This study investigated features of L2 classroom-based teacher-student writing conference and student subsequent revision from the perspective of languaging. A non-native teacher and four non-native students participated in the writing conference about two tasks of summary and critical review in an intact college ESL composition classroom. Eight video-recorded conference sessions were analyzed regarding discourse topics (language use vs. content/rhetoric), and configuration of negotiation and scaffolding. Discourse topics were found to interact with task types as more issues about content and rhetoric were addressed for critical review. Configurations of negotiation and scaffolding were found to be similar in both tasks. Scaffolding was dominant in language use talks while negotiation and scaffolding were balanced in content/rhetoric talks. As for making meaning and student revision, the quality of negotiation was more critical than the quantity. Non-extensive scaffolding also led to successful revision along with students’ background knowledge and classroom instruction. The findings demonstrate dynamics of writing tasks, conferences, and student revision.

This study sought to investigate factors affecting the English writing performance of 30 Korean ESL students overseas. Also, examined were the relationship between L1 and L2 education levels and L2 writing performance, the relationship between English language proficiency and L2 writing performance and between length of residence and L2 writing performance. The participants were asked to write essays in their L1 and L2 along with a questionnaire. To analyze the data, two-way ANOVA and correlation were performed. The results showed there was no significant relation between L1 educational level and L2 writing performance, but there was a significant relation between L2 educational level and L2 writing performance. Also, English language proficiency and L2 writing performance were highly correlated. The length of residence of the participants in the U.S. and their L2 writing performance showed a weak correlation. Similarly, their L1 writing performance was not related to their L2 writing performance. These imply that students need to have adequate proficiency of English to write in their L2, and they need to receive a considerate number of years of formal education in their L2 for the success of L2 writing.

Automated error detection and feedback systems are becoming an important component of online writing practice services for ESL/EFL (English as a second/foreign language) learners. The main purposes of the study are to: (a) collect samples of essays written by ESL learners with different native language (or L1) backgrounds that are error-coded by an early version of an automated error-detection system (CritiqueTM) and trained human coders; and (b) identify some unique patterns of writing errors for different first language (L1) groups. Data analyzed in this study included 18, 439 TOEFL◯R CBT essays error-coded by CritiqueTM and a much smaller, combined sample of 480 TOEFL◯R CBT/TOEFL iBT◯R essays error-coded by trained human coders. A comparison of error rates across five different language groups showed some unique patterns: (a) the Arabic and Spanish groups were the highest on both spelling and punctuation errors; (b) the Korean and Japanese groups had the highest article error frequency; and (c) the Chinese group had the highest number of errors related to verb conjugations or adjective and noun inflections. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of understanding the nature of L1-related writing errors and enhancing the automated error detection and feedback systems.

This study used focus group transcripts and blog entries to explore the experiences of five Korean community college students in a course designed to promote second language (L2) writing development. To provide an in-depth look at this experience from the learner’s perspective, the author was “embedded” in this writing course, taking on the role of participant-researcher. Through multiple readings and coding of data from focus groups and students’ shared blogs, five relevant themes emerged from the students’ discourse: internalization; depersonalization; simplification; bonding; and approbation. From consideration of the students’ perspectives on their experiences in the writing class, suggestions for improving the experience of Korean and other L2 writing students are proposed, including use of relevant and accessible writing topics. The cohesiveness established through the discussion activities in the current study may have benefited participants’ motivational and strategic adaptation, suggesting that such sharing of experiences could be helpful for L2 writing students.

This paper aims to examine theoretical foundations of and empirical evidence for collaborative ESL writing pedagogy and suggest it as an alternative model to traditional approaches in writing instruction. The history of research on collaborative tasks in teaching writing is relatively short and it received explicit attention in the mid 1980s (Doheny-Farina, 1986; Odell, 1985). The need for research in collaborative writing in ESL/EFL classroom is justifiable from philosophical, psycholinguistic, pedagogic, and psychological points of view. A brief history, types, and essential elements of collaborative ESL writing instruction are presented. In an attempt to investigate how these rationales and elements are realized in actual pedagogic processes, a case study was conducted based on an observation of a collaborative task-based ESL writing class at a US university. Classes for a full thematic unit, consisting of eight hours, were observed. A variety of carefully designed collaborative activities implemented in the ESL writing class illustrated clear benefits of collaborative writing pedagogy. Pedagogical implications for writing classes in EFL contexts are also discussed.

This paper addresses pedagogical implications of contrastive rhetoric by focusing on recent trends in the field of contrastive rhetoric. The paper first addresses traditional contrastive rhetoric and highlights major issues along the way. It then focuses on recent diversification of and challenges to traditional contrastive rhetoric. For this purpose, the paper takes a close look at a) contrastive rhetoric's recent focus on rhetorical similarities rather than differences, b) its examination of ESL/EFL learners' perspectives, c) the introduction of critical contrastive rhetoric, and d) the most recent challenges based on the English-as-an-international-lingua-franca perspective. The paper concludes with a discussion of pedagogical implications of such diversification efforts and challenges. The discussion covers contrastive rhetoric's contribution to the increased awareness of ethnocentrism underlying traditional contrastive rhetoric, the need to study about actual impact of teaching rhetorical differences and/or similarities, and the necessity of investigating ESL/EFL learners’ beliefs about writing in English, which is believed to have a filtering effect on ESL/EFL learners' acceptance of contrastive rhetorical information.