.
Bibliography
95
INSTRUCTION Kern, R., & Schultz, J. (1992). The effects of composition instruction on intermediate level French students' writing performance: Some preliminary findings. Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 1-13. Effects of a whole language approach to teaching written French were assessed through holistic and t-unit measures of student writing samples. Results indicated that low-ability students benefited most from instruction in writing basics, and high-level students benefited most from instruction in analysis of French texts. Mid-level students benefited eq~aally from both. Winer, L. (1992). "Spinach to chocolate": Changing awareness and attitudes in ESL writing teachers. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 5 7 - 8 0 . TESL writing practicum students' journals were examined to find how working on specific activities affected their thinking about writing and writing instruction. Four problem areas were articulated: (a) writing apprehension, (b) boring or intimidating topics, (c) lack of confidence in writing skills, and (d) insecurity about instructional abilities. Strategies for alleviating these problems were also identified. GENERAL Leki, I. (1992). Understanding ESL writers: A guide for teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton-Cook. To help teachers better understand ESL writers and their writing and make informed decisions about methods and materials, the author discusses the context of ESL writing instruction (its history and relation to L2 acquisition research), ESL writers (their characteristics and expectations), and their writing behaviors (composing processes and rhetorical and linguistic patterns).
Selected Bibliography of Recent Scholarship in Second Language Writing TONY SILVA MELINDA REICHELT
Purdue University
This bibliography cites and summarizes theoretically grounded reports of research and discussions of central issues in second and foreign language writing and writing instruction that have become available to its compilers during the period of April 1 through July 31, 1992. The categories used represent an attempt to aid readers, not to pigeonhole studies. WRITERS Carson, J., & Kuehn, P. (1992). Evidence of transfer and loss in developing second language writers. Language Learning, 42(2), 157-182. The authors investigated the relationship between LI and L2 (English) writing ability in university-level native speakers of Chinese. Results suggested that educational experience plays an important role in writing development, that good LI writers are likely to become good L2 writers, and that L1 writing ability decreases as L2 writing ability increases. Liebman, J. (1992). Toward a new contrastive rhetoric: Differences between Arabic and Japanese rhetorical instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2), 141-165. Native Japanese- and Arabic-speaking students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock were asked how writing was taught in their native cultures. The subjects' perceptions suggested that the focus of Japanese writing instruction was expressive writing, whereas in the Middle East, the transactional function of writing was emphasized.
PROCESSES Alhaidari, A. (1991). How Arab students summarize English prose and how they revise their summaries. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(10), 3569A. Think-aloud procedures were used to examine the English summarizing and revising strategies of Saudi college students. Findings are reported in terms of the
91
92
1". Silva and M. Reichelt
extent and ease of application of summarization rules and the types (with regard to purpose and level) of revisions made. Kobayashi, H., & Rinnert, C. (1992). Effects of first language on second language writing: Translation versus direct composition. Language Learning, 42(2), 1 8 3 - 2 1 5 . Japanese university students produced English texts using two processes: (a) writing in Japanese and then translating into English, and (b) writing directly in English. Subjects with lower English proficiency benefited more from translation and had fewer meaning-obscuring errors than those with higher English proficiency. All subjects exhibited greater syntactic complexity in translations. Lam, C. (1991). Revision processes of college ESL students: How teacher comments, discourse types, and writing tools shape revision. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(12), 4248A. Case study and classroom data were examined to learn about college ESL writers' revising behaviors. Generally, subjects given explicit comments were more reliant on revision directions; different discourse types (expressive, persuasive, transactional) did not alter revision processes; and computer users (as opposed to pen-andpaper users) revised more and did so more recursively. Moragn6 e Silva, M. (1991). Cognitive, affective, social, and cultural aspects of composing in a first and second language: A case study of one adult writer. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(12), 4249A. The LI (Portuguese) and L2 (English) composing of one adult subject responding to a variety of academic writing tasks was examined. Findings indicated that the subject's LI and L2 composing were similar with regard to problem representation, goal creation, and high-level planning, and different in terms of planning and achieving low-level goals. TEXTS Benson, B., Deming, M., Denzer, D., & Valeri-Gold, M. (1992). A combined basic writing/English as a second language class: Melting pot or mishmash? Journal of Basic Writing, H(1), 58-74. A study comparing the English texts of college-level native English-speaking basic writers and ESL writers is reported. Results indicate that the ESL writers' texts were shorter and exhibited a greater number and variety of errors. It is concluded that both groups require specialized instructors and materials.
