Sample records for basic english writing

  1. Basic English Writing: An Experimental Course Structure against Semantic Misinterpretation in Undergraduate Student Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    In, Fan-yu; Liao, Hui-Chuan

    2008-01-01

    Course designs for Basic English Writing classes vary from one course to another. The objective of this study was to investigate the semantic misinterpretation of English words found in the English compositions written by native-Chinese-speaking undergraduate students and to overcome if such a barrier occurred in the process of writing. First,…

  2. The Use of Basic Writing Materials in ESL Writing Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    England, Lizabeth

    Similarities between the weaknesses found among English as a first language students and English as a second language (ESL) students suggest the need to use basic writing materials with English as a second language students. Prewriting materials should be chosen in an effort to teach students some criteria for analyzing, evaluating, and…

  3. The Effect of Using Writer's Workshop Approach on Developing Basic Writing Skills (Mechanics of Writing) of Prospective Teachers of English in Egypt

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salem, Ashraf Atta M. S.

    2013-01-01

    The present study aimed at investigating the effects of using a program based on the writing workshop approach on developing basic writing skills of prospective teachers of English in Hurgada faculty of Education. For that purpose, the researcher constructed and validated a teaching program based on the writing workshop approach, checklist of the…

  4. "Glue": A Technique for Eliminating Fragments and Run-Ons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Helaine W.; DeCapua, Andrea

    2010-01-01

    Many students who are nonnative speakers of English, yet highly proficient, are placed into basic writing or English as a Second Language courses when they enter college. While these students may have advanced oral English proficiency, their writing frequently suffers from a lack of training in academic writing and commonly contains fragments and…

  5. Reading and writing performances of children 7-8 years of age with developmental coordination disorder in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Hsiang-Chun; Chen, Jenn-Yeu; Tsai, Chia-Liang; Shen, Miau-Lin; Cherng, Rong-Ju

    2011-01-01

    Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) refers to a delay in motor development that does not have any known medical cause. Studies conducted in English speaking societies have found that children with DCD display a higher co-occurrence rate of learning difficulties (e.g., problems in reading and writing) than typically developing (TD) children. The present study examined the reading and writing performance of school-aged children with DCD and TD children in Taiwan to determine whether reading and writing difficulties also co-occur with DCD in a non-English speaking society. The Chinese Reading Achievement Test and the Basic Reading and Writing Test were administered to 37 children with DCD (7.8 ± 0.6 years) and 93 TD children (8.0 ± 0.7 years). Children with DCD had significantly lower writing composite scores than TD children on the Basic Reading and Writing Test (105.9 ± 20.0 vs. 114.4 ± 19.9). However, there were no significant differences between children with DCD and TD children in their scores on the Chinese Reading Achievement Test and in their reading composite scores on the Basic Reading and Writing Test. These results contrasted interestingly with those obtained from English-speaking children: English-speaking DCD children showed poorer reading and poorer writing than English-speaking TD children. The possibility that the logographic nature of the Chinese script might have protected the DCD children against additional reading difficulty is discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Representing the "Other": Basic Writers and the Teaching of Basic Writing. Refiguring English Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horner, Bruce; Lu, Min-Zhan

    Intended for teachers of basic writing, this book contains a collection of new and updated essays addressing issues surrounding underprepared writers. It maps errors and expectations for basic writing and develops teaching approaches that will be effective in a social and political world. The book considers concepts such as the possibility of…

  7. An Action Research on Improving Non-English Majors' English Writing by "Basic Sentence Pattern Translation Drills"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    He, Xiaoyu

    2016-01-01

    English writing plays an indispensible part in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning for Chinese students, which accounts for a high score in an English test in China. And it is also a comprehensive reflection of students' abilities in L2 application. However, most non-English majors in vocational and technical colleges have great trouble…

  8. Unconventional Word Segmentation in Emerging Bilingual Students' Writing: A Longitudinal Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparrow, Wendy

    2014-01-01

    This study explores cross-language and longitudinal patterns in unconventional word segmentation in 25 emerging bilingual students' (Spanish/English) writing from first through third grade. Spanish and English writing samples were collected annually and analyzed for two basic types of unconventional word segmentation: hyposegmentation, in…

  9. Other People's Students Elaborated Codes and Dialect in Basic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Jason Cory

    2012-01-01

    English teachers, especially those in the field of basic writing, have long debated how to teach writing to students whose home language differs from the perceived norm. This thesis intervenes in that stalemated debate by re-examining "elaborated codes" and by arguing for a type of correctness in writing that includes being correct…

  10. Remediating Remediation: From Basic Writing to Writing across the Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Faulkner, Melissa

    2013-01-01

    This article challenges faculty members and administrators to rethink current definitions of remediation. First year college students are increasingly placed into basic writing courses due to a perceived inability to use English grammar correctly, but it must be acknowledged that all students will encounter the need for remediation as they attempt…

  11. Teaching English in the World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindblom, Kenneth

    2004-01-01

    English and writing teachers are often pressurized to return to the basics of grammar, despite the evidence that drilling grammar does not improve students' writing skills. A great disparity exists between public perception of effective education and the perception of professional educators, which is the main reason why parents and government…

  12. English 540: Teaching Stretch and Studio Composition Practicum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davila, Bethany; Elder, Cristyn L.

    2017-01-01

    In the course overview, the authors state that this course prepares those who enroll to teach Stretch and Studio Composition at the University of New Mexico by introducing relevant theory and pedagogy in the areas of basic writing, multilingual writing, metacognition, and reading instruction. While the English 537: Teaching Composition Practicum…

  13. You Can't Expect Kids to Love Writing if They Never Get the Opportunity to Write.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deckert, Andrew J.

    1988-01-01

    Seniors in two basic English classes learn to write vivid prose by recording conversations before concentrating on the conventions of writing. After the writers express themselves, they begin to see the value of the rules of writing. (MLF)

  14. Selected Speeches and Essays of Mina Pendo Shaughnessy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaughnessy, Mina

    1980-01-01

    Presents Mina Shaughnessy's thoughts on why English professors dislike the teaching of writing, what is needed in writing research, the disadvantages of being a writing teacher at an open admissions school, what open admissions policies have revealed about education in general and basic writing instruction in particular, and writing evaluation…

  15. "To Whom It May Concern": A Study on the Use of Lexical Bundles in Email Writing Tasks in an English Proficiency Test

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Zhi; Volkov, Alex

    2017-01-01

    Lexical bundles are worthy of attention in both teaching and testing writing as they function as basic building blocks of discourse. This corpus-based study focuses on the rated writing responses to the email tasks in the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program® General test (CELPIP-General) and explores the extent to which lexical…

  16. 20 CFR 664.205 - How is the “deficient in basic literacy skills” criterion in § 664.200(c)(1) defined and documented?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ...) Computes or solves problems, reads, writes, or speaks English at or below the 8th grade level on a... to compute or solve problems, read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function on the...

  17. 20 CFR 664.205 - How is the “deficient in basic literacy skills” criterion in § 664.200(c)(1) defined and documented?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ...) Computes or solves problems, reads, writes, or speaks English at or below the 8th grade level on a... to compute or solve problems, read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function on the...

  18. 20 CFR 664.205 - How is the “deficient in basic literacy skills” criterion in § 664.200(c)(1) defined and documented?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ...) Computes or solves problems, reads, writes, or speaks English at or below the 8th grade level on a... to compute or solve problems, read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function on the...

  19. Everyday Reading and Writing: English. 5112.24.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knowles, Marlene; Wardell, Arlene

    A curriculum guide to help students improve their everyday English skills has been designed for the Dade County Public Schools. The course, for grades 8 through 12, is to help students learn to read, write, and interpret letters, business forms, instructions, signs, maps, and magazines. The practical subject matter emphasizes basic reading and…

  20. Using Electronic Technology in Adult Literacy Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosen, David J.

    1999-01-01

    Students in adult literacy education, including basic and secondary education and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), are increasingly using computers to write, find information, publish their writings, communicate by e-mail, learn basic skills, and for other purposes. In this chapter the focus is on computers, the Internet (including…

  1. An academic writing needs assessment of English-as-a-second-language clinical investigators.

    PubMed

    Wang, Min-Fen; Bakken, Lori L

    2004-01-01

    Academic writing for publication is competitive and demanding for researchers. For the novice English-as-a-second-language (ESL) researcher, the pressure to publish compounds the difficulties of mastering the English language. Very few studies have used ESL graduate and post-graduate students as academic writing research subjects. The purpose of this project was to assess the learning needs of ESL clinical investigators regarding academic writing for English scholarly publication. A qualitative evaluation approach was used to examine the gap between the current and desired proficiency level for the academic writing of ESL clinical investigators. We considered the perspectives of seven ESL clinical investigators plus three mentors and three writing instructors. Semi-structured questions were asked. Field notes were organized using a field-work recording system. They were analyzed using the constant comparative method. ESL clinical investigators do not accurately perceive their writing deficiencies. They have little knowledge of criteria for academic writing and they are influenced by their prior English learning experiences in their home culture, which engender passive attitudes toward seeking appropriate writing resources. Adequate time is especially needed to develop successful writing skills. Four basic steps are recommended to guide program planners in developing ESL writing activities for professional learning: (1) recognize discrepancies, (2) establish clear standards and performance criteria for scholarly writing, (3) develop individual plans, and (4) organize long-term writing assistance.

  2. The Teaching of Composition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crowley, Sharon, Ed.

    1976-01-01

    This issue of the "Arizona English Bulletin" includes articles concerned with philosophy, psychology, and procedure in the composition classroom at all levels of instruction. Among the topics considered are contending with critics of composition, the back-to-basics movement, the writing process, writing modules, remedial writing, personalized…

  3. A Corpus of Writing, Pronunciation, Reading, and Listening by Learners of English as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotani, Katsunori; Yoshimi, Takehiko; Nanjo, Hiroaki; Isahara, Hitoshi

    2016-01-01

    In order to develop effective teaching methods and computer-assisted language teaching systems for learners of English as a foreign language who need to study the basic linguistic competences for writing, pronunciation, reading, and listening, it is necessary to first investigate which vocabulary and grammar they have or have not yet learned.…

  4. Basic Writing Concepts for Scientists and Engineers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, John H.

    1980-01-01

    Notes the differences between poetry and technical communication. Charges English teacher/humanists with confusing students about emotional writing, style, and effective technical communication. Offers five concepts that technical writing teachers can use to place "style" on a rational basis and to make students understand the true purposes of…

  5. Empowering Nonsense: Reading Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" in a Basic Writing Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Noimann, Chamutal

    2014-01-01

    Basic writing and reading students are scared. More than the unfamiliar places, faces, new methods and serious consequences of it all, they are afraid of words. Even if they successfully complete remediation, move on to English 101 and advance to upper courses in other disciplines, our students often face monstrous texts, which they have precious…

  6. Forming Well Organized Writing Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tosuncuoglu, Irfan

    2018-01-01

    English has been widely spoken in the world and seen as the language of education, communication, economics and etc., for a long time and it can be accepted as lingua franca. Knowledge of a language includes four basic language skills, these are listening, reading, speaking, and writing. In this study writing was investigated in detail and it was…

  7. The Meanings Attributed to Writing Skills in English by Turkish Children: A Concept Map Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erginer, Ergin; Yar, Veda

    2013-01-01

    One of the four basic language skills of children, writing, is central to expressing themselves and to developing high level thinking capabilities. Competence in writing is a rather complex learning structure in which cognitive and, especially, psycho-motor learning processes are intensively employed and it further needs to be fed by perceptive…

  8. Driver Education. Supplemental Lessons and Activities for Use with Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students Enrolled in ESL or Special Education Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fairfax County Schools, VA.

    A curriculum for use with limited English proficient students in English-as-a-second-language or special education classes who are enrolled in the driver education course is described. The 14 lessons require a basic proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing English. The lessons cover such topics as vocabulary and idioms related…

  9. Romanian Basic Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Washington, DC.

    The "Romanian Basic Course," consisting of 89 lesson units in eight volumes, is designed to train native English language speakers to Level 3 proficiency in comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing Romanian (based on a 1-5 scale in which Level 5 is native speaker proficiency). Volume 1, which introduces basic sentences in dialog form with…

  10. How to incorporate academic writing pedagogy in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

    PubMed

    Kostenko, Viktoriia G; Solohor, Iryna M

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Medical researchers, who are non-native English speakers, are facing now the growing need to publish their research results in international journals switching to an English-only policy, to apply for grants and scholarship, but at the same time this puts many authors whose native language is not English at a disadvantage compared to their English-speaking counterparts. The aim: This paper aims at analysing the existing parameters of academic writing proficiency of medical undergraduate and postgraduate students; elucidating current approaches to develop academic writing competency and to promote academic multi-literacy of junior researchers, and outlining the general recommendations to improve the quality and sophistication of their writing by incorporating the principles and achievements of academic writing pedagogy into the system of medical training. Materials and methods: This study is an empirical applied research of a qualitative type mainly based on data elicited from informants (n=120) of the Ukrainian Medical Stomatological Academy aged from 20 - 35. Results and conclusions: All participants were able to identify personal problem areas, and virtually all they note dissatisfaction with the use of English in their scholarly writing. They stated the obvious difficulties in sentence patterns and keeping tone of scientific narrative format. Writing in genres other than original research articles seems to be quite demanding and is often associated with the lack of self-confidence and language anxiety. Attention to developing academic writing skills should focus on the basic elements of academic writing, characteristics of written genres across the disciplines, providing a framework in which expert and practical knowledge is internally organized.

  11. Reconfiguring the Role of the Research Paper: Collaborative Writing To Teach Basic Academic Research and Writing Strategies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleming, Michelle M.

    Each year that the author of this paper, an English instructor at Moorhead College (Minnesota), teaches the first-year "research paper," one instructor turns more and more to collaborative writing work. And she admits that some of her motives in reshaping the research paper in collaborative ways can seem to be based in assisting herself…

  12. English Language for the Chemical Plant.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mercer County Community Coll., Trenton, NJ.

    This document is one of a series of student workbooks developed for workplace skill development courses or workshops by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) and its partners. Designed for chemical plant employees, the course covers basic English speaking and writing skills needed to communicate effectively at work and outside the…

  13. Homepages: Built-in Motivation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKenzie, Cheryl

    2000-01-01

    Describes a Web-building class aimed at motivating English-as-a-Foreign-Language students to improve their English writing and editing skills while building a homepage. All students had a basic or better knowledge of keyboarding and Internet search techniques, two had advanced computer skills, but none had ever created a homepage. (Author/VWL)

  14. Family Literacy Works: Key Findings from the NFER Evaluation of the Basic Skills Agency's Demonstration Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basic Skills Agency, 2006

    2006-01-01

    The Basic Skills Agency (formerly the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit--ALBSU) is the national development agency for literacy, numeracy and related basic skills in England and Wales. This agency defines basic skills as " the ability to read, write, and speak in English and use mathematics at a level necessary to function and progress at…

  15. Numeracy Strategies for African American Students: Successful Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Angiline; Anderson, Celia-Rousseau

    2007-01-01

    Formerly, literacy was considered the basic ability to read and write. Now, literacy is defined as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society." With this broader definition, mathematical literacy, or…

  16. Chinese-Mandarin: Basic Course. Volume XII: Lessons 120-131.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Monterey, CA.

    This is the twelfth of 16 volumes of audiolingual classroom instruction in Mandarin Chinese. The course is designed to train native English speakers to Level 3 Foreign Service Institute proficiency in comprehension and speaking, and to Level 2 proficiency in reading and writing Mandarin. Facility in reading, writing, and translating texts written…

  17. Writing Deficiency among EFL University Students: Causes and Solutions the Case of English LMD Students at Djilali Liabes University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bouchefra, Miloud

    2015-01-01

    Writing is a basic skill in language and believed to be the hardest one to teach and learn (Walters, 1987) as the writer must transcribe his/her thoughts while maintaining control over a number of aspects varying from word choice and spelling to overall text structure and layout. In addition to its multifaceted nature, writing requires a huge…

  18. Predictive Validity Study of the APS Writing and Reading Tests [and] Validating Placement Rules for the APS Writing Test.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    College of the Canyons, Valencia, CA. Office of Institutional Development.

    California's College of the Canyons has used the College Board Assessment and Placement Services (APS) test to assess students' abilities in basic and college English since spring 1993. These two reports summarize data from a May 1994 study of the predictive validity of the APS writing and reading tests and a June 1994 effort to validate the cut…

  19. Polish Basic Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Washington, DC.

    These 15 volumes of the Basic Polish Course, prepared for use in the Defense Language Institute's intensive language program, comprise Lessons 1-124. They are disigned to train native English language speakers to Level 3 proficiency in comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing Polish. (Level 5 is native-speaker fluency.) The phonological…

  20. Turkish Basic Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Washington, DC.

    These 14 volumes of the Defense Language Institute's basic course in Turkish consist of 112 lesson units designed to train native English language speakers to Level 3 proficiency in comprehending, speaking, reading, and writing Turkish. (Native-speaker fluency is Level 5.) An introduction to the sound system, vowel harmony, and syllable division…

  1. Teaching Freshman English to Native and Non-Native Students: Some Similarities and Some Differences.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macha, Dyne H.

    This paper, intended for freshman English instructors who teach reading and writing to both native and non-native students, discusses basic differences and similarities affecting instruction for the two groups. For example, non-native linguistic differences encourage teachers to deal with syntactic interference in reading and with highly embedded…

  2. Service Courses: Forays to Bridge the Gulf and Invite New "Citizens"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sturgeon, Carolyn

    2013-01-01

    Teaching service courses such as the first year composition courses and an introduction to literature is often a primary mission for English departments on campuses in the United States. Sometimes specific departments request specialized additional English classes such as Writing for Business, basic grammar courses, composition courses focused for…

  3. EEG: Elements of English Grammar: Rules Explained Simply.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Winkle, Harold

    Intended to help interested people speak and write more correctly through self-instruction, this book presents the basic rules of standard English grammar in an easy-to-understand manner. The book's six chapters are as follows: (1) The Sentence; (2) Parts of Speech; (3) Case; (4) Modifiers; (5) Agreement; and (6) Building Better Sentences. The…

  4. The Working Experience. Teacher's Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Jeanne H.; Ringel, Harry

    A teacher's manual is presented for "The Working Experience," a series of three texts for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. The series builds on oral skills to develop reading and writing ability while still expanding oral English-language proficiency. Because one of the basic principles underlying the series is the idea that students…

  5. Beginning English Day by Day.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roddy, Michael

    This book aims to meet the needs of students who are beginning to learn English and to help them reach such goals as gaining an education, finding a job, continuing on to higher education, or functioning better in everyday life in the United States. The book stresses the basic language skills of vocabulary development, grammar, reading, writing,…

  6. Korean Basic Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Washington, DC.

    These 11 volumes of the Korean Basic Course comprise 112 lesson units designed to train native English language speakers to Level 3 proficiency in comprehension and speaking and Level 2 proficiency in reading and writing Korean. (Level 5 on this scale is native-speaker level.) Intended for classroom use in the Defense Language Institute intensive…

  7. Navajo Adult Basic Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Navajo Community Coll., Tsaile, AZ.

    The objectives of this Special Experimental Demonstration Project in Adult Basic Education for the Navajo were: (1) to raise the educational and social level of Navajo adult students who are unable to read, write, and speak English; (2) to assist the Navajo adult students to take advantage of occupational and vocational training programs; (3) to…

  8. Syntactical and Punctuation Errors: An Analysis of Technical Writing of University Students Science College, Taif University, KSA

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alamin, Abdulamir; Ahmed, Sawsan

    2012-01-01

    Analyzing errors committed by second language learners during their first year of study at the University of Taif, can offer insights and knowledge of the learners' difficulties in acquiring technical English communication. With reference to the errors analyzed, the researcher found that the learners' failure to understand basic English grammar…

  9. The Working Experience Books 1, 2, and 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Jeanne H.; Ringel, Harry

    Books 1, 2, and 3 of "The Working Experience," a series of texts for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students, are contained in this document. The series builds on oral skills to develop reading and writing ability while still expanding oral English-language proficiency. Since one of the basic principles underlying the series is the idea that…

  10. Evaluating Our Evaluations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lynch, Catherine; Klemans, Patricia

    1978-01-01

    A questionnaire survey of students in basic English courses on the McKeesport campus of Pennsylvania State University revealed how students respond to teacher comments on their compositions, and how teachers can write more effective comments. (DD)

  11. Stand Up and Write: Completing the Freshman Communications Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Richard M.; Nelson, Charles W.

    Members of the English and speech faculty at Michigan Technological University combined and coordinated their ideas to find a way to introduce the basics of oral communication into the composition course. The course itself is structured according to the quarter system, in which basic composition is taught in the first term, research methods and…

  12. [Acquiring Science English: A Plan and System Are Needed].

    PubMed

    Foong, Foo Wah

    2018-01-01

    　Literary English is different from science English (SE) and pharmaceutical science English (PSE). Therefore, a totally new approach was adopted for students to learn PSE at Kyoto Pharmaceutical University (KPU). In 2012, a 4-year program for teaching PSE was proposed, and a stepwise-stepup tertiary science English education (SSTSEE) system was introduced at KPU. The system provides a novel form of PSE teaching that stretches from year 1 to 4, where the PSE level progresses to higher levels of learning with each passing academic year. With the launch of the SSTSEE system, relevant science-educated staff were provided with training and were also requested to study the syllabi of the respective academic years to write textbooks with the appropriate PSE content for their respective levels. From 2012 to 2015, textbooks and curricula for 4 year academic levels were developed and published to meet the needs for PSE learning at each academic level. Based on results of the SSTSEE system, year 1 students acquired the SE basics, and year 2 students applied the SE basics acquired. In years 3 and 4, students further pursued and developed their PSE ability. Additionally, students participated actively in developing skills in the reading, listening, writing, and speaking of SE/PSE. Active-plus-deep learning prompted students in developing those skills using illustrations, posters, and power-point slideshow presentations. By year 4, average achievers had established an independent level of competency in reading, listening, speaking, and writing PSE. Moreover, the SSTSEE system accommodated students timely in developing communication skills for practical fieldwork (clerkships) at pharmacies/hospitals in year 5 and for their future endeavors.

  13. A Nongraded Phase Elective Senior High English Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    South Bend Community School Corp., IN.

    The course content in this nongraded phase elective curriculum is classified into Phase 1, designed for students who find reading, writing, and speaking difficult, Phase 2 for students who need to improve and refine basic skills at a somewhat slower pace, Phase 3 for those who have an average command of basic language skills and want to advance at…

  14. La Mancha Plus Two--1970: Proceedings of the Annual Model Secondary School Conference (3rd, University of Vermont, April 24-25, 1970).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manchel, Frank, Ed.; Clark, Virginia, Ed.

    Ten papers assess 3 years of the La Mancha Project whose basic objectives are to devise methods and materials to help students write more effectively, to coordinate the students' writing experiences in English with their other academic classes and life outside school, to provide an in-service training program for secondary school teachers on the…

  15. Basic Understandings of Nonfictional Writings Using the Newspaper as a Supplementary Aid: For Junior High School and Senior High School Grades.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tokars, Lester E.

    This supplementary aid for the teaching of English by the use of the "Newspaper in the Classroom" utilizes an ungraded approach that may be utilized with students from grades 7 through 12. The emphasis in this guide is in the specific literature area of nonfictional writings. The goals of using this teaching approach are to: (1) stimulate the…

  16. Basic Education for Adults: Pathways to College and Careers for Washington's Emerging Workforce. Washington's Community and Technical Colleges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2015

    2015-01-01

    This brief describes the Basic Education for Adults (BEdA) programs that bridge the gap between school and work, thereby creating pathways to college and careers for Washington's emerging workforce. BEdA programs teach foundational skills--reading, writing, math, technology and English language--so adults can move through college and into…

  17. TEXAS ADULT MIGRANT EDUCATION. PROGRESS REPORT.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Texas Education Agency, Austin.

    THE TEXAS OFFICE OF OPPORTUNITY HAS DEVISED A PROGRAM TO MEET THE EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS OF THE MIGRANT LABORER. BASIC EDUCATION PROVIDES READING, WRITING, AND ENGLISH INSTRUCTION, CITIZENSHIP AND SAFETY EDUCATION, OCCUPATIONAL ORIENTATION, AND GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING PROGRAMS. HOMEMAKING EDUCATION INCLUDES NUTRITION, CHILD GUIDANCE AND DEVELOPMENT,…

  18. Composition for Critical Thinking: A Course Description.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lazere, Donald

    Intended for college or secondary school teachers of courses beyond the basic level in freshman English and composition, this course description treats components of composition for critical thinking, including semantics, tone, logic, and argumentation, and their application to writing critical, argumentative, and research papers. The introduction…

  19. Learn to Read.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appelson, Marilyn; And Others

    The Learn to Read project was designed to provide a supportive setting in which functionally illiterate adult students from suburban Cook County, Illinois, and surrounding areas could develop reading and writing skills. The target population included English-dominant adults with basic oral competency but no literacy skills, as well as…

  20. Saudi English-Major Undergraduates' Academic Writing Problems: A Taif University Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Khairy, Mohamed Ali

    2013-01-01

    This study attempted to investigate Saudi English-major undergraduates studying at Taif University to identify a) the types of academic writing Saudi English-major undergraduates carry out at English departments, b) Saudi English-major undergraduates' writing problems, c) the reasons behind Saudi English-major undergraduates' writing problems and…

  1. Fortalecete! Pensamientos e ideas sobre el desarrollo de curriculo para maestras de educacion basica en espanol ("Get Energized! Thoughts and Ideas on Curriculum Development for Spanish Basic Education Teachers").

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holyoke JUNTOS Adult Basic Education Collaborative, MA.

    This booklet outlines approaches to adult basic education Spanish literacy. It includes the following: explanatory note for English (non-Spanish) readers; general goals of a Spanish language literacy (SLL) program in Holyoke, Massachusetts; checklists; learning objectives for reading and writing; SLL lesson plan guide; outline for SLL curriculum…

  2. Exploring Culture. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for Literacy, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

    This document reports on a project conducted to develop a curriculum to enable adult learners to explore their own and others' cultures while participating in reading, writing, math, English-as-a-Second-Language, or social studies course offered by adult basic education providers throughout Pennsylvania. The curriculum manual in this report…

  3. Documentation as Problem Solving for Literacy Outreach Programs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Girill, T R

    2004-07-06

    Age-appropriate technical writing lessons for underperforming high-school students can offer them an innovative, ''authentic'' way to improve how they read and write. Thus the techniques and principles of effective technical communication routinely applied at work also provide a positive response to one of today's great educational challenges. This workshop shows participants how to (1) introduce English and science teachers to the value of technical writing as a response to school literacy problems, (2) prepare plausible practice exercises to help students improve their basic literacy, and (3) recognize and respond to known literacy outreach pitfalls. Every effective literacy outreach project basedmore » on technical writing needs to address four key problems.« less

  4. English-Language Writing Instruction in Poland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reichelt, Melinda

    2005-01-01

    Second language writing scholars have undertaken descriptions of English-language writing instruction in a variety of international settings, describing the role of various contextual factors in shaping English-language writing instruction. This article describes English-language writing instruction at various levels in Poland, noting how it is…

  5. A MANUAL OF JAPANESE WRITING, BOOK 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    CHAPLIN, HAMAKO ITO; MARTIN, SAMUEL E.

