Utilising social networking sites to improve writing: a case study with Chinese students in Malaysia

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 identifying what motivates English as a Second Language students to write in English on Facebook. Ten Chinese-speaking students from a private urban school were selected for this study. These students had just started secondary education after being educated in Chinese-vernacular elementary schools for six years. The students were required to participate in an ongoing discussion on their Facebook class page in order to complete a writing task. Data for this study comprised both online discussions and interviews. The findings suggest that peer influence and school surroundings motivated the students to write better in English on Facebook. The findings also imply that the use of technology in writing tasks made students write better in English owing to the exchanges of feedback and ideas that took place through this social networking site.     

Promoting self-regulated learning through portfolio assessment: testimony and recommendations

Portfolio assessment (PA) has been extensively adopted for writing development in the past three decades. Much research on PA primarily investigates students’ and teachers’ perceptions of its benefits, and how it influences students’ motivation and general writing abilities. Despite its purported effectiveness, not much has been done to understand the relationship between PA and self-regulated learning (SRL) especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) writing research. This paper contends that PA can productively foster SRL in EFL writing classrooms, and, more specifically, it develops a conceptual model of SRL within the context of writing portfolios and iterative feedback processes. Supporting evidence emphasising how PA can facilitate SRL is discussed and evaluated. The paper ends with six recommendations and implications proposing how SRL can be promulgated in EFL portfolio-based contexts. Finally, possible future research is suggested.     

基于AES的大学英语写作教学模式研究

英语写作能力培养一直是大学英语教学的重点和难点,目前自动作文评分AES（Automated Essay Scoring）技术已得到广泛应用,但如何将其与大学英语写作教学有效结合仍有待深入研究。鉴于此,根据我国大学英语写作教学现状,结合L2（Second Language）语言学习特点,在分析AES技术相关原理基础上,对大学英语写作教学模式进行分析研究。结果表明,当前中国大学英语写作教学需结合AES技术和L2语言学习特点,构建基于AES的大学英语教学模式,以激发学生学习兴趣,提升学生英语写作能力。     

大学英语写作中的常见错误分析与对策

大学英语的教学目标是培养学生的英语综合运用能力,而学生的写作能力恰恰是其英语综合技能的体现。然而在实际教学过程中不难发现,很多学生的写作能力还存在很大的问题,经常会出现错误。以第二语言习得研究方法之一错误分析理论为基础对大学英语写作中常见的语言错误进行归类、分析,并探究其产生的根源以及应对策略,以期对提高大学英语教学尤其是大学英语写作教学的效果有所帮助。     

英语写作教学中现代化技术的辅助功效——第二语言习得理论启示下的教学模式

借助第二语言习得理论指导和探讨英语写作教与学的过程，利用现代化媒体的优势，为英语写作教学创造良好的教学环境，这不仅拓宽了学生的学习渠道，而且丰富了英语写作教学的各项活动，同时对提高教学效果起到了积极的作用。     

跨文化电子邮件交流对学生英语写作能力的影响

电子邮件的核心价值在于用户利用互联网达到快速便捷地传递信息和沟通的目的。电子邮件在教学中传递作业、分享资讯、同侪讨论、合作学习、便于师生与家长沟通等功能已为越来越多的教育工作者所认同。这为大学英语教学突破传统的"教师灌输——学生被动接受"模式、充分利用网络信息技术促进英语教学改革提供了新的思路。以兰州交通大学非外语专业的大一新生英语写作教学为例,对实验组和对照组分别采取跨文化电子邮件交流和传统纸笔写作教学方式实施对比教学研究,结果显示:跨文化电子邮件交流显著提高了学生的写作水平,尤其是写作的流利性和准确性;也增强了学生的内在学习动机。教师在跨文化电子邮件交流之前应进行精心策划,交流过程持续的时间不宜太短,应及时发现学生在交流过程中出现的问题,扮演好监督者的角色。     

A Collaboration between ESL and Regular Classroom Teachers for ELL Students’ Literacy Development

This article presents a teacher‐research project on collaboration between an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and a fourth‐grade classroom teacher to enhance the literacy development of English language learners (ELLs). It illustrates how two teachers worked closely in helping their ELL students develop their writing skills and the benefits both the students and teachers gained from this collaboration.     

