The effects of L1 use and dialogic instruction on EFL writing

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of three different types of prewriting instruction on Turkish students’ L2 writing production capabilities. This mixed method study was carried out with 45 Turkish EFL students enrolled at a state university. Students were allocated into three groups randomly. In the control group the prewriting phase was carried out with monologic instruction in L2, while in one of the experimental groups, it was done with dialogic instruction in L2 and in the second experimental group, dialogic instruction was conducted in L1. Data were collected by means of pre-and post-writing tasks of the students and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney tests and through pattern coding, respectively. The statistical results indicated that the group who used their L1 during pre-writing stage with the help of dialogic instruction had higher mean scores than the group who was instructed monologically and the group who was instructed through dialogic instruction in L2.

Keywords

• Dialogic instruction; EFL writing; L1; L2.

References

1. Abdel Latif, M. M. (2007). The factors accounting for the Egyptian EFL university students’ negative writing affect. Essex Graduate Student Papers in Language and Linguistics, 9(1), 57-82.
2. Akyel, A. (1994). First language use in EFL writing: Planning in Turkish vs. planning in English. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 169-196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.1994.tb00062.x
3. Alexander, R. (2008). Culture, dialogue and learning: notes on an emerging pedagogy. In N. Mercer & S. Hodgkinson (Eds.), Exploring talk in school: Inspired by the work of Douglas Barnes (pp. 91-114). London: SAGE Publications.
4. Alexander, R. (2013). Essays on pedagogy. New York: Routledge.
5. Alexander, R. J. (2006). Towards dialogic teaching: Rethinking classroom talk. Cambridge: Dialogos.
6. Altınyelken, K. H. (2011). Student- centred pedagogy in Turkey: Conceptualisations, interpretations and practices. Journal of Education Policy, 26(2), 137-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2010.504886
7. Atkinson, D. (1987). The mother tongue in the classroom: A neglected resource? ELT Journal, 41(4), 241-247. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/41.4.241
8. Auman, M. E. (1999). Step up to writing. Longmont, CO: Sopris West Publishing.

9. Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics (Vol. 8). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.
10. Beare, S. (2000). Differences in content generating and planning process of adult L1 and L2 proficient writers (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario.
11. Becker, C. (1991). Quality and quantity of writing German in early acquisition: A case for associative activities in foreign language courses. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
12. Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). An attainable version of high literacy: Approaches to teaching higher-order skills in reading and writing. Curriculum Inquiry, 17(1), 9-30. https://doi.org/10.2307/1179375
13. Bruen, J., & Kelly, N. (2017). Using a shared L1 to reduce cognitive overload and anxiety levels in the L2 classroom. The Language Learning Journal, 45(3), 368-381. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2014.908405
14. Burbules, N. C. (1993). Dialogue in teaching: Theory and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
15. Burns, C., & Myhill, D. (2004). Interactive or inactive? A consideration of the nature of interaction in whole class teaching. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34(1), 35-49. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764042000183115
16. Byrd, R. D. (2011). Putting the writing process into action in the L2 classroom: Pre-writing techniques that work. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 64-77.
17. Byrnes, H., & Manchón, R. M. (2014). Insights from and for L2 writing: An introduction. In H. Byrnes & R. M. Manchón (Eds.), Task-based language learning: Insights from and for L2 writing (pp. 1-23). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.
18. Caccamise, D. J. (1987). Idea generation in writing. In A. Matsuhashi (Ed.), Writing in real time: Modeling production processes (pp. 224–253). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
19. Carrell, P.L., & Eisterhold, J.C. (1983). Schema theory and ESL reading pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 17(1), 553-573. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586613
20. Choi, J., Tatar, B., & Kim, J. (2014). Dialogic interactions in the English-mediated classroom: A case study of a social science class for engineering students in Korea. Asian Social Science, 10(16), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n16p123
21. Cohen, A. D., & Brooks-Carson, A. (2001). Research on direct versus translated writing: Students’ strategies and their results. The Modern Language Journal, 85(2), 169-188. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00103
22. Cook, V. (2001). Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review, 57(3), 402-423. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.57.3.402
23. Cumming, A. (1987, April). Decision Making and Text Representation in ESL Writing Performance. Paper presented at the 2lst Annual TESOL Convention, Miami Beach, Florida, USA.