    THIS IS THE FIRST OF THREE VOLUMES WRITTEN TO TEACH THE 881 ESSENTIAL OR "EDUCATION" CHARACTERS TO ENGLISH-SPEAKING STUDENTS OF JAPANESE. THE AUTHORS ASSUME THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE ALREADY LEARNED THE HIRAGANA AND KATAKANA SYLLABARIES AND HAVE A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF JAPANESE GRAMMAR. ORTHOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS USED FOLLOW CLOSELY THOSE…

  6. Unheard Voices: A Section 353 Special Project. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strunk, Sandra J.

    "Unheard Voices" was a project designed to provide adult educators with specific guidelines and ideas for integrating a creative writing component into an existing program of adult basic education, General Educational Development, or English as a second language. The project also collected and published student poetry and fiction in…

  7. MIA: Accuplacer Prep

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaplan, Gary

    2014-01-01

    Accuplacer is, like the SAT, a suite of tests. It assesses concrete English and math skills--things like decimals, percents, equations, reading comprehension and basic writing skills. Accuplacer tests are used by community colleges, state colleges and public universities in all New England states to place incoming students in the right courses.…

  8. Using Modeled Writing to Support English-Only and English-Learner Second-Grade Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohr, Kathleen A. J.

    2017-01-01

    This study compared 70 English learners (ELs) and English-only (EO) second-grade students' writing samples before and after a yearlong writing program. The school utilized Write From the Beginning (J. Buckner, 2006) and focused on personal narratives. A subgroup of students also participated in an intervention supporting expository writing on…

  9. Using PELA to Predict International Business Students' English Writing Performance with Contextualised English Writing Workshops as Intervention Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Caroline; Delante, Nimrod Lawsin; Wang, Pengji

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the effectiveness of Post-Entry English Language Assessment (PELA) as a predictor of international business students' English writing performance and academic performance. An intervention involving the implementation of contextualised English writing workshops was embedded in a specific business subject targeted at students who…

  10. POWER for Progress: A Model for Partnerships in Workplace Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Triton Coll., River Grove, IL.

    Project POWER is an educational program developed jointly by Triton College, River Grove, Illinois, and the Labor Management Center of the Mid-Metro Economic Development Group, for employees of local companies who are interested in improving basic skills in English, reading, mathematics, and writing, as well as for employees who want to prepare…

  11. The Financial Knowledge of College Freshmen

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avard, Stephen; Manton, Edgar; English, Donald; Walker, Janet

    2005-01-01

    The problem of the study was to determine college freshmen's financial knowledge. The entire freshman English 101, College Reading and Writing class at Texas A&M University--Commerce was surveyed. There were a total of 407 students enrolled in these classes. There were 20 multiple choice questions dealing with basic knowledge of financial issues,…

  12. Chinese-Mandarin: Basic Course. Volume VII: Lessons 72-79.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Monterey, CA.

    This is the seventh of 16 volumes of audiolingual classroom instruction in Mandarin Chinese. The course is designed to train native English speakers to Level 3 Foreign Service Institute proficiency in comprehension and speaking, and to Level 2 proficiency in reading and writing Mandarin. Facility in the use and recognition of Chinese characters is…

  13. Chinese-Mandarin: Basic Course. Volume IX: Lessons 88-95.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Monterey, CA.

    This is the ninth of 16 volumes of audiolingual classroom instruction in Mandarin Chinese. The course is designed to train native English speakers to Level 3 Foreign Service Institute proficiency in comprehension and speaking, and to Level 2 proficiency in reading and writing Mandarin. Facility in the use and recognition of Chinese characters is…

  14. Chinese-Mandarin: Basic Course. Volume VIII: Lessons 80-87.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defense Language Inst., Monterey, CA.

    This is the eighth of 16 volumes of audiolingual classroom instruction in Mandarin Chinese. The course is designed to train native English speakers to Level 3 Foreign Service Institute proficiency in comprehension and speaking, and to Level 2 proficiency in reading and writing Mandarin. Facility in the use and recognition of Chinese characters is…

  15. Strategic English Writing for Academic Purposes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Grace Hui Chin

    2017-01-01

    Writing is one of the four abilities in English Learning. Many students need to write their theses and dissertations in English in order to achieve their academic degrees. English writing is in fact an access of international and intercultural communication with native-speakers and non-native speakers, in academic fields. After reading abundant…

  16. Learning Strategies in Alleviating English Writing Anxiety for English Language Learners (ELLs) with Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Chia-Pei; Lin, Huey-Ju

    2016-01-01

    This study utilized the Oxford Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and an English writing anxiety scale to examine the relationship between learning strategies and English writing anxiety in 102 university-level English language learners (ELLs) with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in a university in Taiwan. Kruskal Wallis Test…

  17. Reconsidering English Grammar Teaching for Improving Non-English Majors' English Writing Ability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shen, Yuru

    2012-01-01

    With the globalization of world economy, English learners' writing ability has been attached less and less importance. As a result, many college students in China, especially the non-English majors, cannot express themselves effectively in written English. They make various kinds of mistakes, mostly grammar mistakes, such as writing sentence…

  18. Research on Three-Part Argumentative Writings for English Majors in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mingli, Luo

    2012-01-01

    Writing is a kind of creative thinking activity. The teaching of three-part argumentative writing is crucial in college English instruction. Many English majors that fail to write well lack sufficient input of English argumentative reading materials, use Chinese thinking and structure to express their ideas, and lack frequent and sufficient…

  19. Nursing students' reading and English aptitudes and their relationship to discipline-specific formal writing ability: a descriptive correlational study.

    PubMed

    Newton, Sarah; Moore, Gary

    2010-01-01

    Formal writing assignments are commonly used in nursing education to develop students' critical thinking skills, as well as to enhance their communication abilities. However, writing apprehension is a common phenomenon among nursing students. It has been suggested that reading and English aptitudes are related to formal writing ability, yet neither the reading nor the English aptitudes of undergraduate nursing students have been described in the literature, and the relationships that reading and English aptitude have with formal writing ability have not been explored. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to describe writing apprehension and to assess the relationships among reading and English aptitude and discipline-specific formal writing ability among undergraduate nursing students. The study sample consisted of 146 sophomores from one baccalaureate nursing program. The results indicated that both reading and English aptitude were related to students' formal writing ability.

  20. Nurturing Interdisciplinary Competence in Academic Writing Classes: Two Taiwanese TESOL Professionals' Shared Journey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Cheryl Wei-yu; Wang, Hung-chun

    2016-01-01

    This study delineates two Taiwanese TESOL teachers' efforts of combining English writing with entrepreneurship education to cultivate English majors' interdisciplinary competence in academic writing classes. An integrated business-and-writing approach was proposed to foster English majors' academic writing skills and entrepreneurial capacities. In…

  1. How I Have Improved My English Writing Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kosaka, Megumi

    2016-01-01

    Writing a journal is a good way to improve one's English skills. The author, although she did not feel good at writing in English at all, discovered that, once she began keeping a journal in English, she progressively became able to write longer, more accurate, and more detailed sentences. Through keeping a journal she became aware of errors she…

  2. Using Criterion in an English for Academic Purposes Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cookson, Simon; Hunter, Simon; Jackson, Daniel; Sick, James

    2005-01-01

    English for Academic Purposes (EAP Writing) is a compulsory course for English literature and language students at Obirin University. The first semester focuses on expository writing, typical of the TOEFL[R] writing exam. The second semester focuses on writing about literature. To facilitate their writing all students are provided with a user…

  3. On Culture Infiltration and the Strategy Integrated with Specialty Characteristics in College English Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Juan

    2017-01-01

    Language is an indispensable part of culture, and it is also a major carrier and medium of culture communication and transmission. Learning a foreign language means not only learning basic language knowledge, training and improving the ability of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating, but enriching the cross-cultural awareness,…

  4. An Evaluation of Computer-Assisted Instruction for English Grammar Review.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oates, William

    1981-01-01

    The use of computer assisted instruction (CAI) at Indiana University to provide basic grammar review to beginning writing students, and the results of an evaluation of the PLATO system as a learning resource are described. At the time of the evaluation, the CAI curriculum in use was the Language Arts Routing System (LARS). The evaluation involved…

  5. Building English Vocabulary through Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yurtbasi, Metin

    2015-01-01

    Semantics, the study of the meaning of words, is the sum of the basic elements of four skills, namely, reading, writing, speaking and listening effectively. The knowledge of vocabulary words in lexico-semantics, on the other hand, is essential in every grade level, subject area and assessment for every student. In order to improve students'…

  6. Communication for the Workplace: An Integrated Language Approach. Second Edition. Job Skills. Net Effect Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ettinger, Blanche; Perfetto, Edda

    Using a developmental, hands-on approach, this text/workbook helps students master the basic English skills that are essential to write effective business correspondence, to recognize language errors, and to develop decision-making and problem-solving skills. Its step-by-step focus and industry-specific format encourages students to review,…

  7. Pacific Islands Literature: One Hundred Basic Books

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Day, A. Grove

    One hundred books in English about the Pacific islands are reviewed. The primary work of each of 100 authors is the primary topic of the reviews, but information is also given about other writings of these authors on the Pacific islands, as well as some biographical information. Books by other writers on similar subjects are mentioned at times.…

  8. Using Local Style When Writing in English: The Citing Behaviour of Indonesian Authors in English Research Article Introductions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arsyad, Safnil; Adila, Destiantari

    2017-01-01

    When writing journal articles in English, authors are expected to comply with the conventionally appropriate rhetorical style. This may be problematic for non-native speakers of English, such as Indonesian authors who write in English. The purpose of this study is to investigate the rhetorical style of reviewing prior knowledge in English research…

  9. College English Writing Instruction for Non-English Majors in Mainland China: The "Output-Driven, Input-Enabled" Hypothesis Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ren, Junhong

    2017-01-01

    College English writing instruction has been a prominent research area in EFL field in mainland China. This paper has continued the focus by exploring a seemingly effective way for college English writing instruction in China--teaching writing based on reading on the basis of the "output-driven, input-enabled" hypothesis. This hypothesis…

  10. Exploring Construction of College English Writing Course from the Perspective of Output-Driven Hypothesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ying, Zhang

    2018-01-01

    English writing is regarded as the most difficult task by Chinese EFL learners. Due to the existing problems in present college English writing instruction, teachers fail to provide effective guidance in students' writing process and students report a low level of motivation and confidence in writing tasks. Through purposeful reading discussions…

  11. Structural Equation Modeling of Writing Proficiency Using Can-Do Questionnaires

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kobayashi, Wakako

    2017-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to validate the writing section of the Eiken Can-Do Questionnaires used in this study and the second purpose was to determine the effects of ten affective orientations (i.e., Desire to Write English, Attitude Toward Learning to Write English, Motivational Intensity, Instrumental Orientation for Writing in English,…

  12. Teaching Writing through Communicative Approach in Military English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Likaj, Manjola

    2015-01-01

    The paper speaks about teaching writing through communicative approach in English for Specific Purposes, especially in Military English. There are presented three different approaches regarding writing in ESP: product, process and social-constructionist approach. The recent developments in ESP writing consider the social-constructionist approach…

  13. The Use of Academic Words in the Analytical Writing of Secondary English Learners and Native English Speakers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cons, Andrea M.

    2013-01-01

    This study explores the following research question: How do secondary English learners (ELs) and Re-designated fluent English proficient students (RFEPs) use academic words in analytical writing in comparison to native English speakers (NESs)? It highlights previously overlooked differences in academic word use in the writing of students who are…

  14. English Teachers, Angels & Poverty: Writing on English Curriculum and Pedagogy (Reflections on Editing "English in Australia").

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doecke, Brenton

    2002-01-01

    Explores the cultural politics of writing about English curriculum and pedagogy, focusing on the author's role as the editor of this journal. Describes his role as editor as one of providing a discursive space in which English teachers and literacy educators can begin to write about their work. (SG)

  15. Research on the Application of "Tree Analysis Diagram" to the Teaching of English Argumentative Writing of the Chinese EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Xiaokai

    2018-01-01

    Writing as one of essential skills in English learning is attached more and more importance. English writing involves not only the application of lexicon and grammar, but also the construction of the text and the expression of the thought. For Chinese EFL learners, the common problem in English writing is that they tend to apply the Chinese…

  16. Increasing Creativity with the Self-Studies in Basic English Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yagcioglu, Ozlem

    2016-01-01

    There are many materials, books and resources for the self-studies which can be useful in the ESL and in the EFL classrooms. Choosing the ones which can make learners more creative and happier will help our students to develop their language skills in speaking, reading, writing and listening. This paper deals with the methods and approaches to…

  17. Supporting Orthographic Learning at the Beginning Stage of Learning to Read Chinese as a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Li-Yun; Xu, Yi; Perfetti, Charles A.; Zhang, Juan; Chen, Hsueh-Chih

    2014-01-01

    Learning to read a second language (L2) is especially challenging when a target L2 requires learning new graphic forms. Learning Chinese, which consists of thousands of characters composed of hundreds of basic writing units, presents such a challenge of orthographic learning for adult English speakers at the beginning stages of learning. In this…

  18. Uniqueness and Overlap: Characteristics and Longitudinal Correlates of Native Chinese Children’s Writing in English as a Foreign Language

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Juan; McBride-Chang, Catherine; Wagner, Richard K.; Chan, Shingfong

    2015-01-01

    Longitudinal predictors of writing composition in Chinese and English written by the same 153 Hong Kong nine-year-old children were tested, and their production errors within the English essays across ten categories, focusing on punctuation, spelling, and grammar, were compared to errors made by ninety American nine-year-olds writing on the same topic. The correlation between quality of the compositions in Chinese and English was .53. In stepwise regression analyses examining early predictors at ages between five and nine years, tasks of speed or fluency were consistently uniquely associated with Chinese writing composition; measures of English vocabulary knowledge, word reading, or both were consistently uniquely associated with English writing quality. Compared to the American children, Chinese children’s writing reflected significantly higher proportions of errors in all grammatical categories but did not differ in punctuation or spelling. Findings underscore both similarities and differences in writing at different levels across languages. PMID:25729319

  19. Supporting English Language Learners' Writing Abilities: Exploring Third Spaces

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Assaf, Lori Czop

    2014-01-01

    Research on the sociocultural processes of writing and its impact on writing instruction in the middle grades has gained increased attention in educational research. Less attention has been devoted to research on writing with middle grade English learners (ELs) who are mainstreamed into English only classrooms. National assessment data, reports,…

  20. English Language Learners and Automated Scoring of Essays: Critical Considerations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weigle, Sara Cushing

    2013-01-01

    This article presents considerations for using automated scoring systems to evaluate second language writing. A distinction is made between English language learners in English-medium educational systems and those studying English in their own countries for a variety of purposes, and between learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in a second…

  1. The Influence of Students' L1 and Spoken English in English Writing: A Corpus-Based Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prihantoro

    2016-01-01

    Academic writing requires both style and grammatical correctness; however, efforts in improving the quality of English academic writing by non-native students have been focused on grammar. Structures observed in this study were grammatically correct, but considered unnatural in academic writing genre. This research involves a group of non-native…

  2. Linguistically Diverse Students' Attitudes towards Writing in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bustamante, Analynn; Eom, Minhee

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated attitudes of linguistically diverse students towards writing in English in four different domains: general academic writing, writing in humanities, writing in science-related subjects (STEM), and writing in electronic communication. A total of 77 Hispanic bilingual/ELL adult students at an alternative high school in…

  3. Neural Signatures of the Reading-Writing Connection: Greater Involvement of Writing in Chinese Reading than English Reading.

    PubMed

    Cao, Fan; Perfetti, Charles A

    2016-01-01

    Research on cross-linguistic comparisons of the neural correlates of reading has consistently found that the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) is more involved in Chinese than in English. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interpretation of the language difference. Because this region has been found to be involved in writing, we hypothesize that reading Chinese characters involves this writing region to a greater degree because Chinese speakers learn to read by repeatedly writing the characters. To test this hypothesis, we recruited English L1 learners of Chinese, who performed a reading task and a writing task in each language. The English L1 sample had learned some Chinese characters through character-writing and others through phonological learning, allowing a test of writing-on-reading effect. We found that the left MFG was more activated in Chinese than English regardless of task, and more activated in writing than in reading regardless of language. Furthermore, we found that this region was more activated for reading Chinese characters learned by character-writing than those learned by phonological learning. A major conclusion is that writing regions are also activated in reading, and that this reading-writing connection is modulated by the learning experience. We replicated the main findings in a group of native Chinese speakers, which excluded the possibility that the language differences observed in the English L1 participants were due to different language proficiency level.

  4. Neural Signatures of the Reading-Writing Connection: Greater Involvement of Writing in Chinese Reading than English Reading

    PubMed Central

    Cao, Fan; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2016-01-01

    Research on cross-linguistic comparisons of the neural correlates of reading has consistently found that the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) is more involved in Chinese than in English. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interpretation of the language difference. Because this region has been found to be involved in writing, we hypothesize that reading Chinese characters involves this writing region to a greater degree because Chinese speakers learn to read by repeatedly writing the characters. To test this hypothesis, we recruited English L1 learners of Chinese, who performed a reading task and a writing task in each language. The English L1 sample had learned some Chinese characters through character-writing and others through phonological learning, allowing a test of writing-on-reading effect. We found that the left MFG was more activated in Chinese than English regardless of task, and more activated in writing than in reading regardless of language. Furthermore, we found that this region was more activated for reading Chinese characters learned by character-writing than those learned by phonological learning. A major conclusion is that writing regions are also activated in reading, and that this reading-writing connection is modulated by the learning experience. We replicated the main findings in a group of native Chinese speakers, which excluded the possibility that the language differences observed in the English L1 participants were due to different language proficiency level. PMID:27992505

  5. The Effectiveness of Internet-Based Peer Feedback Training on Chinese EFL College Students' Writing Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jiang, Jiahong; Yu, Yibing

    2014-01-01

    English writing, an indispensable skill in English learning, plays an important role in improving learners' language proficiency. With the wide spread and use of wired or wireless internet, EFL students can easily help and be helped with English writing. Therefore, the application of internet-based peer feedback training on writing to foreign or…

  6. Writing Science Like an English Native Speaker: How Far Can and Should Non-Native Speakers of English Go?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burrough-Boenisch, Joy

    This paper discusses how a native English-speaking scientist should write and how they actually write scientific articles. This is complemented by considering the aspects of English that journal editors reported as influencing their assessment of manuscripts submitted by second language authors. Some of the ways in which native language and…

  7. Think about It: Volume III, Part I. A Collection of Articles on Higher Order Thinking Skills. REACH: Realistic Educational Achievement Can Happen.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Texas Education Agency, Austin.

    Twenty-three papers on the use of higher order thinking approaches to improve basic skills education are presented. The key note article is (1) "A Case for Higher Order Thinking" (G. Garcia, Jr.). Under the heading "English Language Arts" are: (2) "Developing an Elementary Writing Program" (K. Contreras); (3)…

  8. Professional Writing in the English Classroom: Professional Writing--What You Already Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bush, Jonathan; Zuidema, Leah

    2010-01-01

    This article presents the first installment of "Professional Writing in the English Classroom." The authors begin by answering the obvious question: What is professional writing? It isn't remedial writing, and it involves much more than writing memos, business letters, and resumes (although it certainly includes those genres). Professional writing…

  9. Development and Usability Test of an e-Learning Tool for Engineering Graduates to Develop Academic Writing in English: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Chih-Chung; Liu, Gi-Zen; Wang, Tzong-I

    2017-01-01

    Many non-native English speaking (NNES) graduates are required to write academic papers in English; consequently, recent research in the past decade has been devoted to investigating the usefulness of genre-based Writing Instructions (GBWI) on learners' writing cultivation. There is little specific guidance, however, on how GBWI can be employed in…

  10. Lagging behind Writing Pedagogical Developments: The Impact of Implementing Process-Based Approach on Learners' Writing in a Vietnamese Secondary Education Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ngo, Chau M.; Trinh, Lap Q.

    2011-01-01

    The field of English language education has seen developments in writing pedagogy, moving from product-based to process-based and then to genre-based approaches. In Vietnam, teaching secondary school students how to write in English is still lagging behind these growing developments. Product-based approach is commonly seen in English writing…

  11. 49 CFR 575.6 - Requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ..., in writing and in the English language, the information specified in § 575.103 of this part that is..., the manufacturer shall provide to the purchaser, in writing in the English language and not less than... manufacturer of that vehicle shall provide the purchaser, in writing and in the English language, the...

  12. A Comparison of Abstract Writing Style between English and Chinese

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhou, Xiaoying; Liao, Hangjie

    2018-01-01

    In this paper the authors conducted a comprehensive study on English abstract writing style. Abstraction is the process of forming a theoretical concept based on the observation and classification of object things. This concept has no definite denotation. However in specific situation it can be clearly understood. In English, writing an abstract…

  13. Using Translation Exercises in the Communicative EFL Writing Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Eun-Young

    2011-01-01

    Implementing process pedagogy in an L2 writing classroom has its own limits for students with low English proficiency. Although L1 writers commonly benefit from writing multiple drafts, most of the low English level Korean college students in my English composition class did not benefit from the revisions. This article introduces an innovative…

  14. College English Writing Affect: Self-Efficacy and Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodrow, Lindy

    2011-01-01

    This article describes a research project into the self-efficacy and anxiety of college English students at four universities in China. A total of 738 participants completed a questionnaire measuring self-efficacy and anxiety in writing in English. This was immediately followed by a writing task. The questionnaire used a seven point Likert type…

  15. Drawing on Technical Writing Scholarship for the Teaching of Writing to Advanced ESL Students--A Writing Tutorial.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zielinska, Dorota

    2003-01-01

    Outlines the technical writing tutorial (TWT) that precedes an advanced English as a second language (ESL) writing course for students of English Philology at the Jagiellonian University, Poland. Finds a statistically significant increase in the performance of the students who had taken the TWT. Indicates that technical writing books and journals…

  16. Teaching the Writing Methods Course: A Multiple Case Study of Teachers' Professional Journeys, Teaching Contexts, Theoretical Frames, and Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sovis, Kristin A. K.

    2014-01-01

    This study, situated within the fields of English education and writing teacher education, illustrates not only "what" is happening in writing methods courses but why in its examination of writing methods courses and instructor influences. The writing methods course is identified by English educators and writing teacher educators as…

  17. Child Education in India: Index to Scholarly Writings in Indian Educational Journals and Newspapers Since Independence (Includes Constitutional Provision and Basic Indicators of Child Growth).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agrawal, S. P.; Kanta, Naresh

    Part I of this book, which comprises the bulk of the volume, consists of a bibliography of approximately 650 publications on child education. The publications include articles from 58 Indian journals and newspapers published in the English language. The bibliography also references books, research reports, and doctoral theses that have been…

  18. 20 CFR 664.205 - How is the “deficient in basic literacy skills” criterion in § 664.200(c)(1) defined and documented?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... State or local concerns, and must include a determination that an individual: (1) Computes or solves problems, reads, writes, or speaks English at or below the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test or a comparable score on a criterion-referenced test; or (2) Is unable to compute or solve...

  19. A Study on Critical Thinking Assessment System of College English Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dong, Tian; Yue, Lu

    2015-01-01

    This research attempts to discuss the validity of introducing the evaluation of students' critical thinking skills (CTS) into the assessment system of college English writing through an empirical study. In this paper, 30 College English Test Band 4 (CET-4) writing samples were collected and analyzed. Students' CTS and the final scores of collected…

  20. A Model of Critical Peer Feedback to Facilitate Business English Writing Using Qzone Weblogs among Chinese Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xianwei, Gao; Samuel, Moses; Asmawi, Adelina

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore critical thinking skills in peer feedback for Business English writing in order to facilitate the quality of peer feedback and quality of Business English writing. "Critical peer feedback" was conceptualized with the integration of "critical thinking" and "peer feedback" in…

  1. Online Features of Qzone Weblog for Critical Peer Feedback to Facilitate Business English Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gao, Xianwei; Samuel, Moses; Asmawi, Adelina

    2016-01-01

    Qzone weblog is one of the most popular weblogs in China. This study explores Qzone weblog for critical peer feedback to facilitate Business English writing among the Chinese undergraduates. A qualitative case study is conducted by NVivo 8 to analyze the three research data of semistructured interviews, Business English writing assignments, and…

  2. The Use and Misuse of Academic Words in Writing: Analyzing the Writing of Secondary English Learners and Redesignated Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cons, Andrea Marie

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the specific ways secondary English learners (ELs) and redesignated fluent English-proficient learners (RFEPs) use academic vocabulary that assesses interpretive reading and analytical writing ability. The research examines how ELs and RFEPs, formerly ELs, differ in use and misuse of academic words. The study extends…

  3. Closing the Loop: Strengthening Disciplinary Writing in an English BA Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilcox, Miranda

    2017-01-01

    This program profile narrates how the Department of English at Brigham Young University (BYU) reviewed and revised the disciplinary writing requirements in the English BA program between 2006 and 2015. The story begins in 2006 with the dual problems of recognizing the lack of development in student writing in the major and of responding to…

  4. The Writing Development of English Language Learners from Two Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zheng, Xun

    2012-01-01

    The current study is a qualitative case study that investigated the writing development of seven Chinese-speaking English language learners (ELLs) from kindergarten and 3rd-grade ESL classes in an elementary school in the Midwest and intended to discover the factors that affect students' English writing development in a one-year period. Guided by…

  5. The Mediation of Technology in ESL Writing and Its Implications for Writing Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Jiang

    2006-01-01

    The present study investigated the influence of word processing on the writing of students of English as a second language (ESL) and on writing assessment as well. Twenty-one adult Mandarin-Chinese speakers with advanced English proficiency living in Toronto participated in the study. Each participant wrote two comparable writing tasks under…

  6. Why Assign Themes and Topics To Teach Writing? A Reply to Tony Silva.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Nathan B.