Voice in high-stakes L1 academic writing assessment: Implications for L2 writing instruction

Despite the debate among writing researchers about its viability as a pedagogical tool in writing instruction [e.g., Helms-Park, R., & Stapleton, P. (2003). Questioning the importance of individualized voice in undergraduate L2 argumentative writing: An empirical study with pedagogical implications. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12 (3), 245–265; Stapleton, P. (2002). Critiquing voice as a viable pedagogical tool in L2 writing: Returning spotlight to ideas. Journal of Second Language Writing, 11 (3), 177–190], voice remains one of the constructs commonly addressed in learning standards and assessed in high-stakes English Language Arts tests. It is assumed, therefore, that the presence of a strong authorial voice plays an important role in the evaluation of the overall quality of students’ writing. In reality, however, there is a critical lack of empirical research that explores the nature and characteristics of the relationship between voice and overall writing quality. The present study builds on and extends the work of Helms-Park and Stapleton [Helms-Park, R., & Stapleton, P. (2003). Questioning the importance of individualized voice in undergraduate L2 argumentative writing: An empirical study with pedagogical implications. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12 (3), 245–265] and examines such a relationship in the context of an L1 high-stakes academic writing assessment. Results show a positive and significant relationship between voice intensity and writing quality, which contradicts what Helms-Park and Stapleton [Helms-Park, R., & Stapleton, P. (2003). Questioning the importance of individualized voice in undergraduate L2 argumentative writing: An empirical study with pedagogical implications. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12 (3), 245–265] found in the context of L2 argumentative writing. This study therefore contributes to the exploration of the role of voice in writing instruction and assessment.     

从克拉申的二语习得理论看大学英语口语教学

了解斯蒂芬·克拉申的第二语言习得理论,并试从第二语言习得理论的角度来探讨目前大学英语口语教学中存在的问题。撇开其不足之处,发现克拉申的理论仍对中国的大学英语口语教学有着很大的启迪作用。     

对中学生语际语中连接手段习得状况的实证调查

本文将语言学理论与中学教学实践相结合,从二语习得的角度出发,结合了功能语言学的相关理论框架,对杭州某中学学生写作中的连接手段的应用作了实证调查。本项研究使用采用了期末试卷中的作文部分作为研究工具,对中学生在实际写作中连接手段的使用情况做了调查,并以语际语的相关理论为依据,对调查结果作了分析。     

中介语学习中的语法偏误分析

本文探讨了中介语语法偏误现象对大学生英语写作学习的启示,并以语法偏误现象为例,试图总结出英语学习者在学习英语写作过程中最易犯的几点语法偏误和一般规律,如果将这种规律运用到大学生英语写作教学中可以减少英语学习者在学习英语过程中出现的中介语语法偏误现象,这对于提高学习者的学习效果和语言能力,完善大学生学习英语写作和第二语言学习理论是很有意义的。     

Evaluation of intervention on Chinese graduate students’ understanding of textual plagiarism and skills at source referencing

Abstract

Textual plagiarism is a serious violation of established academic protocols, but it requires considerable writing experience and care to avoid as well. Although student understanding of textual plagiarism and their plagiaristic behaviour in English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts have been quite well researched, few studies have sought to evaluate instructional interventions specifically designed to reduce plagiarism by empowering student writers with a better knowledge of plagiarism and skills at source referencing. To the best of our knowledge, no study to date has ever systematically assessed students’ understanding of plagiarism and their source referencing performance in response to intervention. This classroom-based research, at a university in Beijing, aimed to discover whether a 6-hour block of instruction could facilitate better understanding of plagiarism and appropriate source referencing skills. The results showed that the intervention did generally give students a better appreciation of how textual plagiarism looks and significantly reduced blatant and subtle plagiarism in their writing. However, students’ heavy reliance on original source language did frequently reoccur in student writing if in less clear-cut ways. Some helpful lessons were drawn from this study.     

