Writing is regarded as a huge challenge for students who study English as a foreign language (EFL). Confronted with the poor writing performance of Chinese students, researchers have been exploring the effective approaches to teaching EFL writing. "Talk for writing" is a widely studied field in countries such as the UK and New Zealand. However, reliable literature in this domain is scarce in China, and most of of it is short-term or unstructured research. Thus, this article aims to explore how (EFL) writing development and language learner identity are affected by talk, a process derived from social constructivism, entailing expounding, exchange, negotiation, reflection, and development. The 18-week longitudinal study applied a "talk for writing" approach to college English writing classes with 74 English-major students from a higher vocational college. This research, employing both quantitative methods and qualitative methods, yielded rich and dynamic results. (1) The quantitative data indicated that the "talk for writing" approach improved students' academic writing attainment on the whole. Particularly, the cohort of so-called "modest writers" benefited the most from it. Moreover, this approach, to a large extent, exerted a positive impact on the reconstruction of students' language learner identity. (2) The qualitative data identified the types of talk that supported writing and provided evidence for the ways in which talk supported students' ability to generate ideas, to use talk as oral rehearsal in preparation for writing, and to improve their linguistic accuracy. It also gave insights into students' views on this approach. Also, this approach developed students' engagement, motivation and confidence in English writing and delineated the negotiating trajectories of students' language learner identity.
| Published in | International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 5) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13 |
| Page(s) | 258-268 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
EFL Writing, Talk for Writing, Language Learner Identity, Chinese College Students, Strategic Talk, Evaluative Talk, Constructive Talk
| [1] | Hu, G. (2002). Potential cultural resistance to pedagogical imports: The case of communicative language teaching in China. Language, Culture, and Curriculum, 15 (2), 93-105. |
| [2] | Hu, G. (2005). Contextual influences on instructional practices: A Chinese case for an ecological approach to English language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 635-660. |
| [3] | Spaulding, E., Wang, J., Lin, E., & Hu, G. (2009). Analyzing voice in the writing of Chinese teachers. Research in the Teaching of English, 44 (1), 23-50. |
| [4] | British Council of Culture and Education. (2018). The white paper on academic performance and English learning behavior of IELTS candidates from China mainland. Available at: https://www.chinaielts.org/white_paper_2017.html [Accessed on 10th September, 2021]. |
| [5] | You, X. (2004a). The choice made from no choice: English writing instruction in a Chinese university. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13 (2), 97–110. |
| [6] | Yunus, M. M., N. Nordin, H. Salehi, C. H. Sun, and M. A. Embi. (2013). Pros and Cons of Using ICT in Teaching ESL Reading and Writing. International Education Studies, 6 (7), 119–130. |
| [7] | Atkinson, D., T. Nishino, E. Churchill, and H. Okada.(2007). Alignment and interaction in a sociocognitive approach to second language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal 91 (2), 169-88. |
| [8] | Wang, C., & Wang, M. (2014). Effect of alignment on L2 written production. Applied Linguistics, 36, 503-526. |
| [9] | Huang, Y. & Fan, H. (2014). Review and prospect of English writing teaching research in higher vocational colleges in China. Journal of Heilongjiang Institute of Education, 12, 186-187. |
| [10] | Ji, J. (2020). "Reading to promote writing" in higher vocational college English writing teaching. Journal of Cultural and Educational Materials, 6, 231-233. |
| [11] | Xie, F. (2019). Application research of "combination of reading and writing, reading to promote writing" mode in higher vocational English writing teaching. Journal of Hunan Posts and Telecommunications Vocational Technical College, 6, 101-103. |
| [12] | Wu, X. (2019). The impact of writing continuation after reading on the teaching of English writing in higher vocational colleges. Overseas English, 24, 255-256. |
| [13] | Corbett, P., & Strong, J. (2011). Talk for writing across the curriculum: How to teach non-fiction writing to 5-12-year-olds. Maidenhead: Open University Press. |
| [14] | Parr, J., Jesson, R. & McNaughton, S. (2009). Agency and platform: the Relationships between Talk and Writing. In R. Beard, D. Myhill, J. Riley & M. Nystrand (Eds.), SAGE Handbook of writing development (pp. 246-259). London: SAGE. |
| [15] | Fisher, R., Jones, S., Larkin, S., & Myhill, D. (Eds.). (2010). Using talk to support writing. London: SAGE. |
| [16] | Shu, Y. (2019). Improving the effectiveness of English writing teaching in junior middle school by using speaking to promote writing and the combination of speaking and writing. Cultural and Educational Materials, 12, 233-234. |
| [17] | Wei, J. (2019). A study on the "talk for writing" approach in the teaching of English writing in middle school. Journal of Learning Weekly, 11, 112. |
| [18] | Yang, B. (2011). High school English Class design of reading, talk and writing activities. Journal of Basic English Education, 13 (6), 59-62. |
