Vol. 6. No.

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September 2002 Return to Main Page

Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis in Student Texts
Johanne Myles Queen's University <jbm2@post.queensu.ca>

Abstract
Academic writing requires conscious effort and much practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas. Students writing in a second language are also faced with social and cognitive challenges related to second language acquisition. L1 models of writing instruction and research on composing processes have been the theoretical basis for using the process approach in L2 writing pedagogy. However, language proficiency and competence underlies the ability to write in the L2 in a fundamental way. Therefore, L2 writing instructors should take into account both strategy development and language skill development when working with students. This paper explores error in writing in relation to particular aspects of second language acquisition and theories of the writing process in L1 and L2. It can be argued that a focus on the writing process as a pedagogical tool is only appropriate for second language learners if attention is given to linguistic development, and if learners are able to get sufficient and effective feedback with regard to their errors in writing.

Introduction
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of "writing down" on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley,

1993). It is undoubtedly the act of composing, though, which can create problems for students, especially for those writing in a second language (L2) in academic contexts. Formulating new ideas can be difficult because it involves transforming or reworking information, which is much more complex than writing as telling. By putting together concepts and solving problems, the writer engages in "a two-way interaction between continuously developing knowledge and continuously developing text" (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987, p. 12). Indeed, academic writing requires conscious effort and practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas. Compared to students writing in their native language (L1), however, students writing in their L2 have to also acquire proficiency in the use of the language as well as writing strategies, techniques and skills. They might also have to deal with instructors and later, faculty members, who may or may not get beyond their language problems when evaluating their work. Although a certain amount of consciousness-raising on the part of the readers may be warranted, students want to write close to error-free texts and they enter language courses with the expectations of becoming more proficient writers in the L2. [-1-] This paper explores error in writing in relation to particular aspects of second language acquisition and theories of the writing process in L1 and L2. I argue that the process approach to instruction, with its emphasis on the writing process, meaning making, invention and multiple drafts (Raimes, 1991), is only appropriate for second language learners if they are both able to get sufficient feedback with regard to their errors in writing, and are proficient enough in the language to implement revision strategies. A brief survey of the nature of L2 writing and L1 models of the writing process illustrates why it is difficult to apply L1 research to a model for second language writing. Further, certain social and cognitive factors related to second language acquisition show that strategies involved in the language learning process also affect L2 writing. With a discussion of these factors, fundamental questions about error in writing and L2 proficiency are raised. It should then become apparent that the process approach to writing instruction can only be effective if these two components are taken into consideration.

Models of L1 and L2 Writing

Most ESL students studying in post-secondary institutions have writing skills. However, their purposes for writing are sometimes not the kind valued by Western academic communities. The nature of academic literacy often confuses and disorients students, "particularly those who bring with them a set of conventions that are at odds with those of the academic world they are entering" (Kutz, Groden & Zamel, 1993, p. 30). In addition, the culture-specific nature of schemata--abstract mental structures representing our knowledge of things, events, and situations--can lead to difficulties when students write texts in L2. Knowing how to write a "summary" or "analysis" in Mandarin or Spanish does not necessarily mean that students will be able to do these things in English (Kern, 2000). As a result, any appropriate instruction must take into consideration the influence from various educational, social, and cultural experiences that students have in their native language. These include textual issues, such as rhetorical and cultural

preferences for organizing information and structuring arguments, commonly referred to as contrastive rhetoric (Cai, 1999; Connor, 1997; Kaplan, 1987; Kobayashi & Rinnert, 1996; Leki, 1993; 1997; Matalene, 1985), knowledge of appropriate genres (Johns, 1995; Swales, 1990), familiarity with writing topics (Shen, 1989), and distinct cultural and instructional socialization (Coleman, 1996; Holliday, 1997; Valdes, 1995). In addition to instructional and cultural factors, L2 writers have varying commands of the target language, which affect the way structural errors are treated from both social and cognitive points of view. Much of the research on L2 writing has been closely dependent on L1 research. Although L2 writing is strategically, rhetorically, and linguistically different in many ways from L1 writing (Silva, 1993), L1 models have had a significant influence on L2 writing instruction and the development of a theory of L2 writing. However, a look at two popular L1 models will give us some insight into the problem of developing a distinct construct of L2 writing. [-2-] The Flower and Hayes (1980, 1981) model focuses on what writers do when they compose. It examines the rhetorical problem in order to determine the potential difficulties a writer could experience during the composing process. The "problemsolving activity" is divided into two major components: the rhetorical situation (audience, topic, assignment), and the writer's own goals (involving the reader, the writer's persona, the construction of meaning, and the production of the formal text). By comparing skilled and less-skilled writers, the emphasis here is placed on "students' strategic knowledge and the ability of students to transform information . . . to meet rhetorically constrained purposes" (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996, p. 116). However, the social dimension is important too. Indeed, writing "should not be viewed solely as an individually-oriented, innerdirected cognitive process, but as much as an acquired response to the discourse conventions . . . within particular communities" (Swales, 1990, p. 4). In more recent studies that examine the goals students set for themselves, the strategies they use to develop their organizing of ideas and the metacognitive awareness they bring to both these acts, Flower and her colleagues (1990) analyze the academic task of reading-to-write to establish the interaction of context and cognition in performing a particular writing task. One of the problems they note is the transition students are required to make when entering the academic discourse community (a peculiar, socially constructed convention in itself), where students need to learn how to operate successfully in an academic conversation that implies knowledge of the textual conventions, expectations, and formulaic expressions particular to the discourse. According to the researchers, "conceptualizing this transition as a social/cognitive act of entering a discourse emphasizes both the problem-solving effort of a student learning to negotiate a new situation and the role the situation will play in what is learned" (p. 222). The view that writing is typically a socially situated, communicative act is later incorporated into Flower's (1994) socio-cognitive theory of writing. In the social cognitive curriculum students are taught as apprentices in negotiating an academic community, and in the

process develop strategic knowledge. Writing skills are acquired and used through negotiated interaction with real audience expectations, such as in peer group responses. Instruction should, then, afford students the opportunity to participate in transactions with their own texts and the texts of others (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996). By guiding students toward a conscious awareness of how an audience will interpret their work, learners then learn to write with a "readerly" sensitivity (Kern, 2000). Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) also propose a model that suggests reasons for differences in writing ability between skilled and less-skilled writers. The basic difference is revealed in their two models of writing: the knowledge-telling model, whose basic structure depends on the processes of retrieving content from memory with regard to topical and genre cues, and the knowledge-transforming model, which involves more reflective problem-solving analysis and goal-setting. The latter model is important because it opens up the idea of multiple processing, which is revealed through writing tasks that vary in processing complexity. The authors discuss the notion of mental representation as a writing strategy. From their research with graduate students, they observe that the students "generated goals for their compositions and engaged in problem solving involving structure and gist as well as verbatim representations" (p. 354). The knowledge-transforming or intentional writing model is different from knowledge telling in that it involves setting of goals that are to be achieved through the composing process, and the purposeful achievement of those goals. The composing process does not depend on memories and emotions and on external (teacher) assistance for its direction. In fact, Bereiter and Scardamalia criticize formal schooling that encourages the more passive kind of cognition by "continually telling students what to do," rather than encouraging them "to follow their spontaneous interests and impulses . . . and assume responsibility for what becomes of their minds" (p. 361). They also argue that the ability to wrestle with and resolve both content and rhetorical problems calls upon a dialectical process for reflection. If students rarely practice the kinds of writing tasks that develop knowledgetransforming skills, they are not likely to be able to perform those skills easily. [-3-] Both the Flower and Hayes, and the Bereiter and Scardamalia writing process models have served as the theoretical basis for using the process approach in both L1 and L2 writing instruction. By incorporating pre-writing activities such as collaborative brainstorming, choice of personally meaningful topics, strategy instruction in the stages of composing, drafting, revising, and editing, multiple drafts and peer-group editing, the instruction takes into consideration what writers do as they write. Attention to the writing process stresses more of a workshop approach to instruction, which fosters classroom interaction, and engages students in analyzing and commenting on a variety of texts. The L1 theories also seem to support less teacher intervention and less attention to form. Despite their implications for classroom instruction, not all the components of these models are appropriate in an L2 context. The Flower model, in particular, does not recognize cross-cultural differences and issues related to sociocultural variation in the functions of the written language (Kern, 2000). Additionally, with native speakers, "writing ability is more closely linked to fluency in and familiarity with the conventions of expository discourse" (Kogen 1986, p. 25). L2 writers, however, are in the process of

