Certain English writing difficulties Chinese ESL/EFL students encounter have been attributed to the interference of L1 (first language) writing conventions. Reported differences between preferred writing styles in Chinese and in English composition have been linked to their respective cultural orientations: collectivism and individualism. However, most analyses comparing Chinese and English writing patterns were based only on anecdotal evidence. No previous studies examined individual differences in collectivism or individualism within cultural groups. This study conducted analyses of writing features Theoretically linked to collectivist or individualist orientations. These features were: indirectness, neutrality of stance, personal disclosure (first person singular pronouns and personal anecdote), use of proverbs/clichés, collective self (first personal plural pronouns, and statements of humaneness and collective virtues), and assertiveness. Comparisons were made Across languages and nationalities (Taiwanese and US students) and also Across language alone (Taiwanese writing in Chinese and in English). Associations with measured collectivism were also tested. The findings regarding the measure of collectivist self- image showed that Taiwanese undergraduates produced more group-oriented self-descriptions than did US undergraduates. However, no writing features were significantly associated with this variable. In writing features, US students, compared to Taiwanese students' Chinese writing, were found to be more direct, to hold more polarized positions, and to reveal a higher frequency of personal anecdotes. Taiwanese students, in contrast, tended to be flexible in their argumentative stances, to use more proverbs, and to express humaneness and collective virtues with greater frequency. Taiwanese students' English writing showed influences of L1 writing conventions in indirectness, personal anecdotes, humaneness and collective virtues. Taiwanese students writing in English, as compared with their native language, were less often flexible in their positions, and less likely to use proverbs or clichés. Surprisingly, they were more likely to use first person pronouns in English. Curiously, they were less assertive in English than in Chinese. Thus, use of writing features was associated with nationality and language, but not with participants' measured levels of collectivism. This pattern of findings implies that certain writing features are culture-typical, more a matter of socialized conventions, rather than due to differences in collectivist or individualist self-concept.

Sydney, Dawn L.. (1997). Mathematics Journal Writing in Entry Level College Algebra. | View Details

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of journal writing on students in entry level college algebra. Current trends encourage writing Across the curriculum, and research indicates that writing in the mathematics classroom can benefit the participants by giving them the opportunity to articulate their ideas, improve analytical and problem solving skills, and improve their attitude toward mathematics. This study included twenty-one entry level college algebra students writing weekly in an out-of-class assignment. Analyses looked at the effects of writing on attitude and performance scores gathered before and after the treatment period. Gender, first language, and classroom format were considered in the analyses. The results of this study indicated that while writing did not significantly affect participant attitude, performance was improved by the addition of the writing assignment. No difference was found for groups based on gender, first language, or classroom format.

Becker, Robert J.. (1996). Responses to Teacher-Directed and Student-Directed Writing Prompts and Performance On the IEA Survey of Achievement in Literature. | View Details

This study addresses questions and issues that lie at the heart of the writing Across the curriculum movement, primarily whether writing enhances learning and what mode of writing is most efficacious. In a project where all participants were asked to read a short story and then answer a series of questions about it, the responses of 462 community college freshman composition students who were randomly divided into three groups were examined. In two of the groups, students wrote about their reading before proceeding to the short answer sections. One group responded to a prompt designed to generate self-directed writing, the other to a prompt asking them to produce teacher-directed prose. The groups were compared with regard to how students approached the work of fiction read, their ability to comprehend and interpret the story, and their appreciation of it. for those who wrote in response to the reading, additional comparisons were made, particularly with respect to the kinds of discourse statements in the written texts, the fluency of the texts, and the relative convergence or divergence of the written responses. The central finding of this study is that no statistically significant between-groups differences were observed in either approaches to the text or performance indicators; however, several subsidiary trends were apparent. The type of story assigned as well as its relative level of complexity were factors that influenced students' responses. Certain sub-groups such as English as a Second Language (ESL) students and students who had taken remedial reading and/or writing classes also demonstrated some specific performance differentials.

