L2 Learning-To-Write Through Writing Conferences: A Mixed Methods Research Study

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dc.contributor.advisor Brown, James Dean
dc.contributor.author Imai, Junko
dc.contributor.department Second Language Studies
dc.date.accessioned 2020-02-20T18:04:20Z
dc.date.available 2020-02-20T18:04:20Z
dc.date.issued 2019
dc.description.degree Ph.D.
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10125/66203
dc.subject English as a second language
dc.subject Linguistics
dc.subject Pedagogy
dc.subject learning-to-write
dc.subject mixed-methods research
dc.subject second language acquisition
dc.subject second language writing
dc.subject self-regulation
dc.subject writing conference
dc.title L2 Learning-To-Write Through Writing Conferences: A Mixed Methods Research Study
dc.type Thesis
dcterms.abstract A writing conference (WrC) is a one-on-one consulting session concerning a student’s written academic work that takes place in a novice–expert pair. The literature on second language (L2) WrCs commonly addresses issues such as how novice writers learn to write, writers’ communicative responsibilities, and the challenges involved in L2 WrCs (e.g., Cumming & So, 1996; Ewert, 2009; Patthey-Chavez & Ferris, 1997; Young & Miller, 2004). L2 writing research has identified conditions that lead to successful textual revisions by coding texts, while conference studies have illustrated dominance and miscommunication in WrC talk by analyzing discursive practices. Yet these approaches are rarely employed together to understand data from the same participants and contexts, and most studies have been conducted on a small scale. To understand the effectiveness, meaningfulness, and challenges of L2 WrCs, I introduced WrCs in a college-level English for Academic Purpose (EAP) program in Hawai‘i. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design (Creswell, 2009), I collected pre and post questionnaires and essays from 108 learners. Over the course of the semester, 33 student–tutor pairs met for WrCs outside of regular EAP class times. I video recorded the WrCs, collected the students’ drafts and revisions, and conducted playback interviews with each participant. I statistically compared the quality of the students’ texts and attitudes, coded the topics discussed, discourse structures, and revision types, and explored the participants’ performances qualitatively. While the findings of the quantitative analysis indicate marginal effectiveness of L2 WrCs, the coding analysis demonstrates the diversity of the participants’ engagement in the WrCs. Qualitative analysis of selected WrCs illustrates the active participation and scaffolding that occurred in individual sessions, shows the interactive structure of the WrCs, and validates quantitative and coding results. Finally, the study explores the convergence and divergence of the findings from the different analyses, allowing a mixed-methods interpretation that casts new light on WrCs and L2 learning-to-write. Pedagogically, this study addresses the following matters: (a) whether WrCs are useful, (b) whether L2 learners should attend WrCs, (c) what learners and their tutors discuss during WrCs, and (d) how learners and tutors participate in WrCs.
dcterms.extent 366 pages
dcterms.language eng
dcterms.publisher University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
dcterms.rights All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner.
dcterms.type Text
local.identifier.alturi http://dissertations.umi.com/hawii:10412
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