acquiring these conventions and so they often need more instruction about the language itself. Limited knowledge of vocabulary, language structure, and content can inhibit a L2 writer's performance. In addition, the models do not account for growing language proficiency, which is a vital element of L2 writing development. Similarly, composing, especially in the revision stage, challenges L2 writers. In his research on how L2 writers revise their work, Silva (1993) observes that learners revise at a superficial level. They re-read and reflect less on their written text, revise less, and when they do, the revision is primarily focused on grammatical correction. On the other hand, L1 writing ability may also transfer to L2. As a result, students who are skilled writers in their native languages and have surpassed a certain L2 proficiency level can adequately transfer those skills. Of course, those who have difficulty writing in their native language may not have a repertoire of strategies to help them in their L2 writing development (Sasaki & Hirose, 1996). These observations warrant consideration for L2 instruction and course design, especially for those courses in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing that include less-skilled writers or those who have never had the opportunity to engage in more knowledge-transforming tasks in their native languages. In sum, social-cognitive theories of writing show us how social contexts for writing operate together with the cognitive efforts of the writer, just as they do when a person is acquiring a new language. However, the problem with applying L1 theories and subsequent models of instruction (such as the process approach) to L2 instruction is that L2 writing also involves the cognitively demanding task of generating meaningful text in a second language. As a result, L2 students generally want more teacher involvement and guidance, especially at the revision stage. Consequently, in order to provide effective pedagogy, L2 writing instructors need to understand the social and cognitive factors involved in the process of second language acquisition and error in writing because these factors have a salient effect on L2 writing development. [-4-]

The Sources of Error in L2 Writing: Social and Cognitive Factors

Social Factors Both social and cognitive factors affect language learning. Exploration of social factors gives us some idea of why learners differ in rate of L2 learning, in proficiency type (for instance, conversational ability versus writing ability), and in ultimate proficiency (Ellis, 1994). Research based on direct (self-report questionnaires) and indirect measures generally shows that learners with positive attitudes, motivation, and concrete goals will have these attitudes reinforced if they experience success. Likewise, learners' negative attitudes may be strengthened by lack of success or by failure (McGroarty, 1996). Needless to say, although ESL learners may have negative attitudes toward writing for academic purposes, many of them are financially and professionally committed to graduating from English-speaking universities, and as a result, have strong reasons for learning and improving their skills.

There is a direct relationship between learner attitudes and learner motivation. Gardner's (1985) socio-educational model is designed to account for the role of social factors in language acquisition. It interrelates four aspects of L2 learning: the social and cultural milieu (which determines beliefs about language and culture), individual learner differences (related to motivation and language aptitude), the setting (formal and/or informal learning contexts), and learning outcomes. Integrative motivation involves a desire to learn an L2 because individuals need to learn the target language to integrate into the community. In addition to this interest, the people or the culture represented by the other language group may also inspire them. On the other hand, instrumental motivation acknowledges the role that external influences and incentives play in strengthening the learners' desire to achieve. Learners who are instrumentally motivated are interested in learning the language for a particular purpose, such as writing a dissertation or getting a job. According to the theory, if second language learning takes place in isolation from a community of target language speakers, then it benefits more from integrative motivation, whereas if it takes place among a community of speakers, then instrumental orientation becomes the more effective motivational factor. Despite problems in Gardner's research design, it can be concluded that motivational factors "probably do not make much difference on their own, but they can create a more positive context in which language learning is likely to flourish" (Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994, p. 140). (See Lambert, 1975; Schumann, 1978; Giles, Robinson & Smith, 1980; Giles & Byrne, 1982; and Hamers & Blanc, 1982 for examples of other models that focus on the social circumstances of learning in relation to second language acquisition). Learners' attitudes, motivations, and goals can explain why some L2 writers perform better than others. For example, at the beginning of each of my ESL writing classes, I often ask students to fill out a personal information form to determine their needs and interests when planning my course. The answers to questions such as, "Do you enjoy writing in English?" and "What are your strengths and weaknesses in writing?" are revealing. Most students will answer that they hate writing in English (and in their native language, for that matter), and are only taking the course for educational and/or career purposes. In fact, it seems that many of the students would prefer to be practicing conversation. Students may enjoy writing e-mail messages to friends around the world, but challenges, such as difficulties getting started, finding the right words, and developing topics, abound. However, if students show an overall interest in the target language (integrative motivation), perceive that there is parental and social support, and have a desire to achieve their professional goals (instrumental motivation), they can become more proficient in their ability to write in English, despite the initial lack of selfmotivation. [-5-] Writing teachers should be aware of how the instrumental motivation of their L2 students will influence the effectiveness of their lessons. Common purposes for learners writing in an EAP context include writing a research paper for publication in an English-speaking journal or writing a business report for a multinational company. These learners may be less motivated to write stories or poetry, because they perceive that these tasks are not related to their needs. Even writing a standard research essay may seem like a waste of time for those who will need to write project reports and memos. If learners perceive

writing tasks to be useless, they may approach them in a careless manner. Consequently, it is likely that they will be inattentive to errors, monitoring, and rhetorical concerns (Carson, 2001). However, if students are highly motivated, then any sort of writing task, expressive or otherwise, are welcomed. Social factors also influence the quality of contact that learners will experience. Indeed, we cannot assume that "more contact" with the target language will result in more acquisition of the L2. Certainly, instructors recommend that students studying English for academic purposes should read academic texts, attend academic lectures, and even work with students who are native speakers in order to become more acquainted with the discourse. However, if they do not engage in the texts, understand the talks, or actively contribute to the study sessions, these activities will have little effect on student progress. Interaction is key. A common complaint among ESL students at university is that they have difficulty meeting native speakers and getting to know them. Students are often disappointed that they do not have as much interaction with native speakers as they had expected. In addition, they often associate with other students from their L1 and speak their native language. Unfortunately, this pattern can slow down L2 development in all skill areas. The instructor is often responsible for providing incentives or opportunities for interactions with native speakers. Generally speaking, if L2 learners are motivated to integrate into the L2, they will develop a higher level of proficiency and positive attitudes, which can have a positive effect on their writing. In short, learners may continue to exhibit errors in their writing for the following social reasons: 1. 2. 3. 4. negative attitudes toward the target language continued lack of progress in the L2 a wide social and psychological distance between them and the target culture, and, a lack of integrative and instrumental motivation for learning.