输出在英语词汇教学中的重要作用

Swain的“理解输出假设”（The Comprehensible Output Hypothesis）理论的提出促使二语研究者及学习者开始重视输出在二语习得中的重要作用。在英语词汇教学中,我们往往强调输入（即听和读）的重要性而忽视输出（即说和写）在词汇习得中的重要作用。本文意在阐述输出在词汇教学中的重鼗作用,指出输出与词汇教学的有机结合是实现高效词汇教学的必要途径。     

英语专业大学生英语议论文语篇特征研究

在系统功能语法的框架下对学习者语料进行分析,揭示学习者所写语篇在宏观和微观两个方面的特征,发现学习者在语篇层面上的典型问题,并结合二语习得和对比分析理论对这些问题进行剖析,从而得出了对提高英语写作的一些启示。     

论email在英语写作教学中的辅助作用

本文分析了学生在英语写作方面所存在的问题，依据现代写作理论，对Email辅助英语写作教学进行了探讨。Email辅助写作教学活动不仅激发了学生的写作积极性，提高了学生的写作能力，而且扩大了学生的知识面，提高了学生的跨文化交际能力。     

英文报刊阅读在初中英语教学中的作用

根据Krashen的语言输入理论,学生需要大量贴近时代、贴近生活实际的学习材料,而英文报刊阅读就能满足这个需要,它是拓展学生学习和应用英语的好方法之一。经过以学生为主体的报刊阅读教学,学生的阅读兴趣和写作热情将大大增强,英语整体水平也会大为提高。     

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

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 Language classroom, which caters for a mixture of EFL (English as a foreign language), L2 (second language) and L1 (first language) learners. Data were gathered from six secondary school teachers via observations and interviews through which their common practices and beliefs were established. Our findings revealed an extensive use of examination-centred practices based on functional literacy, routine procedures and standardisation, rather than a pedagogy that promotes social equity and cultural and linguistic diversity as advocated by the New London Group. Following their work, we argue that student agency, critical literacy, and socially and culturally situated learning should be integrated into all writing classrooms for effective learning to take place.     

“Every experience is a moving force”: identity and growth through mentoring

This narrative of the experience of a native English speaking (NES) cooperating teacher working with a nonnative English speaking (NNES) student teacher in an MA Teaching English as a Second Language practicum begins with a discussion of teacher identity, then outlines the significance of caring in teacher–student relations Noddings (Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1984) and personal values and beliefs within those relations Johnston (Values in English Language Teaching, Lawrence Erlbaum, Malwah, NJ, 2002). These then frame an understanding of three critical incidents Tripp (Qual. Stud. Educ. 7(1) (1994) 65), and the emergent themes of language expertise, cultural ways of knowing and doing, and conflicting religious beliefs. It concludes with a discussion of the value of writing and sharing teacher narratives for professional development.     

英汉思维差异对大学英语写作的影响

语言和思维关系密切,二者相互作用,相互影响,互为表征。英汉思维方式之差异,使中国学生在英语学习中不可避免地受到母语思维的影响。这种影响在英语写作中的措辞、句法、篇章等方面均有表现。本文着重分析英汉思维方式差异对我国大学生英语写作在词语选择和句子结构方面产生的影响,同时提出几点应对之策,旨在帮助我国大学生提高英语写作水平。     

对改进专业英语语法课堂教学方法的几点思考

语法是语言的共核,可见语法在语言中的重要性。大学英语专业的语法,对于专业学生解决听、说、读、写、译的问题十分重要。所以,对大学英语专业语法课堂教学提出了更高的要求。通过分析当今高校英语专业学生提高英语语言能力与语法课堂教学的关系,提出几点行之有效的教学方法,以期对英语专业语法教学有所帮助。