This book focuses on the concept of learner writer identity in the context of foreign language writing. The author demonstrates that the process of writing in a foreign language is much more complex and personal than many writing instructors may assume. The book’s theoretical chapters address such concepts as bilingualism, the process of L2 writing, and identity in L2 writing. The book’s empirical section discusses the students’ views on writing in L1 and in L2, the students’ writing processes in both languages, and the students’ identities in L1 and L2 writing. It is shown that writing in L2 poses problems of a linguistic nature; however, for the advanced EFL learners writing in L2 also creates opportunities they would never have when composing in their mother tongue.

This book explores the phenomena of believing (or giving personal meanings), acting, and identifying (or identity construction), and the interconnectedness of these phenomena in the learning and teaching of English and other foreign languages.

This book addresses the transfer of rhetorical knowledge from a first language (L1) to a second language (L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer), a common cognitive phenomenon in the L2 writing of students in foreign language learning environments. It investigates L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer from a cognitive perspective and examines a specific component of L2 writers’ agency in this transfer, namely metacognition. The book’s ultimate goal is to enhance our understanding of the cognitive mechanism of rhetorical transfer across languages. This goal is in turn connected to the need to determine how L1 rhetorical knowledge can be steered and oriented toward successful L2 writing. To this end, this book proposes a theoretical framework for transfer studies, encompassing the dimensions of text, transfer agency, and L2 essay raters. It facilitates an in-depth exploration of the intricacies involved in L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer. It then presents empirical studies on this transfer. Embracing a dynamic perspective, this book furthers our understanding of interlingual rhetorical transfer as a conscious or intuitive process for making meaning, one that can be monitored and steered. Moreover, it discusses the pedagogical implications for L2 writing instruction that guides students to use metacognition to transfer L1 rhetorical knowledge during L2 writing.

The book explores the pedagogical potential of autobiographical writing in English-as-a-foreign language, approaching the topic from an educational, longitudinal, dialogical, and social perspective. Through a number of case studies, the author delineates four phases that EFL writers may experience in their identity construction processes, illustrating the complexity of EFL writers’ social identities. This book will provide a valuable resource for language teachers and researchers interested in the pedagogical applications of autobiographical writing.

Narratives of Learning and Teaching EFL can thus function as a source of ideas - and also as a tool kit."--BOOK JACKET.

China has attached great importance to teaching students to become proficient users of English. Yet, despite a plethora of studies and practice on Chinese ESL/EFL (English as a second/foreign language) learners, the large student population, its complicated composition and the complex nature of second and foreign language learning have rendered it difficult to offer a panoramic view on ESL/EFL teaching and learning of Chinese learners. This book provides a new and up-to-date perspective on the teaching and learning of Chinese ESL/EFL learners. The book collects 15 case studies, falling into two parts—Curriculum Development and Teaching Practice and Skills-Based Research. The collected studies deploy qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods to explore patterns, features, developments and causes and effects of a variety of issues in the sphere of ESL/EFL teaching and learning. Moreover, the cases offer insights that are relevant beyond the mainland Chinese context such as Hong Kong, Macau, Britain and Australia. Students and scholars of TESOL and applied linguistics will be interested in this title.

This book contributes to our growing understanding of the nature and development of language learner self-concept. It assesses the relevant literature in the disciplines of psychology and applied linguistics and describes in-depth, qualitative research examining the self-concepts of tertiary-level EFL learners. Although researchers in applied linguistics and SLA have recognized the importance of self-constructs, there remains little empirical work in the context of foreign language learning that focuses exclusively and at length on this central psychological construct. The content of this monograph draws on interdisciplinary sources, with input from psychology and applied linguistics. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in language-learner psychology as well as self-related constructs in general. The text provides insights into how learners view themselves, and how these self-beliefs can develop and affect the progress of an individual’s language learning.

This book presents a research study investigating young foreign language learners' ability to compose communicative texts in English. It reviews current research on young learners' EFL writing, reports on the learners' EFL writing competence, describes text quality at different CEFR language levels, and discusses current teaching practices and the learners' perception of EFL writing.