Cognitive Factors Academic writing is believed to be cognitively complex. Acquisition of academic vocabulary and discourse style is particularly difficult. According to cognitive theory, communicating orally or in writing is an active process of skill development and gradual elimination of errors as the learner internalizes the language. Indeed, acquisition is a product of the complex interaction of the linguistic environment and the learner's internal mechanisms. With practice, there is continual restructuring as learners shift these internal representations in order to achieve increasing degrees of mastery in L2 (McLaughlin, 1988). [-6-] One model that applies to both speaking and writing in a second language is Anderson's (1985) model of language production, which can be divided into three stages: construction, in which the writer plans what he/she is going to write by brainstorming, using a mind-map or outline; transformation, in which language rules are applied to transform intended meanings into the form of the message when the writer is composing

or revising; and execution, which corresponds to the physical process of producing the text. The first two stages have been described as "setting goals and searching memory for information, then using production systems to generate language in phrases or constituents" (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990, p. 42). Writers vascillate between these processes as they actively develop the meaning they wish to express in writing. Anderson's learning theory supports teaching approaches that combine the development of language and content knowledge, practice in using this knowledge, and strategy training to encourage independent learning (Snow, 2001). In structuring information, the writer uses various types of knowledge, including discourse knowledge, understanding of audience, and sociolinguistic rules (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). Organization at both the sentence and the text level is also important for effective communication of meaning, and ultimately, for the quality of the written product (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1987). For instance, coherence problems may be due to not knowing how to organize text or how to store the relevant information. The transformation stage involves converting information into meaningful sentences. At this point, the writer translates or changes his/her plans into a mental representation of the goals, ideas, and organization developed in the construction stage. Revision is also part of this stage. As previously mentioned, revision is a cognitively demanding task for L2 learners because it not only involves task definition, evaluation, strategy selection, and modification of text in the writing plan (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996), but also the ability of students to analyze and evaluate the feedback they receive on their writing. Due to the complex process of writing in a second language, learners often find it difficult to develop all aspects of the stages simultaneously. As a result, they selectively use only those aspects that are automatic or have already been proceduralized (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). In order to enhance or facilitate language production, students can develop particular learning strategies that isolate component mental processes. O'Malley and Chamot have differentiated strategies into three categories: metacognitive, such as planning the organization of written discourse or monitoring (that is, being aware of what one is doing and responding appropriately to the demands of a task); cognitive, such as transferring or using known linguistic information to facilitate a new learning task or using imagery for recalling and using new vocabulary, and social/affective strategies, which involve cooperating with peers, for example, in peer revision classes. Learner strategies can be effective, but they need to be internalized so that they can be utilized in adverse learning situations. For example, if an environment is perceived to be stressful or threatening, for example, writing as part of a job interview process, or performing under timed test conditions, learners' affective states can influence cognition. Emotional influences along with cognitive factors can account for achievement and performance in L2, to a certain extent. Schumann (1998) argues that affect may influence cognition through its role in framing a problem and in adopting processing strategies. He states that we very often use feelings as information: "When faced with a situation about which we have to make a judgment we often ask ourselves how we feel about it . . . we may also employ feelings when time constraints and competing tasks limit our cognitive

capacities" (p. 247). This outcome may affect the way second language students perform when they are under stress. [-7-] Language transfer is another important cognitive factor related to writing error. Transfer is defined as the influence resulting from similarities and differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously acquired (Odlin, 1989). The study of transfer involves the study of errors (negative transfer), facilitation (positive transfer), avoidance of target language forms, and their over-use (Ellis, 1994). Behaviorist accounts claim that transfer is the cause of errors, whereas from a cognitive perspective, transfer is seen as a resource that the learner actively draws upon in interlanguage development (Selinker, 1972). In other words, "the L1 can have a direct effect on interlanguage development by influencing the hypotheses that learners construct" (Ellis, 1994, p. 342). According to McLaughlin, transfer errors can occur because: [L]earners lack the necessary information in the second language or the attentional capacity to activate the appropriate second-language routine. But such an account says little about why certain linguistic forms transfer and others do not. (1988, p. 50) Despite the fact that L1 transfer is no longer viewed as the only predictor or cause of error at the structural level (since it is difficult to distinguish empirically between instances of communication and language transfer in research studies), a writer's first language plays a complex and significant role in L2 acquisition. For example, when learners write under pressure, they may call upon systematic resources from their native language for the achievement and synthesis of meaning (Widdowson, 1990). Research has also shown that language learners sometimes use their native language when generating ideas and attending to details (Friedlander, 1990). In addition, contrastive studies, which have focused on characteristics of L1 languages and cultures, have helped us predict rhetorical error in writing. These studies have been valuable in our understanding of L2 writing development. However, many feel that these studies have also led to reductive, essentializing generalizations about ways of writing and cultural stereotypes about students from certain linguistic backgrounds (Fox, 1994; Leki, 1997; Spack, 1997). As a result, erroneous predictions about students' learning based on their L1 language and culture have occurred regardless of social factors, such as "the contexts, and purpose of their learning to write, or their age, race, class, gender, education, and prior experience" (Raimes, 1998, p. 143). In addition, learners are influenced by many global phenomena and are themselves continually changing with new experiences. In spite of these criticisms, though, an understanding of "difference among epistemological rhetorical, and pedagogical traditions" (Kern, 2000, p. 176) and the impact of language transfer can be illuminating for an understanding of why learners make certain structural and organizational errors. [-8-] Input and interaction also play important roles in the writing process, especially in classroom settings. Some studies have indicated that input, along with L1 transfer and communicative need may work together to shape interlanguage (Ellis, 1994; Selinker, 1972). Research has focused on four broad areas: input frequency, the nature of

comprehensible input, learner output in interaction, and the processes of collaborative discourse construction. Writers need to receive adequate L2 input in order to form new hypotheses about syntactic and rhetorical forms in the target language. If students are not exposed to native-like models of written texts, their errors in writing are more likely to persist. Errors abound in peer review classes or in computer-mediated exchanges where learners read and respond to each other's compositions. Indeed, in many of my own classes, interlanguage talk or discourse is often the primary source of input for many learners. However, if the interaction, oral or written, allows for adequate negotiation of meaning, peer responses can be very useful. (See Pellettieri (2000) for what happens when learners respond to each other on the computer and read texts containing spelling and grammar errors). We can see that writing in a second language is a complex process involving the ability to communicate in L2 (learner output) and the ability to construct a text in order to express one's ideas effectively in writing. Social and cognitive factors and learner strategies help us in assessing the underlying reasons why L2 learners exhibit particular writing errors. For instance, the writing problems experienced by Spanish speakers living in the United States may be due to a multiplicity of factors, including the effects of transfer and interference from the Spanish language, and cultural norms (Plata, 1995). Spanishspeaking writers must undergo the task of cognitively exchanging the style of the Spanish language for that of English. For this transformation to happen, some students find that creating another persona, such as replacing their birth name with an English one, can help them to become more immersed in the target language and culture. In short, because learners are less familiar and less confident with structural elements of a new language, rhetorical and cultural conventions and even new uses of writing, writing in an L2 can have errors and be less effective than writing in L1 (Kern, 2000).

