- L2 writers and academic writing skills in English.
- Principles and foundations for learning to write L2 academic prose.
- Academic writing.
- Academic vocabulary and grammar.
Student Enrollments
In the past several decades or so, the proliferation of college- and university-level courses, textbooks, and all manner of learning aids for second language (L2)1 academic writers has become a fact of life that most language and writing teachers have had no choice but to notice. The rapid rise in the number of L2 teacher-education courses, workshops, and MA-level programs in TESOL has also become commonplace in North American, European, Asian, Australian, and New Zealand education.
The steady rise of L2 writing courses, teacher-education programs, and textbooks is not particularly surprising given college and university enrollment statistics. For instance, at present, approximately 1.3 million international students are enrolled in degree programs in US colleges and universities, that is, slightly over 5% of the entire student population (Institute of International Education, 2018). In the UK, international students represent 6% of those enrolled in colleges and universities. US intensive and preparatory programs also teach L2 and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) skills, including writing, to another several hundred thousand learners, some of whom will return to their home countries, but many of whom will seek admission to institutions of higher learning.
According to the Migration Policy Institute calculations, US colleges enroll more than 2.5 million immigrants in full-time and part-time academic programs. These students represent more than 20% of all university students and 24% of community college students in the country (Zong & Batalova, 2017; Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education, www.cccie.org/resources/fast-facts/).
- Taken together, international and immigrant students represent about 25% to 30% of college and university enrollments in the US.
- Furthermore, although these figures fluctuate widely by location, 24% of the current students in public schools are immigrants and children of recent immigrants, and most plan to continue their education in US colleges and universities (Camarota, Griffith, & Zeigler, 2017).
Academic Writing Skills in English
In the past several decades, a large number of publications have emerged to point out that, despite having studied English, as well as academic writing in their native and English-speaking countries, L2 students experience a great deal of difficulty in their schooling and college/'university studies (Durrant, 2014, 2017; Hinkel, 2002, 2015; Leedham, 2016; Schleppegrell, 2002, 2004; Zhang & Mi, 2010). Based on a large body of research, several reasons have been identified for the continuing - predominantly language-related challenges facing even highly advanced L2 students in their academic writing.
For example, graduate and undergraduate students, after years of language learning, often fail to recognize and appropriately use the conventions of formal written academic discourse and text, such as introductions, topic nominations, conclusions, discourse flow markers, or sentence transitions. Dozens of empirical studies have demonstrated that L2 writers' academic text often lacks sentence-level features typically considered to be basic, for instance, the forms of irregular verbs, appropriate uses of hedging,2 modal verbs, pronouns, the active and passive voice in humanities and sciences texts, balanced generalizations, and exemplification.
The effectiveness of preparatory language and EAP writing courses in preparing students for actual academic writing in universities has also been discussed extensively (e.g. Ferris, 2009, 2016; Hinkel, 2002, 2015; ICAS, 2002; Leki, 2007). According to the published surveys of students who matriculate from pre-academic language programs, many find themselves under prepared for the demands of academic work and especially formal speaking and writing. For example, Leedham (2016) investigated specific discourse and sentence-level writing skills of highly advanced L2 university students. Her findings demonstrate that even substantial amounts of reading and writing do not ensure L2 writers' awareness of discourse and language features in academic prose, not to mention the skills to produce it.
Based on numerous research reports, the conclusion seems clearthat explicit instruction in advanced academic writing and text is needed.
A large number of detailed studies have demonstrated that extensive and intensive instruction in academic vocabulary, grammar, and discourse is required for most - if not all - L2 writers.
Since the early 1980s, the predominant method of instruction in L2 writing has remained focused on the writing process, similar to the pedagogy adopted in first language (L1) writing instruction for L1 writers of English (e.g. Caplan & Stevens, 2017; Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998; Horowitz, 1986; Jordan, 1997).
- The process-centered instructional methodology for teaching writing focuses on invention, creating ideas, and discovering the purpose of writing.
- Within the process-centered paradigm for teaching L2 writing, student writing is evaluated on the quality of pre-writing, writing, and revision.
- Because the product of writing is seen as secondary to the writing process, and even inhibitory in the early stages of writing, issues of L2 grammar, vocabulary, and errors, are to be addressed only as needed in particular contexts.
- In process-centered instruction, there is a generally held belief that L2 writers with proficiency levels higher than beginner learn from being exposed to L2 text and discourse - while reading and writing - and thus acquire L2 grammar and vocabulary naturally.
- Outside L2 writing and English composition courses, evaluations of L2 writing skills in the disciplines and general education courses has continued to focus on the product, rather than the process, of writing.
- In academic courses such as history, sociology, business, or the natural sciences at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, evaluations of L2 students" academic skills are determined by their performance on traditional product-oriented language tasks, most frequently reading and writing.
Outside language and English department writing programs, the faculty in the disciplines are not particularly concerned about the writing process that affects (or does not affect) the quality of the writing product, that is, students' assignments and papers that the professors read, evaluate, and grade.
The expectations of L2 text required for success in mainstream general education courses, as well as those in the disciplines, have remained largely unchanged, despite the shift in writing instruction methodology.
Similarly, the assessment of L2 writing skills by language teaching professionals on standardized and institutional placement testing has largely remained focused on the writing product, without regard of the writing process (Bridgeman, Cho, & DiPietro, 2016; Knoch, Macqueen, & O'Hagan, 2014).
The disparity between the teaching methods adopted in L2 writing instruction and evaluation criteria of the quality of writing has produced outcomes that are damaging and costly for most L2 students who are taught brainstorming techniques and invention, pre-writing, drafting, and essay "shaping," while their essential linguistic skills, such as academic vocabulary and formal features of grammar and text, are only sparsely and inconsistently addressed. In courses in academic disciplines, brainstorming and idea "invention" are rarely needed because written assignments and tasks are usually specific to the subject matter and course contents.
Principles and Foundations
In this book, teaching techniques and approaches to teach...