| [19] | Yang, L. (2018). A study on "talk for writing" teaching practice in junior middle school English writing based on guided learning cooperation. English Teachers, 1, 139-143. |
| [20] | Zhang, M. (2015). Research on the combination of speaking and writing in the process approach in English writing teaching. MA Thesis of Central China Normal University. Available at: http://www. cnki.net [Last accessed on 20th June, 2020]. |
| [21] | Wang, H. Q. (2016). Apply the pedagogy of talk and writing combination to cultivate vocational college students’ English writing capability. Journal of Hubei University of Science and Technology, 36 (2), 107-110. |
| [22] | Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. |
| [23] | Britton, J. (1970). Language and learning. Harmondsworth: Penguin. |
| [24] | Barnes, D., Britton, J., & Rosen, H. (1969). Language, the learner and the school. Harmondsworth: Penguin. |
| [25] | Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. |
| [26] | Mercer, N., Dawes, L., Wegerif, R., & Sams, C. (2004). Reasoning as a scientist: Ways of helping children to use language to learn science. British Educational Research Journal, 30 (3), 359-377. |
| [27] | Reznitskaya, A., Kuo, L.-J., Clark, A.-M., Miller, B., Jadallah, M., Anderson, R. C., & Nguyen-Jahiel, K. (2009). Collaborative reasoning: a dialogic approach to group discussion. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39 (1), 29-48. |
| [28] | Sutherland, J. (2015). Going 'meta': using a metadiscoursal approach to develop secondary students’ dialogic talk in small groups. Research Papers in Education, 30 (1), 44-69. |
| [29] | Boaler, J. (2008). Promoting 'relational equity' and high mathematics achievement through an innovative mixed-ability approach. British Educational Research Journal, 34 (2), 167-194. |
| [30] | Mercer, N., & Sams, C. (2006). Teaching children how to use language to solve maths problems. Language and Education, 20 (6), 507-528. |
| [31] | Palinscar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1 (2), 117-175. |
| [32] | Alexander, R. J. (2008). Towards dialogic teaching: Rethinking classroom talk. 4th ed. Cambridge: Dialogos. |
| [33] | Beard, R. (2015). Talk for Writing: Review of related research. Available at: http://www.primarywritingproject.org.uk/review-of-supporting-evidence/ [Accessed on 22nd August, 2021]. |
| [34] | Christie, F. (1987). Young children's writing: from spoken to written genre. Language and Education, 1 (1), 3–13. |
| [35] | He, J. (2012). On the construction of online teaching mode of "speaking to promote writing". Journal of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (Social Science Edition), 2, 115-117. |
| [36] | Alexander, R. J. (2008b). Culture, dialogue and learning: Notes on an emerging pedagogy. In N. Mercer & S. Hodgkinson (Eds.), Exploring talk in school (pp. 91-114). Los Angeles: Sage. |
| [37] | Alexander, R. J. (2018). Developing dialogic teaching: genesis, process, trial. Research Papers in Education, DOI: 10.1080/02671522.2018.1481140. |
| [38] | Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. London: Longman. |
| [39] | Norton, B. (2013). Identity and Language Learning: Extending the Conversation (2nd Ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. |
| [40] | Hawkins, M. R. (2005). Becoming a student: Identity work and academic literacies in early schooling. TESOL Quarterly, 39 (1), 59-82. |
| [41] | Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
| [42] | Timmis, I. (2007). The attitudes of language learners towards target varieties of the language. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Language acquisition and development: Studies of learners of first and other languages, (pp. 122-138). London and New York: Continuum. |
| [43] | Norton Peirce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29 (1), 9-31. |
| [44] | Norton Peirce, B. (2016). Identity and language learning: Back to the future. TESOL Quarterly, 50 (2), 475-479. |
| [45] | Block, D. (2007). Second Language Identities. London: Continuum. |
| [46] | Norton, B. & Toohey. K. (2011). Identity, language learning and Social Change, Language Teaching, 44 (4). 412-446. |
| [47] | Darvin, R. & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. 35, 36-56. |
| [48] | Brown, A. L., & Campione, J. C. (1990). Communities of learning or a context by any other name. In D. Kuhn (Ed.), Contributions to human development (Vol. 21, pp. 108–126). Basel, NY: Karger. |
| [49] | Brown, A. L., & Campione, J. C. (1994). Guided discovery in a community of learners. In K. McGilly (Ed.), Classroom lessons: Integrating theory and classroom practice (pp. 229–270). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books. |
| [50] | Reams, P., & Twale, D. (2008). The promise of mixed methods: discovering conflicting realities in the data. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 31 (2), 133-142. |
| [51] | Jones, S. (2010). Talk into writing. In R. Fisher, S. Jones, S. Larkin & D. Myhill (Eds.), Using talk to support writing (pp. 82-107). London: SAGE. |
| [52] | Cohen, A. D., & Brooks-Carson, A. (2001). Research on direct versus translated writing: Students' strategies and their results. The Modern Language Journal, 85, 169-188. |
| [53] | Cohen, A. D. (2000). Strategies in learning and using a second language. Beijing: Fltrp. |
APA Style