The Sources of Error in L2 Writing

There are several ways to think about error in writing in light of what we know about second language acquisition and what we know about how texts, context and the writing process interact with one another. As mentioned, students writing in a second language generally produce texts that contain varying degrees of grammatical and rhetorical errors. In fact, depending on proficiency level, the more content-rich and creative the text, the greater the possibility there is for errors at the morphosyntactic level. These kinds of errors are especially common among L2 writers who have a lot of ideas, but not enough language to express what they want to say in a comprehensible way. What we classify as an error, which is associated with learner competence, may actually be a mistake, or more specifically in an EAP context, a "derailment" related to learner performance (Shaughnessy, 1977). These "derailments" occur when students attempt to use the academic voice and make their sentences more intricate, especially when the task requires more complex ideas. From behaviorist and mentalist perspectives of error, which have emphasized the product (the error itself) to more constructivist views, which focus on underlying process (why the error is made), researchers have attempted to understand the errors in writers' texts by

hypothesizing their possible sources (Bartholomae, 1980; Hull, 1985). Although reading an error-filled text can be tiring and disconcerting, errors can help us identify the cognitive strategies that the learner is using to process information. According to Ellis (1985), it is through analyzing learner errors that we elevate "the status of errors from undesirability to that of a guide to the inner working of the language learning process" (p. 53). [-9-] Whether an error, mistake, or "derailment," awkward discourse can occur for a variety of reasons, some of which have already been mentioned. First of all, learners may translate from L1, or they may try out what they assume is a legitimate structure of the target language, although hindered by insufficient knowledge of correct usage. In the learning process, they often experience native language interference from developmental stages of interlanguage or from nonstandard elements in spoken dialects (a common occurrence in students writing in their native language as well). They also tend to over-generalize the rules for stylistic features when acquiring new discourse structures. In addition, learners are often unsure of what they want to express,which would cause them to make mistakes in any language. Finally, writers in L2 might lack familiarity with new rhetorical structures and the organization of ideas (Carson, 2001; Connor & Kaplan, 1987; Kutz, Groden, & Zamel, 1993; Raimes, 1987). L2 writing relates closely to native-language literacy and particular instructional contexts. Students may not be acquainted with English rhetoric, which can lead to writing that appears off topic or incoherent to many native English speakers. Rhetoric and writing are direct outcomes of sociocultural and political contexts; in other words, they are schematic representations of the writer's unique experiences within a particular social milieu. For example, Chinese or Indonesian students may write in accordance with a set of rhetorical norms (such as the "eightlegged" essay) that differ from those of English (Cai, 1999; Matalene, 1985; Williams, 1989). Repeating a previous mistake, or backsliding, is a common occurrence in L2 writing. More important, though, is the issue of fossilization--when "learner interlanguage competence diverges in more or less permanent ways from the target language grammar" (Odlin, 1994, p. 13). Fossilized errors can be problematic in writing because the errors become ingrained, like bad habits, in a learner's repertoire, and they reappear despite remediation and correction. They can be common among immigrants who have learned much of the L2 "on the street," where the emphasis is on fluency and not linguistic correctness. Errors in writing, fossilized or otherwise, can be glaring, especially to the reader who has had little experience interacting with L2 speakers and texts.

Implications for Teaching: Proficiency, Instruction and Response to Error

Although instructors may think of errors as part of a language learning process related to linguistic, situational, and psycholinguistic contexts (Carson, 2001), and writing as a skill developed over time, most L2 learners' writing is judged according to criteria that are static and product-based. That teachers draw conclusions about intellectual ability on the basis of structural and grammatical problems has also been well documented (Sternglass, 1997; Zamel, 1998). Variability in writing, which is typical of a learner's interlanguage, is

a concern when addressing proficiency issues. The definition of proficiency has consequences for L2 students; it affects their ability to complete writing tasks across the disciplines, cope with the demands of academic English, and receive recognition as wellinformed, critical thinkers. [-10-] One problem in assessing language performance is that it must address the many factors related to the contexts in which language is used. According to Bialystok (1998), any definition of language proficiency is deeply entangled in theoretical attitude. On the one hand, there is the formalist approach, which attempts to explain language as code. According to this perspective, "language proficiency is an ultimately unknowable abstraction that reflects the universal competence of native speakers" (p. 502). On the other hand, there is the functionalist approach, which explains proficiency in its relationship to communication in specific contexts. In this respect, it is "the outcome of social interaction with a linguistic environment" (p. 502). In conversation, often both parties assume some common knowledge and take advantage of verbal and nonverbal communication; however, in written discourse, common knowledge cannot be assumed; therefore, the writer may need to provide more background information in order to communicate clearly. Language requires a combination of formal structure, that is, a clear set of standards, and communicative application, which includes recognition of variations from the rules. Consequently, a proper definition of language proficiency would "present identifiable standards against which to describe language skills of users in different contexts" (Bialystok, 1998, p. 504). A more complete conceptualization of language performance, then, acknowledges personal characteristics, topical or real-world knowledge, and affective schemata, among other factors related to the social and cultural context (Brown, 2000). Alongside the cultural and curricular aspects of standardization, there is variability in the process of L2 learning. Learners vary in the ultimate level of proficiency they achieve, with many failing to reach target-language competence. This variation is often the result of individual learner differences in motivation and aptitude, in addition to the use of an assortment of strategies, such as inferencing and self-monitoring for obtaining input and for learning from it (Ellis, 1994; Krashen, 1982). However, instead of setting the standard as a well-defined, functionally balanced system, and proficiency as the degree of deviation from this norm, with errors "marked, counted and statistically analyzed," Klein (1998) advocates acknowledging learner varieties. According to Klein, these are "systems in their own right, error-free by definition and characterized by particular lexical repertoire and particular interaction of organizational principles" (p. 538). In fact, it may be more useful to think about proficiency as a process, one in which learners alternate in their use of linguistic forms according to the linguistic and situational contexts (Ellis, 1994). From a functionalist perspective, communicative competence in writing should also take into consideration learner variability and error within particular contexts. Nevertheless, for L2 writers, the greater the language proficiency (however defined), the better the writing quality. In fact, both language proficiency and composing abilities can,

or perhaps should be, accounted for in evaluating L2 writing performance and instruction (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996). Valuable insights from research in second language acquisition and writing development can assist in developing instructional techniques linking the two processes--acquiring a second language and developing writing skills, especially for academic purposes. Both Flower (1994) and Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) have stressed the benefits of process approaches to writing instruction and the need for more knowledge-transforming tasks. Taking the concept of "knowledge transformation" further, Wells (2000) argues that writing approached in this way is also an opportunity for knowledge building, "as the writer both tries to anticipate the likely response of the envisaged audience and carries on a dialogue with the text being composed" (p. 77). However, if students have not developed learning strategies to monitor their writing errors, and if they do not receive enough conceptual feedback at the discourse level, then the positive effects of the instruction may backfire. Instructional approaches that can be used effectively with L2 writers show us what is at stake for L2 instructors and students alike. [-11-] First of all, students may be able to communicate more effectively if they are exposed to models of not only standard paragraphs and essays, but also a variety of genres of writing, including flyers, magazine articles, letters, and so forth. By examining a variety of written texts, students' awareness can be raised with regard to the way words, structures, and genre contribute to purposeful writing. They can also be made aware of different types of textual organization, which can in turn affect L2 students' composing processes (Swales, 1990; Raimes, 1991, 1998). Models can also be used for text analysis, which can help L2 writers see how particular grammatical features are used in authentic discourse contexts. Depending on the learners' levels of proficiency and writing abilities, models can seem fairly formulaic, as in the knowledge-telling model of the fiveparagraph essay. However, as the students progress, they need to be aware of a variety of forms that "serve the writer's purpose instead of the other way around" (Atkinson & Ramanathan, 1995, p. 548). Cazden (1992) advocates the practice of scripting and performing texts in order to sensitize students to the many voices in a reading and how they interact. In this way, models of the target language are reinforced. In addition to the use of written models, Cumming (1995) also points out the benefits of cognitive modeling in writing instruction, which involves explicit demonstration of the strategies experienced writers use when planning, making decisions, and revising texts. He also advocates that ESL instructors make explicit use of thinking or proceduralfacilitation prompts and student self-evaluation as the optimal mode of assessment. Both these approaches promote knowledge-transforming models of composing. Self-evaluation can be encouraged in student portfolios, self-review checklists, and teacher and peer responses. In addition, verbalizing the writing process step-by-step can be effective, as it affords both students and teachers the opportunity to consider writing dialogically. However, convincing students to evaluate their own work requires additional instructional tools, and it may not be effective for all learners. Granted, Cummings refers to self-assessment as a component of one-to-one tutoring sessions, which in contrast to the classroom context, are ideally "more conducive environments for the textual,