24. Cumming, A. (1989). Writing expertise and second language proficiency. Language Learning, 39(1), 81-135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1989.tb00592.x
25. Cumming, A. (1990). Metalinguistic and ideational thinking in second language composing. Written Communication, 7(1), 482-511. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088390007004003
26. De la Colina, A. A., & Mayo, M. D. P. G. (2009). Oral interaction in task-based EFL learning: The use of the L1 as a cognitive tool. IRAL-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 47(3-4), 325-345.
27. Edelsky, C. (1982). Writing in a bilingual program: The relation of L1 and L2 texts. TESOL Quarterly, 16(2), 211-228. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586793
28. Freeman, D., & Freeman, Y. (2001). Between worlds: Access to second language acquisition. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
29. Friedlander, A. (1990). Composing in English: Effects of a first language on writing in English as a second language. In B. Kroll. (Ed.), Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom (pp. 109-125). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
30. Galton, M. J. (2007). Learning and teaching in the primary classroom. London: Sage.
31. Ghavamnia, M., Tavakoli, M., & Esteki, M. (2013). The effect of pre-task and online planning conditions on complexity, accuracy, and fluency on EFL learners’ written production. Porta Linguarum, 20(1), 31-43.
32. Gillies, R. M. (2016). Dialogic interactions in the cooperative classroom. International Journal of Educational Research, 76(1), 178-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.02.009
33. Gillies, R. M. (2015).Teacher dialogue that supports collaborative learning in the classroom. In L. B.
34. Resnick, C. S. C. Asterhan & S. N. Clarke (Eds.), Socializing intelligence through academic talk and dialogue (pp. 335-345). Washington DC, United States: American Educational Research Association.
35. Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools – A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
36. Gregory, M. (2007). A framework for facilitating classroom dialogue. Teaching Philosophy, 30(1), 59–84. https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil200730141
37. Hajhosseiny, M. (2012). The Effect of dialogic teaching on students’ critical thinking disposition, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69(1), 1358-1368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.12.073
38. Han, Y., & Hyland, F. (2015). Exploring learner engagement with written corrective in a Chinese tertiary EFL classroom. Journal of Second Language Writing, 30(1), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.08.002
39. Hatipoğlu-Kavanoz, S. (2006). An exploratory study of English language teachers’ beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge about learner-centeredness. TOJET, 5(2), 3-9.
40. Hornung, A. (2000). Method awareness and the teaching of writing. In G. Bäuer (Ed.), Writing Across Languages (pp. 131‐140). Stamford, CT: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
41. Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. New York, Cambridge University Press.
42. Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (2006). Feedback on second language students’ writing. Language Teaching, 39(1), 83–101. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444806003399
43. Ismail, S. A. A. (2011). Exploring students’ perceptions of ESL writing. English Language Teaching. Canadian Center of Science and Education, 4(2), 73-83. Jordan, R. R. (1997). English for academic purposes: A guide and resource book for teachers. Cambridge University Press.
44. Kellogg, R. T. (1996). A model of working memory in writing. In C. M. Levy & S. Ransdell (Eds.), The science of writing: Theories, methods, individual differences, and applications (pp. 57-71). Hillsdale, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
45. Kellogg, R. T. (1988). Attentional overload and writing performance: Effects of rough draft and outline strategies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 14(2), 355-365. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.14.2.355
46. Kim, E. Y. (2010). Using translation exercises in the communicative EFL writing classroom. ELT Journal, 65(2), 154-160.
47. Knutson, E. M. (2006). Thinking in English, writing in French. The French Review, 80(1), 88-109.
48. Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. New York: Oxford University Press.
49. Krapels, A. (1990). An overview of second language writing process research. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom (pp. 37-56). New York: Cambridge University Press.
50. Kroll, B. M. (1990). Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
51. Kumpulainen, K., & Lipponen, L. (2010). Productive interaction as agentic participation in dialogic enquiry.
52. In K. Littleton & C. Howe (Eds.), Educational dialogues: Understanding and promoting productive interaction (pp. 48-63). London: Routledge.
