Content Support in Second Language Writing and Its Impact on Writing Performance and Writing Processes
[eng] The study of writing as a site for language learning has led to the exploration of learning affordance of task complexity in L2 writing, a task implementation feature that has received growing attention in task-based language learning and teaching (TBLT) literature. A key objective of this lin...
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| Formato: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/215909 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/215909 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/692347 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Adquisició d'una segona llengua Ensenyament de l'escriptura Xinès Second language acquisition Penmanship Chinese language |
| Resumo: | [eng] The study of writing as a site for language learning has led to the exploration of learning affordance of task complexity in L2 writing, a task implementation feature that has received growing attention in task-based language learning and teaching (TBLT) literature. A key objective of this line of research is to investigate how the cognitive demands of tasks affect writing performance and language development of L2 writers based on the related hypothesis and the writing model (Kellogg, 1996; Robinson, 2001, 2011; Skehan, 1998). Given the complex, problem-solving nature of writing, one of the investigated task features is the provision of content support, which is expected to reduce the conceptual demands on the planning process and direct more attentional resources to the translation process. However, previous studies have offered little evidence of the effect of content support on L2 writing performance, and whether and how content support can affect the cognitive writing processes and learning is still an open question. The current research adds to empirical evidence in its attempt to explore the potential role of content support, manipulated as a resource-dispersing task complexity feature, in L2 written production and writing processes. In this study, participants were Chinese EFL learners in their first year in high school (N = 24, lower-intermediate level, Mage = 16). They were divided into two groups: one performed the writing task with content support (CS group), and the other wrote without content support (NCS group). Participants in each group completed four writing tasks, including two argumentative tasks and two article-writing tasks, over four weeks. Immediately after each writing task, they reported their cognitive processes regarding thinking about ideas generation, ideas elaboration and ideas organisation, easy structure, and language aspects. In addition, semi-structured interviews tapping into writing processes were conducted with the sub-group of the participants (N = 12). Lastly, writing samples were transcribed and analysed for linguistic and propositional complexity, accuracy, fluency, and overall text quality. Interview data were coded in terms of writing processes (i.e., planning, translation and monitoring) and other meta-comments. Our results reveal that content support elicited significantly higher lexical diversity and a tendency toward higher coordination, while the absence of content support showed a tendency toward more words generated. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in other performance measures. Regarding the within-group changes over time, the content support group produced longer, more meaningful and higher-quality texts at the expense of linguistic complexity. On the other hand, the absence of content support likely resulted in more stable writing performance over time. Regarding the cognitive processes of writing, L2 writers reported higher frequencies of engaging in the metacognitive processes under the condition when content support was absent. On the other hand, when content support was provided to reduce the conceptual demands in the planning process, L2 writers geared their attentional resources primarily to content planning rather than the lexico-grammatical concerns. Our findings suggest that content support offered favourable conditions for lower-intermediate-level learners to orchestrate cognitive processes to produce good writing in the longer term. These findings allow us to understand the cognitive complexity involved in the writing tasks, expand the effect of content support on L2 writing performance and writing cognition to language learners at a lower proficiency level and fill the gap in longitudinal task-based investigations on L2 writing. This study also offers implications for explaining the focus of attention of lower-intermediate L2 writers in the planning, translation, and monitoring process and understanding how they manage the cognitive resources and select information to complete the writing tasks. Pedagogically, our findings provide EFL teachers with guidance on delivering effective content planning strategies to learners and designing practical writing tasks that engage learners in focusing on both the communicative requirements and language aspects of the task. |
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