Argumentative Writing in a Second Language


Book Description

Argumentative Writing in a Second Language is a collection on teaching argumentative writing, offering multiple vantage points drawn from the contributors' own teaching and research experiences. The value of learning how to compose argumentative texts cannot be overstated, and yet, very little attention has been allocated to the equally important topic of how argumentation is or can be taught in the L2 context. Thus, this volume shifts attention to teachers and argumentative writing instruction, especially within increasingly common multimodal and digital literacy settings. While doing so, it provides a comprehensive, wide-ranging view of the L2 argumentative writing landscape within an instructional lens. Part I of the volume is topic-oriented and focuses on explorations of important issues and perspectives, while Part II features several chapters reporting classroom-based studies of a variety of instructional approaches that expand our understanding of how argumentative writing can be taught. The book will be of value to pre-service and in-service teachers in varying instructional contexts, as well as teacher educators and L2 writing scholars/researchers.




The Language of Argument


Book Description

This collection of over 100 provocative readings, advertisements, and illustrations emphasizes real-world issues and topics for students to read and use in writing their own argumentative essays. The hotly debated issues are sure to create excitement.




Teaching Writing as a Second Language


Book Description

Addressing basic writing not only as a practical problem and humane responsibility, but also as a challenging area for research and theorizing, this book reviews, interprets, and applies the growing body of work in second language acquisition. Chapter 1 presents 6 hypotheses constituting an attempt to develop a cohesive theory of writing acquisition that incorporates the redundancy of language and facilitates the process of language acquisition. The following chapters explore this theory in detail to serve as a basis for experimental confirmation. Chapters 2 and 3, on spoken and written language and redundancy, provide the theoretical basis for the argument that academic discourse is a separate linguistic system characterized by particular psycholinguistic features. Chapters 4 and 5 present a detailed analysis of the behavior of basic writers with respect to written form, reviewing both pertinent second language theory about learners' errors and a case study of one writer. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss the relevant affective factors analyzed in second language acquisition theory and detail Stephen Krashen's recent proposals for a comprehensive theory of second language acquisition. The final chapter reviews the entire theory, summarizes the evidence, and outlines the agenda for further research. (JD)




Controversies in Second Language Writing


Book Description

Controversies in Second Language Writing is not a how-to book, but one that focuses on how teachers in L2 writing can be helped to make reasoned decisions by understanding some of the key issues and conflicting opinions about L2 writing research and pedagogy. This book will assist teachers in making informed decisions about teaching writing in the ESL classroom. To counteract some of the debates, Casanave explores the different sides of the arguments and provides examples of how other teachers have dealt with these issues. The book presents novice and seasoned teachers with thought-provoking issues and questions to consider when determining and reflecting on their own teaching strategies and criteria. Topics discussed include: contrastive rhetoric product vs. process fluency and accuracy assessment of student work audience plagiarism politics and ideology.







Connecting Reading & Writing in Second Language Writing Instruction


Book Description

Academic writing often requires students to incorporate material from outside sources (like statistics, ideas, quotations, paraphrases) into their own written texts-a particular obstacle for students who lack strong reading skills. In Connecting Reading and Writing in Second Language Instruction, Alan Hirvela contends that second language writing students should be considered as readers first and advocates the integration of reading and writing instruction with a survey of theory, research, and pedagogy in the subject area. Although the integrated reading-writing model has gained popularity in recent years, many teachers have little more than an intuitive sense of the connections between these skills. As part of the popular Michigan Series on Teaching Multilingual Writers, Connecting Reading and Writing in Second Language Instruction will provide invaluable background knowledge on this issue to ESL teachers in training, as well as teachers who are already practicing.




Teaching and Learning Source-Based Writing


Book Description

This volume brings together significant findings, approaches, and research-based pedagogies on teaching and learning source-based writing. A comprehensive update to the field, this book presents source-based writing as an essential skill that comes with its own specific set of challenges, requiring a complex set of literacy skills and capabilities for mastery. With contributors from leading scholars from around the world, the volume addresses source-based writing as a developmental issue and offers guidance for supporting novice academic writers on their path toward proficiency and accumulation of multifaceted skill set. Chapters cover key topics, including metacognitive skills, the flipped classroom, scaffolding, assessment, and ethical considerations. With research reviews, practical considerations and future directions as components of each chapter, this book is ideal for courses on academic writing and second language writing.




Practicing Theory in Second Language Writing


Book Description

Theory has been used widely in the field of second language writing. Second language writing specialists—teachers, researchers, and administrators—have yet to have an open and sustained conversation about what theory is, how it works, and, more important, how to practice theory. Practicing Theory in Second Language Writing features fourteen essays by distinguished scholars in second language writing who explore various aspects of theoretical work that goes on in the field.




On Second Language Writing


Book Description

On Second Language Writing brings together internationally recognized scholars in a collection of original articles that, collectively, delineate and explore central issues with regard to theory, research, instruction, assessment, politics, articulation with other disciplines, and standards. In recent years, there has been a dramatic growth of interest in second-language writing and writing instruction in many parts of the world. Although an increasing number of researchers and teachers in both second-language studies and composition studies have come to identify themselves as specialists in second-language writing, research and teaching practices have been dispersed into several different disciplinary and institutional contexts because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field. This volume is the first to bring together prominent second-language writing specialists to systematically address basic issues in the field and to consider the state of the art at the end of the century (and the millennium).




Self-regulated Learning and Second Language Writing


Book Description

This monograph is to investigate practical applications and contributions of self-regulated learning (SRL) to second/foreign language (L2) writing from sociocognitive and sociocultural perspectives. It showcases a comprehensive and updated review of conceptual and methodological issues of SRL and the state-of-the-art research on its applications to L2 learning and teaching. This volume further elaborates the design and results of a large-scale project which conducts observational and intervention studies investigating SRL strategies in L2 writing. This book reveals that a cross-disciplinary understanding of SRL strategies plays a crucial role in advancing theoretical functions of SRL and in extending its applications to L2 education in general, and L2 writing in particular. This book makes significant contributions to developing and validating new conceptual frameworks and tools for evaluating multidimensional structures of SRL strategies and self-efficacy in L2 writing; elucidating the interplay of personal, behavioral, environmental and psychological factors with SRL strategies and writing performance; and presenting an effective self-regulation instructional model for nurturing L2 learners’ motivation and confidence to strategize, reflect and succeed in writing. Teng has established herself as one of the prominent scholars in the discussion of self-regulated learning strategies. Her contribution to the fields of L2 writing and strategic learning are undeniable. This monograph is an excellent showing of how her ​endeavors to bring established theories from educational psychology to applied writing research have progressed over a number of methodologically rigorous studies. It should be required reading for anyone with an interest in cultivating strategic writers not only in the Chinese context but worldwide. Nathan Thomas, UCL Institute of Education