Title: L2 writing education: Does far transfer of learning outcomes occur, and can it be promoted
1L2 writing education Does far transfer of
learning outcomes occur, and can it be promoted?
- Mark Andrew James
- Arizona State University
2Background
- University ESL writing courses are meant to lead
to learning outcomes that students will apply in
(or transfer to) their other courses. - However, the writing required in an ESL writing
course can differ (e.g., in the way source texts
are used Leki Carson, 1997) from the writing
required in other courses. - This mismatch means that there appears to be an
expectation in ESL writing education for far
transfer of learning outcomes.
3Research questions
- Will learning outcomes from an ESL writing course
transfer to a writing task with characteristics
very different from the kind of writing done in
the ESL writing course but typical of the kind of
writing required in other academic courses (i.e.,
involving text-responsible writing)? - Can learning transfer in this situation be
promoted by asking students to look for
similarities between the writing task and the ESL
writing course?
4The participants (N30)
- 80 were in their first year of university study.
- The average age was 21.
- 57 were male and 43 were female.
- They represented 13 different nationalities, the
most common being Indian (6 participants),
Taiwanese (4), Korean (4), and Chinese (3). - Their major areas of study were in business (15
participants), liberal arts and sciences (9),
engineering (5). (One participant had not yet
declared a major.)
5The ESL writing course
- 4 sections of a 1-semester, 3-credit freshman ESL
writing course. (4 instructors, all experienced
TAs.) - Goal to introduce students to the importance
of writing in the work of the university and to
develop their critical reading, thinking and
writing skills so that they can successfully
participate in that work. -
- Main course assignments 4 multi-draft
compositions, none of which involved
text-responsible writing. - Textbook The St.Martins guide to writing
6Data collection
- A 2-week period after the middle of the semester.
- Each student completed (individually, out of
class) - a 40-minute writing task
- a 15-minute interview
- a 1-page background questionnaire.
7The writing task
- Biotechnology The smell of wealth
- A North Carolina State University scientist has
developed a simple method for processing animal
waste, which may lead to productive uses for some
of the 500 million tons of poultry and livestock
waste produced in the United States each year. - (... the article continues and is about 450 words
long ...) - Questions
- -- What is thermophilic anaerobic digestion?
- -- Why is it an important biotechnology?
- (Demonstrate your understanding by describing
and discussing this phenomenon.)
8The writing task
- But first Try to think of similarities
between this writing task and the writing tasks
or assignments you do in your COMP107 class.
Write down 4 similarities here - 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- After you have written down 4 similarities, read
the article and answer the questions.
9Data collection
- A 2-week period after the middle of the semester.
- Each student completed (individually, out of
class) - a 40-minute text-responsible writing task
- a 15-minute interview
- a 1-page background questionnaire.
10Data collection
- A 2-week period after the middle of the semester.
- Each student completed (individually, out of
class) - a 40-minute text-responsible writing task
- a 15-minute interview
- a 1-page background questionnaire.
- Students also submitted a copy of their most
recent graded assignment from the ESL writing
course.
11Data analysis
- 1. Two raters examined each piece of writing
(from the writing task and the ESL writing course
assignment) for the use of 15 strategies. - 6 content-related strategies (e.g., exemplifying
comparing/contrasting) - 5 organization-related strategies (e.g., using
cueing statements using connectives) - 4 language-related strategies (e.g., avoiding
fused sentences avoiding sentence fragments) -
12Data analysis
Example of rubric for examining use of writing
strategies Strategy 10 Using connectives
(i.e., temporal e.g., when, spatial e.g.,
there, and/or logical e.g., however
transitions) 1 No use 2 Minimal use (e.g.,
one word used in only one or two places) 3
Moderate use (e.g., two or three different
words used, in several places) 4
Extensive use (e.g., multiple words used,
throughout the text)
13Data analysis
- 1. Two raters examined each piece of writing
(from the writing task and the ESL writing course
assignment) for the use of 15 strategies. - 6 content-related strategies (e.g., exemplifying
comparing/contrasting) - 5 organization-related strategies (e.g., using
cueing statements using connectives) - 4 language-related strategies (e.g., avoiding
fused sentences avoiding sentence fragments) -
- 2. I coded the interview transcripts for evidence
of learning transfer.
14Research question 1
Did learning outcomes from the ESL writing
course transfer to the writing task? ...
15Research question 1 Interview data
- In the interviews, 13 of the 30 students (i.e.,
43) said that they had made a conscious effort
to use learning outcomes from COMP107 to do the
writing task. Of these, 7 (i.e., 23 of total)
referred to writing strategies. - Example of a report of transfer
- Researcher For this activity, did you try to
use any of the skills or strategies or things
you have learned or practiced in COMP107? - Participant Actually, yes. I used some
transition words like however, although,
also. Some of those skills, like, not that
much, to only maintain the essay. -
16Research question 1 Writing sample data
17Research question 1 Writing sample data
18Research question 1 Writing sample data
19Research question 2
- Was learning transfer promoted by asking
students to look for similarities between the
writing task and the ESL writing course?
20Research question 2 Interview data
- Groups were compared using a Chi-square test
- Group 1 (i.e., students who had not been asked to
look for similarities) vs. Group 2 (i.e.,
students who had been asked to look for
similarities), for reported learning transfer. - There was no significant difference between the
groups.
21Research question 2 Writing sample data
COMP107 assignment
Writing task
22Research question 2 Writing sample data
COMP107 assignment
Writing task
23Summary
- Far transfer of learning outcomes did occur from
the ESL writing course but, this transfer was
constrained - some students tried to use learning outcomes from
the ESL writing course to do the writing task
others did not. - some writing strategies (particularly those
related to language use and those hinted at in
the task instructions) transferred readily to the
writing task others (i.e., many of those related
to content and organization) did not. - Asking students to look for task similarities did
not stimulate transfer of learning outcomes.
24Implications
- L2 writing practitioners may be encouraged that
far transfer of learning outcomes from an ESL
writing course can occur. They may also feel
cautious because this transfer is not inevitable.
- L2 writing researchers may investigate questions
like - How far will learning outcomes from a L2 writing
course transfer? - Do some learning outcomes from a L2 writing
course transfer more readily than others? - Both groups may be interested in the question of
whether far transfer of learning outcomes can be
stimulated.
25Thank you! ...