Bibliography
93
Gruter, H. (1990). Case study explorations of second language development in Early French Immersion grade one students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(11), 3846A. Twenty-three students in a whole language classroom were studied. It was reported that girls wrote more than boys, quantity of writing was greater in journals than in stories, subjects wrote primarily on personal topics, the teacher was the audience most frequently addressed, and spelling errors were not random. Hwang, H. (1991). The development of English writing proficiency among Korean students from ninth-grade to college juniors. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(11), 3814A. The written English texts of Korean EFL writers (9th, 10th, and llth graders and college juniors) were examined for evidence of developmental patterns in general writing proficiency and syntactic and semantic errors. Results indicated a clear pattern of development, with holistic scores rising and number of errors falling, as grade level increased. Reid, J. (1992). A computer text analysis of four cohesion devices in English discourse by native and nonnative writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, •(2), 79-107. The author investigated the use of cohesion devices (pronouns, coordinate conjunctions, subordinate conjunctions, prepositions) in compositions written by college-level subjects from different language backgrounds (Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish) in response to two topic types (comparison/contrast, chart/ graph). Significant differences in cohesion device use across languages and topic types were reported.
READERS Casanave, C., & Hubbard, E (1992). The writing assignments and writing problems of doctoral students: Faculty perceptions, pedagogical issues, and needed research. English for Specific Purposes, 11(1), 33-49. Graduate faculty at Stanford University were surveyed about the writing required of first-year doctoral students (ESL and native English speaking), writing evaluation criteria, and student writing problems. Findings raised questions regarding global versus local writing difficulties, vocabulary teaching, discipline specific instruction, and timing of ESL writing support courses.
94
T. Silva and M. Reichelt
Gosden, H. (1992). Research writing and NNSs: From the editors. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2), 123-139. Editors of scientific journals published in English in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. responded to a questionnaire focusing on the linguistic and sociopragramatic challenges faced by nonnative English-speaking submittors. Findings involve sentence-level concerns, discourse-level features, negotiation of knowledge claims, and the workings of the review process. Janopoulos, M. (1992). University faculty tolerance of NS and NNS writing errors: A comparison. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1(2), 109-121. University faculty were asked to judge the acceptability of sentences containing errors. Half were told the sentences were written by native speakers; the other half, by ESL writers. Faculty seemed more tolerant of normative speaker errors. The author suggests that this tolerance could disadvantage ESL writers taking standardized writing exams. Kobayashi, T. (1992). Native and non-native reactions to ESL compositions. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 81-112. Native English and Japanese speakers were asked to evaluate and edit the English compositions of Japanese college students. The native English speakers rated grammaticality lower and clarity of meaning and organization higher, made more, and more accurate, corrections, and offered more lexical options than the native Japanese speakers. Shohamy, E., Gordon, C., & Kraemer, R. (1992). The effect of raters' background and training on the reliability of direct writing tests. Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 27-33. T h e researchers compared the reliability of professional (EFL teachers) and lay raters and of trained and untrained raters evaluating the English writing of Grade 12 students in Israel. They reported that, although all raters were reliable, trained raters did better than their untrained peers. No differences were found between professional and lay raters. CONTEXT Lopez, S. (1991). Writing in a first-grade bilingual education classroom: A qualitative case study. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(11), 4220A. Collecting both qualitative and quantitative data, the author investigated students' writing in a first-grade bilingual classroom. He found that positive change in a teacher's theories and attitudes can have a positive classroom effect, and that when provided with relevant contexts, topics, and audiences, children wrote in ways unexpected of their age group.
Bibliography
95
INSTRUCTION Kern, R., & Schultz, J. (1992). The effects of composition instruction on intermediate level French students' writing performance: Some preliminary findings. Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 1-13. Effects of a whole language approach to teaching written French were assessed through holistic and t-unit measures of student writing samples. Results indicated that low-ability students benefited most from instruction in writing basics, and high-level students benefited most from instruction in analysis of French texts. Mid-level students benefited eq~aally from both. Winer, L. (1992). "Spinach to chocolate": Changing awareness and attitudes in ESL writing teachers. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 5 7 - 8 0 . TESL writing practicum students' journals were examined to find how working on specific activities affected their thinking about writing and writing instruction. Four problem areas were articulated: (a) writing apprehension, (b) boring or intimidating topics, (c) lack of confidence in writing skills, and (d) insecurity about instructional abilities. Strategies for alleviating these problems were also identified. GENERAL Leki, I. (1992). Understanding ESL writers: A guide for teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton-Cook. To help teachers better understand ESL writers and their writing and make informed decisions about methods and materials, the author discusses the context of ESL writing instruction (its history and relation to L2 acquisition research), ESL writers (their characteristics and expectations), and their writing behaviors (composing processes and rhetorical and linguistic patterns).