53. Kurt, G., & Atay, D. (2007). The effects of peer feedback on the writing anxiety of prospective Turkish teachers of EFL. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education, 3(1), 12-23.
54. Lay, N. (1982). Composing processed of adult ESL learners: A case study. TESOL Quarterly, 16(1), 406-407.
55. Lee, R. (2016). Implementing dialogic teaching in a Singapore English language classroom. RELC Journal, 47(3), 279-293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688216631171
56. Levy, C. M., & Ransdell, S. (1995). Is writing as difficult as it seems? Memory & Cognition, 23(6), 767-779.
57. Mahn, H. (2008). A dialogic approach to teaching L2 writing, In J.P. Lantolf & M.E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 115-138). London: Equinox.
58. Martinez-Gibson, E. (1998). A study on cultural awareness through commercials and writing. Foreign Language Annals, 31(1), 115-139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1998.tb01337.x
59. Mazdayasna, G., & Tahririan, M. (2008). Developing a profile of the ESP needs of Iranian students: The case of students of nursing and midwifery. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7(4), 277-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2008.10.008
60. Mercer, N., Dawes, L., & Staarman, J. K. (2009) Dialogic teaching in the primary science classroom. Language and Education, 23(4), 353-369. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780902954273
61. Mercer, N., & Dawes, L. (2014). The study of talk between teachers and students, from the 1970s until the 2010s. Oxford Review of Education, 40(4), 430–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.934087
62. Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of children’s thinking: A socio-cultural approach. London: Routledge.
63. Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
64. Motlhaka, H. A., & Makalela, L. (2016). Translanguaging in an academic writing class: Implications for a dialogic pedagogy. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 34(3), 251-260. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2016.1250356
65. Murphy, P. K., Wilkinson, I. A., Soter, A. O., Hennessey, M. N., & Alexander, J. F. (2009). Examining the effects of classroom discussion on students’ comprehension of text: A meta-analysis. Journal of
66. Educational Psychology, 101(3), 740-764. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015576 Nation, P. (2003). The role of the first language in foreign language learning. Asian EFL Journal, 5(2), 1-8.
67. Novak, J.D. (1998). Learning, creating, and using knowledge: Concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and corporations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
68. Ojima, M. (2006). Concept mapping as pre-task planning: A case study of three Japanese ESL writers. System, 34(4), 566-585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2006.08.003
69. Ortega, L. (2012). Epilogue: Exploring L2 writing–SLA interfaces. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(4), 404-415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.09.002
70. Otten, S., Engledowl, C., & Spain, V. (2015). Univocal and dialogic discourse in secondary mathematics classrooms: The case of attending to precision. ZDM, 47(7), 1285–1298.
71. Parker, M., & Hurry, J. (2007). Teachers’ use of questioning and modelling comprehension skills in primary classrooms. Educational Review, 59(3), 299-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910701427298
72. Peel, A. (2014). Writing between the lines: Aaliyah’s dialogic strategies for overcoming academic writing disengagement. Journal of Language and Literacy Education, 10(1), 65-81.
73. Pimentel, D. S., & McNeill, K. L. (2013). Conducting talk in secondary science classrooms: Investigating instruction moves and teachers’ beliefs. Science Education, 97(3), 367-394. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21061
74. Rau, P.S., & Sebrechts, M.M. (1996). How initial plans mediate the expansion and resolution of options in writing. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 49A, 616‐638.
75. Reznitskaya, A., Kuo, L., Clark, A., Miller, B., Jadallah, M., Anderson, R.C., & Nguyen-Jahiel, K. (2009). Collaborative reasoning: A dialogic approach to group discussions. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(1), 29-48. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640802701952
76. Ruddell, R. B., & Boyle, O. F. (1989). A study of cognitive mapping as a means to improve summarization and comprehension of expository text. Literacy Research and Instruction, 29(1), 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388078909557992
77. Sağlam, G. (1993). The attitudes of some Turkish students toward responses to their EFL writing. (Unpublished master’s thesis). The Institute of Economic and Social Science of Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey.