cognitive, and social dimensions of error identification to be integrated with individual students' composing processes and their immediate concerns about language, ideas, and texts" (p. 393). Unfortunately, many teachers have large classes; nonetheless, the use of specific prompts for cognitive modeling in different aspects of composing, including prompts for error identification, has proved to be valuable. Apprenticeship models of instruction, which developed out of Vygotsky's sociocultural theories of language and literacy, are also becoming more common. Proficient students who are also fairly skilled writers can benefit from this approach. They start with what they already know and can do, but their learning is extended into what Vygotsky termed the "zone of proximal development" through strategic instruction, collaborative construction of opportunities and active participation (Lantolf, 2000; Schinke-Llano, 1995). Apprenticeship models enable learners to utilize the new language as a tool in the process of becoming self-regulatory. Similar to Cumming's suggestions for fostering writing expertise, "students are supported by a scaffold of prompts and explanations, by extensive modeling, by in-process support, and by reflection that connects strategic effort to outcomes" (Flower, 1994, pp. 142-143). Drawing on and revising student knowledge of genres, reflecting on strategies for approaching a variety of literary tasks, and cultivating a metalanguage for discussing texts are important components of socio-literate methods (Johns, 1999). [-12-] Students come to class both to improve their language proficiency and become more confident in their writing abilities. Writing practice can also present diagnostic feedback that helps learners improve their linguistic accuracy at every level of proficiency. Instruction should provide students with ample amounts of language input and instruction, as well as writing experience (preferably through the interweaving of writing and reading, referred to as "intertextuality" (Blanton, 1999), and feedback to fulfill their goals. Overt classroom instruction through modeling, for instance, is only one part of the teaching process; providing students with feedback on their writing is the other. Essentially, we need to consider factors related to language proficiency, second language acquisition, and writing skill development when giving feedback. Specifically, the effectiveness of feedback may depend on the level of students' motivation, their current language level, their cognitive style, the clarity of the feedback given, the way the feedback is used, and the attitudes of students toward their teacher and the class (Ferris, 1997; Goldstein, 2001; Omaggio Hadley, 1993). Classroom settings, course goals, and grading procedures and standards are also important (Leki, 1990). Systematically encouraging learners to reflect on what they want to write and then helping them to make an appropriate choice of language forms has pedagogic value. We must be aware of the complexities involved in the revision process and respond to writing so that students can make modifications with confidence and competence. Ideally, learners should be encouraged to analyze and evaluate feedback themselves in order for it to be truly effective. Teacher commentary, student reactions to commentary, and student revisions interact with each other in a formidable way. How teachers intervene in writing instruction, and how L2 writers react to the feedback influences the composing process. Should teachers stress early mastery of the mechanical aspects of

writing, or should they urge their students to pay little attention to correctness, at least until after a first draft has been written? Again, process models of writing instruction allow students time to reflect and seek input as they reshape their plans, ideas, and language. In classroom practice, the focus is on idea development, clarity, and coherence before identification and grammar correction. Ideally, instruction and response serve to motivate revisions, encourage learning, induce problem-solving and critical thinking, in addition to further writing practice (Cumming, 1989; White, 1994; Zamel, 1987). Indeed, the process approach may be effective, but if writers' linguistic ability sets limits to what they can do conceptually or affects the writing process itself, then we need a combination of process instruction and attention to language development. Focused error correction can be highly desirable, but problematic;. In addition, there are many contradictory findings. The initial impulse for many teachers when reading L2 student writing is to edit the work, that is, focus on the structural aspects so that the writing closer resembles target language discourse. Teachers can correct errors; code errors; locate errors, and indicate the number of errors. To its benefit, attention to errors "provides the negative evidence students often need to reject or modify their hypotheses about how the target language is formed or functions" (Larsen-Freeman, 1991, p. 293). [13-] However, if this focus on error becomes the totality of the response, then language, discourse, and text are equated with structure. It is then assumed that the instructor has the authority to change the student's text and correct it (Rodby, 1992). In addition, some feel it may not be worth the instructor's time and effort to provide detailed feedback on sentence level grammar and syntax, since improvement can be gained by writing practice alone (Robb, Ross, & Shortreed, 1986). Practice alone may improve fluency, but if errors are not pointed out and corrected, they can become ingrained or fossilized in student writing, as mentioned earlier. L1 research may advocate for focusing on conception and organization, and not on mechanical errors, except for a "note reminding the student that the final copy needs to be edited" (White, 1994, p. 109). However, survey reports in L2 have indicated that students both attend to and appreciate their teachers' pointing out of grammar problems (Brice, 1995; Cohen, 1987; Ferris, 1995, 1997; Leki, 1991; Radecki & Swales, 1988). In support of this claim, Fathman and Whalley (1990), from their research on feedback and revision in an ESL context, concluded that grammar and content feedback, whether given separately or together, positively affect rewriting. However, grammatical feedback had more effect on error correction than content feedback had on the improvement of content. Grammatical and rhetorical feedback should be attentive to the writers' level of proficiency and degree of readiness (Ferris, 1995, Hedgcock & Lefkowitz, 1996; Lee, 1997; Leki, 1991). Overly detailed responses may overwhelm L2 writers and discourage substantive revision, whereas minimal feedback may result in only surface modifications to the text. Furthermore, learners may be uncertain about what to do with various suggestions and how to incorporate them into their own revision processes. More research on the effectiveness of responses on revision should be examined. (See Sengupta (2000) for research on the effects of explicit teaching of revision strategies on L2 learners' writing proficiency and perceptions about writing).

Summary and Conclusion

For English L2 writers, the process of writing in an academic environment is challenging. I used to tell my students that the only way to improve their writing is to keep writing-thinking that with enough practice in writing and revision (involving problem solving and reflection), they would eventually acquire the fundamentals, or at least the standard, required of academic discourse. Although the process approach to instruction, characterized by practice, collaboration, and the opportunity for revision, may be suitable for most English L1 writers, it is apparent that many L2 writers do not have the necessary linguistic ability to reap the benefits of the approach. As Yau (1991) points out: [A]lthough we should not cripple our students' interest in writing through undue stress or grammatical correctness, the influence of second language factors on writing performance is something we have to reckon with and not pretend that concentrating on the process would automatically resolve the difficulty caused by these factors. (p. 268) Kern (2000) also mentions that process-oriented teaching does not acknowledge the influence of sociocultural context on individual processes. He has characterized it as inattentive to "learners' understanding of links between form and communicative conventions that will allow them to construct meanings in ways that are appropriate within the immediate academic context as well as the larger societal context" (p. 182). [14-] Feedback is of utmost importance to the writing process. Without individual attention and sufficient feedback on errors, improvement will not take place. We must accept the fact that L2 writing contains errors; it is our responsibility to help learners to develop strategies for self-correction and regulation. Indeed, L2 writers require and expect specific overt feedback from teachers not only on content, but also on the form and structure of writing. If this feedback is not part of the instructional process, then students will be disadvantaged in improving both writing and language skills. In order to learn more about L2 writers' use of language in the process of writing, we need to apply to L2 writing the research methods utilized in exploring the composing process in L1 writing, such as think-aloud protocols. We also need to understand how students compose in both their native languages and in English to understand more about their learning strategies (especially in monitoring errors), the role of translation, and transfer of skills. Certainly, ethnographic research in L2 writing that examines the writing process, along with the acquisition of communicative competence, will help to create a more comprehensive theory of L2 writing.