    Responds to Tony Silva's 1997 article, which asserted that English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing teachers should prevent themes and topics from dominating or controlling the curriculum. This paper argues that it is sometimes helpful for writing teachers to control why and what students write, focusing on university-level English writing in…

  7. An Online Writing Partnership: Transforming Classroom Writing Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Townsend, Jane S.; Nail, Allan; Cheveallier, Jennifer; Browning, Angela

    2013-01-01

    The four authors of this article have each at different times over a ten-year period helped develop versions of the Online Writing Partnership between future English teachers learning to teach writing and high school students learning to write better. The authors have been striving to help future English teachers learn how to help high school…

  8. Investigation Report on the Teaching of Practical English Writing of English Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Xiaojuan

    2010-01-01

    The practical writing course aims at helping students have a comprehensive understanding of writing subjects and improve their abilities of analyzing and understanding texts. This paper has explored how writing textbooks are used in the writing course and pointed out that the aim should be to help students improve their ability of analysis and…

  9. Developmental and Individual Differences in Chinese Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guan, Connie Qun; Ye, Feifei; Wagner, Richard K.; Meng, Wanjin

    2013-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to examine the generalizability of a model of the underlying dimensions of written composition across writing systems (Chinese Mandarin vs. English) and level of writing skill. A five-factor model of writing originally developed from analyses of 1st and 4th grade English writing samples was applied to Chinese…

  10. Writing Practices for Mainstream Teachers of Middle School English Learners: Building on What We Know Works Effectively

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haas, Eric; Goldman, Julie; Faltis, Christian

    2018-01-01

    Improving the writing of middle-school English learners can improve their academic thinking, literacy, and content knowledge. The Writing Reform and Innovation for Teaching Excellence (WRITE) program uses six high-leverage writing practices and develops teacher capacity through professional learning activities anchored in the group grading of…

  11. L1 vs L2 Writing: ESL Graduate Students' Perceptions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Tony

    1992-01-01

    A classroom-based study is reported that explored English-as-a-Second Language graduate students' perceptions about (1) differences between writing in their native language and writing in English, and (2) how these difference should be reflected in ESL writing teachers' practices. (19 references) (Author/LB)

  12. Topical Knowledge and ESL Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    He, Ling; Shi, Ling

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of topical knowledge on ESL (English as a Second Language) writing performance in the English Language Proficiency Index (LPI), a standardized English proficiency test used by many post-secondary institutions in western Canada. The participants were 50 students with different levels of English proficiency…

  13. The Crucial Point in Time Where Thai Students Are Introduced English Language Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dueraman, Bayatee

    2015-01-01

    There have been interests in finding appropriate ways in which students learn to write in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Educators should be aware that ESL/EFL learners are less privileged in terms of exposure to the target language when compared to their English native speaker counterparts. Ironically, writing instructions to…

  14. The Influence of Process Approach on English as Second Language Students' Performances in Essay Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akinwamide, Timothy Kolade

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the influence of Process Approach on English as second language Students' performances in essay writing. The purpose was to determine how far this current global approach could be of assistance to the writing skill development of these bilingual speakers of English language. The study employed the pre-test post-test control…

  15. The Impact on Writing Achievement of Two Bilingual Education Models for English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Valdez, Angela L.

    2012-01-01

    The number of English language learners (ELLs) within the school system in one Western U.S. state continues to rise; writing scores of ELLs lag well behind those of their English speaking peers. The purpose of this ex post facto quantitative causal comparative study was to examine the writing achievement of fourth grade ELLs instructed within a…

  16. Uncovering the Motivating Factors behind Writing in English in en EFL Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Büyükyavuz, Oya; Çakir, Ismail

    2014-01-01

    Writing in a language, whether the target or native, is regarded as a complex activity operating on multiple cognitive levels. This study aimed to uncover the factors which motivate teacher trainees of English to write in English in an EFL context. The study also investigated the differences in the ways teacher trainees are motivated in terms of…

  17. Cognitive Factors Contributing to Chinese EFL Learners' L2 Writing Performance in Timed Essay Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Yanbin

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated cognitive factors that might influence Chinese EFL learners' argumentative essay writing in English. The factors that were explored included English (L2) language proficiency, Chinese (L1) writing ability, genre knowledge, use of writing strategies, and working memory capacity in L1 and L2. Data were collected from 136…

  18. Drawing on Technical Writing Scholarship for the Teaching of Writing to Advanced ESL Students--A Writing Tutorial

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zielinska, Dorota

    2003-01-01

    The article outlines the technical writing tutorial (TWT) that preceded an advanced ESL writing course for students of English Philology at the Jagiellonian University. Having assessed the English skills of those students at the end of the semester, we found a statistically significant increase in the performance of the students who had taken the…

  19. Exploring Associations among Writing Self-Perceptions, Writing Abilities, and Native Language of English-Spanish Two-Way Immersion Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neugebauer, Sabina R.; Howard, Elizabeth R.

    2015-01-01

    The current study, with 409 fourth graders in two-way immersion programs, explored the writing self-perceptions of native English and native Spanish speakers and the relationship between self-perceptions and writing performance. An adapted version of the Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS) was administered along with a writing task. Native English…

  20. Inside English: Journal of the English Council of California Two Year Colleges, Volume 16, Numbers 1-4, October 1988-May 1989.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodruff, Barbara Bilson, Ed.; Woodruff, Bert, Ed.

    1989-01-01

    With each issue focusing on different themes, volume 16 of "Inside English" looks at writing programs and critical thinking, developmental writing and the plight of part-time faculty, teaching literature and study abroad programs, and English as a Second Language (ESL) and English programs. In addition to regular columns on the English Council of…

  1. English Skills for Engineers Required by the English Technical Writing Test

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kyouno, Noboru

    Japanese English education has focused mainly on teaching passive skills such as reading and listening, whereas actual business activities in society require active skills such as writing and speaking in addition to the passive skills. This educational situation is estimated to be a reason Japanese engineers are less confident in writing and speaking than in reading and listening. This paper focuses on details of the English Technical Writing Test provided by the Japan Society of Technical Communication and emphasizes the importance of the active skills, mainly focusing on what skills should be taught in the future and how to develop these skills. This paper also stresses the necessity of learning rhetoric-related skills, concept of information words, as well as paragraph reading and writing skills based on the concept of the 3Cs (Correct, Clear, and Concise) as a means to develop technical writing skills for engineers.

  2. On Writing Behavioral Objectives for English.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maxwell, John, Ed.; Tovatt, Anthony, Ed.

    This book presents the results of the examination, during 1969, of the behavioral objectives movement in English instruction by the NCTE Commission on the English Curriculum. It points out that, although some major benefits may eventually arise from the writing of English behavioral objectives, "the process bristles with problems in semantics,…

  3. Predicting writing development in dual language instructional contexts: exploring cross-linguistic relationships.

    PubMed

    Savage, Robert; Kozakewich, Meagan; Genesee, Fred; Erdos, Caroline; Haigh, Corinne

    2017-01-01

    This study examined whether decoding and linguistic comprehension abilities, broadly defined by the Simple View of Reading, in grade 1 each uniquely predicted the grade 6 writing performance of English-speaking children (n = 76) who were educated bilingually in both English their first language and French, a second language. Prediction was made from (1) English to English; (2) French to French; and (3) English to French. Results showed that both decoding and linguistic comprehension scores predicted writing accuracy but rarely predicted persuasive writing. Within the linguistic comprehension cluster of tests, Formulating Sentences was a strong consistent within- and between-language predictor of writing accuracy. In practical terms, the present results indicate that early screening for later writing ability using measures of sentence formulation early in students' schooling, in their L1 or L2, can provide greatest predictive power and allow teachers to differentiate instruction in the primary grades. Theoretically, the present results argue that there are correlations between reading-related abilities and writing abilities not only within the same language but also across languages, adding to the growing body of evidence for facilitative cross-linguistic relationships between bilinguals' developing languages. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Dialects, Gender, and the Writing Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shafer, Greg

    2007-01-01

    On the first day of English composition, students unleash a torrent of reasons why writing scared them as they write their opening day personal autobiographies. Most comments focus on reasons that have little to do with the craft or complexities of great writing. Numerous students bemoan their use of "substandard" English, thinking that their ways…

  5. Using an e-Portfolio System to Improve the Academic Writing Performance of ESL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alshahrani, Ali; Windeatt, Scott

    2012-01-01

    Many intensive English language programmes that English second language (ESL) students enrol in adopt a process approach to writing, interpreting writing as a cognitive process that is highly private or individualistic (Atkinson, 2003), where writers use specific cognitive phases, such as pre-writing, drafting, and revising, to generate their…

  6. The Intellectual Content of Freshman English.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lally, Tim D. P.

    The intellectual content of freshman English includes both the subject of writing itself and the subject the student writes about. Writing has often focused on personal subjects with the assumption that the student knows himself or herself and that the student has developed a point of view allowing intelligent writing. A second source of subject…

  7. Another Job for English Teachers: Showing Colleagues How to Teach Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knudson, Ruth

    1986-01-01

    Describes the implementation of a content area writing program in a middle school. Observes that many teachers were resistant to the task and passed their frustration on to the English teachers. However, most were pleased with the improvement in students' writing due to the increase in the amount of required writing. (SRT)

  8. Young Dual Language Learners' Emergent Writing Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillanders, Cristina; Franco, Ximena; Seidel, Kent; Castro, Dina C.; Méndez, Lucía I.

    2017-01-01

    This study examined how early writing develops in Spanish-English-speaking children of Mexican and Central American descent who are dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. The emergent writing skills in Spanish and English of 140 preschoolers in a multisite study were assessed using name- and word-writing tasks during the children's…

  9. What Johnny Can't Write: A University View of Freshman Writing Ability.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newkirk, Thomas R.; And Others

    It is regularly claimed that the quality of writing done by college freshmen is declining. This study attempted, through the use of questionnaires and interviews, to determine what specific freshman writing problems English teaching assistants and English professors at the University of Texas viewed as most serious. Questionnaire results showed…

  10. Timed Writing Practice for Japanese University Students in an EFL Setting.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kresovich, Brant M.

    1990-01-01

    Timed writing exercises used at the University of the Ryukyus (Japan) to help alleviate common problems in English second language writing are described. It is proposed that Japanese students have difficulty writing in English because of early training in the grammar-translation method, a lack of communication skills, the overuse of bilingual…

  11. Vocabulary Use by Low, Moderate, and High ASL-Proficient Writers Compared to Hearing ESL and Monolingual Speakers.

    PubMed

    Singleton, Jenny L; Morgan, Dianne; DiGello, Elizabeth; Wiles, Jill; Rivers, Rachel

    2004-01-01

    The written English vocabulary of 72 deaf elementary school students of various proficiency levels in American Sign Language (ASL) was compared with the performance of 60 hearing English-as-a-second-language (ESL) speakers and 61 hearing monolingual speakers of English, all of similar age. Students were asked to retell "The Tortoise and the Hare" story (previously viewed on video) in a writing activity. Writing samples were later scored for total number of words, use of words known to be highly frequent in children's writing, redundancy in writing, and use of English function words. All deaf writers showed significantly lower use of function words as compared to their hearing peers. Low-ASL-proficient students demonstrated a highly formulaic writing style, drawing mostly on high-frequency words and repetitive use of a limited range of function words. The moderate- and high-ASL-proficient deaf students' writing was not formulaic and incorporated novel, low-frequency vocabulary to communicate their thoughts. The moderate- and high-ASL students' performance revealed a departure from findings one might expect based on previous studies with deaf writers and their vocabulary use. The writing of the deaf writers also differed from the writing of hearing ESL speakers. Implications for deaf education and literacy instruction are discussed, with special attention to the fact that ASL-proficient, deaf second-language learners of English may be approaching English vocabulary acquisition in ways that are different from hearing ESL learners.

  12. Pen Pal Writing: A Holistic and Socio-Cultural Approach to Adult English Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larrotta, Clarena; Serrano, Arlene F.

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study reports the findings implementing a pen pal letter exchange project between adult English language learners and volunteer native English speakers. The pen pal project was implemented using a holistic and socio-cultural approach to English literacy development. This article presents pen pal writing as an authentic language…

  13. Developing English Writing Proficiency in Limited English Proficient College Students through Cooperative Learning Strategies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gooden-Jones, Epsey M.; Carrasquillo, Angela L.

    A study followed ten limited-English-proficient (LEP) community college students who were taught English largely using a cooperative learning approach. For four months, the students worked together using brainstorming techniques and collaborative reading and writing tasks. Task emphasis was on development of thinking skills through collaboration…

  14. Functional Analyses of the Problems in Non-English Majors' Writings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Shun-ying

    2010-01-01

    Problems in generating and organizing ideas, in coherence and language competence are common in non-English majors' writings, which decrease non-English majors' ability to use English as a tool to realize its pragmatic functions and meta-functions. The exam-centered objective, the product-oriented approach, the inefficient mode of instruction, the…

  15. Technical Writing in English Renaissance Shipwrightery: Breaching the Shoals of Orality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tebeaux, Elizabeth

    2008-01-01

    Describing the emergence of the first shipbuilding texts, particularly those in English provides another chapter in the story of the emergence of English technical writing. Shipwrightery texts did not appear in English until the middle decades of the seventeenth century because shipwrightery was a closed discourse community which shared knowledge…

  16. World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and Intelligibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berns, Margie

    2008-01-01

    This paper tests claims concerning the English as Lingua Franca (ELF) movement's position within the world Englishes paradigm. To do so, it considers the writings of Jennifer Jenkins, a leader in this movement, on what she calls "phonological intelligibility", and the writings of Larry Smith, an established scholar on intelligibility in…

  17. Rhetorical Strategies in Chinese and English: A Comparison of L1 Composition Textbooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liao, Ming-Tzu; Chen, Ching-Hung

    2009-01-01

    The present study compared the rhetorical strategies for argumentative writing in Chinese and English composition textbooks. The textbooks were selected based on four criteria. The results of the study revealed that there are similarities and differences in Chinese and English argumentative writing. Both Chinese and English agree upon the function…

  18. English Education for Engineers in the World of Globalization : A Report of an Undergraduate and Graduate English Program with an Emphasis on Writing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shimazu, Nobuko

    In an increasingly globalized world, demand for engineers well versed in English remains strong. As a professor of English in the Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering at the Kyushu Institute of Technology, I have sought with the aid of two associate professors to improve the English program for our engineering students together to help meet that very demand. In order to assist other English teachers in similar situations to improve their own English programs, I would like to report on the ideas and methods presently used in our undergraduate English program, specifically the first-year compulsory and common course with its emphasis on paragraph writing which students from each of the five departments within the Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering are required to take. In addition, I would also like to report my ideas and teaching methods for a graduate research paper writing course. The objective of this course is to teach graduate students how to write presentations for conferences and papers for journals at the international level.

  19. A Case Study of Using Facebook in an EFL English Writing Class: The Perspective of a Writing Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yu, Li-Tang

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to address a writing teacher's perspective about integrating Facebook, a social networking site, into a university-level English writing course in Taiwan. Data, including interviews with the teacher and class postings on Facebook, were analyzed inductively, qualitatively, and interpretively, resulting in three…

  20. Exploring Students' Perceptions of Integrating Wiki Technology and Peer Feedback into English Writing Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Wen-Chuan; Yang, Shu Ching

    2011-01-01

    This study applied Wiki technology and peer review to an English as a foreign language writing class. The objective was to investigate whether this system, as a collaborative platform, would improve students' writing skills. The study gauged students' perceptions about integrating a Wiki writing course and peer feedback. The participants were 32…

  1. Leveling the Playing Field: The Efficacy of Thinking Maps on English Language Learner Students' Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cooks, Jamal; Sunseri, Anita

    2014-01-01

    Many students, especially English language learners (ELLs), struggle with writing expository texts. This study examined the impact of several writing strategies on ELLs' writing skills, including prewriting strategies and scaffolding strategies inherent in the Thinking Maps (TM) program. The purpose of the study was to see if ELLs were able to use…

  2. Using Non-Finites in English Academic Writing by Chinese EFL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Bingjun

    2014-01-01

    Frequent use of non-finites is an important feature of English academic writing (Chafe & Danielewicz, 1987), but teachers and students in the Chinese environment are not aware of it. To investigate the problems that can be found in academic writings by Chinese students is significant in two aspects: academic writing by Chinese EFL students…

  3. Applying SF-Based Genre Approaches to English Writing Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Yan; Dong, Hailin

    2009-01-01

    By exploring genre approaches in systemic functional linguistics and examining the analytic tools that can be applied to the process of English learning and teaching, this paper seeks to find a way of applying genre approaches to English writing class.

  4. Accomplished Story Telling: English Teachers Write about Their Professional Lives (The Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia Project)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doecke, Brenton

    2004-01-01

    This paper draws on research that has recently been conducted in Australia on the possibility of formulating professional standards for teachers of English in primary and secondary schools. English teachers around the country have played a vital role in the project, writing stories in an effort to capture "accomplished" English teaching,…

  5. An Analysis of Errors Committed by Saudi Non-English Major Students in the English Paragraph Writing: A Study of Comparisons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nuruzzaman, Mohammed; Islam, A. B. M. Shafiqul; Shuchi, Israt Jahan

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigates the writing errors of ninety Saudi non-English major undergraduate students of different proficiency levels from three faculties, who studied English as a foundation course at the English Language Center in the College of Languages &Translation at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia in the academic year 2016-17.…

  6. Main Ingredients for Success in L2 Academic Writing: Outlining, Drafting and Proofreading.

    PubMed

    Munoz-Luna, Rosa

    2015-01-01

    Spanish undergraduates of English Studies are required to submit their essays in academic English, a genre which most of them are not acquainted with. This paper aims to explore the extralinguistic side of second language (L2) academic writing, more specifically, the combination of metalinguistic items (e.g. transition and frame markers, among others) with students' writing strategies when composing an academic text in L2 English. The research sample conveys a group of 200 Spanish undergraduates of English Studies; they are in their fourth year, so they are expected to be proficient in English academic writing but their written production quality varies considerably. Results are analysed following a mixed methodology by which metalinguistic items are statistically measured, and then contrasted with semi-structured interview results; SPSS and NVivo provide quantitative and qualitative outcomes, respectively. The analyses reveal that undergraduate students who produce complex sentences and more coherent texts employ a wider range of writing strategies both prior and while writing, being able to (un)consciously structure and design their texts more successfully. These high-scoring students make more proficient use of complex transition markers for coherence and frame markers for textual cohesion; their commonly used (pre-)writing strategies are drafting, outlining, and proofreading.

  7. Main Ingredients for Success in L2 Academic Writing: Outlining, Drafting and Proofreading

    PubMed Central

    Munoz-Luna, Rosa

    2015-01-01

    Spanish undergraduates of English Studies are required to submit their essays in academic English, a genre which most of them are not acquainted with. This paper aims to explore the extralinguistic side of second language (L2) academic writing, more specifically, the combination of metalinguistic items (e.g. transition and frame markers, among others) with students’ writing strategies when composing an academic text in L2 English. The research sample conveys a group of 200 Spanish undergraduates of English Studies; they are in their fourth year, so they are expected to be proficient in English academic writing but their written production quality varies considerably. Results are analysed following a mixed methodology by which metalinguistic items are statistically measured, and then contrasted with semi-structured interview results; SPSS and NVivo provide quantitative and qualitative outcomes, respectively. The analyses reveal that undergraduate students who produce complex sentences and more coherent texts employ a wider range of writing strategies both prior and while writing, being able to (un)consciously structure and design their texts more successfully. These high-scoring students make more proficient use of complex transition markers for coherence and frame markers for textual cohesion; their commonly used (pre-)writing strategies are drafting, outlining, and proofreading. PMID:26046836

  8. Challenges Face Arab Students in Writing Well-Developed Paragraphs in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rass, Ruwaida Abu

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate problems facing Palestinian Arab students from Israel who are majoring in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in developing well-written paragraphs in English. They usually transfer the stylistic features of their first language, Arabic to the target language, English. For example, they tend to write long…

  9. Using a Scaffolded Multi-Component Intervention to Support the Reading and Writing Development of English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fullerton, Susan King; McCrea-Andrews, Heather; Robson, Kimberly

    2015-01-01

    Growing numbers of English learners (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2010) suggest the critical need for effective research-based interventions to support them. Interventions that are designed to help English learners make reading-writing connections are more likely to capitalize on the reciprocal nature of both reading…

  10. Improving English Language Learners' Academic Writing: A Multi-Strategy Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Challenge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marulanda Ángel, Nora Lucía; Martínez García, Juan Manuel

    2017-01-01

    The demands of the academic field and the constraints students have while learning how to write appropriately call for better approaches to teach academic writing. This research study examines the effect of a multifaceted academic writing module on pre-service teachers' composition skills in an English teacher preparation program at a medium sized…

  11. Dual Rubrics and the Process of Writing: Assessment and Best Practices in a Developmental English Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pireh, Diane Flanegan

    2014-01-01

    This article presents strategies for using two types of essay-writing rubrics in a developmental English class of students transitioning into college-level writing. One checklist rubric is student-facing, designed to serve as a guide for students throughout the writing process and as a self-assessment tool. The other checklist rubric is…

  12. The Influence of Language Anxiety on English Reading and Writing Tasks among Native Hebrew Speakers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Argaman, Osnat; Abu-Rabia, Salim

    2002-01-01

    Examined the influence of language anxiety as measured by a questionnaire on achievements in English writing and reading comprehension tasks. Subjects were native speakers of Hebrew, aged 12-13 years, learning English as a second language.(Author/VWL)

  13. Assimilation and accommodation patterns in ventral occipitotemporal cortex in learning a second writing system

    PubMed Central

    Nelson, Jessica R.; Liu, Ying; Fiez, Julie; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2017-01-01

    Using fMRI, we compared the patterns of fusiform activity produced by viewing English and Chinese for readers who were either English speakers learning Chinese, or Chinese-English bilinguals. The pattern of fusiform activity depended on both the writing system and the reader’s native language. Native Chinese speakers fluent in English recruited bilateral fusiform areas when viewing both Chinese and English. English speakers learning Chinese, however, used heavily left-lateralized fusiform regions when viewing English, but recruited an additional right fusiform region for viewing Chinese. Thus, English learners of Chinese show an accommodation pattern, in which the reading network accommodates the new writing system by adding neural resources that support its specific graphic requirements. Chinese speakers show an assimilation pattern, in which the reading network established for L1 includes procedures sufficient for the graphic demands of L2 without major change. PMID:18381767

  14. Singaporean Kindergartners' Phonological Awareness and English Writing Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dixon, L. Quentin

    2011-01-01

    This article describes the phonological awareness and English writing skills among a sample of 297 Singaporean kindergarten children, stratified by ethnicity (Chinese, Malay, and Indian), and examines the relationship between oral language and writing skills in this multilingual population. Overall, Singaporean kindergartners, nearly all of whom…

  15. Mid-Term Assessment of English 10 Students: A Comparison of Methods of Entry into the Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isonio, Steven

    In spring 1992, a mid-term assessment of English 10 students was conducted at Golden West College, in California, in order to compare four course placement methods. English 10, "Writing Essentials," is a nontransferrable course which focuses on paragraph writing and grammar review in order to prepare students for entry into English 100.…

  16. Inside English: Journal of the English Council of California Two Year Colleges, Volume 17, Numbers 1-4, October 1989-May 1990.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodruff, Barbara Bilson, Ed.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    With each issue focusing on different themes, volume 17 of "Inside English" looks at the writing process, literature and literacy, composition and creativity, and pedagogical alternatives and classroom writing. In addition to regular columns on the English Council of California Two-Year Colleges (ECCTYC) and legislative concerns, the following…

  17. Superordinate Precision: An Examination of Academic Writing Among Bilingual Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students.

    PubMed

    Scott, Jessica A; Hoffmeister, Robert J

    2018-04-01

    Academic English is an essential literacy skill area for success in post-secondary education and in many work environments. Despite its importance, academic English is understudied with deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students. Nascent research in this area suggests that academic English, alongside American Sign Language (ASL) fluency, may play an important role in the reading proficiency of DHH students in middle and high school. The current study expands this research to investigate academic English by examining student proficiency with a sub-skill of academic writing called superordinate precision, the taxonomical categorization of a term. Currently there is no research that examines DHH students' proficiency with superordinate precision. Middle and high school DHH students enrolled in bilingual schools for the deaf were assessed on their ASL proficiency, academic English proficiency, reading comprehension, and use of superordinate precision in definitions writing. Findings indicate that student use of superordinate precision in definitions writing was correlated with ASL proficiency, reading comprehension, and academic English proficiency. It is possible that degree of mastery of superordinate precision may indicate a higher overall level of proficiency with academic English. This may have important implications for assessment of and instruction in academic English literacy.

  18. Teaching Chinese College ESL Writing: A Genre-Based Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Yilong

    2016-01-01

    College students' English writing plays a vital role in their language learning and further education. However, the current college English teaching falls far behind to resolve this issue, which includes insufficient writing ability compared with that of listening and speaking, inadequate teacher instruction and students' exercise, negative…

  19. Teaching the Process Approach in Poland.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carter, Ronnie D.

    Members of the Polish faculty at the English Institute (Poland) primarily use English as a second language (ESL) techniques to teach writing, with grammar and idiom drills, and little writing beyond the sentence level. An American professor, on the other hand, used a process approach to teach writing by providing specific instructions about…

  20. Critical Pedagogy in Undergraduate English Writing Classes in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chi, Gen-Hua

    2011-01-01

    This one-year study explores the possibility of integrating critical pedagogy into undergraduate English writing classes in Taiwan. The participants were the students in 2 first-year writing classes taught by the researcher. For these classes, I reinvented Freire's (2000) pedagogy of the oppressed, which emphasizes problem-posing, dialogue, and…

  1. A Study of Metacognitive-Strategies-Based Writing Instruction for Vocational College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lv, Fenghua; Chen, Hongxin

    2010-01-01

    Effective English writing has long been a challenge in English language teaching. With the development of cognitive psychology, metacognition has drawn more and more researchers' attention and provides a new perspective for EFL writing. Metacognitive theory mainly includes metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive strategy. Among all the learning…

  2. English 4090: Collaborative Writing at Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutton, Mark

    2007-01-01

    This article presents a course design of English 4090: Collaborative Writing at Work. The course is a senior-level elective designed to reinforce students' existing knowledge of professional writing and to teach students how to apply that knowledge effectively in collaborative contexts. Here, the author focuses on the Spring 2006 class and…

  3. Collaborative Course Design in Scientific Writing: Experimentation and Productive Failure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Combs, D. Shane; Frost, Erin A.; Eble, Michelle F.

    2015-01-01

    English 3820: Scientific Writing, a writing-intensive (WI) course offered by the Department of English at East Carolina University (ECU), serves primarily science majors. According to the course catalog, it provides students with "practice in assimilation and written presentation of scientific information." The course asks students to…

  4. Producing an Online Undergraduate Literary Magazine: A Guide to Using Problem-Based Learning in the Writing and Publishing Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Persichetti, Amy L.

    2016-01-01

    This article will illustrate how a problem-based learning (PBL) course (Savery, 2006) can be used in a writing program as a vehicle for both creative and preprofessional learning. English 420: Writing, Publishing, and Editing is offered every fall, and its counterpart, English 423: Writing, Publishing, and Editing is offered each spring. The…

  5. Collaborative Work as an Alternative for Writing Research Articles (El trabajo colaborativo como alternativa para la escritura de artículos investigativos)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carvajal Medina, Nancy Emilce; Roberto Flórez, Eliana Edith

    2014-01-01

    Academic writing in English in our context is a significant aspect that can be innovative when a convergence model of writing stages is used along with collaborative work. This article reports on a study aimed at analyzing how collaborative work relates to undergraduate electronics students' academic writing development in English as a foreign…

  6. Improve Your Students' Writing with a Class Magazine.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stuart, Moira K.