Xuexing Li, Hongquan Yang, Han Yan. (2021). Effect of Talk on English as a Foreign Language Writing Development and Language Learner Identity: A Study of Chinese College Students. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(5), 258-268. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13
ACS Style
Xuexing Li; Hongquan Yang; Han Yan. Effect of Talk on English as a Foreign Language Writing Development and Language Learner Identity: A Study of Chinese College Students. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(5), 258-268. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13
AMA Style
Xuexing Li, Hongquan Yang, Han Yan. Effect of Talk on English as a Foreign Language Writing Development and Language Learner Identity: A Study of Chinese College Students. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(5):258-268. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13,
author = {Xuexing Li and Hongquan Yang and Han Yan},
title = {Effect of Talk on English as a Foreign Language Writing Development and Language Learner Identity: A Study of Chinese College Students},
journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
volume = {9},
number = {5},
pages = {258-268},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210905.13},
abstract = {Writing is regarded as a huge challenge for students who study English as a foreign language (EFL). Confronted with the poor writing performance of Chinese students, researchers have been exploring the effective approaches to teaching EFL writing. "Talk for writing" is a widely studied field in countries such as the UK and New Zealand. However, reliable literature in this domain is scarce in China, and most of of it is short-term or unstructured research. Thus, this article aims to explore how (EFL) writing development and language learner identity are affected by talk, a process derived from social constructivism, entailing expounding, exchange, negotiation, reflection, and development. The 18-week longitudinal study applied a "talk for writing" approach to college English writing classes with 74 English-major students from a higher vocational college. This research, employing both quantitative methods and qualitative methods, yielded rich and dynamic results. (1) The quantitative data indicated that the "talk for writing" approach improved students' academic writing attainment on the whole. Particularly, the cohort of so-called "modest writers" benefited the most from it. Moreover, this approach, to a large extent, exerted a positive impact on the reconstruction of students' language learner identity. (2) The qualitative data identified the types of talk that supported writing and provided evidence for the ways in which talk supported students' ability to generate ideas, to use talk as oral rehearsal in preparation for writing, and to improve their linguistic accuracy. It also gave insights into students' views on this approach. Also, this approach developed students' engagement, motivation and confidence in English writing and delineated the negotiating trajectories of students' language learner identity.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Talk on English as a Foreign Language Writing Development and Language Learner Identity: A Study of Chinese College Students AU - Xuexing Li AU - Hongquan Yang AU - Han Yan Y1 - 2021/10/12 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13 T2 - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JF - International Journal of Language and Linguistics JO - International Journal of Language and Linguistics SP - 258 EP - 268 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-0221 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210905.13 AB - Writing is regarded as a huge challenge for students who study English as a foreign language (EFL). Confronted with the poor writing performance of Chinese students, researchers have been exploring the effective approaches to teaching EFL writing. "Talk for writing" is a widely studied field in countries such as the UK and New Zealand. However, reliable literature in this domain is scarce in China, and most of of it is short-term or unstructured research. Thus, this article aims to explore how (EFL) writing development and language learner identity are affected by talk, a process derived from social constructivism, entailing expounding, exchange, negotiation, reflection, and development. The 18-week longitudinal study applied a "talk for writing" approach to college English writing classes with 74 English-major students from a higher vocational college. This research, employing both quantitative methods and qualitative methods, yielded rich and dynamic results. (1) The quantitative data indicated that the "talk for writing" approach improved students' academic writing attainment on the whole. Particularly, the cohort of so-called "modest writers" benefited the most from it. Moreover, this approach, to a large extent, exerted a positive impact on the reconstruction of students' language learner identity. (2) The qualitative data identified the types of talk that supported writing and provided evidence for the ways in which talk supported students' ability to generate ideas, to use talk as oral rehearsal in preparation for writing, and to improve their linguistic accuracy. It also gave insights into students' views on this approach. Also, this approach developed students' engagement, motivation and confidence in English writing and delineated the negotiating trajectories of students' language learner identity. VL - 9 IS - 5 ER -
Information
Email: