L2 Writing Skills In Writing

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Second language (L2) writing has always been a difficult area for second language learners and a interesting topic for second language researchers. Research on the L2 writing process has begun to thrive since the early 1980s. L2 writing is a complex process of discovery which involves brainstorming, multiple drafting, feedback practices, revision, and final editing. It is different from L1 writing, because L2 writers have more than one language at their disposal (Wang & Wen, 2002). There are two main focuses in this area of study: the role of L1 in L2 writing, and writing strategies. In researches on the role of L1 in the L2 writing process, researchers have found evidence of the transfer of L1 writing skills and strategies to L2 writing (Lay,…show more content…
The findings reveal varied amounts for L2 writers of different proficiency levels. Generally, proficient L2 learners do not depend completely on the L1 to manage the writing process because they have a sufficient level of L2 automaticity and knowledge to think and plan in the L2 (Jones & Tetroe, 1987). Although , lower L2 proficiency writers rely more heavily on their L1 during the writing process in order to sustain the process and avoid a complete breakdown in language (Arndt, 1987; Cumming, 1989; Raimes, 1985; Uzawa & Cumming, 1989). Kobayashi and Rinnert (1992) asked 48 Japanese university-level students to report on how much Japanese they thought they were using in their minds while they were writing directly in English. On average, 48% of the students reported using 50-75% Japanese, 27% of the students felt they used 25-50% Japanese, and 17% students reported using more than 75% Japanese while only 8% reported using less than 25% Japanese. Manchon, Roca, and Murphy (2000) collected the think-aloud data from three intermediate Spanish learners of English engaging in argumentative and narrative writing. They found that one writer was thinking mainly in Spanish for more than half of the thinking-aloud data (56% in argumentative and 61% in narrative), while the third one used Spanish to a lesser extent (43.5%in argumentative and 16.3% in…show more content…
The vast majority (80%) of the 25 intermediate learners of French in Cohen and Brooks-Carson’s study (2001) reported thinking in their L1 (English) “often” or “always” while doing a French essay. The other 10 Spanish-English bilinguals in the same study also reported thinking at least “some of the time” in English when composing in French. Academic writing needs conscious effort and practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas. Students writing in a second language have to acquire proficiency as well as appropriate writing strategies, techniques and skills when compared to students writing in their native language. Research has illustrated that ESL learners write quite differently compared to learners whose L1 is English (Maasum et al, 2012). Both social and cognitive factors affect language learning. Exploration of social factors gives us some idea of why learners differ in their rate of L2 learning, in proficiency type, for example between speaking and writing abilities, and in ultimate proficiency (Ellis, 1994). Their negative attitudes may be strengthened by a lack of success (McGroarty, 1996) or by a lack of interest. According to Lipstein and Renninger (2007), “…students say that their interest for writing is often affected by their teachers and classroom practice” (p.79). Since the ultimate goal of higher learning is academic proficiency, this study will reveals findings related to strategy use and English

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