    This paper describes two different English programs for international students at the American Language Institute in San Diego, California. One is English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and the other is Intensive English for Communication (IEC). The paper focuses on one teacher's experiences teaching IEC writing after 2 years of teaching EAP…

  7. Research Paper Writing Strategies of Professional Japanese EFL Writers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matsumoto, Kazuko

    1995-01-01

    Four Japanese university professors were interviewed on their strategies for writing a research paper in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Results indicate that these writers use strategies similar to those used by skilled native English writers and proficient writers of English as a Second Language. (35 references) (Author/CK)

  8. The Writing Experience: A New Dimension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levy, Connie

    With the encouragement of an English instructor for whom English was a second language and who was consequently enthusiastic about writing experiences, English students in a Texas high school put together an anthology of literary criticism on the modern American novel. Honor students read American novels of their choice and wrote evaluations of…

  9. A Survey on College English Writing in China: A Cultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ren, Junhong; Wang, Na

    2015-01-01

    This survey investigates to what degree the Chinese learners know about the discrepancies between Chinese and English thought patterns and their possible effects on English writing. Eighty-one students from North China Electric Power University participate in the survey. Qualitative and quantities approaches, involving the adoption of both…

  10. Basic Skills, Basic Writing, Basic Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trimmer, Joseph F.

    1987-01-01

    Overviews basic writing instruction and research by briefly discussing the history of remediation, results of a survey of basic writing programs in U.S. colleges and universities, and interviews with developmental textbook editors at major publishing houses. Finds that basic writing instruction continues to focus on sentence grammar. (MM)

  11. Ungrammatical Patterns in Chinese EFL Learners' Free Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sun, Xiaohui

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigated a number of common ungrammatical patterns that were found in Chinese EFL leaners' free writings, in order to find useful pedagogical implications for English grammar teaching in EFL setting, especially in China. The corpus of writing data is examined by the author together with a native English teacher. Our findings suggest…

  12. Implementing Gmail Docs and Blogs for Enhancing Motivation towards Writing in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gomez Zapata, Julian Esteban

    2010-01-01

    This action research paper dealt with how to increase motivation towards writing in English through blogs and Gmail docs in a private school in Medellín, Colombia. It was necessary to explore the concepts of "social interaction," "motivation" and "reasons for writing" to understand how blogs and Gmail docs favored…

  13. English for Specific Purposes and Academic Literacies: Eclecticism in Academic Writing Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGrath, Lisa; Kaufhold, Kathrin

    2016-01-01

    Academic Literacies and English for Specific Purposes perspectives on the teaching of academic writing tend to be positioned as dichotomous and ideologically incompatible. Nonetheless, recent studies have called for the integration of these two perspectives in the design of writing programmes in order to meet the needs of students in the…

  14. Supporting the Argumentative Writing of Students in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: An Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell, Yvonne C.; Filimon, Claudia

    2018-01-01

    The number of English language learners (ELLs) mainstreamed into regular classrooms continues to increase. Curricular writing standards required by the Common Core State Standards require students to write essays analytically in response to text(s). Many English Language Arts (ELA) teachers may worry about effectively delivering essay writing…

  15. Using Collaboration between English and Biology to Teach Scientific Writing and Communication

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colton, Jared Sterling; Surasinghe, Thilina Dilan

    2014-01-01

    Writing has an important role in science education and practice. Emphasizing the interdisciplinary collaboration between English rhetoric studies and biology, seemingly disparate disciplines, we describe a model for a scientific writing and communication course. The goals of the course were to prepare students for science-oriented careers, as well…

  16. The Relationship between Teacher's Written Feedback and Student's' Writing Performance: Sociocultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bijami, Maryam; Pandian, Ambigapathy; Singh, Manjet Kaur Mehar

    2016-01-01

    Feedback plays a fundamental role in writing development. The present study seeks to investigate the impact of teacher's written feedback on the writing performance of Iranian undergraduates. The subjects were 400 students majoring in the fields of English language translation and English language literature in four universities, namely Shahaid…

  17. Spanish Picture Books: An Annotated Bibliography with Activities for Teaching Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ritter, Melissa G.

    With the growing numbers of English language learners in the schools, more and more educators are creating bilingual programs and opportunities for students to learn in their native languages while also perfecting their English skills. Writing is integral to these approaches, and learning to write well in Spanish often contributes to academic…

  18. Transfer of Mother Tongue Rhetoric among Undergraduate Students in Second Language Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saffari, Narges; Noordin, Shahrina Md; Sivapalan, Subarna; Zahedpisheh, Nahid

    2017-01-01

    Mother tongue rhetoric transfer is unavoidable in ESL writings, especially for Iranian ESL learners, since Persian and English language is quite different. The paper discusses the negative transfer of mother tongue rhetoric in Iranian undergraduate ESL learners' writings from the perspectives of choosing rhetorical structure in English and Persian…

  19. The Application of "Three Dimensional" Model in the Teaching Design of EFL Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Xiping

    2013-01-01

    As an indispensable and most difficult part of language acquisition, the importance of English writing has been intensified by the economic globalization and internet revolution due to the special role of English as a universal language (Warshauer, 2000). However, writing teaching and learning has been long perplexing language teachers and…

  20. Revisiting the "Pedagogy of Multiliteracies": Writing Instruction in a Multicultural Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kiss, Tamas; Mizusawa, Ken

    2018-01-01

    Given the multimodal and multicultural character of modern English, English Language Teaching should meaningfully reflect this. Although some attempts have been made, adequate attention has not been paid to reforming writing pedagogy. This paper presents the findings of a two-year research project on writing instruction in the Singapore English…

  1. The Effects of Korean Learners' Online Experiences on Their English Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Chanho; Cho, Sookyung

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to examine the effects of the online writing experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners on their self-efficacy, attitudes, and performance in a computer-mediated writing classroom (CMC). Although the close relationship between students' computer experiences and class performance has been positively confirmed in…

  2. Teaching Writing within the Disciplines: A Viable Approach for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Instructors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leopold, Lisa

    2011-01-01

    This case study of an adjunct-model English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing course linked to a policy-analysis course describes an effective approach for putting "specificity" into practice in EAP curriculum design. The rationale for interdisciplinary collaboration, the positive learning outcomes from the EAP writing course, the…

  3. Mentor Texts and the Coding of Academic Writing Structures: A Functional Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Escobar Alméciga, Wilder Yesid; Evans, Reid

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the present pedagogical experience was to address the English language writing needs of university-level students pursuing a degree in bilingual education with an emphasis in the teaching of English. Using mentor texts and coding academic writing structures, an instructional design was developed to directly address the shortcomings…

  4. Developing Writing and Thinking Skills in the Student.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Jeff

    An English teacher at Hokkaido International School, Japan, guided his students through the writing process of thinking up ideas for writing topics and developing and revising those ideas into competent works. The class was composed of seven non-native speakers (in grades nine through twelve) who tried to achieve fluency in English within the…

  5. Writing Conferences and Some Applications for the EFL Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renner, Christopher

    1990-01-01

    A teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to adults in a non-English-speaking country describes use of classroom writing conferences to improve student language use and introduce writing into the communicative syllabus. The approach is based on a conference format and focuses on self-directed inquiry. Students are provided with monolingual…

  6. Anatomy of Process-Based Writing Center Tutorials with NNES Writers: What Writers Take Away

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vickers, Jason C.

    2012-01-01

    Non-native English speaking (NNES) students in higher educational settings face difficulties writing academic papers and, in response to these difficulties, often seek assistance in understanding cultural, rhetorical, linguistic aspect of writing in English (Harris & Silva, 1993; Powers & Nelson, 1995). One resource available to them is…

  7. "The Dilemma That Still Counts": Basic Writing at a Political Crossroads.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrington, Susanmarie; Adler-Kassner, Linda

    1998-01-01

    Reviews definitions of basic writers and basic writing over the last 20 years. Argues that basic writers are not defined only in terms of institutional convenience. Offers future directions for basic writing research, suggesting that to learn more about basic writers, researchers must return to studies of error informed by basic writing's rich…

  8. Classroom Research: Writing Assessment in Paired and Separate History and English Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Messina, Susan; White, Diane

    In fall 1991, Solano Community College (California) undertook a study comparing the writing skills of students in an integrated course combining history and freshman English composition with students in unpaired history and English classes. Students were divided into three groups: the integrated class and two control groups, one taking history…

  9. Academic Achievements and Satisfaction of the Clicker-Aided Flipped Business English Writing Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhonggen, Yu; Guifang, Wang

    2016-01-01

    The flipped classroom has been achieving a great success in teaching innovation. This study, aiming to determine the effectiveness of the flipped model in business English writing course, combined the quantitative with the qualitative research methods. Participants were randomly selected from undergraduate students majoring in business English.…

  10. On Improving Text Readability by Creating a Personal Writing Style

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shen, Yuru

    2017-01-01

    English writing is one of the four indispensable skills that English learners need to master, but unfortunately, many Chinese college students have much difficulty composing clear, concise and coherent essays although they have studied English for at least over six years. To address the problem, the researchers and teachers in China have tried…

  11. Why Write Like a College Graduate?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morse, J. Mitchell

    With the growing belief that any style of speaking and writing is as good as any other, English teachers must, on the one hand, admit the connection of so-called "correct" English with snob appeal, and, on the other, defend the intellectual and aesthetic superiority of clear, well-written English and learn to express contempt for circular…

  12. Do Peer Reviews Help Improve Student Writing Abilities in an EFL High School Classroom?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kurihara, Noriko

    2017-01-01

    Several studies have reported the benefits of peer reviews in English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classrooms. However, there has been little empirical research on whether such peer reviews improve students' writing abilities. The current study investigated the effects of peer review on the development…

  13. Academic Writing for Graduate-Level English as a Second Language Students: Experiences in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sidman-Taveau, Rebekah; Karathanos-Aguilar, Katya

    2015-01-01

    Graduate-level ESL students in Education are future multicultural educators and promising role models for our diverse K-12 students. However, many of these students struggle with academic English and, in particular, writing. Yet little research or program development addresses the specific writing-support needs of this group. This article shares…

  14. Diction and Expression in Error Analysis Can Enhance Academic Writing of L2 University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sajid, Muhammad

    2016-01-01

    Without proper linguistic competence in English language, academic writing is one of the most challenging tasks, especially, in various genre specific disciplines by L2 novice writers. This paper examines the role of diction and expression through error analysis in English language of L2 novice writers' academic writing in interdisciplinary texts…

  15. Effective Strategies for Improving Writing Skills of Elementary English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cole, Jenny; Feng, Jay

    2015-01-01

    Reaching proficient levels of literacy is a universal goal for all children in the elementary classroom. This objective is especially challenging for English language learners particularly in the domain of writing. Writing has been identified as one of the most essential skills because the world has become so text-oriented. Due to this change,…

  16. Self-Regulation and Approaches to Learning in English Composition Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Magno, Carlo

    2009-01-01

    It is hypothesized in the present study that when learners are tasked to write a composition in a second language (such as English language for Filipinos), they use specific approaches to learning and eventually undergo self-regulatory processes. The present study tested a model showing the shift from process to outcome in writing (Zimmerman &…

  17. TechWriter: An Evolving System for Writing Assistance for Advanced Learners of English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Napolitano, Diane M.; Stent, Amanda

    2009-01-01

    Writing assistance systems, from simple spelling checkers to more complex grammar and readability analyzers, can be helpful aids to nonnative writers of English. However, many writing assistance systems have two disadvantages. First, they are not designed to encourage skills learning and independence in their users; instead, users may begin to use…

  18. Families Writing Together: The Experience of English Language Learner Families in a Writing Workshop

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Korab, Elizabeth

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a greater understanding of English language learner (ELL) family involvement in school environments through the lens of family literacy. This study was informed by literature from two fields: early childhood writing and ELL family involvement. While some schools have focused on at-home reading…

  19. A Research-Based Proposal for EFL Writing Instruction in Korean Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Song-Eun

    2017-01-01

    Writing and its pedagogy have been underemphasized in formal school education in Korea; nevertheless, a number of studies on writing have been conducted in the English education field in Korean higher education. Among these studies, however, few have been conducted to afford a broader understanding of the current situation of English writing…

  20. Academic Vocabulary, Writing and English for Academic Purposes: Perspectives from Second Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coxhead, Averil

    2012-01-01

    This article focuses on vocabulary and writing at university level from the perspectives of 14 English as an additional language students studying at a New Zealand university. The students individually carried out an integrated reading and writing task and then participated in an interview which focused on their language learning background and…

  1. Effect of WhatsApp on Critique Writing Proficiency and Perceptions toward Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Awada, Ghada

    2016-01-01

    This article reports the results of an experimental study on the effectiveness of mobile technology (WhatsApp) in improving the critique writing skills of English as a Foreign Language learners and increasing their motivation for learning. The participants (n = 52) are Average-English proficient learners enrolled in two writing courses given at…

  2. The Effect of Writing Task and Task Conditions on Colombian EFL Learners' Language Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonough, Kim; Fuentes, César García

    2015-01-01

    This classroom study examines whether English L2 writers' language use differs depending on the writing task (operationalized as paragraph type), and task conditions (operationalized as individual or collaborative writing). The texts written by English L2 university students in Colombia (N = 26) in response to problem/solution and cause/effect…

  3. Quantifying the Burden of Writing Research Articles in a Second Language: Data from Mexican Scientists

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanauer, David I.; Englander, Karen

    2011-01-01

    This article provides quantitative data to establish the relative, perceived burden of writing research articles in English as a second language. Previous qualitative research has shown that scientists writing English in a second language face difficulties but has not established parameters for the degree of this difficulty. A total of 141…

  4. The Power of the Sketch(Book): Reflections from High School English Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leigh, S. Rebecca

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores the potential of sketchbooks as a pathway for developing ideas for writing in high school English classrooms. This paper examines how shifting between drawing and writing impacts students' ability to develop ideas for writing and create meaningful texts. Specifically, this paper explores four types of visual sign making that…

  5. Holistic Evaluation of Writing Samples for Placement in Post-Secondary English Composition Courses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guerrero, Barry J.; Robison, Ruth E.

    A study was conducted by the Student Development Center of the University of Hawaii at Hilo to develop a writing placement procedure in a community college setting which would be practical, reliable, and valid. The key to this procedure was an English composition placement device that could help readers rate, holistically, writing samples written…

  6. English Learners, Writing, and the Common Core

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olson, Carol Booth; Scarcella, Robin; Matuchniak, Tina

    2015-01-01

    Adopted by 46 states, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) present a vision of what it means to be literate in the twenty-first century and call for all students, including English learners, to develop critical reading skills necessary for a deep understanding of complex texts, and critical writing skills to write about those texts. This article…

  7. Learner Characteristics and Writing Performance in a Community College English as a Second Language Course: Some Unexpected Findings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambert, Olga D.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the relationships between individual learner characteristics and gain in writing performance as measured by a standardized writing assessment in a sample of community college academic English as a Second Language (ESL) students in the United States. The ethnically and linguistically diverse convenience sample included 76…

  8. "Thinking-for-Writing": A Prolegomenon on Writing Signed Languages.

    PubMed

    Rosen, Russell S; Hartman, Maria C; Wang, Ye

    2017-01-01

    In his article in this American Annals of the Deaf special issue that also includes the present article, Grushkin argues that the writing difficulties of many deaf and hard of hearing children result primarily from the orthographic nature of the writing system; he proposes a new system based on features found in signed languages. In response, the present authors review the literature on D/HH children's writing difficulties, outline the main percepts of and assumptions about writing signed languages, discuss "thinking-for-writing" as a process in developing writing skills, offer research designs to test the effectiveness of writing signed language systems, and provide strategies for adopting "thinking-for-writing" in education. They conclude that until empirical studies show that writing signed languages effectively reflects writers' "thinking-for-writing," the alphabetic orthographic system of English should still be used, and ways should be found to teach D/HH children to use English writing to express their thoughts.

  9. Composing in a Second Language: A Case Study of a Russian College Student.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Anna Charr

    The case study examined the development of English writing skills in a native Russian-speaking college student with no previous instruction in English as a Second Language. It drew on writing samples from 2 years of English language instruction. Theories of first and second language acquisition, especially in written expression, are analyzed in…

  10. Dramatic Data: The Possibilities of Ethnodramatic Writing for Understanding the Experiences of English Learners in Community College Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cannon, Anneliese; Blair, Alissa

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we demonstrate how ethnodramatic writing can offer critically needed insights into the language learning and educational trajectories of a significant yet little researched group of immigrant English learners in community college settings. The participants' reflections and impressions about learning English and about U.S. culture…

  11. Exploring Podcasting in English as a Foreign Language Learners' Writing Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bamanger, Ebrahim Mohammed; Alhassan, Riyadh Abdulrahman

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to determine whether giving English as a foreign language learners podcast lectures in addition to the traditional lectures help them to enhance their English language writing, and to explore and discover useful information regarding the adoption of podcasting as a learning or training tool in order to better…

  12. Lab Reports: A Concise Guide for Non-Native English Speakers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soundranayagam, Luxshmi

    2014-01-01

    College students in the non-English-speaking world have to overcome formidable barriers in reading and writing when their medium of instruction is English. One particular problem faced by science majors is the writing of lab reports, a demanding task that might not be effectively supported by the standard guides and manuals available. This paper…

  13. Diagnosing University Students' Academic Writing in English: Is Cognitive Diagnostic Modelling the Way Forward?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xie, Qin

    2017-01-01

    The study utilised a fine-grained diagnostic checklist to assess first-year undergraduates in Hong Kong and evaluated its validity and usefulness for diagnosing academic writing in English. Ten English language instructors marked 472 academic essays with the checklist. They also agreed on a Q-matrix, which specified the relationships among the…

  14. Voices of Chinese Post-­80s Students in English Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Que, Hua; Li, Xuemei

    2015-01-01

    This study looks into the changing voice of Chinese Post-80s' students in English academic writing. Data were collected qualitatively through interviews with four Chinese Post-80s overseas graduate students and through an examination of their English essays with a focus on discursive features. Findings indicate that Chinese Post-80s' voice is…

  15. The Nature of Error in Adolescent Student Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilcox, Kristen Campbell; Yagelski, Robert; Yu, Fang

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the nature and frequency of error in high school native English speaker (L1) and English learner (L2) writing. Four main research questions were addressed: Are there significant differences in students' error rates in English language arts (ELA) and social studies? Do the most common errors made by students differ in ELA…

  16. Debatable Issues of English Writing Apprehensions: A Qualitative Study of Taiwanese English Majors' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Grace Hui Chin; Larke, Patricia J.; Jarvie, Douglas S.; Chien, Paul Shih Chieh

    2018-01-01

    Anxiety (e.g., Dallos, 1976, 2006; Krashen, 2003, 2016) sometimes might be unavoidable in the learning process, because the cognitive and intellectual systems are usually connected with emotional factors. This empirical study was conducted in an English majors' advanced-level writing course to explore relevant explanations about why Taiwanese…

  17. The First Sports Medicine Books in English.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryan, Allan J.

    The modern history of sports medicine is chronicled in a discussion of the first writings in English on sports medicine. What may have been the first writing in English is a section on first aid in the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SPORT, published in England in 1898. It describes injuries commonly sustained in angling, boxing, cricket, cycling, football,…

  18. Improving Students' Expertise and Attitudes during the Postwriting Stage of the Writing Process through Collaborative Revision.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wells, Mary C.

    A practicum addressed the problem of students' lack of fluency in standard English despite the traditional paradigm for formal grammar instruction and the emphasis on process writing in most English classrooms. Nineteen (English 2) high school students participated in peer editing groups in a collaborative learning environment. The solution…

  19. A Study of Jordanian University Students' Perceptions of Using Email Exchanges with Native English Keypals for Improving Their Writing Competency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mahfouz, Safi Mahmoud

    2010-01-01

    English foreign language learners generally tend to consider email exchanges with native speakers (NSs) as an effective tool for improving their foreign language proficiency. This study investigated Jordanian university students' perceptions of using email exchanges with native English keypals (NEKs) for improving their writing competency. A…

  20. Do you start writing in Japanese or in English?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanikawa, Kiyotaka

    2004-12-01

    The author sent via e-mail the question as in the title to the TENNET members of the Astronomical Society of Japan. Two hundred members among one thousand replied. It turned out that more than 70% of the members start writing in English and 15% fix initially the framework of the paper in Japanese and then start writing in English. The author reproduces comments attached to the replies, and then discuss the meaning of the result and consider the role of learning foreign languages in promoting the skill in one's native language.

  1. Secret Agents and Innocent Patients: The Mysteries of The English Passive Voice and Its Use (and Misuse) in EFL Writing in Japan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathieson, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Though generally under-utilised in spoken English, the passive voice plays a crucial role in formal, written English (Biber et al., 1999). An understanding of how the passive voice operates in English writing is therefore a vital skill for EFL learners in secondary and higher education so that they may be able to both understand and produce fluent…

  2. Finding Basic Writing's Place.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sheridan-Rabideau, Mary P.; Brossell, Gordon

    1995-01-01

    Posits that basic writing serves a vital function by providing writing support for at-risk students and serves the needs of a growing student population that universities accept yet feel needs additional writing instruction. Concludes that the basic writing classroom is the most effective educational support for at-risk students and their writing.…

  3. Developmental and Individual Differences in Chinese Writing

    PubMed Central

    Guan, Connie Qun; Ye, Feifei; Wagner, Richard K.; Meng, Wanjin

    2015-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to examine the generalizability of a model of the underlying dimensions of written composition across writing systems (Chinese Mandarin vs. English) and level of writing skill. A five-factor model of writing originally developed from analyses of 1st and 4th grade English writing samples was applied to Chinese writing samples obtained from 4th and 7th grade students. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the fits of alternative models of written composition. The results suggest that the five-factor model of written composition generalizes to Chinese writing samples and applies to both less skilled (Grade 4) and more skilled (Grade 7) writing, with differences in factor means between grades that vary in magnitude across factors. PMID:26038631

  4. What Are the Learning Approaches Applied by Undergraduate Students in English Process Writing Based on Gender?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veloo, Arsaythamby; Krishnasamy, Hariharan N.; Harun, Hana Mulyani

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine gender differences and type of learning approaches among Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) undergraduate students in English writing performance. The study involved 241 (32.8% male & 67.2% female) undergraduate students of UUM who were taking the Process Writing course. This study uses a Two-Factor Study…

  5. Exploring the Writing Process of Indonesian EFL Students: The Effectiveness of Think-Aloud Protocol

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abas, Imelda Hermilinda; Aziz, Noor Hashima Abd

    2016-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to explore the writing process of the Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and to find out the effectiveness of using think-aloud protocol to understand the writing process. The data were obtained from six proficient EFL students who were doing Postgraduate English Language Studies Program in…

  6. Integrating Feedback into Prospective English Language Teachers' Writing Process via Blogs and Portfolios

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arslan, Recep Sahin

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of blogging and portfolio keeping on a group of pre-service teachers' writing skill in a compulsory writing course at a tertiary level English language teaching (ELT) programme in Turkey. The study specifically looked into to what extent receiving feedback from course instructor and peers…

  7. Vietnamese Learners' Ability to Write English Argumentative Paragraphs: The Role of Peer Feedback Giving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lap, Trinh Quoc; Yen, Cao Hoang

    2013-01-01

    The nature of peer feedback and its impacts on writing in English has attracted much attention of researchers and educators. Recent studies have indicated various types of peer feedback and its positive effects on writing development. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the nature of peer feedback and its effects on learners'…

  8. Qzone Weblog for Critical Peer Feedback to Improve Business English Writing: A Case of Chinese Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xianwei, Gao; Samuel, Moses; Asmawi, Adelina

    2016-01-01

    This study explores Qzone weblog for critical peer feedback (CPF) in Business English writing (BEW) among the Chinese undergraduates. A qualitative case study is conducted by Nvivo 8 to analyze the three research data of semi-structured interviews, BEW writing assignments, and CPF artifacts on Qzone weblog. Three research questions are focused to…

  9. Integrating Reading and Writing Instruction in Middle and High School: The Role of Professional Development in Shaping Teacher Perceptions and Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doubet, Kristina J.; Southall, Gena

    2018-01-01

    This study examined the extent to which middle and high school English teachers integrate reading and writing instruction as complementary processes. Using qualitative research methods, researchers investigated the following: (a) Do middle and high school English teachers conceive of and enact the teaching of reading and writing as integrated…

  10. Improving Writing of College-Bound Students with Rubrics: An English Department's Collaborative Journey through Teacher Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forrest, Scott N.; Moquett, Kerry D.

    2016-01-01

    A high school English department collaboratively addressed the issue of college-readiness in writing while utilizing a focused four-phase leadership model to guide their efforts. Although this discussion highlights the strategic use of writing rubrics, it is the intention to share the benefits of using the four phases of collaborative teacher…

  11. Comparison of L1 and L2 Pre and Post Writing Samples of Bilingual Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reyes, Maria de la Luz

    A sample of 15 eighth-grade Hispanic students in a bilingual classroom were used for a descriptive analysis of students' writing samples to compare their growth between pre- and post- writing samples in Spanish and English. This was accomplished by juxtaposing English and Spanish pre- and post-tests using the same holistic rubric developed by the…

  12. Detecting Breakdowns in Local Coherence in the Writing of Chinese English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Y.; Harrington, M.; White, P.

    2012-01-01

    This paper introduces "CTutor", an automated writing evaluation (AWE) tool for detecting breakdowns in local coherence and reports on a study that applies it to the writing of Chinese L2 English learners. The program is based on Centering theory (CT), a theory of local coherence and salience. The principles of CT are first introduced and…

  13. English Language Writing Anxiety among Final Year Engineering Undergraduates in University Putra Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Min, Lau Sing; Rahmat, Nurhazlini

    2014-01-01

    Second Language Writing Anxiety (SLWA) is considered one of the most crucial factors affecting all second language learning. This study focused on a group of final year Engineering students' English Language writing anxiety (N = 93) in relation to their gender, race and MUET results. The findings showed that the male gender, Chinese and MUET band…

  14. Providing Writing and Language Support for Students Who Have English as a Second Language--A Pilot Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heatley, Sue; Allibone, Lorraine; Ooms, Ann; Burke, Linda; Akroyd, Karen

    2011-01-01

    This paper reports on a pilot project which provided writing support for registered nurses undertaking Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and for pre-registration nursing students. Both groups of students have English as a second language (ESL). The aims of the project were to extend the scope of the available writing support within the…

  15. Peer and Teacher Assessment in EFL Writing Compositions: The Case of Advanced English Major Students in Jendouba, Tunisia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ayachi, Zeineb

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the difference between peer and teacher assessment of writing compositions of advanced university students in English. Besides, it investigated the likely effect this type of evaluation might have on the learners' writing skill. To this end, 17 participants were surveyed over seven weeks. During every session, the…

  16. Development of a Blended Instructional Model via Weblog to Enhance English Summary Writing Ability of Thai Undergraduate Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Termsinsuk, Saisunee

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this research and development was to develop an effective blended instructional model via weblog to enhance English summary writing ability of Thai undergraduate students. A sample group in the English program of Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University was studied in academic year 2010-2013. The research instruments were an…

  17. Two Expatriate English Instructors in China: Their Experiences, and Perspectives of Local Students and Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shi, Ling

    2017-01-01

    This study explores how two expat English writing instructors in Chinese universities teach and reflect on their role, as well as how their students, colleagues, and administrators perceive the role and teaching of the two expats. Findings illustrate that both expats worked hard to teach the English academic writing style they were familiar with.…

  18. Take-home video for adult literacy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yule, Valerie

    1996-01-01

    In the past, it has not been possible to "teach oneself to read" at home, because learners could not read the books to teach them. Videos and interactive compact discs have changed that situation and challenge current assumptions of the pedagogy of literacy. This article describes an experimental adult literacy project using video technology. The language used is English, but the basic concepts apply to any alphabetic or syllabic writing system. A half-hour cartoon video can help adults and adolescents with learning difficulties. Computer-animated cartoon graphics are attractive to look at, and simplify complex material in a clear, lively way. This video technique is also proving useful for distance learners, children, and learners of English as a second language. Methods and principles are to be extended using interactive compact discs.

  19. Wishing on a Star: Many Are Homeless. A Third Are Learning English as a Second Language. Most Are Growing Up amid Poverty. At an Anchorage Elementary School Where Students Face Extraordinary Challenges, Teachers Focus on Writing as a Skill That Can Transform Lives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weeks, Denise Jarrett

    2002-01-01

    The "6+1" model of writing assessment, which identifies six traits of good writing, is applicable to any language. In an Anchorage (Alaska) elementary school with a high proportion of English language learners, homeless children, and other disadvantaged youth, the model helps students write about their own ideas and experiences, thereby…

  20. Learning to write in science: A study of English language learners' writing experience in sixth-grade science classrooms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Yang

    Writing is a predictor of academic achievement and is essential for student success in content area learning. Despite its importance, many students, including English language learners (ELLs), struggle with writing. There is thus a need to study students' writing experience in content area classrooms. Informed by systemic functional linguistics, this study examined 11 ELL students' writing experience in two sixth grade science classrooms in a southeastern state of the United States, including what they wrote, how they wrote, and why they wrote in the way they did. The written products produced by these students over one semester were collected. Also collected were teacher interviews, field notes from classroom observations, and classroom artifacts. Student writing samples were first categorized into extended and nonextended writing categories, and each extended essay was then analyzed with respect to its schematic structure and grammatical features. Teacher interviews and classroom observation notes were analyzed thematically to identify teacher expectations, beliefs, and practices regarding writing instruction for ELLs. It was found that the sixth-grade ELLs engaged in mostly non-extended writing in the science classroom, with extended writing (defined as writing a paragraph or longer) constituting roughly 11% of all writing assignments. Linguistic analysis of extended writing shows that the students (a) conveyed information through nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbial groups and prepositional phrases; (b) constructed interpersonal context through choices of mood, modality, and verb tense; and (c) structured text through thematic choices and conjunctions. The appropriateness of these lexicogrammatical choices for particular writing tasks was related to the students' English language proficiency levels. The linguistic analysis also uncovered several grammatical problems in the students' writing, including a limited range of word choices, inappropriate use of mood, inconsistency of verb tense, and overuse of reiterating thematic patterns and everyday conjunctions to structure and organize their writing. Thematic analysis of teacher interviews and classroom observations revealed that the teachers (a) held different expectations for English language learners than mainstream students, (b) rarely provided explicit instruction on science writing, and (c) did not see themselves as having a shared responsibility of teaching writing in their subject area, despite acknowledgement of the essential role that writing plays in promoting scientific literacy. These findings provide a snapshot of the writing experience that sixth-grade English language learners had in their science classrooms. They suggest that the ELLs needed language and literacy support in science learning, but such support was largely absent in the science classrooms. The implications of the findings for science teaching and teacher education, along with the limitations of the study, are discussed.

  1. Writing for a Reader: Does the Nature of the Reader Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Porter, Don; O'Sullivan, Barry

    A study investigated how perception of the reader's age in relation to the age of the writer affects assessment of writing. Subjects were 26 Japanese women college students of English as a Second Language, all of whom had recently participated in a home-stay program in an English-speaking country. They were given the task of writing brief letters…

  2. THEMES, THEORIES, AND THERAPY, THE TEACHING OF WRITING IN COLLEGE. THE REPORT OF THE DARTMOUTH STUDY OF STUDENT WRITING.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    KITZHABER, ALBERT R.

    A REPORT ON THE TEACHING OF WRITING IN COLLEGE CONSISTS OF BOTH A GENERAL SURVEY OF FRESHMAN ENGLISH COURSES IN A WIDE VARIETY OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS AND A SPECIFIC STUDY OF THE FRESHMAN ENGLISH PROGRAM AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. THE GENERAL SURVEY PROVIDES A DISCUSSION OF TYPES OF FRESHMAN COURSES, THE PRESENT STATE OF FRESHMAN COMPOSITION PROGRAMS…

  3. A Program Based on English Digital Stories to Develop the Writing Performance and Reflective Thinking of Preparatory School Pupils

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hassan Seifeddin, Ahmed; Zakareya Ahmed, Samah; Yahia Mohammed Ebrahim, Eman

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the effect of a program based on English digital stories on second-year preparatory pupils' writing performance and reflective thinking. Two writing performance tests (pretest and posttest) as well as a reflective thinking test were prepared by the researchers. Two 2nd-year intact classes from El Sadat Prep School…

  4. Applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to Explore the Effects of a Course Management System (CMS)-Assisted EFL Writing Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsai, Yea-Ru

    2015-01-01

    This study illustrates a teaching model that utilizes a Blackboard (Bb) course management system (CMS) to support English writing instruction. It was implemented in a blended English research paper (RP) writing course, with specific learning resources and activities offered inside and outside the Bb CMS. A quasi-experimental study in which the…

  5. Effect of Weblog-Based Process Approach on EFL Learners' Writing Performance and Autonomy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Azari, Mohammad Hosein

    2017-01-01

    This article investigated the effect of weblog use in a process-based writing course on the writing performance of students as well as on their level of learner autonomy. The participants were 43 English language learners who were doing their BA in the field of English Language Teaching. The control group (n = 19) went through in-class writing…

  6. Strategies to Advance College-Ready Writing Competencies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Manhui Amy

    2013-01-01

    While many college students at two-year public colleges need Basic Writing classes before entering college-level writing courses, only 34% have successfully passed their Basic Writing classes (Ternes, 2008). Troyo (2000) maintained that the reason students failed in Basic Writing classes was that more research-based effective teaching strategies…

  7. Research and Teaching: The Pairing of a Science Communications and a Language Course to Enrich First-Year English Language Learners' Writing and Argumentation Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Welsh, Ashley J.; Shaw, Amber; Fox, Joanne A.

    2017-01-01

    This article explores how English-language learners' writing evolved during a first-year seminar in science course aimed at developing students' argumentation skills. We highlight how a science communications course was paired with a weekly academic English course in the context of a highly coordinated and enriched first-year experience program…

  8. A Think-Aloud Protocols Investigation of Saudi English Major Students' Writing Revision Strategies in L1 (Arabic) and L2 (English)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alhaisoni, Eid

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates the writing revision strategies used by 16 Saudi English as foreign language (EFL) students. Two research methods were employed. First, think-aloud reporting was used to gain insight into the thought processes utilized by the students, and to study the revision strategies that Saudi male university students make use of…

  9. "Fan Fic-ing" English Studies: A Case Study Exploring the Interplay of Vernacular Literacies and Disciplinary Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roozen, Kevin

    2009-01-01

    Drawing from a study of one student's literate engagements with English studies and fan fiction and related fan art over her two years in an MA program, which also reached back to the earlier writing she did for English classes and other writings before the study began, this article employs sociohistoric theory to examine the profoundly dialogic…

  10. Cpmputer Writing Skills for Limited English Proficient Students Project (COMPUGRAFIA.LEP), 1987-88. Evaluation Section Report. OREA Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berney, Tomi D.; Keyes, Jose

    The Computer Writing Skills for Limited English Proficient Students Project (COMPUGRAFIA.LEP) was partially implemented in 1987-88, during the first year of a 3-year cycle. It is a staff development program serving 35 bilingual special education classes with 414 limited-English-proficient Hispanic students in 10 elementary schools in the Bronx.…

  11. New Measures of English Language Proficiency and Their Relationship to Performance on Large-Scale Content Assessments. REL 2009-No. 066. Summary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parker, Caroline E.; Louie, Josephine; O'Dwyer, Laura

    2009-01-01

    Using assessment results for 5th and 8th grade English language learner students in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report finds that the English language domains of reading and writing (as measured by a proficiency assessment) are significant predictors of performance on reading, writing, and mathematics assessments and that the…

  12. New Measures of English Language Proficiency and Their Relationship to Performance on Large-Scale Content Assessments. Issues & Answers. REL 2009-No. 066

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parker, Caroline E.; Louie, Josephine; O'Dwyer, Laura

    2009-01-01

    Using assessment results for 5th and 8th grade English language learner students in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report finds that the English language domains of reading and writing (as measured by a proficiency assessment) are significant predictors of performance on reading, writing, and mathematics assessments and that the…

  13. The Views of the American Founding Fathers on the Study of the Modern Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pentlin, Susan Lee

    The Founding Fathers of the United States placed great importance on the learning of foreign languages and on excellence in reading and writing English. Sacrifices in the curriculum in favor of English were justified by the desire that Americans speak and write English as well as the British. Above all, the Founding Fathers were concerned with the…

  14. The Effects of Writing to Learn (WTL) on Academic Achievement and Attitude to Lesson in English Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Incirci, Ayhan; Parmaksiz, Ramazan Sükrü

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of applying the writing letter activity of writing to learn strategies on the English Language Academic Achievement and Attitude level of 11th grade students. The research was carried out with 84 students (43 male, 41 female) at one of the state schools in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Mixed…

  15. Are Advanced Placement English and First-Year College Composition Equivalent? A Comparison of Outcomes in the Writing of Three Groups of Sophomore College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Kristine; Reeve, Suzanne; Gonzalez, Jennifer; Sudweeks, Richard R.; Hatch, Gary L.; Esplin, Patricia; Bradshaw, William S.

    2006-01-01

    This study was conducted to obtain empirical data to inform policy decisions about exempting incoming students from a first-year composition (FYC) course on the basis of Advanced Placement (AP) English exam scores. It examined the effect of avoiding first-year writing on the writing abilities of sophomore undergraduates. Two three-page writing…

  16. Uses of Background Experience in a Preparatory Reading and Writing Class: An Analysis of Native and Non-Native Speakers of English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Becket, Diana

    2005-01-01

    The goal of the study reported in this article is to analyze ways students in the first course of a three-quarter college preparatory sequence in reading and writing write about their experiences in their essays. The student participants were three native speakers of English and three native speakers of Punjabi, who had lived and studied in the…

  17. Retelling Basic Writing at a Regional Campus: Iconic Discourse and Selective Function Meet Social Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tassoni, John Paul

    2005-01-01

    This article relates case histories of basic writing programs at regional campuses in Florida, and the perceived need to incorporate concerns of social class into basic writing curriculum. Attention to class helps scholars identify institutional patterns that distance basic writing from the university's mainstream business. This author describes a…

  18. The Empirical Assessment of English for Specific Business Purpose (ESBP) among Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) Staff

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moazzen, Ahmad; Hashemi, Akram

    2015-01-01

    The present study has been conducted with the purpose of exploring the relationship between EDBI staff's General English proficiency and their technical English Writing as well as the way each ESBP and GE courses affect their writing skill. The kind of the study is quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test, being conducted among EDBI staff in…

  19. READING AND WRITING, THE REMEDIAL PROGRAM.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Euclid English Demonstration Center, OH.

    THE PAPERS IN THIS COLLECTION EXPLAIN THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL REMEDIAL PROGRAM IN READING AND WRITING DEVELOPED BY THE EUCLID ENGLISH DEMONSTRATION CENTER, THEY ARE (1) "REMEDIAL CLASSES AND THE TOTAL ENGLISH PROGRAM," BY GEORGE HILLOCKS, (2) "DEFINITION, ORIGIN, AND TREATMENT OF UNDERACHIEVEMENT," BY JANE W. KESSLER, (3)…

  20. Digital English: Me, Online, Writing & Academia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rolinska, Ania

    2015-01-01

    This case study reports on the Digital English project, an experimental course in academic writing piloted with international students on a year-long pre-sessional programme. Inspired by Ulmer's (2003) "Mystory" project and Gauntlett's (2007) "Lego" research, the course concerns itself with the students' exploration of self at…

  1. Professional Writing in the English Classroom: Professional Collaborative Writing--Teaching, Writing, and Learning--Together.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bush, Jonathan; Zuidema, Leah

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the authors report the importance of teaching students about collaborative writing. When teachers are effective in helping students to learn processes for collaborative writing, everyone involved needs to speak, listen, write, and read about how to write well and what makes writing good. Students are forced to "go meta"…

  2. Interventions for Supporting and Assessing Science Writing Communication: Cases of Asian English Language Learners

    PubMed Central

    Smith-Keiling, Beverly L.; Swanson, Lidia K.; Dehnbostel, Joanne M.

    2018-01-01

    In seeking to support diversity, one challenge lies in adequately supporting and assessing science cognitions in a writing-intensive Biochemistry laboratory course when highly engaged Asian English language learners (Asian ELLs) struggle to communicate and make novice errors in English. Because they may understand advanced science concepts, but are not being adequately assessed for their deeper scientific understanding, we sought and examined interventions. We hypothesized that inquiry strategies, scaffolded learning through peer evaluation, and individualized tools that build writing communication skills would increase confidence. To assess scientific thinking, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) software measured underlying analytic and cognitive features of writing despite grammatical errors. To determine whether interventions improved student experience or learning outcomes, we investigated a cross-sectional sample of cases within experimental groups (n = 19) using a mixed-methods approach. Overall trends of paired t-tests from Asian ELLs’ pre/post surveys showed gains in six measures of writing confidence, with some statistically significant gains in confidence in writing skill (p=0.025) and in theory (p≤0.05). LIWC scores for Asian ELL and native-English-speaking students were comparable except for increased cognitive scores for Asian ELLs and detectable individual differences. An increase in Asian ELLs’ cognitive scores in spring/summer over fall was observed (p = 0.04), likely as a result of greater cognitive processes with language use, inquiry-related interventions, and peer evaluation. Individual cases further elucidated challenges faced by Asian ELL students. LIWC scores of student writing may be useful in determining underlying understanding. Interventions designed to provide support and strengthen the writing of Asian ELL students may also improve their confidence in writing, even if improvement is gradual. PMID:29904544

  3. The Effect of Arabism of Romanic Alphabets on the Development of 9th Grade English as a Foreign Language Students' Writing Skills at Secondary School Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zuhair, Ahmad

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims at investigating the effect of Arabization of Romanic Alphabets on the development of 9th Grade English as a Foreign Language students' composition writing skills at secondary school level. This experimental study includes 25 secondary school students in their 9th Grade in which English is taught as a foreign language at…

  4. Negotiating Ideologies about Teaching Writing in a High School English Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vetter, Amy; Myers, Joy; Hester, Madison

    2014-01-01

    More research needs to examine how novice teachers successfully negotiate multiple ideologies with others in ways that allow them to construct preferred teaching identities. This qualitative study addressed that need by investigating how one high school English teacher negotiated contradictory ideologies related to writing instruction at her…

  5. The Contribution of Lexical Diversity to College-Level Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    González, Melanie C.

    2017-01-01

    This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which lexical frequency and lexical diversity contribute to writing proficiency scores on monolingual English-speaking writers' and advanced multilingual writers' academic compositions. The data consist of essays composed by 104 multilingual English learners enrolled in advanced…

  6. Scaffolding for Second Language Writers: Producing an Academic Essay.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cotterall, Sara; Cohen, Robin

    2003-01-01

    Describes how a group of intermediate learners of English were guided through the process of producing their first academic essays in English. The approach applied the concept of scaffolding to the academic writing process by proving flexible support for the learners throughout the writing of their essays. (Author/VWL)

  7. An Integrated Approach to ESL Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Luca, Rosemary J.

    A University of Waikato (New Zealand) course in English for academic purposes is described. The credit course was originally designed for native English-speaking students to address their academic writing needs. However, based on the idea that the writing tasks of native speakers and non-native speakers are similar and that their writing…

  8. Nonresident Undergraduates' Performance in English Writing Classes-- Hierarchical Linear Modeling Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vaughn, Allison A.; Bergman, Matthew; Fass-Holmes, Barry

    2015-01-01

    Do undergraduates whose native language is not English have writing deficiencies leading to academic struggles? The present study showed that the answer to this question was "no" at an American West Coast public university. This university's nonresident undergraduates on average earned B- to B+ in their colleges' English…

  9. Writing Learning Outcomes for English Language Lessons in Multilingual Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Sally Ann

    2016-01-01

    This article proposes a pedagogic innovation in teacher education by articulating a method for writing learning outcomes for English language lessons in multilingual school contexts. The argument for this approach is founded on curriculum studies; however, the practice also draws specifically on applied psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic…

  10. Identifying Gaps in Academic Writing of ESL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giridharan, Beena

    2012-01-01

    There is growing evidence that the lack of competence of university ESL (English as a second language) students in academic writing affects their overall academic performance. Olivas and Li (2006) connected low second-language proficiency levels in English to poor academic performance of international students studying at both university and…

  11. Legitimizing Technical Communication in English Departments: Carolyn Miller's "Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Patrick

    2006-01-01

    Carolyn Miller's oft-cited "Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing," published in 1979, tries to give technical communication faculty more cultural capital in English departments controlled by literature professors. Miller replaces a positivistic emphasis in technical communication pedagogy with rhetoric. She shows how technical knowledge is…

  12. Soul Work: A Phenomenological Study of College English Professors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ashby, Sjon F.

    2011-01-01

    English teachers can encourage writing that opens college students to transformative learning through what John Dirkx called soul work. This soul work involves the conscious attempt to bring to the surface myths, images, and metaphors from the unconscious through imaginative writing and thinking processes. Participants in this study engaged in…

  13. English Writing via a Social Networking Platform

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yu, Wei-Chieh Wayne

    2018-01-01

    This study examined students' perceptions of completing an English writing class via a social networking platform. Participants were 162 aboriginal students between 18 and 23 years of age at a nursing college in southern Taiwan. Different ethnicities were defined and represented by different memberships of indigenous groups or tribes, also known…

  14. The Blurring of the English Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fish, James S.

    1987-01-01

    While the appreciation for plain English is taking hold, some areas of business writing still need attention. Jargon is a problem, as well as euphemisms and the growing density of expression that have softened the language. Mail-order catalogs work well as a training ground for compressed, effective persuasive writing. (Author/CH)

  15. 8 CFR 312.1 - Literacy requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ..., including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language. (b) Exceptions. The following persons need not demonstrate an ability to read, write and speak words in ordinary...) Verbal skills. The ability of an applicant to speak English shall be determined by a designated examiner...

  16. 8 CFR 312.1 - Literacy requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ..., including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language. (b) Exceptions. The following persons need not demonstrate an ability to read, write and speak words in ordinary...) Verbal skills. The ability of an applicant to speak English shall be determined by a designated examiner...

  17. Chinese University EFL Undergraduate Students' Perceptions towards EGAP Reading and Writing Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Du, Ning; Chen, Jianhua; Liu, Meihua

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined how undergraduate students from a prestigious Chinese university perceived the teaching and learning of English for general academic purposes (EGAP) reading and writing courses. Analyses of 951 questionnaires revealed that most participants generally (strongly) believed that learning general academic English was closely…

  18. Nietzsche in Basel: Writing Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, J. Hillis

    1993-01-01

    Explores the tight relationship between reading and writing, and discusses the implications of this central relationship for departments of English. Discusses Friedrich Nietzsche's early writings on rhetoric as challenging Western metaphysical tradition and providing a new model of writing. (HB)

  19. Essentials of Basic Writing Pedagogy for Librarians

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Reabeka

    2012-01-01

    There is an ongoing paradigm shift in librarianship that prompts the application of pedagogy throughout our professional practice. In light of the special attention to basic writing development in community college curricula, this article provides an overview of basic writing pedagogy. It discusses the overall college-level writing and research…

  20. Writing with Computers in ESL Classroom: Enhancing ESL Learners' Motivation, Confidence and Writing Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hadi, Marham Jupri

    2013-01-01

    Researcher's observation on his ESL class indicates the main issues concerning the writing skills: learners' low motivation to write, minimum interaction in writing, and poor writing skills. These limitations have led them to be less confidence to write in English. This article discusses how computers can be used for the purpose of increasing…

  1. Error Analysis in Academic Writing: A Case of International Postgraduate Students in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amiri, Fatemeh; Puteh, Marlia

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the different types of writing errors performed by 16 international postgraduate students undertaking an intensive English course at a public university in Malaysia. It was mandatory for international postgraduate students who obtained less than IELTS Band 6 to undertake an Intensive English Course (IEC) offered by the…

  2. Cultivating Undergraduates' Plagiarism Avoidance Knowledge and Skills with an Online Tutorial System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Gi-Zen; Lu, Hui-Ching; Lin, Vivien; Hsu, Wei-Chen

    2018-01-01

    With the increased use of digital materials, undergraduate writers in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts have become more susceptible to plagiarism. In this study, the researchers designed a blended English writing course with an online writing tutorial system entitled "DWright." The study examined the effectiveness of the…

  3. Revision Changes When Using Word Processors in an English as a Foreign Language Context.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kehagia, Olga; Cox, Margaret

    1997-01-01

    Focuses on the use of word processers during revision in an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing context. The study attempts to identify the magnitude of the effects of ESL writing expertise, text importance for students and computer familiarity upon the types of revision. (24 references) (Author/CK)

  4. Teaching Techniques: Audiovisual Feedback in EFL/ESL Writing Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodard, William J.

    2016-01-01

    In this article, William J. Woodard, an English teacher preparing students for university-level work in academic English, describes a more effective student feedback technique that decreases the amount of time spent writing such feedback. Woodard explains his discovery of the tool "Jing." Jing is a free application for PCs and Macs by…

  5. Formative Assessment of Writing in English as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burner, Tony

    2016-01-01

    Recognizing the importance of formative assessment, this mixed-methods study investigates how four teachers and 100 students respond to the new emphasis on formative assessment in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classes in Norway. While previous studies have examined formative assessment in oral classroom interactions and focused on…

  6. Flipped Learning for ESL Writing in a Sudanese School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdelrahman, Limia Ali Mohamed; DeWitt, Dorothy; Alias, Norlidah; Rahman, Mohd Nazri Abdul

    2017-01-01

    Sudanese students seem to lack proficiency in writing English. In addition, teachers continue to use traditional, teacher-centered methods in teaching English as a second language (ESL). The flipped learning (FL) approach where video lectures are assigned as online homework before class, followed by learning activities during class, might be able…

  7. Which Do Students Prefer to Evaluate Their Essays: Peers or Computer Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lai, Yi-hsiu

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate problems and potentials of new technologies in English writing education. The effectiveness of automated writing evaluation (AWE) ("MY Access") and of peer evaluation (PE) was compared. Twenty-two English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in Taiwan participated in this study. They submitted…

  8. Making English Accessible: Using ELECTRONIC NETWORKS FOR INTERACTION (ENFI) in the Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peyton, Joy Kreeft; French, Martha

    Electronic Networks for Interaction (ENFI), an instructional tool for teaching reading and writing using computer technology, improves the English reading and writing of deaf students at all educational levels. Chapters address these topics: (1) the origins of the technique; (2) how ENFI works in the classroom and laboratory (software, lab…

  9. Improving the Students' Spiritual Intelligence in English Writing through Whole Brain Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santoso, Didik

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this research was to improve the students' spiritual intelligence in English writing through Whole Brain Learning strategy. Therefore, this study was conducted as a classroom action research. The research pocedure followed the cyclonic process of planning, action, observation, and reflection. This process was preceeded by…

  10. Novelzine: Reading and Writing Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    deGravelles, Karin H.; Bach, Jacqueline; Hyde, Yvette; Hebert, Angelle

    2012-01-01

    How might team teaching, young adult novels, and zines work together to engage students in thinking about, writing about, and building community? Four researchers worked with three eighth-grade English teachers and one student teacher to find out. The four eighth-grade English teachers teach as a team, meeting formally at least once a week to plan…

  11. 77 FR 8828 - Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-15

    .... Introduction Most individuals living in the United States read, write, speak and understand English. There are... or Pacific Island language at home. If these individuals have a limited ability to read, write, speak... San Francisco school district that had a significant number of non-English speaking students of...

  12. Writing and Reading Knowledge of Spanish/English Second-Generation Bilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ardila, Alfredo; Garcia, Krystal; Garcia, Melissa; Mejia, Joselyn; Vado, Grace

    2017-01-01

    Written bilingualism represents a particular type of bilingualism that is not frequently approached. The aim of this study was to investigate the writing and reading abilities of second-generation immigrants, Spanish-English bilinguals in South Florida. 58 participants (36 females, 22 males; 18-39 years of age) were selected. Both parents were…

  13. Displaying Critical Thinking in EFL Academic Writing: A Discussion of Japanese to English Contrastive Rhetoric

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinley, Jim

    2013-01-01

    This article provides an examination of the literature on issues surrounding the problems Japanese university students face in learning critical argument in their English academic writing courses. Japanese students' critical thinking skills are criticized as not fostered in their university education, perhaps due to Confucian education ideals,…

  14. "Reading to Write" in East Asian Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freedman, Leora

    2013-01-01

    A reading-writing initiative began in 2011-12 at the University of Toronto as a partnership between an East Asian Studies (EAS) department and an English Language Learning (ELL) Program. In this institution, students are expected to enter into scholarly discussions in their first year essays, yet many (both native English speakers and non-native…

  15. Providing Guided Practice in Discourse Synthesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Numrich, Carol; Kennedy, Alan S.