About the Author

Johanne Myles has been teaching ESL, EAP, and TESL for over 20 years in Canada and abroad. She is presently working on a Ph.D in Education with a focus on cultural and curriculum studies at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Her research interests include intercultural communication, second language acquisition and second language writing. She intends to conduct ethnographic research on the communicative

competence of engineering students who are non-native speakers of English in the workplace environment when on their internships.

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[-20-]
http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej22/a1.html

Optional: Reynolds, R.E., Taylor, M.A., Steffensen, M.S. & Anderson, R.C. 1982 Carrell, P. 1983

Week Four: Interacting Variables in L2 Reading Comprehension

1 2 3 The role of passage content in L2 reading The individual reader: L2 reading and gender Classroom factors in second language reading comprehension

Readings: Brantmeier, C. 2001 Brantmeier, C. 2002 Bernhardt, E. Chapter 6 Optional: Belcher, D. 2001

Week Five: L2 Reading Strategies

1 2 3 Strategy use Strategy type Metacognitive reading strategies

Readings: Barnett, M.A. 1988 Anderson, N.J. 1991 Young, D.J. & Oxford, R. 1997 Optional: Brantmeier, C. 2002 Anderson, N. 2003

Week Six: Assessing L2 Reading Comprehension

1 2 3 Written recall Multiple choice, Sentence completion, Cloze passage, etc. Examinations and testing

Read: Bernhardt, E. Chapter 7 Wolf, D. 1993 Optional: Sohamy, E. 1984 http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cbrantme/469

Vol. 6. No. 1 Return to Table of Contents

A-1

June 2002 Return to Main Page

The Contextual Reshaping of Beliefs about L2 Writing: Three Teachers' Practical Process of Theory Construction
Sima Sengupta Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University <egsima@polyu.edu.hk> Maida Kennedy Xiao Shanghai <maida_xiao@yahoo.com>

Abstract
In the last two decades there have been discussions of the theoretical knowledge base for ESL writing pedagogy. This paper focuses on how teaching experience at a newly implemented L2 writing center contributed towards personal theory development of ESL writing for three teachers. By combining the literature on teacher knowledge with ESL writing, we studied teachers' changing beliefs about ESL writers, readers, texts and contexts. With data from planned collegial experience-sharing activities and writing centre feedback we created a story of each teacher's orientation. We then conducted openended interviews to gather responses from the protagonists of the stories. Through inductive analyses of the data we found that all three have critically examined and somewhat revised their content and pedagogic content knowledge of ESL writing. Using these stories we question whether programme and curriculum developers should devise strategies to help teachers consciously see the theory-practice connection in ESL writing.

Introduction
The impact of experience on teachers' knowledge development is a thorny issue as one may question whether "ten years' experience is only one year experienced ten times" (Bowen & Marks, 1994, p. 168). Bowen and Marks (1994, p. 173) suggest that through critical reflection, self-observation, experimentation and risk-taking every week of teaching can build teachers' knowledge base. In this process of making every week of experience into practical knowledge, we can see teacher knowledge development as

spiraling cycles consisting of "innovate-reflect-adjust" moves (see for example, Grodjan, 1991; Pennington, 1995) that essentially indicate a complex interaction between the teaching context and teaching experience. In this exploratory article, we attempt to narrate three English teachers' journey through the interactive loop that Schn (1983) calls reflection-in-action as they take part in a new pedagogic experience of teaching at a newly implemented L2 writing center. We focus on teachers' images of the four elements in writing: the writer, the reader, the context and the text. We trace how these images were enriched, revised and re-conceptualized as a result of the teachers' involvement in a pilot writing center started in the department of English in the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. Through the narrative, we attempt to demonstrate how both the context and the practitioner's views of it continually change and influence each other especially if reflection and collegial interaction is built into everyday teaching enabling constant engagement "in a process of sense-making" (Johnson, 1996, p. 770). [-1-] At the outset however, we need to clarify certain ideas. First, theory building is not top priority in the ordinary classroom teacher's agenda (Clarke, 1994). Yet when we look at theory building, the natural starting place is the teacher whose experience and understanding of the students, the teaching context, the subject matter and the everchanging relationship between these facets form the knowledge base of both the individual teacher as well as TESOL teaching community. Richards, 1996; Bailey & Nunan, 1995; Freeman & Johnson, 1999). One potential source of influence on teachers' developing knowledge base is the nature of the teaching experience. Johnson (2000, p. 5) calls this the "professional landscape" that shapes teachers' situated action. Although experience does not necessarily guarantee rethinking and re-conceptualization, we need to know how and under what circumstances new experiences, in the course of teaching, shape and refine a teacher's knowledge base. Intuitively, as teachers ourselves, we know that teachers continually extend their knowledge base and personal theories all the time. Certainly this is the case in areas such as second language writing where we are still in search of a coherent, comprehensive theory (Silva, 1993; Cumming, 1998; Matsuda, 1999). At this stage of theory development for TESOL, insider perspective or intuitive theory can advance the shaping of the knowledge base of L2 writing and its pedagogy in many ways (Krischner et al., 1996). In other words, we can and should consciously make the theory-practice connection in the ESL context to see how individual theory construction contributes to the understanding of L2 writing in general and writing teachers' collective knowledge base in particular. This paper attempts to show how the developing knowledge base of the teachers in this study was a synthesis of various types of activities, deliberately planned by the curriculum developers to create an atmosphere of collegial experiencesharing--all leading to practitioner theory building. These activities consisted of a common core of reading, discussion of issues arising from the reading versus practice/practical knowledge, and regular meetings to relate learning experiences of individual teachers through their involvement with the writing center. What exactly is knowledge in the context of L2 writing? Research into teacher knowledge encompasses a variety of models (see for example, Shulman, 1986; Grossman

1990; Calderhead & Shorrock, 1994). Shulman (1986) and Wilson, Shulman and Richert (1987) often make a distinction between content knowledge and pedagogic content knowledge. The idea of separate categories of knowledge, however, is problematic because the boundaries are fuzzy (Borko & Putnam, 1994; Wu & Sengupta, 1998). The theoretical framework for studying teacher knowledge construction arose from the literature. Silva (1990) states that the 1940s to mid-1960s was the phase of controlled composition in ESL writing pedagogy with focus on form (syntactic level), which soon gave way to the "current traditional paradigm," in which the emphasis was on rhetorical drills [1 ] (Young, 1978; Silva, 1990). Then in the late 1970s/early 1980s, processcentered ideas took shape (Raimes, 1985, 1987; Zamel, 1984). The eighties focused on the social aspects of writing, bringing to the forefront the academic community as the reader with the gradual rise to prominence of English for academic purposes and later genre analysis. [-2-] The differences between approaches lie in the way these views regard the four components of composing: the writer, the reader, the text and the context (Silva, 1990). Table 1 summarizes the theoretical framework used for studying the four elements as conceptualized within the formalist, process theory and social constructionist theories (see for example, Silva, 1990; Johns, 1990; Nystrand et al., 1993). The reader will notice that the table is an amalgamation of various camps. For the ease of analysis, there are many theoretical stances that are subsumed under broad terms based on the major focus of the theory. Thus, for example, formalists and current traditionalists are put together because their focus is on the text, though very different aspects of the text. Table 1: The theoretical framework Theoretical orientation Formalism/ Current traditional rhetoric Reader Receiver of meaning-playing a largely passive role Writer The transmitter of meaning, entirely responsible for creating a "good" text Text Context

Generally seen Focuses on as an features of autonomous "good" text embodiment of Meaning is to a meaning-- at the great extent grammatical or univocal rhetorical level Gradual and recursive translation of writers' goals and thoughts into a evolving text The individual's act of writing and reading is the focus Directed by individual's purposive meaningmaking