Becket, Diana C.. (1995). Writing Across the Curriculum in a Second Language: An Analysis of Students and Teachers (Discourse Community). | View Details

This study investigated the reactions of American professors to the written prose of non-native speaking international students in their classes. The need for a clear understanding of the specific nature of the writing required in particular content areas has been recently stressed (Leki & Carson, 1994). These data are important for ESL curriculum designers to plan courses that will help these students to write coherent papers for their professors. The areas of the assignments that are especially significant are those the professors have difficulty following. The first case study in this research assessed the reactions of an ESL and freshman chemistry professor to the assignments of a Japanese native speaker. In the second case study, the same ESL professor and a professor teaching a course in urban development reacted to the written prose of a graduate student from Indonesia who was a native speaker of Malay. All the informants were interviewed throughout the data collection periods about the way these assignments were written and graded. In addition, the professors were asked to assess the students' papers and indicate the areas where, in their opinion, they had not expressed the concepts clearly. A model of discourse analysis that focused on the interactive, coherent, semantic, and syntactic aspects of text was developed and used to assess the way the professors had reacted to the assignments. The results indicate that while all the professors were primarily concerned with the content of the students' papers each reacted differently to the way the concepts were organized and expressed. The patterns of language use related specifically to the concerns of the respective content areas and the disciplinary context within which the assignment was set. It was with this interactive aspect of the texts that the students had most difficulty and to which the professors reacted most consistently. In both the freshman chemistry and the urban planning courses, neither student was given direct help with the linguistic requirements of the assignments. The results of the study have important implications for the role of the ESL writing classes in relation to the demands of the content areas.

Taylor, Marva M.. (1993). Bridging the Gap: Integrating Academic Content in a College Intermediate-Level ESL Course (Integrated Language Arts). | View Details

Recent trends in undergraduate institutions toward establishing general education requirements and writing Across the curriculum have increased the urgency of 'bridging the gap' between skills instruction and content area coursework for ESL students. This study describes one Approach to bridging the gap in an intermediate-level ESL reading course (taught by a cooperating instructor) using the processes and materials designed by the researcher. These included the use of content-area readings drawn from textbooks, newspapers and magazines; integrated reading and writing exercises; a theme-centered course format related to the college's core curriculum; and a class format incorporating individual work, collaborative groups, and a full class forum. Five students were randomly selected and their responses to pre-and-post interviews and questionnaires analyzed to determine their feelings about the bridge Approach and any indications of change or growth; the instructor's responses were similarly analyzed. In addition, the researcher observed class sessions and held conferences with the instructor on a weekly basis. The data gathered regarding the students' and instructor's perceptions indicate a consensus regarding the bridge Approach course's linguistic, academic skills, and affective benefits. The content-area materials were perceived as more difficult but also more interesting and relevant than those used in non-bridge courses, and the theme format as a unifying infrastructure enhancing comprehension of individual texts. In addition, the collaborative group work and integrated exercises were perceived as constituting real communication situations, providing the students with both opportunity and motivation to develop their speaking and listening as well as reading and writing skills. The consensus of students and instructor suggests that the greatest benefits of the bridge Approach course were affective: as students gained practical hands-on experience of what would be required of them in the mainstream curriculum, their confidence and sense of belonging to the college community increased, with a corresponding growth in self-esteem. These outcomes were used as a basis for recommendations for use of the bridge Approach in college ESL programs and for further research.

Chan, Michele M.. (1989). Writing in a Small Business Management Course: Doing Business/Doing School (Esl, Hong Kong, Business Education)... | View Details

This study investigated writing and its functions in an important but neglected academic context: undergraduate study in business. The focus of the study was a small business management course at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Adding to our knowledge of writing to learn in the overlapping communities of school and discipline was a major goal of the study. This study is situated within two communities which focus on academic settings: Writing Across the Curriculum (concerned with native English speakers) and English for Academic Purposes (focusing on non-native speakers of English). Bringing together related scholarship and research methodology from these areas to produce insight for teaching was another aim of the study. The two applied fields share a social-rhetorical view of language, leading to research which frames questions in terms of writers, readers, and their texts, in the contexts in which they are written and read: suggesting an ethnographic Approach. This study made use of participant observation, interviewing, text analysis and administration of a questionnaire to address two questions: (1) How do the contextual features comprising this academic situation (the course, the university setting, the discipline, the national setting) interact with writing? (2) How can such knowledge be applied to the teaching of composition in academic settings? Findings indicate that the important contextual features are the course, the nationality and culture of the participants, the discipline, and that the writing occurs in a university setting. of less importance was that students were non-native speakers of English. The Writing in Small Business Management was neither good academic nor good professional writing; it was 'school' writing, assigned for evaluation purposes and rated highly when it demonstrated learning, regardless of the quality of the writing. Students viewed this transactional writing both as a vehicle for demonstrating their knowledge (to the teacher) and for exploring and shaping their own ideas (for themselves). Through writing students learned to reason as business professionals, to work in groups, and to apply business knowledge. Nevertheless, students could have learned a great deal more were their writing expected not only to demonstrate learning in business (writing to do school) but also to demonstrate good business in writing.

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