    2017-01-01

    In this article, the authors discuss the importance of the skill of synthesis in university-level writing. They outline specific challenges faced by students of English as a second language with synthesis as a writing skill. They then describe a lesson that they created for an English for academic purposes class for graduate students in the field…

  16. Learners' Motivation and Identity in the Vietnamese EFL Writing Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tran, Ly Thi

    2007-01-01

    The study reported in this paper explores issues of motivation and learners' identity in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing classroom in Vietnam from the perspectives of the learners. It was conducted with thirty English-major students at a university in central Vietnam. While relevant literature appears to place much emphasis on…

  17. Just-in-Time Teaching Techniques through Web Technologies for Vocational Students' Reading and Writing Abilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chantoem, Rewadee; Rattanavich, Saowalak

    2016-01-01

    This research compares the English language achievements of vocational students, their reading and writing abilities, and their attitudes towards learning English taught with just-in-time teaching techniques through web technologies and conventional methods. The experimental and control groups were formed, a randomized true control group…

  18. Blogging as a Tool for Intercultural Learning in a Telecollaborative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Se Jeong

    2016-01-01

    This paper is based on an analysis of blog writings from an English-Korean telecollaborative project. This research found that rich intercultural interactions occur between Korean learners and English learners. Through a discursive analysis of the blog writings in which participants compared Korean and American cultures, this paper elucidates…

  19. An Email Exchange Project between Non-Native Speakers of English.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fedderholdt, Karen

    2001-01-01

    Describes a recent email writing project between nonnative speakers of English. The project was carried out by a group of Japanese university students, and a group of Danish students preparing for university entrance examinations. Explains the reasons for choosing to use email in writing classes and why nonnative speakers were chosen. (Author/VWL)

  20. Self-Regulated Strategic Writing for Academic Studies in an English-Medium-Instruction Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hu, Jingjing; Gao, Xuesong

    2018-01-01

    This study explored the processes of utilization of resources in secondary students' self-regulated strategic writing for academic studies in an English as medium of instruction context in Hong Kong. Drawing on multiple data sources collected through the observation of lessons, stimulated recall and semi-structured interviews, the study examined…

  1. Photo-Booklets for English Language Learning: Incorporating Visual Communication into Early Childhood Teacher Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Britsch, Susan

    2010-01-01

    Teachers can integrate discussion and writing about photographs into the early childhood curriculum to build speaking, reading, and writing skills in any language. Although little available research focuses on photography and early childhood education as related specifically to English Language Learners, several current teacher resources do focus…

  2. Translanguaging in English Academic Writing Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adamson, John; Coulson, David

    2015-01-01

    We investigate translanguaging (i.e. the co-use of first and second languages) in a Content and Language Integrated Learning course, as a pragmatic means to promote the skill of young university students in extended critical academic writing. We aimed to prepare new undergraduate students (n = 180) for courses where partial English-medium…

  3. Applying Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model to develop an online English writing course for nursing students.

    PubMed

    Tai, Hung-Cheng; Pan, Mei-Yu; Lee, Bih-O

    2015-06-01

    Learning English as foreign language and computer technology are two crucial skills for nursing students not only for the use in the medical institutions but also for the communication needs following the trend of globalization. Among language skills, writing has long been ignored in the curriculums although it is a core element of language learning. To apply the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) model to design an online English writing course for nursing students, and to explore the effects of the course to the students' learning progress as well as their satisfactions and perceptions. A single-group experimental study, utilizing the CEEC (College Entrance Examination Center) writing grading criteria and a self-designed course satisfaction questionnaire, is used. Fifty one nursing students who were in their first/four semesters of the two year vocational pre-registration nursing course in a Taiwan university were selected using convenience sampling. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measure MANOVA. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. Students' writing competence had been improved significantly in every dimension after the instruction. Only half of the learners preferred online writing compared to the traditional way of writing by hand. Additionally, participants reported that they would prefer to receive feedback from the teacher than peers, yet they did not like the indirect feedback. The teacher perceived the course as meaningful but demanding for both learning and teaching sides. To implement the peer review activities and give feedback on time were two major challenges during the cycles. The TPACK model suggests a comprehensive and effective teaching approach that can help enhance nursing students' English writing performance. Teachers are advised to consider its implementation when designing their syllabus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Phonemic Awareness and Beginning Reading and Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kamii, Constance; Manning, Maryann

    2002-01-01

    Examined English-speaking preschoolers' level of writing and their performance on oral-segmentation tasks. Found a close relationship between children's levels of writing and their levels of oral segmentation on a writing task in which they were asked to write four pairs of words, for example, "ham" and "hamster." Concluded…

  5. 30 Ideas for Teaching Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Art, Comp.

    2003-01-01

    The National Writing Project's (NWP) "30 Ideas for Teaching Writing" discusses making grammar lessons dynamic, using casual student conversation as a source for writing, home language as an assisting tool to attain standard English and other topics by presenting strategies contributed by experienced writing project teachers. NWP does not promote a…

  6. English Language Learners. What Works Clearinghouse Topic Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

    2007-01-01

    English language learners are students with a primary language other than English who have a limited range of speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills in English. English language learners also include students identified and determined by their school as having limited English proficiency and a language other than English spoken in the…

  7. Thin Skin, Deep Damage: Addressing the Wounded Writer in the Basic Writing Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boone, Stephanie D.

    2010-01-01

    How do institutions and their writing faculties see basic writers? What assumptions about these writers drive writing curricula, pedagogies and assessments? How do writing programs enable or frustrate these writers? How might course design facilitate the outcomes we envision? This article argues that, in order to teach basic writers to enter…

  8. Problems in Choosing a Theory of Basic Writing: Toward a Rhetoric of Scholarly Discourse.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bizzell, Patricia

    This paper discusses some of the problems faced in working with competing theories of basic writing and suggests its own kind of theoretical analysis of nonstandard writing. A brief overview of basic writing theories is presented, and the theories are categorized into two approaches: a traditional approach of teaching by prescription in an…

  9. Writing that Excites and Educates: A Class Novel

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nobles, Susanne

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the author shares how she envisioned and created a writing assignment for a ninth-grade English course. The writing project is a class novel comprised of short stories, one written by each student. In the writing assignment, seniors compile their favorite writings from any class in any year of high school and write reflections…

  10. Peer-Mediated vs. Individual Writing: Measuring Fluency, Complexity, and Accuracy in Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soleimani, Maryam; Modirkhamene, Sima; Sadeghi, Karim

    2017-01-01

    Drawing upon Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (SCT), this study aimed at investigating the effect of two writing modes, namely, peer-mediated/collaborative vs. individual writing on measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity of female EFL learners' writing. Based on an in-house placement test and the First Certificate in English writing paper, a…

  11. Supporting the Thesis Writing Process of International Research Students through an Ongoing Writing Group

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Linda Y.; Vandermensbrugghe, Joelle

    2011-01-01

    Evidence from research suggests writing support is particularly needed for international research students who have to tackle the challenges of thesis writing in English as their second language in Western academic settings. This article reports the development of an ongoing writing group to support the thesis writing process of international…

  12. The integration of lexical, syntactic, and discourse features in bilingual adolescents' writing: an exploratory approach.

    PubMed

    Danzak, Robin L

    2011-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the bilingual writing of adolescent English language learners (ELLs) using quantitative tools. Linguistic measures were applied to the participants' writing at the lexical, syntactic, and discourse levels, with the goal of comparing outcomes at each of these levels across languages (Spanish/English) and genres (expository/narrative). Twenty Spanish-speaking ELLs, ages 11-14 years, each produced 8 expository and narrative autobiographical texts. Texts were coded and scored for lexical sophistication, syntactic complexity, and overall text quality. Scores were analyzed using Friedman's 2-way analysis of variance by ranks (Siegel & Castellan, 1988); resulting ranks were compared across languages and genre topics. The text topic impacted rank differences at all levels. Performance at the three levels was similar across languages, indicating that participants were emerging writers in both Spanish and English. The impact of genre was generally inconsequential at all levels. Similar results across languages implied the potential transfer of writing skills. Overall, students appeared to apply a knowledge-telling strategy to writing rather than strategically planning, composing, and revising their writing. Finally, outcomes highlighted the synergistic relationships among linguistic levels in text composition, indicating a need to address the interaction of vocabulary, morphosyntax, and text-level structures in the instruction and assessment of ELL writing.

  13. Theme and Thematic Progression in English Writing Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jing, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Theme and thematic progression (T/TP) is a major aspect of the way that speakers construct their messages in a way which makes them fit smoothly into the unfolding language event. While studies have illustrated the usefulness of observing T/TP to identify English learners' writing difficulties and suggested that T/TP should be included in English…

  14. Predictors of Spelling and Writing Skills in First- and Second-Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrison, Gina L.; Goegan, Lauren D.; Jalbert, Rachel; McManus, Kelly; Sinclair, Kristin; Spurling, Jessica

    2016-01-01

    Cognitive and linguistic components related to spelling and writing in English as a second language (ESL) and native-English speaking (EL1) third graders were examined. ESL and EL1 children performed similarly on rapid naming, phonological awareness (PA), verbal short-term and working memory, reading fluency, single-word spelling, text spelling,…

  15. Adult English Language Learners Constructing and Sharing Their Stories and Experiences: The Cultural and Linguistic Autobiography Writing Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Gloria

    2011-01-01

    This article is the culmination of the Cultural and Linguistic Autobiography (CLA) writing project, which details narrative descriptions of adult English language learners' (ELLs') cultural and linguistic experiences and how those experiences may have influenced the ways in which these learners constructed and reconstructed their identities.…

  16. Latino English Language Learners' Writing during Literacy-Enriched Block Play

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snow, Marianne; Eslami, Zohreh R.; Park, Jeong Hyun

    2015-01-01

    Although growing numbers of young English language learners (ELLs) from low-income homes enroll in U.S. schools, there remains a lack of research on how they respond to common school literacy practices including a literacy-enriched play. This exploratory study aims to examine the writing behaviors of six kindergarteners in their classroom's…

  17. Using Portfolio to Assess Rural Young Learners' Writing Skills in English Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aziz, Muhammad Noor Abdul; Yusoff, Nurahimah Mohd.

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed at discussing the benefits of portfolio assessment in assessing students' writing skills. The study explores the use of authentic assessment in the classroom. Eleven primary school children from Year 4 in a rural school in Sabah participated in this study. Data were collected by observing them during the English Language lessons…

  18. Becoming One Community: Reading and Writing with English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fay, Kathleen; Whaley, Suzanne

    2004-01-01

    Written for the general classroom teacher whose class includes English language learners (ELLs), as well as for ELL teachers working in general classrooms, this book portrays ELL students in grades 3-6 who learn essential reading and writing skills and are full members of the classroom community. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize the…

  19. Solving the English-as-a-Second Language Writers' Dilemma

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nowalk, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    This brief work stands against a four-year stretch of writing classes at Northern Virginia Community College, with the author teaching English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students how to write academic essays. The courses taught have included high intermediate and advanced writers, many of whom plan to earn a degree at the college or any number of…

  20. Investigating the Role of Identity in L2 Writing Using Electronic Bulletin Boards

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spiliotopoulos, Valia; Carey, Steven

    2005-01-01

    Recent research has focused on the relationship between language and identity (Ivanic, 1998; Kanno & Norton, 2003). International students who come to Canada to learn English as a second language realize that to succeed in the academic community, they must be particularly adept at writing in English for academic purposes. This article…

  1. A Study of Students' Assessment in Writing Skills of the English Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Javed, Muhammad; Juan, Wu Xiao; Nazli, Saima

    2013-01-01

    This paper addresses to evaluate and assess the students' competency in writing skills at Secondary school level in the English Language focusing five major content areas: word completion, sentence making/syntax, comprehension, tenses/ grammar and handwriting. The target population was the male and female students of grade 10 of urban and rural…

  2. A Study of Students' Assessment in Writing Skills of the English Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Javed, Muhammad; Juan, Wu Xiao; Nazli, Saima

    2013-01-01

    This paper addresses to evaluate and assess the students' competency in writing skills at Secondary school level in the English Language focusing five major content areas: word completion, sentence making/syntax, comprehension, tenses/grammar and handwriting. The target population was the male and female students of grade 10 of urban and rural…

  3. Effect of Instruction in Story Grammar on the Narrative Writing of EFL Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El-Koumy, Abdel Salam A.

    A study investigated the effects of explicit versus implicit instruction in story grammar on the narrative writing skills of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students at the university level. Subjects were 83 freshmen enrolled in English at the Faculty of Education at Suez Canal University (Egypt). The subjects were randomly assigned to…

  4. Literacy Engagement through Online and Offline Communities outside School: English Language Learners' Development as Readers and Writers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Guofang

    2012-01-01

    How do second-language learners become successful readers and writers? This article examines the importance of social networks to English language learners' reading and writing development. It describes different family, peer, and virtual social networks that ELLs can utilize to engage in online and offline reading and writing (especially related…

  5. Using Track Changes and Word Processor to Provide Corrective Feedback to Learners in Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    AbuSeileek, A. F.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated the effect of computer-mediated corrective feedback types in an English as a foreign language (EFL) intact class over time. The participants were 64 English majors who were assigned randomly into three treatment conditions that gave and received computer-mediated corrective feedback while writing (track changes, word…

  6. First Language Grapheme-Phoneme Transparency Effects in Adult Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ijalba, Elizabeth; Obler, Loraine K.

    2015-01-01

    The Spanish writing system has consistent grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPC), rendering it more transparent than English. We compared first-language (L1) orthographic transparency on how monolingual English- and Spanish-readers learned a novel writing system with a 1:1 (LT) and a 1:2 (LO) GPC. Our dependent variables were learning time,…

  7. Predicting Writing Development in Dual Language Instructional Contexts: Exploring Cross-Linguistic Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Savage, Robert; Kozakewich, Meagan; Genesee, Fred; Erdos, Caroline; Haigh, Corinne

    2017-01-01

    This study examined whether decoding and linguistic comprehension abilities, broadly defined by the Simple View of Reading, in grade 1 each uniquely predicted the grade 6 writing performance of English-speaking children (n = 76) who were educated bilingually in both English their first language and French, a second language. Prediction was made…

  8. The Impact of Computer-Based Instruction on the Development of EFL Learners' Writing Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zaini, A.; Mazdayasna, G.

    2015-01-01

    The current study investigated the application and effectiveness of computer assisted language learning (CALL) in teaching academic writing to Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners by means of Microsoft Word Office. To this end, 44 sophomore intermediate university students majoring in English Language and Literature at an Iranian…

  9. Computer Writing Skills for Limited English Proficiency Students: Project COMPUGRAFIA.LEP 1988-89. OREA Evaluation Section Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berney, Tomi D.; Keyes, Jose L.

    The Computer Writing Skills for Limited English Proficient Students (Project COMPUGRAFIA.LEP), bilingual special education classes totalling 375 Spanish-speaking students at 10 elementary schools in the Bronx, is evaluated. The project proposed to assist site teachers in developing appropriate lesson plans and effective teaching techniques and…

  10. Integrating a Digital Concept Mapping into a PPT Slide Writing Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yen, Ai Chun; Yang, Pei Yi

    2013-01-01

    Carried out during a semester-long EFL (English as a foreign language) drama class, this research aimed to scrutinize the effects of digital concept mapping via LMS on English majors' (N = 38) PowerPoint (PPT) slide writing skills in Taiwan. Students were instructed to follow the concept mapping agenda via university learning management system…

  11. Improving Process Writing with the Use Authentic Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    bin Abdul Aziz, Muhammad Noor; Yusoff, Nurahimah Mohd

    2016-01-01

    The paper discusses on how process writing is improved with the use of authentic assessment in an English Language classroom. Eleven primary school children from Year 4 in a rural school in Sabah are the participants of the study. Data were collected by observing them during the English Language lessons and at the end of the series of…

  12. The Perfectionist Call of Intelligibility: Secondary English, Creative Writing, and Moral Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Belas, Oliver

    2016-01-01

    This article puts forward moral-philosophical arguments for re-building and re-thinking secondary-level (high-school equivalent) English studies around creative writing practices. I take it that when educators and policy makers talk about such entities as the "well-rounded learner," what we have, or should have, in mind is moral agents…

  13. EssayCritic: Writing to Learn with a Knowledge-Based Design Critiquing System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mørch, Anders I.; Engeness, Irina; Cheng, Victor C.; Cheung, William K.; Wong, Kelvin C.

    2017-01-01

    This article presents a study of EssayCritic, a computer-based writing aid for English as a foreign language (EFL) that provides feedback on the content of English essays. We compared two feedback conditions: automated feedback from EssayCritic (target class) and feedback from collaborating peers (comparison class). We used a mixed methods…

  14. A Sequence of Assignments for Basic Writing: Teaching To Problems "Beyond the Sentence."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wall, Susan V.

    Students in college basic writing courses need to consider their own written language and to compare it with other students' work before they can develop a sense of the symbolic relationship between language and experience. Because of a lack of previous writing experience, basic writers have no sense that the "facts" about which they write are…

  15. Effects of Word and Fragment Writing during L2 Vocabulary Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barcroft, Joe

    2007-01-01

    This study examined how writing (copying) target words and word fragments affects intentional second language (L2) vocabulary learning. English-speaking first-semester learners of Spanish attempted to learn 24 Spanish nouns via word-picture repetition in three conditions: (1) word writing, (2) fragment writing, and (3) no writing. After the…

  16. Collaborative Writing to Enhance Academic Writing Development through Project Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robayo Lun, Alma Milena; Hernandez Ortiz, Luz Stella

    2013-01-01

    Advanced students at university level struggle with many aspects of academic writing in English as a foreign language. The purpose of this article is to report on an investigation aimed at analyzing what collaborative writing through project work tells us about students' academic writing development at the tertiary level. The compositions written…

  17. Selected Papers of the Southeastern Writing Center Association.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, David H., Ed.; Wolff, William C., Ed.

    Addressing a variety of concerns of writing center directors and staff, directors of freshman composition, and English department chairs, the papers in this collection discuss writing center research and evaluation, writing center tutors, and computers in the writing center. The titles of the essays and their authors are as follows: (1) "Narrative…

  18. Writing Projects and Writing Instruction: A Study of Teacher Change.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, David E.

    To examine the ways in which participation in the Iowa Writing Project influenced secondary English language arts teachers, a study surveyed and interviewed teachers who participated in the 1982 and 1985 Iowa Writing Project about their beliefs and practices concerning writing instruction. In addition, case studies and over 70 hours of classroom…

  19. Implementing Keyword and Question Generation Approaches in Teaching EFL Summary Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chou, Mu-hsuan

    2012-01-01

    Summary writing has been considered an important aspect of academic writing. However, writing summaries can be a challenging task for the majority of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Research into teaching summary writing has focused on different processes to teach EFL learners. The present study adopted two methods--keyword and…

  20. Multimodal Composing as Healing: Toward a New Model for Writing as Healing Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molloy, Cathryn

    2016-01-01

    The course the author describes here, WRTC 426: Rhetorical "Ethos" and Personal Disclosures: Explorations in Trauma Writing and Writing as Healing, asks students to explore the "writing as healing" movement in English studies and beyond in order to evaluate the efficacy of claims that writing personal narratives can heal…

  1. Understanding EFL Students' Errors in Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phuket, Pimpisa Rattanadilok Na; Othman, Normah Binti

    2015-01-01

    Writing is the most difficult skill in English, so most EFL students tend to make errors in writing. In assisting the learners to successfully acquire writing skill, the analysis of errors and the understanding of their sources are necessary. This study attempts to explore the major sources of errors occurred in the writing of EFL students. It…

  2. Writing Strategies for All Primary Students: Scaffolding Independent Writing with Differentiated Mini-Lessons, Grades K-3

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Janet C.; Lassonde, Cynthia A.

    2011-01-01

    The 25 mini-lessons provided in this book are designed to develop students' self-regulated writing behaviors and enhance their self-perceived writing abilities. These foundational writing strategies are applicable and adaptable to all primary students: emergent, advanced, English Language Learners, and struggling writers. Following the SCAMPER…

  3. Using the Composing Process and Positive Reinforcement to Teach College Basic Students to Write.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milligan, Janice

    Following a literature review on the subjects of the decline in student writing abilities and increased student writing apprehension, this paper offers teachers information on a basic writing program that reduces writing anxiety and improves writing skills through large doses of positive reinforcement. The second section of the paper discusses the…

  4. Reflecting on the Liberal Reflex: Rhetoric and the Politics of Acknowledgement in Basic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pavesich, Matthew

    2011-01-01

    In the 1990s, leading rhetoric and composition scholars criticized basic writing programs for their "liberalism." Basic writing had its defenders, however, and the ensuing debate exposed deep rifts in the field. This article argues that neither side in this formative debate nor the more recent alternative models of teaching basic writing…

  5. A tale of two writing systems: double dissociation and metalinguistic transfer between Chinese and English word reading among Hong Kong children.

    PubMed

    Tong, Xiuli; Tong, Xiuhong; McBride-Chang, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the rate of school-aged Chinese-English language learners at risk for reading difficulties in either Chinese or English only, or both, among second and fifth graders in Hong Kong. In addition, we examined the metalinguistic skills that distinguished those who were poor in reading Chinese from those who were poor in reading English. The prevalence of poor English readers among children identified to be poor in Chinese word recognition across the five participating schools was approximately 42% at Grade 2 and 57% at Grade 5. Across grades, children who were poor readers of both languages tended to have difficulties in phonological and morphological awareness. Poor readers of English only were found to manifest significantly poorer phonological awareness, compared to those who were poor readers of Chinese only; their average tone awareness score was also lower relative to normally developing controls. Apart from indicating possible dissociations between Chinese first language (L1) word reading and English second language (L2) word reading, these findings suggested that the degree to which different metalinguistic skills are important for reading in different writing systems may depend on the linguistic features of the particular writing system. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

  6. A Sourcebook for Basic Writing Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Enos, Theresa, Ed.

    Focusing on the sociolinguistic dimensions of literacy, this sourcebook builds upon Mina Shaughnessy's contributions to the study of basic writing by gathering together contemporary research, theory, and practice on the subject. The 39 essays and their authors include: "Defining Basic Writing in Context" and "Perspectives on…

  7. Writing Expertise and Second-Language Proficiency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cumming, Alister

    1989-01-01

    Assessment of the English writing proficiency of 23 native French speaking students on 3 composition tasks found variance in the qualities of written texts and problem-solving behaviors. Writing expertise was found to affect discourse organization and content, writing complexity, heuristic strategies, and control strategies, while second-language…

  8. The Carleton University Writing Tutorial Service.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freedman, Aviva

    Carleton University's writing tutorial service is staffed by trained graduate students and provides free individual instruction for students having problems writing academic English. The students submit writing samples before the first session at which both student and tutor map out a strategy for improvement. Analysis of the tutors' perceptions…

  9. Social Motives for Writing Psychology: Writing for and with Younger Readers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vipond, Douglas

    1993-01-01

    Describes a cooperative writing project involving a college-level psychology class and a ninth-grade English class. Discusses different concepts of psychology held by the two student groups. Concludes with suggestions for improving writing skills and helping students become more authoritative writers. (CFR)

  10. Data-Driven Shakespeare

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bambrick-Santoyo, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Write first, talk second--it's a simple strategy, but one that's underused in literature classes, writes Paul Bambrick-Santoyo. The author describes a lesson on Shakespeare's Sonnet 65 conducted by a middle school English teacher, who incorporates writing as an important precursor to classroom discussion. By having students write about the poem…

  11. Writing Inservice Guide for English Language Arts and TAAS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Texas Education Agency, Austin.

    This guide, made up of transparencies and text, offers a basis for a 2-day interactive inservice presentation on how to teach writing, to help a school district ensure that its English language arts program addresses the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test. In addition to sections on the use of the guide and the format of the TAAS…

  12. Investigate the "Issues" in Chinese Students' English Writing and Their "Reasons": Revisiting the Recent Evidence in Chinese Academia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sang, Yuan

    2017-01-01

    This research synthesis collected, compiled, and analyzed 29 academic research articles that were published in China in recent years. It addressed and explored the issues in Chinese undergraduate students' English writing and the possible reasons causing and/or explaining the issues. It was discovered that many Chinese undergraduate students have…

  13. Design-Build-Write: Increasing the Impact of English for Specific Purposes Learning and Teaching in Aeronautical Engineering Education through Multiple Intelligences Task Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tatzl, Dietmar

    2011-01-01

    This article presents an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) task developed for teaching aeronautical engineering students. The task Design-Build-Write rests on the assumption that engineering students are skilled at mathematical reasoning, problem solving, drawing and constructing. In Gardner's 1983 Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory, these…

  14. Literacy Development of Linguistically Diverse First Graders in a Mainstream English Classroom: Connecting Speaking and Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kennedy, Eileen

    2006-01-01

    Children who speak different home languages and dialects in a monolingual classroom often carry the challenge of having to develop literacy in a different language. This article presents a qualitative study of five first graders who speak different home languages in an inner city mainstream English classroom. Through interviews, classroom writing,…

  15. Adopting Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as Interactive Communities among English Foreign Language (EFL) Learners in Writing: Opportunities and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Razak, Norizan Abdul; Saeed, Murad; Ahmad, Zulkifli

    2013-01-01

    As most traditional classroom environments in English as Foreign Language (EFL) still restrict learners' collaboration and interaction in college writing classes, today, the majority of EFL learners are accessing Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as online communities of practice (CoPs) for adopting informal collaborative learning as a way of…

  16. (Re)Designing Writing in English Class: A Multimodal Approach to Teaching Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rowsell, Jennifer; Decoste, Eryn

    2012-01-01

    Based on a 2-year ethnographic study in an urban secondary school in Toronto, the article presents how a teacher and a researcher teach Grade 11 students through a design-based approach to teaching and learning in English class. Built on research and pedagogy on design, the authors designed a programme of study as an alternative to more…

  17. Report of the Yale Conference on the Teaching of English (16th, Yale University, April 10-11, 1970).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yale Univ., New Haven, CT. Graduate School.

