Effect of Instruction on ESL Students' Synthesis Writing

Autor/in	Zhang, Cui
Titel	Effect of Instruction on ESL Students' Synthesis Writing
Quelle	In: Journal of Second Language Writing, 22 (2013) 1, S.51-67 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1060-3743
DOI	10.1016/j.jslw.2012.12.001
Schlagwörter	English (Second Language); Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Writing Ability; Instructional Effectiveness; Pretests Posttests; Synthesis; Writing Instruction; Teaching Methods + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Schreibkompetenz; Unterrichtserfolg; Schreibunterricht; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode
Abstract	Synthesis writing has become the focus of much greater attention in the past 10 years in L2 EAP contexts. However, research on L2 synthesis writing has been limited, especially with respect to treatment studies that relate writing instruction to the development of synthesis writing abilities. To address this research gap, the present study examines the effect of instruction on ESL students' synthesis writing. Participants were from two intact ESL classes; one class was randomly chosen to be experimental and the other the control. During a one-semester treatment, the experimental group received five iterations of discourse synthesis instruction while the control group worked on a comparable amount of reading and writing practice. Students' discourse synthesis skills were measured by pre- and post-tests, for which they wrote problem-solution essays using two source texts. Results showed that (1) the experimental group performed significantly better at the post-test and (2) the experimental group improved significantly more from pre-test to post-test than the control group. These results suggest a positive effect of instruction on discourse synthesis writing. More importantly, the study demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating synthesis writing instruction into an ESL course without significantly disrupting the curriculum. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10