STUDY ON DEVELOPING A TEXTBOOK FOR TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING TO FOREIGN STUDENTS

1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 08680321
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese language education
• Research Institution: HOKKAIGAKUEN UNIVERSITY
• Principal Investigator: NITSU Nobuko DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL EDUCATION, HOKKAIGAKUEN UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 教養部, 助教授 (20254691)
• Project Period (FY): 1996 – 1997
• Keywords: Japanese Language Teaching / Academic Writing / Making Students Conscious of One's Thinking Process / Functions of Experssions of Written Language

Research Abstract

The purpose of this study is developing a textbook for teaching academic writing to foreign students, which aims at enabling students to learn how to think logically, organize their thoughts, and write papers Which fit the purpose of writing in matter and the style.
Before starting to make a textbook we did the following :
1.sorting out main problems found in compositions written by foreign students ;
2.sending out questionnaries to cooleagues as to how and what they want their Japanese students to write for term papers ;
3.examining what items of instruction are picked up in Japanese and English textbooks for academic writing.
Based on the data gained from the above research we selected indispensable function of expressing logical organization such as 'classification', 'definition', 'comparision and constrast', etc., and designed the syllabus of the course and the structure of each lesson. Then we collected reading materials which included examples of each function and also current topics, made questions to help students comprehend the text, and listed the patterns of the expressions.
Having tested this trial material in six different classes for one year and made improvement based on the findings from our practical use, we made the first textbook before the beginning of next term. After another one year testing and further improvement the second textbook presented this time was made.
The findings from this study reveal that a textbook of academic writing for foreign students should contain instruction in the following items :
1.fundamental knowledge and skills about writing a composition in Japanese such as the items included in the first part of the textbook ;
2.methods of describing facts objectively ;
3.methods of thinking logically ;
4.methods of organizing one's thoughts to be understood clearly by readers ;
5.methods of being conscious of one's writing and evaluating one's product of writing ; and that the reading materials should play the following roles :
1.to show how the functions of expressing logical organization work in the text and what patterns of expressions are usedfor that ;
2.to show how the text of logical writing is structured ;
3.to give a background knowledge about current events in the society.