Carving out a Dialogic Space for "I": A Corpus-Based Study of Novice L2 College Writers' Use of First-Person Pronouns in Argumentative Essays

Autor/in	Wang, Zhaozhe
Titel	Carving out a Dialogic Space for "I": A Corpus-Based Study of Novice L2 College Writers' Use of First-Person Pronouns in Argumentative Essays
Quelle	In: L2 Journal, 11 (2019) 1, S.20-34 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1945-0222
Schlagwörter	Second Language Learning; Form Classes (Languages); Academic Language; Persuasive Discourse; Essays; Novices; English (Second Language); Introductory Courses; Freshman Composition; College Freshmen; Foreign Students; Writing Teachers; Undergraduate Students; Foreign Countries; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Zweitsprachenerwerb; Analytischer Sprachbau; Academic; Language; Languages; Akademiker; Sprache; Wissenschaftssprache; Persuasion; Persuasive Kommunikation; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Einführungskurs; Studienanfänger; Ausland
Abstract	L2 writers likely perceive "good academic writing" as impersonal (Hyland, 2002; Shen, 1989; Tang & John, 1999). Yet research has shown that every linguistic and rhetorical choice that a writer makes--including, the presence/absence and different forms of self-mention--potentially reveals the writer's authorial identity (Ivanic, 1998). The dialogic nature of academic writing, as manifested in strategic self-mentions, has remained overshadowed in L2 writing pedagogy by other linguistic issues. This article draws attention to this gap in research: specifically, I report on the findings of a corpus-driven descriptive inquiry into authorial identity, operationalized as the use of first-person pronouns in a corpus of 126 argumentative research papers written by students enrolled in first-year L2 composition courses. The study examines how L2 writers practice self-mention, comparing the frequencies of first-person pronouns in the argumentative corpus with both a "parent" corpus, which contains other genres produced by the same group of writers, and published research analyzed by Hyland (2001). I also define and characterize the five qualitatively coded and quantitatively measured rhetorical functions of "I" used in the corpus (i.e., reporter, architect, narrator of personal experiences, conceder, and opinion-holder). L2 writers in this study were found to use self-mention more frequently than published authors. However, L2 writers employed self-reference less frequently in their argumentative essays than for other genres. Their argumentative texts reproduced a narrative tone, as indicated by the lower ratio of the subjective/objective case of the first-person singular pronoun. A comparison of rhetorical functions reveals that nearly 50% of "I"s in the corpus function as a "narrator of personal experiences." In light of the findings, I propose pedagogical suggestions aimed at more effectively socializing college-level L2 composition students into academic discourse communities. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Berkeley Language Center, University of California. B-40 Dwinelle Hall #2640, Berkeley, CA 94720. Web site: http://escholarship.org/uc/uccllt_l2
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01