Process theory

Active interpreter of meaning--as readers of others' as well as own text

A kind of rhetorical problem-solver relying on individual recursive process to gradually build meaning

Social A member (or constructionism aspiring member) of a interpretative community who have specific expectations

As a member (or aspiring member) of the community who recognizes/knows/uses the codes and conventions

A sophisticated manipulation of discourse conventions and expectations of the community

The social context is extremely powerful-meaningmaking is always with reference to a context of many similar texts

[-3-] The approaches described above, one could argue, mainly come from the field of composition. The field of L2 writing is dynamically related to both composition (L1) and ESL (Matsuda, 1998). Thus, Matsuda (1998) argues that the knowledge of L2 writing is essential for both ESL teachers and writing teachers in the U.S. higher education. This observation is particularly appropriate for a context such as Hong Kong (and other South East Asian contexts) where L2 writing is subsumed under ESL and thus ESL teachers need to develop a distinct knowledge base of L2 writing that can enable them to place L2 writing within a cross-disciplinary context. Indeed, the required reading for the Writing Assistance Program (WAP) pilot staff development workshops included papers from L2 writing in general as well as the rich literature that exists on writing center practice so that teachers could see a global picture of writing. Before examining the impact of the experience on teachers' knowledge, some background is needed on the program itself.

Background
The Writing Assistance Program was planned for almost two years before the pilot project was finally approved. The Writing Assistance Program was established with the aim of providing one-to-one writing assistance to undergraduates at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, an English-medium tertiary institution. (For a detailed program description, see Xiao, 2001.) The program provides one-to-one assistance to students on their writing in the form of half-hour or one-hour writing conferences. Students are encouraged to seek assistance with any writing assignment or writing-related questions they have. Typically, the texts students bring in range from application letters and out-ofclass essays to final year theses. Each student after initially registering, books a convenient time, comes to a session at the designated time with their texts and fills in a pre-session form which asks for background information and a description of the kind of help needed. At the end of each session, students are asked to give feedback while teachers also fill in a feedback sheet indicating what was done, the problems encountered and a brief overall evaluation. The aim of WAP conferences is not to solve all problems that face the writer but to assist writers to begin to think critically about their texts. Systematic documentation protocols are observed which consist of pre-session forms and post-session feedback forms filled in by students and documentation forms filled in by

teachers as well as a photocopy of the text. Consent for using these documents for research purposes is sought from all parties. In developing the program, a number of interrelated issues were addressed. One issue was the question of how to orient and then support the twelve original staff members, who were drawn from a larger group of existing English Department teachers, to work as writing consultants. Only some of the twelve, who were all qualified and experienced ESL teachers, had a familiarity with the current literature on writing theory and practice-indeed some had only limited experience with one-to-one conferencing. The issue of how to offer staff development and hands-on training was addressed very seriously at WAP. Outside experts were brought in to discuss writing theory and pedagogy as well as writing center theory and practice. A reading list of relevant literature was circulated among the teachers (see Appendix B) and formal and informal seminars and discussions were held to critically examine issues arising from them as well as those arising from the actual writing conferences. Teachers were encouraged to maintain teaching journals in order to reflect on their work and interaction with writers. The pilot's coordinator (the second author of this paper) kept teachers informed on issues that arose each week as well as administrative matters through weekly e-mails. Subscription and back issues of the Writing Lab Newsletter and the Writing Centre Journal were purchased and teachers were encouraged to read them. Meetings were held throughout the semester pilot to discuss the dynamics of WAP writing conferences and teachers engaged in many informal conversations about their experiences throughout the period. These efforts and activities created program synergy as well as an ethos that valued reflective practice and collegial support. [-4-] Thus the WAP was piloted within an environment where active knowledge development was not only possible but also inevitable. Within this backdrop the following stories need to be interpreted.

Procedures
This narrative starts at the time when the teachers were getting ready for teaching in a pilot writing center started at their university in Hong Kong. We first examined the ways in which these three teachers expressed their understanding and assumptions about the nature of L2 writing in meetings and collegial interactions. From the audio taped data, we constructed a narrative for each teacher--a narrative of our interpretation of the individual teacher's views about writing, his or her overall theoretical orientation, and the changes that are apparent. In total, there were three audio taped meetings and field notes taken at the meetings from which this narrative was created. The first meeting was held before the WAP was started. In this meeting, each teacher was asked to read and present one or two papers in order to enable the whole group to discuss the central issues of each reading. The second meeting, held after a few weeks, was aimed towards the issues arising from experience with a visiting U.S. expert. The last meeting was held at the end of the pilot semester to debrief and develop action plans.

From these sources, three randomly chosen individual narratives were then tabulated on the theoretical framework in terms of the ways in which these teachers seemed to perceive reader, writer, text, and context. This interpretation was then crosschecked with the feedback forms of the sessions the three had conducted at the WAP. The aim of creating this narrative or case record was not to label instructors as belonging to a particular camp (although we could not always avoid such labeling), but to record clearly the ways in which each teacher talked of writing and the ways in which this "talk" had changed over time. We then gave each teacher a summary of this narrative and asked for an interpretation of the narrative and expansion on how they saw their own knowledge development of L2 writing (see Appendix A) [2]. Through this process, we attempted to ensure that the teachers had some power ultimately to shape their stories. These interviews were taped, transcribed and the incoming data were fitted into the original narrative. In the following, we report how individual teachers see their own experiences as a process of theory building in L2 writing and its pedagogy. Although ultimately the reader hears our voices in this paper, included in the story are the teachers' voices--sometimes dissenting, sometimes questioning, and often blurring the distinction between teachers and researchers. (The three names used are not the instructors' real names.) [-5-] Teacher 1: Peter Peter, a Western male, had spent a number of years teaching second languages. He is an intensely private person who does not take things lightly. He reflects on his work and is eager to read and discuss issues that pertain to meeting the needs of his students. Although a native English speaker, Peter obviously recognizes the difficulties both teachers and students may have and expect in L2 writing. This stems partially from his background. Since he majored in a second language, he feels that he understands the pains and pitfalls of using a second language in an academic setting to express complex ideas. From listening to Peter in the first meeting, it was clear that Peter was essentially an expressivist. We came to this conclusion for two reasons. First, in the initial WAP meeting, Peter questioned assumptions about an ever-present reader and expressed the opinion that writing is "essentially personal--any kind of writing", indeed "therapeutic". However, in a later meeting, discussing genre-specific writing, he expressed the belief that writing probably needs to be seen more globally. Hand in hand with the expressivist beliefs, we also detected other orientations in his practice. His feedback to students showed an element of formalism in that he often focused on accuracy and did not seem to discuss the reader or the context at all initially. Yet in his later feedback, there were comments on readership and purpose. He reacted to this labeling of essentially "expressivist" in orientation with his usual equanimity. He admitted that his own background (in an Ivy League institution) might

