2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Transferability of Writing Competence across Languages : From L2 to L1
| Project/Area Number |
16520343
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Foreign language education
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| Research Institution | Hiroshima University |
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Principal Investigator |
KOBAYASHI Hiroe Hiroshima University, Graduate School of Integrated Arts & Sciences, Professor (50205481)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
CAROL Rinnert Hiroshima City University, Graduate School of International Studies, Professor (20195390)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | rhetorical features / argumentation / overseas study / English writing / Japanese writing / text construction / counter-argument / English proficiency |
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| Research Abstract |
This study investigated the effects of overseas writing instruction/experience on Japanese and English text construction by Japanese EFL writers in two stages. The first stage analyzed L1/L2 argumentation essays by 3 groups of experienced Japanese writers (N=26), and the second investigated L1/L2 essays on open-ended topics written by 2 groups of Japanese university student writers (with/without overseas high school education, N=19). In the first stage, text features transferred from L2 writing training/experience to L1 texts included overall argumentation structure; counter-arguments; elaborated introductions; and suppressed extended/future perspectives in conclusions. Participants with overseas experience included more counterargument components; and those with longer overseas experience provided much more elaboration in their introductions, reflecting extensive writing training/experience in their academic disciplines. Elaborated introductions and higher language proficiency were correlated with higher quality scores. In the second stage, argumentation was often used by both groups, but more exposition was observed among returnees, and more mixed patterns among non-returnees. Counter-arguments appeared frequently in L1/L2 essays of returnees, who were more consistent in choosing the same discourse mode and structural features across languages. Evaluations revealed that although returnee students did not write lower quality Japanese essays than non-returnees, they were far more proficient English writers and the quality of their essays was highly correlated across languages. Based on the findings from both stages, a model is proposed to represent the factors affecting transfer of discourse features across languages: amount and content of L1 and L2 writing/experience; language proficiency; disciplinary knowledge/training; and individual writers' perceptions, motivation and attitudes toward Ll and L2 writing.
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