relations that may prompt learners to refine their linguistic expression – and hence their control over their linguistic knowledge.’’
However, findings from empirical research on the impact of living and studying in the L2 environment on students’ L2 skills are mixed (see reviews in DeKeyser, 2007b; Freed, 1995), depending largely on how progress is measured. Moreover, where improvement in L2 is reported, it is mainly in speaking skills and for programs longer than one semester. DeKeyser (2007b) notes that research on the effects of study abroad on L2 listening, reading and writing skills is extremely scarce.
Studies which have investigated the effects of in-country intensive EAP courses that prepare students for further study or for proficiency tests such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) have also produced somewhat mixed results. These studies have tended, in the main, to examine the effects of the courses on learners’ overall L2 proficiency. For example, studies by Read and Hayes (2003) in New Zealand and by Green andWeir (2003) in the United Kingdom reported marginal improvements in English language proficiency following intensive IELTS preparation and EAP courses. In contrast, Elder and O’Loughlin (2003), in a study conducted in New Zealand and Australia, reported a half band improvement on IELTS following intensive EAP courses. Elder and O’Loughlin also noted that improvement was greatest on the listening subtest and evident in average gains for the entire cohort but that individual performances varied considerably.
Shaw and Liu’s (1998) study, unlike the studies discussed above, investigated developments in learners’ L2 writing skills. The researchers compared learners’ writing in terms of a large number of linguistic features before and after a full-time preparatory EAP course (2 – 3 months long) in the United Kingdom. They reported that, although the learners’ writing showed no significant changes in linguistic accuracy or complexity,1 the writing did become more formal, employing language associated with written rather than spoken language, such as fewer personal pronouns and contractions.
Hinkel’s (2003) study, on the other hand, found that the writing of ESL learners showed features which create an overall impression of text simplicity even after a long period of living and studying in the US. Hinkel’s large-scale study compared the writing produced by advanced ESL learners, most of whom had spent four years studying in US community colleges and high schools, with the writing of native-speakers of English beginning their university study. Hinkel found that the ESL learners’ writing showed a higher frequency of simple syntactic and lexical constructions (e.g., sentences with be as the main verb, vague nouns such as people) which are often associated with informal discourse. Thus, Hinkel suggests that the in-country experience provides ESL learners with a great deal of exposure to informal conversational discourse and that this may explain the prevalence of informal expressions and constructions in the learners’ writing.
The above two studies focused only on the linguistic features of writing, and as such have considered only one aspect of what is considered ‘‘good academic writing.’’ Influential theories of writing, such as genre theory (e.g., Christie, 1998; Hyland, 2003) and a growing volumeof research onL2 writing (see extensive reviewin Silva&Brice, 2004 and the edited volume by Candlin&Hyland, 1999) have stressed that writing is a multi-dimensional, socio-cognitive activity, where the processes involved and the features of the text produced are very much shaped by socio-cultural norms and interpersonal relationships within the context in which the writing takes place. From this perspective, academic writing generally involves cognitive activities such as
reading and synthesizing information from a variety of sources, and producing a text which shows evidence of features associated with ‘‘good academic writing’’ in an Anglophone context. These features, evident in various writing assessment schemes (see Weigle, 2002), include, for example, a clear introduction and conclusion, the use of a formal register, and correct citations of the work of other authors.
The limited research on the effects of studying in an L2 setting on learners’ L2 writing and the low uptake of support options provided by the university, mentioned earlier, provided the impetus for this study. The focus of the study was on the learners’ writing, given that most assessment tasks are written assignments and exams. The study sought to investigate what features of academic writing, if any, develop as a result of studying in a degree program in an L2-medium university after one semester (12 weeks) and in the absence of formal language support.
Journal of Second Language Writing, 2009 (18)
To summarize:
1. Setting: Learning strategies, the central aspects in foreign language teaching, have received
extensive attention in applied linguistics. 2. Previous work: Most studies have ….
3. Gap: So far, virtually now published research takes account of the influence of personal
styles …. Despite more recent progress in understanding personality, the general picture remains unclear.
4. Present aim: This thesis accordingly explores some of the ways English majors proceed from
the beginning of English learning in the university to ….
5. Justification: The study can provide specific guidance for English teaching and learning….. 6. Structure: The thesis develops as follows. After the introduction, it briefly reviews the
previous studies in the field….
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