78. Schwarz, B. B., Neuman, Y., & Biezuner, S. (2000). Two wrongs may make a right… if they argue together! Cognition and Instruction, 18(4), 461-494. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532690XCI1804_2
79. Scott, M. (1996). Wordsmith tools. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
80. Scott, P. H., Mortimer, E. F. & Aguiar, O. G. (2006). The tension between authoritative and dialogic discourse: A fundamental characteristic of meaning making interactions in high school science lessons. Science Education, 90(4), 605-631.
81. Sebranek, P., Meyer, V., & Kemper, D. (2000). Write source 2000: A guide to writing, thinking, and learning. Wilmington, MA: Write Source/Great Source Education Group.
82. Sedova, K., Sedlacek, M., & Svaricek, R. (2016). Teacher professional development as a means of transforming student classroom talk. Teaching and Teacher Education, 57(1), 14-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.03.005
83. Sevgi, E. (2016). A comparison of the cognitive processes involved in L2 learners’ writing process when they are composing in English and in their L1. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232(1), 346-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.047
84. Smart, J. B. & Marshall, J. C. (2013). Interactions between classroom discourse, teacher questioning, and student cognitive engagement in middle school science. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(2), 249-267.
85. Splitter, L. J., & Sharp, A. M. (1995). Teaching better thinking: The classroom community of inquiry. Melbourne: Australian Centre for Educational Research.
86. Steward, T. T., & McClure, G. (2013). Freire, Bakhtin, and collaborative pedagogy: A dialogue with students and mentors. International Journal for Dialogical Science, 7(1), 91-108.
87. Storch, N., & Wigglesworth, G. (2003). Is there a role for the use of the L1 in an L2 setting? TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 760-770. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588224
88. Strasma, K., & Foster, G. (1992). Collaboration within writing classes: An ethnographic point of view. The Writing Instructor, Spring/Summer, 111-127.
89. Swaffar, J. K. (1988). Readers, texts, and second languages: The interactive process. Modern Language Journal, 72(1), 123-145.
90. Teo, P. (2016). Exploring the dialogic space in teaching: A study of teacher talk in the pre-university classroom in Singapore. Teaching and Teacher Education, 56(1), 47-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.019
91. Urzua, C. (1987). You stopped too soon: Second language children composing and revising. TESOL Quarterly, 21(1), 279-304.
92. Vacca, R. T., Vacca, J. L., & Mraz, M. E. (2010). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (10th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
93. Wang, L. (2003). Switching to first language among writers with differing second-language proficiency. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(4), 347-375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2003.08.003
94. Wang, W., & Wen, Q. (2002). L1 use in the L2 composing process: An exploratory study of 16 Chinese EFL writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 11(3), 225-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00084-X
95. Webb, N., Franke, M., Ing, M., Wong, J., Fernandez, C., Shin, N., & Turrou, A.C. (2014). Engaging with others’ mathematical ideas: Interrelationships among student participation, teachers’ instructional practices, and learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 63(1), 79-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2013.02.001
96. Wegerif, R., Mercer, N., & Dawes, L. (1999). From social interaction to individual reasoning: An empirical investigation of a possible socio-cultural model of cognitive development. Learning and Instruction, 9(6), 493-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-4752(99)00013-4
97. Wells, G. (2000). Dialogic inquiry in education: Building on the legacy of Vygotsky. In C. D. Lee & P. Smagorinsky (Eds.), Vygotskian perspectives on literacy research (pp. 51-85). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
98. Whalen, K., & Menard, N. (1995). L1 and L2 writers’ strategic and linguistic knowledge: A model of multiple-level discourse processing. Language Learning, 45(3), 381-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1995.tb00447.x
99. Williams, J. D. (2005). Preparing to teach writing: Research, theory, and practice (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
100. Woodall, B. R. (2002). Language-switching: Using the first language while writing in a second language. Journal of Second Language Writing, 11(1), 7-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00051-0
101. Zwiers, J., & Crawford, M. (2011). Academic conversations: Classroom talk that fosters critical thinking and content understandings. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse.