Second Language Writing Mistakes: Are They Cognitively or Developmentally Based?
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| Title: | Second Language Writing Mistakes: Are They Cognitively or Developmentally Based? |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Burkhalter, Nancy |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 1990 |
| Document Type: | Information Analyses Speeches/Meeting Papers |
| Descriptors: | Cognitive Processes, English (Second Language), Error Analysis (Language), Learning Strategies, Learning Theories, Rhetoric, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Transfer of Training, Writing Processes, Writing Skills |
| Geographic Terms: | U.S.; New Mexico |
| Abstract: | The argument is presented that good writing begins with adult inner speech that ignores audience and then gradually evolves into a form of communication adding the vital component of audience into its focus. It is suggested that when second language writers are not trained to go beyond the inner speech in their own language, they do not have the metaskills, which include the notion of audience, that greatly facilitate writing tasks in the target language. English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) rhetorical errors, it is further argued, can then be attributed, at least in part, to underdeveloped writing skills in a student's native language. An investigation is made of both transfer and developmental rhetorical errors made by ESL students that suggests a shared responsibility between both sources. It is concluded, however, that while language transfer offers a useful method of analyzing some ESL rhetorical errors, it offers no theoretical underpinning on which to base methodology. (GLR) |
| Notes: | Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Second Language Research Forum (Eugene, OR, March 1-4, 1990). |
| Journal Code: | RIEJAN1991 |
| Entry Date: | 1991 |
| Accession Number: | ED322728 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The argument is presented that good writing begins with adult inner speech that ignores audience and then gradually evolves into a form of communication adding the vital component of audience into its focus. It is suggested that when second language writers are not trained to go beyond the inner speech in their own language, they do not have the metaskills, which include the notion of audience, that greatly facilitate writing tasks in the target language. English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) rhetorical errors, it is further argued, can then be attributed, at least in part, to underdeveloped writing skills in a student's native language. An investigation is made of both transfer and developmental rhetorical errors made by ESL students that suggests a shared responsibility between both sources. It is concluded, however, that while language transfer offers a useful method of analyzing some ESL rhetorical errors, it offers no theoretical underpinning on which to base methodology. (GLR) |
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