This study examined Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' ability to establish textual cohesion in English through appropriate selection of reference forms and reference management strategies in their written narrative discourse. It employed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to explore how the language-specific reference…

This article reports on a descriptive and exploratory study of near-beginner learners of French in English secondary schools, their cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and their general approaches to writing. There is virtually no research on foreign language writing at this level, conceived in this study as including the copying of words and…

Blogging has emerged as one of the most popular forms of online discourse. The ease and lack of expense in setting up blogs has raised intriguing possibilities for language learning classrooms. The unique nature of their architecture and their low cost have not only affected how students can publish and distribute their work to a wider audience…

This study compares rhetorical citation functions in eight high- and eight low-graded master's theses in the field of gender studies, written in English as a second language. The following rhetorical functions of citations are identified: attribution, exemplification, further reference, statement of use, application, evaluation, establishing links…

This article reports on a distinctive form of continuing professional development that emerged from a classroom-based collaborative research project between university researchers and teachers of French. We shall argue that one of the outcomes of this particular form of collaboration is a relatively unexplored, yet potentially important, approach…

The readability of technical writing, and technical manuals in particular, especially for second language readers, can be noticeably improved by pairing Theme with Given and Rheme with New. This allows for faster processing of text and easier access to the "method of development" of the text. Typical Theme-Rheme patterns are described, and the…

This article discusses the use of computer logging as a means of investigating aspects of the second language (L2) writing process as writers are engaged in producing text at the keyboard. The observation of writing by means of this method provides researchers with detailed information concerning aspects of the planning, formulation, and revision…

Discusses the usefulness to second language learning of an activity in which students assume a pen name and write letters under that name in the language studied in order to motivate their interest in the language and accelerate their mastery of it. (CK)

Analysis of the think-aloud protocols used by advanced-level (n=9) English-as-a-Second-Language writers used in completing sentence-combining tasks showed that they engaged in such strategies as restating content, constructing meaning, higher- and lower-level planning, and evaluating the appropriateness of constructions, but not attending to…

Lexical access and retrieval are essential processes in fluent and efficient second language (L2) oral and written productive uses of language. In the case of L2 writing, attention to vocabulary is of paramount importance, although the retrieval of relevant lexis while composing in an L2 frequently entails different degrees of problem-solving…

Focuses on the validation of a writing strategies questionnaire and presents the various stages in the validation process. The questionnaire was validated using a qualitative and quantitative method with two groups of participants from the target population--advanced nonnative speakers of English. (VWL)

This paper looks at young ESL writers in Hong Kong and describes an action research project which involved the implementation of a new ESL writing programme designed to enhance students' motivation and engagement by taking more account of the young learners' own socio-cultural context. The study examined both the students' and teacher-researcher's…

The process approach to writing requires feedback. Peer feedback (which can be encouraged and taught) and teacher feedback are complementary; they should discuss both form and content of students' written work. Spoken teacher feedback on tape and student-teacher conferences (whether individual or group) augment the teacher's usual feedback…

This article presents the implementation of Katja von Garnier's film Bandits into a composition course that focuses on writing strategies. It offers specific exercises geared toward the intermediate to intermediate high-writer on the ACTFL scale with an emphasis on the main characters in Bandits and female criminals in general. In providing…

This study examines the combined effects of contrasting mastery and performance goals on the use of composition strategies by adult writers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Thirty-eight Taiwanese English-major college seniors of homogeneous writing proficiency consented to participate in the study. Based on responses on a goal scale, 19…