    Four speeches illustrating important principles in the teaching of English are collected in this booklet: (1) "The Teaching of Writing as Art" by William E. Coles, Jr., who, in posing ambiguous, provocative questions as writing assignments, compels the student to explore language in its relationship to his experience and his persona; (2)…

  18. Wiki Effect on English as a Foreign Language Writing Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Savran Çelik, Seyd; Aydin, Selami

    2016-01-01

    The number of the studies conducted on the use of wikis on the English as a foreign language (EFL) learning process has remained fairly limited. More specifically, in the Turkish EFL context, little attention has been paid to the effects of wikis on EFL writing achievement. Thus, this study aims to examine the effects of a wiki-based writing…

  19. Can Web 2.0 Technology Assist College Students in Learning English Writing?Integrating "Facebook" and Peer Assessment with Blended Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shih, Ru-Chu

    2011-01-01

    The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of integrating "Facebook" and peer assessment with college English writing class instruction through a blended teaching approach. This blended approach consisted of one-third of a semester of classroom instruction and two-thirds of a semester combining "Facebook", peer…

  20. Metadiscourse Repertoire of L1 Mandarin Undergraduates Writing in English: A Cross-Contextual, Cross-Disciplinary Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Ting; Wharton, Sue

    2012-01-01

    This article presents a qualitative, comparative study of metadiscourse in the academic writing of two groups of undergraduate students working in two different disciplines. The groups of students were: 1) Native speakers of Mandarin studying in China through the medium of English; 2) Native speakers of Mandarin studying in the UK through the…

  1. Effective Utilization of ICT in English Language Learning--The Case of University of Botswana Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Umunnakwe, Ngozi; Sello, Queen

    2016-01-01

    The study investigates the effective utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by first year undergraduates of the University of Botswana (UB) in their reading and writing skills. The first year students are not first language (L1) learners of English. They have not utilized computers for learning reading and writing in their…

  2. Changes to English as an Additional Language Writers' Research Articles: From Spoken to Written Register

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koyalan, Aylin; Mumford, Simon

    2011-01-01

    The process of writing journal articles is increasingly being seen as a collaborative process, especially where the authors are English as an Additional Language (EAL) academics. This study examines the changes made in terms of register to EAL writers' journal articles by a native-speaker writing centre advisor at a private university in Turkey.…

  3. Comparison of the Effectiveness of Stylewriter and Microsoft Word Computer Software to Improve English Writing Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prvinchandar, Sunita; Ayub, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd

    2014-01-01

    This study compared the effectiveness of two types of computer software for improving the English writing skills of pupils in a Malaysian primary school. Sixty students who participated in the seven-week training course were divided into two groups, with the experimental group using the StyleWriter software and the control group using the…

  4. Towards a Metalanguage Adequate to Linguistic Achievement in Post-Structuralism and English: Reflections on Voicing in the Writing of Secondary Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macken-Horarik, Mary; Morgan, Wendy

    2011-01-01

    This paper considers the development of voicing in the writing of secondary English students influenced by post-structuralist approaches to literature. It investigates students' growing capacity not only to voice their own responses to literature but also to relate these to a range of theoretical discourses. Drawing on systemic functional…

  5. Making Sense of Power Relations in a Malaysian English-as-a-Second-Language Academic Writing Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abraham, Alison

    2014-01-01

    The role of power in an English-as-a-second-language classroom has yet to be fully explored by an action research practitioner, especially in a Malaysian higher education setting. This study aims to contribute to this gap by working within an academic literacies perspective to teaching academic writing, which propagates the understanding of…

  6. English Language Learning in Mexico: A Case Study of Implementing Problem Based Learning into a Technology Enhanced Writing Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graham, Leah Sharice

    2006-01-01

    English for Academic Purposes literature is often criticized for its very functional interpretation of language (e.g. Benesch, 2001) which ignores the intellectual, cultural, and social side of learning in an attempt to appear "neutral." Furthermore, writing is the EAP skill area which seems to provide students with the most difficulty.…

  7. Creative and Critical Engagement: Constructing a Teen Vision of the World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DiMarzio, Erica; Dippre, Ryan

    2011-01-01

    Today's high-stakes testing world has changed the English classroom a great deal, and perhaps one of the most dramatically affected areas has been that of creative writing. As all English teachers well know, creative writing does not easily lend itself to a multiple-choice test or a five-paragraph essay. As the authors began the push to prepare…

  8. Analysis of Teacher Beliefs and Efficacy for Teaching Writing to Weak Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mohar, Tunku Mohani Tunku; Singh, Charajit Kaur Swaran; Kepol, Napisah; Ahmad, Ahmad Zainuri Loap; Moneyam, Sasigaran

    2017-01-01

    The present study investigated the beliefs and efficacy of a teacher teaching English to students who were weak at the language. The objective of the study was mainly to investigate the beliefs and efficacy of the ESL teacher for teaching writing to weak learners. The research was a case study of the English Language teacher teaching Form Three…

  9. The Best of Both Worlds? Towards an English for Academic Purposes/Academic Literacies Writing Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wingate, Ursula; Tribble, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    This article is a review of two dominant approaches to academic writing instruction in higher education, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which is used internationally, and Academic Literacies, which has become an influential model in the UK. The review was driven by a concern that Academic Literacies has been mainly focused on the situations…

  10. The Application of Corpora in Teaching Grammar: The Case of English Relative Clause

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sahragard, Rahman; Kushki, Ali; Ansaripour, Ehsan

    2013-01-01

    The study was conducted to see if the provision of implementing corpora on English relative clauses would prove useful for Iranian EFL learners or not. Two writing classes were held for the participants of intermediate level. A record of 15 writing samples produced by each participant was kept in the form of a portfolio. Participants' portfolios…

  11. Writer Construction in English and German Popularized Academic Discourse: The Uses of "We" and "Wir"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baumgarten, Nicole

    2008-01-01

    The present article investigates writer-reader interaction through the construction of writer and reader personae in English and German popular scientific writing by means of first person plural pronouns in subject position. Popular scientific writing only became firmly established as a German-language genre in the last quarter of the 20th century…

  12. A Study of Subject-Verb Agreement: From Novice Writers to Expert Writers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nayan, Surina; Jusoff, Kamaruzaman

    2009-01-01

    Students in higher learning institutions need to write lots of reports based on the projects done. Since they are at the tertiary level of education, they are required to use English in their reports. This is to ensure that they are able to function well in English later at the workplace. Writing requires students to apply rules regarding sentence…

  13. Seeding Writing Project Principles and Practices in a School Community: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Locke, Terry; Kato, Helen

    2014-01-01

    This article reports on a small-scale case study involving all English teachers of junior classes in a rural high school in New Zealand. The Head of English had been involved in Writing Project professional learning, designed in accordance with principles and practices that can be found in a number of countries, especially the United States. The…

  14. Learning Outside of Classroom: Exploring the Active Part of an Informal Online English Learning Community in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sun, Yanyan; Franklin, Teresa; Gao, Fei

    2017-01-01

    This study explored how the GRE Analytical Writing Section Discussion Forum, an informal online language learning community in China, functioned to support its members to improve their English writing proficiency. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model was used as the theoretical framework to explore the existence of teaching presence, cognitive…

  15. Preparing Teacher Candidates to Integrate Reading and Writing Instruction: A Conceptual Piece

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicholas, Erika L.

    2017-01-01

    This piece focuses on increasing writing instruction for secondary English teacher candidates in the form of integrating reading and writing. Often, teacher candidates are not sufficiently prepared in university coursework to teach writing and are left to rely on formulaic writing that merely prepares their students for the end-of-year tests.…

  16. The Impact of Identifying a Specific Purpose and External Audience for Writing on Second Graders' Writing Quality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Block, Meghan K.

    2013-01-01

    The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS) emphasize the importance of writing and specify that students should write for external, and, at times, unfamiliar audiences. Given the relationship between audience specification and quality writing in older…

  17. Writing for the World: Wikipedia as an Introduction to Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tardy, Christine M.

    2010-01-01

    As students move from writing personal essays to writing formal academic texts in English, they face several new challenges. Writing tasks in higher education often require students to draw upon outside sources and to adopt the styles and genres of academic discourse. They must conduct research, summarize and paraphrase, cite sources, adopt genre…

  18. Reading-Writing Integrated Tasks, Comprehensive Corrective Feedback, and EFL Writing Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Xiaoyan

    2017-01-01

    The study examines whether there is any difference between the effects of a reading-writing integrated task and comprehensive corrective feedback (CF) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' writing development, and whether the input language in the integrated task makes a difference in L2 writing development over time and the language…

  19. Scaffolding EFL Students' Writing through the Writing Process Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Faraj, Avan Kamal Aziz

    2015-01-01

    This research reports a study conducted at Koya University/English Language Department, and it aims at presenting the effect of scaffolding on EFL students' writing ability through the writing process. In this study, the students have taken the role of writers, so they need to follow the same steps that writers apply during their writing process.…

  20. Teaching Freshman Composition at a Science College: The Trouble with "Pharma-English"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirszner, Laurie G.

    1978-01-01

    The author's experiences teaching writing to students in a technical college point to the need for such students to have a general writing course rather than one restricted to technical writing. (MKM)

  1. Multiple goals, writing strategies, and written outcomes for college students learning English as a second language.

    PubMed

    He, Tung-Hsien; Chang, Shan-Mao; Chen, Shu-Hui Eileen

    2011-04-01

    This study examined relations of achievement goals of writers who are speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the frequency of their writing strategy use, and the quality of their writing from a multiple goals perspective. The goal profiles of 57 EFL college students with similar writing proficiency were based on rating items of an unpublished scale; Group 1 had strong mastery and strong performance-approach goals, and two groups included students with only one strong mastery (Group 2) or performance (Group 3) goal. Think-aloud protocols indicated that the participants adopted 21 strategies in an argumentative writing task, classified into five categories. Group 1 was found to use writing strategies of monitoring or evaluating, revising, and compensating significantly more often than the other two groups, and produced better essays. Strong mastery and performance-approach goals might be beneficial for EFL college writers.

  2. Deep dysgraphia in Turkish.

    PubMed

    Raman, Ilhan; Weekes, Brendan Stuart

    2005-01-01

    Deep dysgraphic patients make semantic errors when writing to dictation and they cannot write nonwords. Extant reports of deep dysgraphia come from languages with relatively opaque orthographies. Turkish is a transparent orthography because the bidirectional mappings between phonology and orthography are completely predictable. We report BRB, a biscriptal Turkish-English speaker who has acquired dysgraphia characterised by semantic errors as well as effects of grammatical class and imageability on writing in Turkish. Nonword spelling is abolished. A similar pattern of errors is observed in English. BRB is the first report of acquired dysgraphia in a truly transparent writing system. We argue that deep dysgraphia results from damage to the mappings that are common to both languages between word meanings and orthographic representations.

  3. The Teaching of EFL Writing in Indonesia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ariyanti

    2016-01-01

    Writing is one of the most important aspects in English language acquisition. Teaching writing has its own challenges since there are some steps and requirements that teachers should prepare to undertake in the classroom. This article is aimed to discuss teaching and learning writing in the classroom based on theoretical conceptualisation. In…

  4. Digitizing Craft: Creative Writing Studies and New Media--A Proposal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koehler, Adam

    2013-01-01

    This article identifies and examines a digital arm of creative writing studies and organizes that proposal into four categories through which to theorize the "craft" of creative production, each borrowed from Tim Mayers's "(Re)Writing Craft: Composition, Creative Writing, and the Future of English Studies": process, genre, author, and…

  5. Discourse Approaches to Writing Assessment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Connnor, Ulla; Mbaye, Aymerou

    2002-01-01

    Discusses assessment of English-as-a-Foreign/Second-Language (EFL/ESL) writing. Suggests there is a considerable gap between current practices in writing assessment and criteria suggested by advances in knowledge of discourse structure. Illustrates this by contrasting current practices in the scoring of two major EFL/ESL writing tests with…

  6. Alternatives to Grading Student Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tchudi, Stephen, Ed.

    The result of an investigation into the grading writing by the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Alternatives to Grading Student Writing, this collection of essays offers the writing teacher several innovative and interesting options. Following an introduction by the editor (chair of the Committee), in which he delineates the…

  7. Writing Partners: Expanding the Audiences for Student Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillis, Candida

    1994-01-01

    Describes how one English teacher developed an approach to teaching writing that pairs student writers with writers in the community outside the school. Outlines the features of this writing partners project, including the responsibilities of each partner. Argues that such programs foster writer skill and self-esteem. (HB)

  8. Blog-Integrated Writing with Blog-Buddies: EAP Learners' Writing Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asoodar, Maryam; Atai, Mahmood Reza; Vaezi, Shahin

    2016-01-01

    This article reports a mixed-method research probing the effect of utilizing a blog-buddy system on English for academic purposes learners' writing performance. Sixty Iranian undergraduate engineering students at Iran University of Science and Technology Virtual Campus participated in this study. Our analysis of the students' writings indicated…

  9. First Language Composition Pedagogy in the Second Language Classroom: A Reassesment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ross, Steven; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Evaluated the effectiveness of using native language (Japanese) based writing methods in English as a second language (ESL) classrooms. The methods compared included sentence combining and structural grammar instruction with journal writing, controlled composition writing with feedback on surface error, and peer reformulation. Journal writing, but…

  10. Writing for the Whole Person: A Transpersonal Approach to Freshman Composition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pellettiri, Leonard

    This text, written for students and teachers of English Composition, incorporates writing instruction with concepts of transpersonal psychology in a holistic and cosmic approach to writing. The text comprises nine units, which include teaching materials, group and individual exercises, and writing assignments. Unit I presents techniques of…

  11. The Art of Science Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Worsley, Dale; Mayer, Bernadette

    Aimed at secondary school science and English teachers, this book presents practical advice for developing good student writing in science and mathematics. Five main sections cover: (1) an essay development workshop; (2) 47 specific writing assignments; (3) over 30 questions teachers ask about science writing, and the answers; (4) an anthology of…

  12. Lost Voices of the Harlem Renaissance: Writing Assigned at Howard University, 1919-31.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zaluda, Scott

    1998-01-01

    Examines writing assignments, articles, textbooks, and other expressions of faculty thinking from courses about relationships among education, writing, and society in philosophy, English, history, and sociology at Howard University, a historically black university. Finds writing assignments at once conservative, subversive, and creative, in a…

  13. Teaching Writing in the Shadow of Standardized Writing Assessment: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brimi, Hunter

    2012-01-01

    This exploratory study results from interviews with five high school English teachers regarding their writing instruction. The researcher sought to answer these questions: (1) How had the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program's (TCAP) Writing Assessment affected their teaching as gauged by the teachers' statements regarding the assessment,…

  14. Subversive Complicity and Basic Writing across the Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Villanueva, Victor

    2013-01-01

    What follows is a simple assertion: time for basic writing to get out from under, a call for us to inculcate a Basic Writing Across the Curriculum. It is time yet again to move away from the concept that basic writers are in need of remedies, in part because all composition courses are in some sense remedial, and to a greater degree because the…

  15. Codeswitching Techniques: Evidence-Based Instructional Practices for the ASL/English Bilingual Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrews, Jean F.; Rusher, Melissa

    2010-01-01

    The authors present a perspective on emerging bilingual deaf students who are exposed to, learning, and developing two languages--American Sign Language (ASL) and English (spoken English, manually coded English, and English reading and writing). The authors suggest that though deaf children may lack proficiency or fluency in either language during…

  16. English 354: Advanced Composition Writing Ourselves/Communities into Public Conversations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodburn, Amy; Camp, Heather

    2004-01-01

    English 354: Advanced Composition is a required course for undergraduate majors in English, broadcast journalism, criminal justice, and pre-service English education, among others, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a research-one land-grant institution with a student population of about 24,000. English 354 focuses on "intensive study and…

  17. Professional Writing in the English Classroom: Beyond Language--The Grammar of Document Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bush, Jonathan; Zuidema, Leah A.

    2011-01-01

    As teachers of writing, the authors know that choices matter: the more choices they can give their students, the better their writing will be--and the better writers they'll become. Many teachers design their courses as writing workshops, so that students make choices about the genres they compose in. They structure writing assignments so that…

  18. Writing: Text and Interaction. Odense Working Papers in Language and Communication, No. 14.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pogner, Karl-Heinz, Ed.

    This collection of lectures, which is the viewpoint that considers writing not only as a thinking tool but also a communication tool, and thus, a tool of interaction. addresses the interactive view of writing. Also included in the collection are two articles by Danish and Turkish writing researchers on writing in English as a Foreign Language…

  19. Automated Measurement of Syntactic Complexity in Corpus-Based L2 Writing Research and Implications for Writing Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Xiaofei

    2017-01-01

    Research investigating corpora of English learners' language raises new questions about how syntactic complexity is defined theoretically and operationally for second language (L2) writing assessment. I show that syntactic complexity is important in construct definitions and L2 writing rating scales as well as in L2 writing research. I describe…

  20. Utilising Social Networking Sites to Improve Writing: A Case Study with Chinese Students in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vikneswaran, Thulasi; Krish, Pramela

    2016-01-01

    With the advancement of technology, writing in English is no longer confined to the classroom as nowadays students are exposed to various forms of writing on the Internet. Specifically with Generation Y in mind, online writing is a new method that needs to be implemented to enhance Malaysian students' writing skills. This article aims at…

  1. The Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction Based on Top-Level Structure Method in English Reading and Writing Abilities of Thai EFL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jinajai, Nattapong; Rattanavich, Saowalak

    2015-01-01

    This research aims to study the development of ninth grade students' reading and writing abilities and interests in learning English taught through computer-assisted instruction (CAI) based on the top-level structure (TLS) method. An experimental group time series design was used, and the data was analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance…

  2. Meeting the Needs of Chinese English Language Learners at Writing Centers in America: A Proposed Culturally Responsive Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Peizhen; Machado, Crystal

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes the ways in which Writing Centers (WC) currently serve English Language Learners (ELL) at American universities. The authors argue that the pedagogy offered at these centers does not always meet the needs of the Chinese ELLs who make up the largest population of ELLs at American universities. The proposed supplemental model…

  3. Argumentative Features of International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Essays: A Rhetorical Analysis on Successful Exam Essays

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ananda, Ririn Putra; Arsyad, Safnil; Dharmayana, I Wayan

    2018-01-01

    An argument in academic writing is an essential element; it is used to convince readers that the writer's opinion or claim can be acceptable. However, this may be problematic for university students or new writers especially when writing in a language other than their first language such as Indonesians who take an international English writing…

  4. The Impact of Blended e-Learning on Undergraduate Academic Essay Writing in English (L2)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferriman, Nicholas

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes a quasi-experimental study into the impact of a blended e-learning environment on academic writing assignments in English (L2) at a Thai international college. An experimental group of 15 students used an on-line bulletin board, as well as face-to-face (F2F) communication in class, to share information for essay topics they…

  5. Making a Bigger Deal of the Smaller Words: Function Words and Other Key Items in Research Writing by Chinese Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, David Y. W.; Chen, Sylvia Xiao

    2009-01-01

    In many mainland Chinese universities, undergraduate students specializing in English language and applied linguistics are required to write a dissertation, in English, of about 5000 words exploring some aspect of original research. This is a task which is of considerable difficulty not only at the genre or discourse level but also at the…

  6. More than Just Language Advising: Rapport in University English Writing Consultations and Implications for Tutor Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Cynthia

    2015-01-01

    Adopting a case study approach with multiple data sources, this paper explores the ways in which rapport is built, and its impact on the learning process based on five successive writing support consultations between a native English-speaking (NES) tutor and her second language (L2) tutee in a Hong Kong university. With reference to the prepared…

  7. Writing Progression of Students with Limited English Proficiency on Texas State Exams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heckman, Jill S.

    2009-01-01

    One of the purposes of this study was to examine whether or not the present and past standardized tests in the state of Texas had any positive impact on the writing abilities of the limited English proficient (LEP) Mexican-American students. Another objective of the study was to determine if one test was more effective than another. In this case,…

  8. Effectiveness of Indirect and Direct Metalinguistic Error Correction Techniques on the Essays of Senior Secondary School Students in South Western Nigeria

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eyengho, Toju; Fawole, Oyebisi

    2013-01-01

    The study assessed error-correction techniques used in correcting students' essays in English language and also determined the effects of these strategies and other related variables on students' performance in essay writing with a view to improving students' writing skill in English language in South Western Nigeria. A quasi-experimental design…

  9. Beyond Assimilation: Tribal Colleges, Basic Writing, and the Exigencies of Settler Colonialism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Toth, Christie

    2013-01-01

    This article discusses basic writing pedagogy at a two-year tribal college, an institution type that has not been visible in the basic writing literature to date. In many tribal college contexts, socioeconomic challenges, under-resourced K-12 schools, and linguistic diversity all contribute to high student placement rates into…

  10. Interpreting Indian English Expository Prose.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kachru, Yamuna

    1988-01-01

    A study was undertaken to demonstrate that expository prose written in Indian English exhibits certain characteristics determined by the sociocultural conventions of writing in the Indian tradition. These features of Indian English texts are often judged to be inappropriate by native speakers of North American and British English, and mistakenly…

  11. The Impact of Self-Assessment on Language Learners' Writing Skill

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mazloomi, Siamak; Khabiri, Mona

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigates the impact of self-assessment (SA) training applied as a writing task and a dynamic assessment on English language learners' writing ability and explores the changes in their language proficiency level. This quasi-experimental research on two homogenised essay writing classes of 60 Iranian university students at…

  12. Using Automated Writing Evaluation to Reduce Grammar Errors in Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liao, Hui-Chuan

    2016-01-01

    Despite the recent development of automated writing evaluation (AWE) technology and the growing interest in applying this technology to language classrooms, few studies have looked at the effects of using AWE on reducing grammatical errors in L2 writing. This study identified the primary English grammatical error types made by 66 Taiwanese…

  13. Five Portraits of Teachers' Experiences Teaching Writing: Negotiating Knowledge, Student Need, and Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wahleithner, Juliet Michelsen

    2018-01-01

    Background: Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schools, yet few examine the interplay of teachers' preparation to teach writing, the instructional policies they must navigate, and the writing development of the students in their classrooms. Purpose: This study examines high school English teachers'…

  14. Picturing Words: Using Photographs and Fiction to Enliven Writing for ELL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haines, Shana J.

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a teacher-research project in which a class of fifth-grade English language learners demonstrated that learning about photography and using it as inspiration for their creative writing authenticated their writing task, helped them bring their outside-school worlds inside school, increased their enthusiasm for writing, and…

  15. Using Television Technology to Teach Technical Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallisch, Bill

    Technical writing teachers at the U.S. Air Force Academy enhance student motivation by bringing real Air Force writing situations into the classroom through short videotapes which allow students to see how scientists and engineers cope with report writing in their daily work. Also, a special English honors course, which is part of the "Blue…

  16. Supporting the Development of Students' Academic Writing through Collaborative Process Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mutwarasibo, Faustin

    2013-01-01

    The study examines how undergraduate university students in Rwanda experience collaborative process writing as an instruction method capable of helping them improve their academic writing abilities in English. It involved 34 second-year students, divided into 12 small working groups. The data were collected by means of group interviews carried out…

  17. From Bhopal to Cold Fusion: A Case-Study Approach to Writing Assignments in Honors General Chemistry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chamely-Wiik, Donna M.; Haky, Jerome E.; Galin, Jeffrey R.

    2012-01-01

    Faculty from the chemistry and English departments have developed a combined second-semester honors general chemistry and college writing course that fosters critical thinking through challenging writing assignments. Examples of case-study writing assignments and guidelines are provided that faculty at other institutions can adapt in similar…

  18. Multi-Draft Composing: An Iterative Model for Academic Argument Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eckstein, Grant; Chariton, Jessica; McCollum, Robb Mark

    2011-01-01

    Post-secondary writing teachers in composition and English as a second language (ESL) writing programs are likely familiar with multi-draft composing. Both composition and ESL writing programs share nearly identical multi-draft models despite the very unique and different cultures of each group. We argue that multi-draft composing as it is…

  19. AWE-Based Corrective Feedback on Developing EFL Learners' Writing Skill

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Zhihong; Li, Xiaowei; Li, Zhenxiao

    2015-01-01

    The effective design and use of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools in developing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' writing skill and learner autonomy have remained great challenges for system designers, developers, and EFL instructors compared with that of the pencil-paper writing in the context of regular teacher-fronted…

  20. The Role of Cognitive and Affective Factors in Measures of L2 Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zabihi, Reza

    2018-01-01

    This study investigates the direct and/or indirect effects of some cognitive (working memory capacity) and affective (writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy) variables on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second language (L2) learners' writings. To achieve this goal, 232 upper-intermediate English learners performed an automated…

  1. The Evaluation of a Teaching Intervention in Iranian EFL Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Naghdipour, Bakhtiar; Koç, Sabri

    2015-01-01

    The curriculum for teaching undergraduate university students in Iran majoring in English generally includes paragraph writing in the second year and essay writing (4-5 paragraphs) in the third year. The first-year course 'Grammar and Writing (I & II)' offered in two consecutive semesters covers grammar only, despite the inclusion of writing…

  2. Writing Laboratory Exercises To Be Used with a Writing and Research Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alicna, Elaine; And Others

    Intended to facilitate a broader emphasis on creative writing in American high school English classes, this manual offers a number of writing laboratory exercises. The exercises are divided into five categories: (1) library skills, including reference book know how, and using the parts of books; (2) critical reading skills, including…

  3. The Variable-Credit College Writing Course.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    VanderBilt, Deborah; Nicolay, Theresa

    The introductory writing course, English 101, at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, has gone through several stages in the last decade, changing from a course emphasizing writing in the rhetorical modes to an issue-oriented interdisciplinary course, to, at the present time, a course focusing on the writing process and on collaborative…

  4. Technical Writing Redesign and Assessment: A Pilot Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winter, Gaye Bush

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare scores on writing assignments from traditional, fully online courses in technical writing to pilot, hybrid courses at a southern university. A total of 232 students' assignments were compared in this study. All writing assignments were scored by six trained instructors of English using the same five point…

  5. Worries of Novice Researchers in Writing Research Papers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilang, Jeffrey Dawala; Jantori, Parinda; Chutataweesawas, Sirikoy

    2018-01-01

    Due to 'pressures' to publish research papers, a group of novice researchers (n = 9) was encouraged to attend a 'Write right' workshop. The participants were asked to fill out a self-report anxiety questionnaire to understand their worries in writing research papers in English. Afterwards, they were asked to write an essay on situations that…

  6. The Writing-Reading Connection: A Pamphlet Project at Yang-Ming University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Siew-Rong

    This project emphasized the writing-reading connection in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum, noting the effects of integrating nonfiction reading about culture into writing tasks and investigating reading-for-writing activities that functioned as an extension from the EFL classrooms to the outside world. The project occurred in a…

  7. Exploring Writing Anxiety and Self-Efficacy among EFL Graduate Students in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ho, Mei-ching

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates research writing anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs among English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) graduate students in engineering-related fields. The relationship between the two writing affective constructs was examined and students' perspectives on research writing anxiety were also explored. A total of 218 survey responses…

  8. ESL Students Writing Autobiographies: Are There Any Connections?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Ruoyi

    A doctoral student's interest in self-culture connections led her to observe an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing class focused on autobiography and read all the students' papers. Autobiographical writing not only gives ESL students a chance to write about what matters to them, but the teacher can capitalize on students' cultural…

  9. Role-Playing as Critical Thinking in the Technical Writing Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilner, Arlene

    Given the affective dimension of writing in the workplace, assignments based on casebook scenarios have definite advantages in a technical or professional writing course. An English professor surveyed faculty in the Schools of Business and Education at Rider College prior to revising a course in technical writing. A majority of faculty, when asked…

  10. Expanding and Redirecting Historical Research in Technical Writing: In Search of Our Past.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tebeaux, Elizabeth; Killingsworth, M. Jimmie

    1992-01-01

    Suggests an approach for expanding and integrating research to produce a history of technical writing. Defines problems that reside in writing such a history, suggests research premises and questions, and then applies these questions to technical writing as it existed in the English Renaissance, 1475-1640. (SR)

  11. Materials for Assessing the Writing Skill

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nimehchisalem, Vahid

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews the issues of concern in writing scale development in English as Second Language (ESL) settings with an intention to provide a useful guide for researchers or writing teachers who wish to develop or adapt valid, reliable and efficient writing scales considering their present assessment situations. With a brief discussion on the…

  12. A Blended Collaborative Writing Approach for Chinese L2 Primary School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Lung-Hsiang; Chen, Wenli; Chai, Ching-Sing; Chin, Chee-Kuen; Gao, Ping

    2011-01-01

    This paper outlines an adaptable collaborative writing approach employing a wiki to address the typical weaknesses of young Singaporean Chinese students learning Chinese as second language (L2) in Chinese writing. These students' problems in writing include limited and incorrect use of vocabulary, English-style grammar, badly structured passages,…

  13. Reflective Thinking on Communicative Teaching in Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xin, Zhuang

    2007-01-01

    For second language learners, English writing as one of the forms of communication is particularly tough. In order to help learners to write correctly and fluently, teachers could guide learners to integrate genre and content reasonably to meet their communicative needs, to motivate their interest and to improve their writing skills. The paper…

  14. Exploring EFL Learners' Lexical Application in AWE-Based Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Zhihong; Li, Zhenxiao

    2016-01-01

    With massive utilization of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools, it is feasible to detect English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' lexical application so as to improve their writing quality. This study aims to explore Chinese EFL learners' lexical application to see if AWE-based writing can bring about positive effects of lexicon on…

  15. English 308J: Organizational Report and Letter Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pytlik, Betty P.

    The organizational report and letter writing course at Ohio University (Athens) is an advanced composition course designed to help students who expect to do such writing in their future jobs, but for whom technical writing and business communication courses are either inappropriate or insufficient. Students work in groups of four, investigating a…

  16. An Investigation of Three Chinese Students' English Writing Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mu, Congjun; Carrington, Suzanne

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the writing processes of second language (L2) writers, specifically examining the writing strategies of three Chinese post-graduate students in an Australian higher education institution. The study was prompted by the paucity of second language writing strategies of Chinese students in an authentic…

  17. The Humane Art, English Teachers, and the Postal Service.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veidemanis, Gladys V.

    1982-01-01

    Stresses the importance of letter writing as an enriching activity; describes "All About Letters," a resource booklet for teaching students to write letters; and suggests additional activities that can be used to incorporate letter writing skills into composition classes. (JL)

  18. Embedded academic writing support for nursing students with English as a second language.

    PubMed

    Salamonson, Yenna; Koch, Jane; Weaver, Roslyn; Everett, Bronwyn; Jackson, Debra

    2010-02-01

    This paper reports a study which evaluated a brief, embedded academic support workshop as a strategy for improving academic writing skills in first-year nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency. Nursing students who speak English as a second language have lower academic success compared with their native English-speaking counterparts. The development of academic writing skills is known to be most effective when embedded into discipline-specific curricula. Using a randomized controlled design, in 2008 106 students pre-enrolled in an introductory bioscience subject were randomized to receive either the intervention, a 4-day embedded academic learning support workshop facilitated by two bioscience (content) nursing academics and a writing and editing professional, or to act as the control group. The primary focus of the workshop was to support students to work through a mock assignment by providing progressive feedback and written suggestions on how to improve their answers. Of the 59 students randomized to the intervention, only 28 attended the workshop. Bioscience assignment results were analysed for those who attended (attendees), those randomized to the intervention but who did not attend (non-attendees), and the control group. Using anova, the results indicated that attendees achieved statistically significantly higher mean scores (70.8, sd: 6.1) compared to both control group (58.4, sd: 3.4, P = 0.002) and non-attendees (48.5, sd: 5.5, P = 0.001). A brief, intensive, embedded academic support workshop was effective in improving the academic writing ability of nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency, although reaching all students who are likely to benefit from this intervention remains a challenge.

  19. Chinese Character and English Word processing in children's ventral occipitotemporal cortex: fMRI evidence for script invariance.

    PubMed

    Krafnick, Anthony J; Tan, Li-Hai; Flowers, D Lynn; Luetje, Megan M; Napoliello, Eileen M; Siok, Wai-Ting; Perfetti, Charles; Eden, Guinevere F

    2016-06-01

    Learning to read is thought to involve the recruitment of left hemisphere ventral occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) by a process of "neuronal recycling", whereby object processing mechanisms are co-opted for reading. Under the same theoretical framework, it has been proposed that the visual word form area (VWFA) within OTC processes orthographic stimuli independent of culture and writing systems, suggesting that it is universally involved in written language. However, this "script invariance" has yet to be demonstrated in monolingual readers of two different writing systems studied under the same experimental conditions. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined activity in response to English Words and Chinese Characters in 1st graders in the United States and China, respectively. We examined each group separately and found the readers of English as well as the readers of Chinese to activate the left ventral OTC for their respective native writing systems (using both a whole-brain and a bilateral OTC-restricted analysis). Critically, a conjunction analysis of the two groups revealed significant overlap between them for native writing system processing, located in the VWFA and therefore supporting the hypothesis of script invariance. In the second part of the study, we further examined the left OTC region responsive to each group's native writing system and found that it responded equally to Object stimuli (line drawings) in the Chinese-reading children. In English-reading children, the OTC responded much more to Objects than to English Words. Together, these results support the script invariant role of the VWFA and also support the idea that the areas recruited for character or word processing are rooted in object processing mechanisms of the left OTC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Chinese Character and English Word processing in children’s ventral occipitotemporal cortex: fMRI evidence for script invariance

    PubMed Central

    Krafnick, Anthony J.; Tan, Li-Hai; Flowers, D. Lynn; Luetje, Megan M.; Napoliello, Eileen M.; Siok, Wai-Ting; Perfetti, Charles; Eden, Guinevere F.

    2016-01-01

    Learning to read is thought to involve the recruitment of left hemisphere ventral occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) by a process of “neuronal recycling”, whereby object processing mechanisms are co-opted for reading. Under the same theoretical framework, it has been proposed that the visual word form area (VWFA) within the OTC processes orthographic stimuli independent of culture and writing systems, suggesting that it is universally involved in written language. However, this “script invariance” has yet to be demonstrated in monolingual readers of two different writing systems studied under the same experimental conditions. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined activity in response to English Words and Chinese Characters in 1st graders in the United States and China, respectively. We examined each group separately and found the readers of English as well as the readers of Chinese to activate the left ventral OTC for their respective native writing systems (using both a whole-brain and a bilateral OTC-restricted analysis). Critically, a conjunction analysis of the two groups revealed significant overlap between them for native writing system processing, located in the VWFA and therefore supporting the hypothesis of script invariance. In the second part of the study, we further examined the left OTC region responsive to each group’s native writing system and found it responded equally to Object stimuli (line drawings) in the Chinese-reading children. In English-reading children, the OTC responded much more to Objects than to English Words. Together, these results support the script invariant role of the VWFA and also support the idea that the areas recruited for character or word processing are rooted in object processing mechanisms of the left OTC. PMID:27012502

  1. English as a Foreign Language in Bilingual Language-minority Children, Children with Dyslexia and Monolingual Typical Readers.

    PubMed

    Bonifacci, Paola; Canducci, Elisa; Gravagna, Giulia; Palladino, Paola

    2017-05-01

    The present study was aimed at investigating literacy skills in English as a foreign language in three different groups of children: monolinguals with dyslexia (n = 19), typically developing bilinguals (language-minority) (n = 19) and a control group of monolinguals (Italian) (n = 76). Bilinguals were not expected to fail in English measures, and their gap with monolinguals would be expected to be limited to the instructional language, owing to underexposure. All participants were enrolled in Italian primary schools (fourth and fifth grades). A non-verbal reasoning task and Italian and English literacy tasks were administered. The Italian battery included word and non-word reading (speed and accuracy), word and non-word writing, and reading comprehension; the English battery included similar tasks, except for the non-word writing. Bilingual children performed similarly to typical readers in English tasks, whereas in Italian tasks, their performance was similar to that of typical readers in reading speed but not in reading accuracy and writing. Children with dyslexia underperformed compared with typically developing children in all English and Italian tasks, except for reading comprehension in Italian. Profile analysis and correlational analyses were further discussed. These results suggest that English as a foreign language might represent a challenge for students with dyslexia but a strength for bilingual language-minority children. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Interrelationship between learning English language and students' medical education.

    PubMed

    Milosavljević, Natasa

    2008-01-01

    Medical students and researchers need to learn English, not only because it is the means of teaching and learning, but also because its knowledge is necessary in their research activities. The objective of this study was to determine the importance of the study of English language learning for student medical education. The investigation was carried out among students of the Medical Faculty of Nis in 2006. The investigation included 312 students of all years of study and departments and was conducted using a questionnaire. Average rate in writing skill was 4.64 +/- 0.6, in speaking skill 4.62 +/- 0.6, while the students of the College of Nursing showed significantly lower average value. The average value of learning the foreign language was: writing (3.161 +/- .09); speaking (3.27 +/- 1.1); reading (3.84 +/- 1.0) and understanding (3.85 +/- 1.1). The students of the College of Nursing showed significantly lower grades in comparison to the other three Departments. The comparison analysis was done in order to determine the relation of writing and speaking skills in mother tongue and foreign language. As for the English language, the relation of writing and speaking skills was very strong (Pearson C = 0.641, p < 0.01), while in the mother tongue it was slightly lower (Pearson C = 0.44, p < 0.01). The percentage of students satisfied with their economic status was 55% and with social status 79%. The writing and speaking skills in the mother tongue and in English were significantly positively associated with students' satisfaction with their social and economic status, while satisfaction with achievements at the Faculty was associated only with the ability of verbal expression in the mother tongue. The students' satisfaction with their social and economic status was mostly associated with good oral skills in English, which indicates that good knowledge of a foreign language is of great influence on the status of an individual in a society.

  3. Searching for an English Self through Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karlsson, Leena

    2015-01-01

    Most Finnish university students, just like the other new global elites (Kramsch, 2013), use English without problems. Some students, however, struggle with English to the extent that their studies suffer. One could say that they have a deeply "wounded" English self (Karlsson, 2013). My context of research and practice is the Autonomous…

  4. Non-Native English Varieties: Thainess in English Narratives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singhasak, Piyahathai; Methitham, Phongsakorn

    2016-01-01

    This study aims at examining Thainess as a writing strategy used in non-literary texts written by non-professional bilingual writers. These writers are advanced language learners who are pursuing their Master's degree in English. Seven English narratives of their language learning experiences were analyzed based on Kachruvian's framework of…

  5. What Consultation and Freelance Writing Can Do for You and Your Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muller, John A.

    1978-01-01

    Urges teachers of technical writing and graduate students in English to get off campus and engage in giving businesses advice intended to solve problems in technical communication, editing technical communication publications, and researching and writing such publications. (GW)

  6. Sheri Anstedt | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    discovered her passion for science writing in 2010 when working as a subcontractor for the Bureau of Land Management's Joint Fire Science Program. Before she discovered science writing, she worked as a marketing English with a Professional Writing Emphasis, Carroll University

  7. Reflections on the Pedagogical Imports of Western Practices for Professionalizing ESL/ EFL Writing and Writing-Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Lawrence Jun

    2016-01-01

    The teaching of writing in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) has been a challenging task for many teachers due to its multifaceted nature. This paper is a reflection on ESL/EFL writing teaching in three countries, namely China, Singapore, and New Zealand, with particular reference to professionalizing ESL/ EFL writing and ESL/EFL…

  8. Writing intelligible English prose for biomedical journals.

    PubMed

    Ludbrook, John

    2007-01-01

    1. I present a combination of semi-objective and subjective evidence that the quality of English prose in biomedical scientific writing is deteriorating. 2. I consider seven possible strategies for reversing this apparent trend. These refer to a greater emphasis on good writing by students in schools and by university students, consulting books on science writing, one-on-one mentoring, using 'scientific' measures to reveal lexical poverty, making use of freelance science editors and encouraging the editors of biomedical journals to pay more attention to the problem. 3. I conclude that a fruitful, long-term, strategy would be to encourage more biomedical scientists to embark on a career in science editing. This strategy requires a complementary initiative on the part of biomedical research institutions and universities to employ qualified science editors. 4. An immediately realisable strategy is to encourage postgraduate students in the biomedical sciences to undertake the service courses provided by many universities on writing English prose in general and scientific prose in particular. This strategy would require that heads of departments and supervisors urge their postgraduate students to attend such courses. 5. Two major publishers of biomedical journals, Blackwell Publications and Elsevier Science, now provide lists of commercial editing services on their web sites. I strongly recommend that authors intending to submit manuscripts to their journals (including Blackwell's Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology) make use of these services. This recommendation applies especially to those for whom English is a second language.

  9. The Examination of the Effects of Writing Strategy-Based Procedural Facilitative Environments on Students' English Foreign Language Writing Anxiety Levels

    PubMed Central

    Tsiriotakis, Ioanna K.; Vassilaki, Eleni; Spantidakis, Ioannis; Stavrou, Nektarios A. M.

    2017-01-01

    Empirical studies have shown that anxiety and negative emotion can hinder language acquisition. The present study implemented a writing instructional model so as to investigate its effects on the writing anxiety levels of English Foreign Language learners. The study was conducted with 177 participants, who were administered the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI; Cheng, 2004) that assesses somatic, cognitive and behavioral anxiety, both at baseline and following the implementation of a writing instructional model. The hypothesis stated that the participant's writing anxiety levels would lessen following the provision of a writing strategy-based procedural facilitative environment that fosters cognitive apprenticeship. The initial hypothesis was supported by the findings. Specifically, in the final measurement statistical significant differences appeared where participants in the experimental group showed notable lower mean values of the three factors of anxiety, a factor that largely can be attributed to the content of the intervention program applied to this specific group. The findings validate that Foreign Language writing anxiety negatively effects Foreign Language learning and performance. The findings also support the effectiveness of strategy-based procedural facilitative writing environments that foster cognitive apprenticeship, so as to enhance language skill development and reduce feelings of Foreign Language writing anxiety. PMID:28119658

  10. The Examination of the Effects of Writing Strategy-Based Procedural Facilitative Environments on Students' English Foreign Language Writing Anxiety Levels.

    PubMed

    Tsiriotakis, Ioanna K; Vassilaki, Eleni; Spantidakis, Ioannis; Stavrou, Nektarios A M

    2016-01-01

    Empirical studies have shown that anxiety and negative emotion can hinder language acquisition. The present study implemented a writing instructional model so as to investigate its effects on the writing anxiety levels of English Foreign Language learners. The study was conducted with 177 participants, who were administered the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI; Cheng, 2004) that assesses somatic, cognitive and behavioral anxiety, both at baseline and following the implementation of a writing instructional model. The hypothesis stated that the participant's writing anxiety levels would lessen following the provision of a writing strategy-based procedural facilitative environment that fosters cognitive apprenticeship. The initial hypothesis was supported by the findings. Specifically, in the final measurement statistical significant differences appeared where participants in the experimental group showed notable lower mean values of the three factors of anxiety, a factor that largely can be attributed to the content of the intervention program applied to this specific group. The findings validate that Foreign Language writing anxiety negatively effects Foreign Language learning and performance. The findings also support the effectiveness of strategy-based procedural facilitative writing environments that foster cognitive apprenticeship, so as to enhance language skill development and reduce feelings of Foreign Language writing anxiety.

  11. Writing Partners: Service Learning as a Route to Authority for Basic Writers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gabor, Catherine

    2009-01-01

    This article looks at best practices in basic writing instruction in terms of non-traditional audiences and writerly authority. Much conventional wisdom discourages participation in service-learning projects for basic writers because of the assumption that their writing is not yet ready to "go public." Countering this line of thinking, the author…

  12. Students' Use of Evaluative Language in L2 English to Talk and Write about History in a Bilingual Education Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morton, Tom; Llinares, Ana

    2018-01-01

    This article reports on a four-year longitudinal study which investigates students' use of evaluative language in English as a second language (L2) to talk and write about history in a bilingual education programme. We focus on how four students use linguistic resources to adopt a stance to the content they are learning and develop an…

  13. Drawing a Line in the Sand: Identifying the Borderzone between Self and Other in EL1 and EL2 Citation Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hyland, Theresa Ann

    2009-01-01

    Current concerns about academic plagiarism in student writing assume qualitative and quantitative differences in the writing of students for whom English is a first language (EL1) and English is a second language (EL2), but lack precision in measuring those differences. I examined the citation practices of EL1 and EL2 students in a timed writing…

  14. Examining Argumentative Coherence in Essays by Undergraduate Students of English as a Foreign Language in Mainland China and Their English Speaking Peers in the United States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gao, Lianhong

    2012-01-01

    I conducted this study to provide insights toward deepening understanding of association between culture and writing by building, assessing, and refining a conceptual model of second language writing. To do this, I examined culture and coherence as well as the relationship between them through a mixed methods research design. Coherence has been an…

  15. ESL Students' Perceptions of Their English Writing Proficiency and the Effects of Peer Review Training among Three Types of Students in a Community College ESL Composition Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldburg, Maxine E.

    2012-01-01

    Learner-centered methodology like peer review is problematic in the pluralism of the ESL classroom when teaching academic English composition. A distinct complication is the form writing instruction should take given the interaction and variations between ESL students' L1 background, experiences, schema, and the meaning of academic literacy in…

  16. Rapid Naming in Relation to Reading and Writing in Korean (Hangul), Chinese (Hanja) and English among Korean Children: A 1-Year Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cho, Jeung-Ryeul; Chiu, Ming Ming

    2015-01-01

    The relation of rapid automatised naming (RAN) to word recognition may depend on the phonological regularity of the orthography. This study examined differential contributions of RAN to reading and writing in Korean alphabetic Hangul, logographic Hanja (Chinese) and English as a second language among 73 fifth graders in Korea across 1?year. RAN…

  17. The Effects of Cardio-Syntactic Analysis Instruction on Writing Scores in a 11th Grade High School Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kariuki, Patrick N.; Blair, Paul W.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of Cardio-Syntactic Analysis instruction on writing scores in an 11th grade English class. The sample consisted of 35 students enrolled in an Honor's English 11 class at Volunteer high School, in Church Hill, TN. The class was randomly assigned into an experimental group of 17 students and…

  18. The Effects of Paper-Based Portfolios and Weblog-Based Electronic Portfolios on Limited English Proficiency Students in Writing for Service Industry Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wanchid, Raveewan; Charoensuk, Valaikorn

    2015-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the use of paper-based and weblog-based electronic portfolios on the writing achievement of limited English proficiency students, to survey the students' attitudes towards the use of the portfolio assessment, and to compare the viewpoints of the students in the control and experimental…

  19. Report of the Yale Conference on the Teaching of English (15th, New Haven, April 11-12, 1969).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yale Univ., New Haven, CT. Graduate School.

    The speeches in this collection on English instruction are by (1) Walker Gibson, who discusses the teaching of responsibility to the young by making them responsible for clear writing; (2) Hart D. Leavitt, who describes the ways in which many possible subjects for composition can be seen in the collection of pictures, "Stop, Look, and Write"; (3)…

  20. Enhancing the Interpretive Reading and Analytical Writing of Mainstreamed English Learners in Secondary School: Results from a Randomized Field Trial Using a Cognitive Strategies Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olson, Carol Booth; Kim, James S.; Scarcella, Robin; Kramer, Jason; Pearson, Matthew; van Dyk, David A.; Collins, Penny; Land, Robert E.

    2012-01-01

    In this study, 72 secondary English teachers from the Santa Ana Unified School District were randomly assigned to participate in the Pathway Project, a cognitive strategies approach to teaching interpretive reading and analytical writing, or to a control condition involving typical district training focusing on teaching content from the textbook.…

  1. Transnational Students in Mexico: A Summer Writing Workshop as a Way to Improve English Writing Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tacelosky, Kathleen

    2017-01-01

    Transnational students, that is, those who have had one or more years of schooling in the US and are now in school in Mexico, make up a sizeable and growing population. For these students, the language of the home, Spanish, abruptly becomes the language of school and what was the language of school and socialization outside the home, English, is…

  2. A Study of the EFL Writing of Chinese Learners: A Critical Narrative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ai, Bin

    2015-01-01

    Writing is often a massive challenge for the learners who study English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Many EFL practitioners are searching for solutions to help learners improve the level of their writing. In this auto-ethnographic study, two narratives are discussed. In the first narrative, the primary challenges of EFL writing encountered by a…

  3. Towards an Eclectic Framework for Teaching EFL Writing in a Chinese Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yan, Yi

    2010-01-01

    The challenges of writing itself and lack of appropriate teaching methodology demotivate EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in some Chinese universities to write more, especially as the only incentive for students to write is the compulsory tests. The main objectives of this article are: (1) to discuss the background of the EFL learners…

  4. Creative Crisis: English Teacher Testimony of the Violent Writings of High School Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Lori; Buskey, Frederick

    2014-01-01

    Violent writing is a real, yet rarely understood phenomenon in the secondary and post-secondary classroom. The 2007 Virginia Tech shooting tragedy sensationalized violent writing as a marker of disturbed and violent persons. However, violent writing comes in multiple forms and is composed for multiple reasons. As secondary schools wrestle with…

  5. Teaching Writing in the Social Sciences: A Comparison and Critique of Three Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Kristine; Adams, Joyce

    2010-01-01

    This article describes and evaluates three approaches to teaching writing in the social sciences, particularly psychology: an English department-based course for all social science majors; a team-teaching model that embeds writing in core courses in psychology; and a stand-alone course dedicated to teaching writing in psychology, often taken…

  6. Getting Past "Just Because": Teaching Writing in Science Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grymonpre, Kris; Cohn, Allison; Solomon, Stacey

    2012-01-01

    How many times do teachers assign writing in science class only to be exasperated by their students' lack of writing skills? They often have difficulty making claims and using evidence; instead of explaining their reasoning, they state, "Just because." But teaching writing isn't just for English/language arts (ELA) class. Over the past two years,…

  7. A Short Take on Evaluation and Creative Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, David L.

    2008-01-01

    Creative writing has been the ugly stepsister in the English discipline for years. On one side, the literature scholars carry the torch for pure language, and, on the other side, the composition and rhetoric theorists approach writing like a science. Somewhere off in a dark corner, the creative writing staff loiters, getting paid to do nothing…

  8. Critical Argument and Writer Identity: Social Constructivism as a Theoretical Framework for EFL Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinley, Jim

    2015-01-01

    This article makes the argument that we need to situate student's academic writing as socially constructed pieces of writing that embody a writer's cultural identity and critical argument. In support, I present and describe a comprehensive model of an original English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing analytical framework. This article explains…

  9. The Traits of Effective Spanish Writing = Las caracteristicas de la buena escritura en espanol. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flores, Will A.; Arrasmith, Dean G.

    This English-Spanish language report includes the rationale for creating an assessment model for Spanish writing, offering an overview of the components of high quality assessment for any subject area, particularly Spanish writing. It presents the characteristics of effective Spanish writing, rubrics for scoring student performance based on the…

  10. A Conversation Analysis of the Function of Silence in Writing Conferences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mirzaee, Milad; Yaqubi, Baqer

    2016-01-01

    One of the recent issues in English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) writing instruction has been the quest for a more effective way to give feedback to L2 learners' writing drafts. Although teacher-learner writing conferences have been increasingly used for providing ample opportunity for negotiating revisions, relatively little attention…

  11. Technical Writing: Library Resources for Engineers. A Self-Paced Workbook for the University of Arkansas Libraries. Revised.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dew, Stephen H.

    This self-paced library workbook is a course requirement of all "technical writing" freshman English classes at the University of Arkansas. The technical writing course is required of all engineering students, and its major focus is on writing a term paper containing a bibliography produced through library research. The workbook…

  12. Persuasive Writing with Mobile-Based Graphic Organizers in Inclusive Classrooms across the Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Regan, Kelley; Evmenova, Anya S.; Good, Kevin; Legget, Alicia; Ahn, Soo Y.; Gafurov, Boris; Mastropieri, Margo

    2018-01-01

    As writing instruction expands beyond the language arts classroom, students with disabilities, English language learners, and others who struggle with writing continue to need support with written expression. A timely practice to support student writing is the use of technology. This study used a quasi-experimental group design to examine the…

  13. What Do I Need to Succeed: The Case of Arab Engineering Graduate Students' Self-Perceptions of Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hellmann, Katherine

    2013-01-01

    Through a sociocultural lens, this study examines five Saudi Arabian engineering graduate students' valuation of English writing, their self-perceptions of writing, what promoted the development of those self-perceptions and how their self-perceptions compare with engineering industry writing standards. The data collected for this qualitative case…

  14. The Effectiveness of Adopting E-Readers to Facilitate EFL Students' Process-Based Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hung, Hui-Chun; Young, Shelley Shwu-Ching

    2015-01-01

    English as Foreign Language (EFL) students face additional difficulties for academic writing largely due to their level of language competency. An appropriate structural process of writing can help students develop their academic writing skills. This study explored the use of the e-readers to facilitate EFL students' process-based academic…

  15. Sources of L2 Writing Apprehension: A Study of Egyptian University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdel Latif, Muhammad M.

    2015-01-01

    High levels of apprehension cause students to have writing difficulties. This study attempted to identify the sources of Egyptian university students' English writing apprehension. The study made use of both quantitative and qualitative data. The scores of 57 students on a writing apprehension scale were compared to their scores on another scale…

  16. An Empirical Study on Alleviating Career English Writing Anxiety through Cooperative Learning in a Chinese Polytechnic Institute

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jiang, Dongmei

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the effect of cooperative learning on writing anxiety alleviation through a pre-test/post-test assessment. 120 EFL learners from a Chinese polytechnic institute were assigned into two groups: one experimental (cooperative writing) and the other comparison (solitary writing). Results revealed that cooperative learning…

  17. Vocabulary Knowledge and Vocabulary Use in Second Language Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Mark D.; Acevedo, Anthony; Mercado, Leonardo

    2016-01-01

    Research has consistently shown diversity of vocabulary to be an important indicator of second language (L2) writing development as well as L2 writing performance. These studies underscore the importance of vocabulary to L2 writing. However, they provide little to indicate what kind of vocabulary learners of English may need to know in order to…

  18. The Reliability and Validity of Peer Review of Writing in High School AP English Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schunn, Christian; Godley, Amanda; DeMartino, Sara

    2016-01-01

    One approach to writing instruction that has been shown to improve secondary students' academic writing without increasing demands on teachers' time is peer review. However, many teachers and students worry that students' feedback and assessment of their peers' writing is less accurate than teachers'. This study investigated whether Advanced…

  19. The Reliability and Validity of Peer Review of Writing in High School AP English Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schunn, Christian; Godley, Amanda; DeMartino, Sara

    2016-01-01

    One approach to writing instruction that has been shown to improve secondary students' academic writing without increasing demands on teachers' time is peer review. However, many teachers and students worry that students' feedback and assessment of their peers' writing is less accurate than teachers'. This study investigated whether Advanced…

  20. The Relationship between Saudi English Major University Students' Writing Performance and Their Learning Style and Strategy Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alkubaidi, Miriam A.

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates the link between writing tasks, learners' learning style preference, and writing strategy use. It also investigates if students with various proficiency levels stem from different learning style preference and use different writing strategies. This research attempts to answer the following research questions: what are the…

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