have partly shaped his ideas. He believes that stereotypes such as "formalist" or "expressivist" are essentially flawed since writing is a "broad umbrella." He admitted that in his feedback, personal expression was often relegated to a less important place, as basic accuracy seemed to be thwarting students' ability to express themselves. Yet he was concerned with our pigeonholing him to into the expressivist camp. However, he contended that his notions have broadened. He felt that through his close contact with the WAP writers, he has developed a deeper understanding of writing in context. Although he continues to see writing as "personal," even in an academic setting where creativity, originality and personal interpretation go a long way in determining the quality of a piece, he admitted that more and more he realizes the role of the reader in an academic setting--especially for L2 writers in a ESP situation. He felt that the background reading and the input from visiting experts had made him more conscious of readership issues. His discussion of reader at the time of the interview was inextricably linked with the context where the reader holds the power, and the text has to meet this powerful reader's expectations. Thus, the writers that come in clinging to their texts had made him see a "production-oriented" relationship between writer and reader--quite unlike the expository writing that had meant "writing" to him. In this production line, he said that he had realized that there are a variety of personalized approaches and a constant tension between a number of concerns ranging from global meaning to the "nitty-gritty" of grammatical forms. [-6-] Initially, he questioned whether genre-specific writing instruction was problematic since English language teachers do not have the necessary information and background to teach discipline-specific discourse. But in his interview, he agreed that there has been a gradual transformation in his thinking. He pointed out the very nature of the encounters he had experienced as a WAP teacher allowed him to change gradually towards a socialinteractive perspective, because the experiences involved "seeing students writing papers for a specific community." This product-centered context, he believed, had allowed him to understand why the writer's focus might be on grammar or lower-level concerns--he realized that these concerns enable student writers to address reader expectation-especially when they seek the help of a language teacher. This synergy between reader, writer, text, and context was becoming apparent in his feedback as well as in the views he expressed at the last meeting. Below are some of the points he made in this meeting: Peter: So how do we distinguish between accuracy and fluency in writing? Colleague 1: I think we are not trying to do that at all--are we? Colleague 2: Yes we are--we are discussing HOCs and LOCs [higher-order concerns and lower-order concerns]--so we are making a distinction. Peter: How are we going to address higher-level concerns if the lower level concerns are not taken into account first? In another exchange:

Colleague: . . . But we have to think of the reader and purpose when we think of how to deal with grammar. Peter: I think that we have to remember that these students are writing for teachers who are not looking for anything beyond accurate information. In the interpretation sheet, the following three major changes were noted in the way Peter spoke of writing. Although agreeing with these changes, he saw them within the broader pedagogic landscape, as we will discuss below. As a result of reflecting on the WAP experience, the change in Peter seems to consist of:

Seeing the importance of the reader; Recognizing a social dimension of writing; and Questioning the divide between lower and higher-level concerns as the lowerlevel concerns often generate from higher-level meaning-related issues.

So, how has this practitioner built his theory? There are two aspects that are worth mentioning. One conspicuous element was that in all the discussion of writing, there were very few instances of talking about writing without any reference to its teaching. In voicing his own change towards a more social model of writing, the focus of all his observation is the student writer who has come to the writing center (WAP)--a knowledge base that is wholly student-centered as the following excerpt indicates: [-7-] "I think the reading we'd done was useful but I liked the later meetings where we shared experiences. We all seemed to agree that the challenge was in meeting the needs of each student coming to us. It was the encounter with individual students that shaped my feedback andmaybe--my understanding of the readings. In a way--it all starts with the students--their writing, their concerns, their expectations . . . " In addition, in his ever-extending knowledge base, there is much more evidence of reflective pragmatism in that he adopts a rational combination of different approaches to suit the specific situation of individual student writers. Teacher 2: Paula Paula, a native Cantonese-speaking female teacher, is able to invoke her own experiences as a second language writer when she talks about her students' writing. Paula readily admitted that she had found writing effectively and critically in a second language quite demanding when she was a university student. As a teacher, she is quiet but reflective, often posing questions that are central to any discussion of writing. In her comments about writing in the first meeting, Paula expressed the opinion that: Paula: . . . the most important thing is [that students] be able to talk about their writing.

Colleague: Yes but how would they do that? Paula: . . . by discussing their difficulties like why they are not sure whether to use "a" or "the" or no article... Something like that. In the first meeting, Paula the teacher looked back on her experience as a student, where she had no access to the processes of other writers and thus did not know "how other writers process information." She seemed to foresee an encounter in the WAP where the student writer would get to see how a teacher-evaluator's process worked, and thus understand the nature of teacher expectation. In the subsequent meetings, Paula's voice seemed to have changed. Although Paula was quiet in meetings and was not comfortable expressing her opinions, she said in the last meeting: Yes I keep thinking about this discussion of LOCs and HOCs--ever since I read that article and our last meeting with xxx [US expert]. But I think it is not a good distinction. ...For someone like a student writing an assignment, he is trying to make himself clear and every concern is to make that--I mean make my meaning clear--they are all higher level--even whether they are using the wrong or correct tense . . . maybe I have not understood the ideas yet. In her feedback, Paula focused on accuracy. She discussed errors and wrote her comments on errors with no mention of the writing context, such as the purpose of writing or readers in her written comments. [-8-] In the interpretation sheet we had written: Paula is essentially a believer in the process. However, this belief in the importance of the process is not one where form is ignored but seen as part of the process. So she is the kind of process proponent that Raimes (1986) recommends--one who takes into account both form and rhetorical concerns. Although in Paula's case it is form that seemed to be more important. Questioning the implied "formalist" labeling that we were assigning her, she disagreed that to her, personally, form is more important. However, once we explained why we came to that conclusion--the number of times we found her talking about "correct" and "grammar" when discussing writing--even when discussing the process, she partially agreed. She conceded that when the discussion of writing is framed in terms of pedagogy as the WAP meetings were--it was the student writers and their needs that were uppermost in her mind--and within that L2 context, she believes, formal accuracy is an extremely important need. In the interview she mentioned that although she thought that making the student writer aware of the process was essential--she could better understand now why students go for lower-order concerns at the level of simplistic grammatical rules instead of the more complex problems of ideas and their development. In the past she saw a distinction between content and form and believed that lower-order concerns were the "easiest" to deal with because there is a "correct" answer. As a result of her experience with the WAP, she was able to rethink these lower-order needs because hidden behind

these needs she increasingly saw the need to express complex ideas to a reader "who knows these ideas but still wants to read about them". When asked how her ideas about writing had changed, she said in the interview: P: Oh I think I have learnt a lot--I now have a kind of much broader understanding. I used to be very concerned about accuracy and thought accuracy was the most important thing-- but now I can explain why it is so important. S: So are you saying that you still obsess over accuracy? P: No--not obsessed but I still think that accuracy is the most important aspect of writing because if my reader does not understand my points or the purpose for saying something--then as a writer I am failing. S: You are able to see why accuracy is important? P: I mean because many students bring assignments--the information is known to their teachers--so they are trying to show if they have understood the ideas--so their readers have to see that the ideas are clear--it is not like writing an essay in secondary school. She seems to have broadened her understanding of the writer and built-into this breadth is, by her own admission, a concern about the reader. In the first meeting, Paula, as a result of reading Silva's (1990) chapter, questioned whether the unknown reader was a necessary construct within L2 pedagogy. Yet by the time of the interview, she felt that even a non-expert reader is important. She admitted that the reader had become an important element in formulating her pedagogy. She also expressed doubts as to whether the focus of writing center [-9-] pedagogy can be the process or if it is inevitably the product alone. She said that within the writing center experience at the university, where students have generally come in with first drafts, the product or the text brought in naturally plays a pivotal role. In this text, the writer is only able to see lower-level problems. Paula felt that every time students started to talk about writing, these lowerlevel concerns were the only ones that they were able to articulate. She believed two factors explained this focus: First, the writers' educational context constantly emphasizes sentence-level grammar rather than the text as a whole. Second, as a teacher, she had started to question the dichotomies such as process and product or content and form. At the end of the interview, she argued: I don't know but I think that all these things like LOCs and HOCs and process and product are sort of unnecessary--they make everything complicated. I think in our context it is the product that is important--and in WAP--I think our students want us to correct their grammar--not talk about reader and purpose and organization--so I try to talk about these things--like organization--by correcting the grammar and telling them how their teachers can easily understand their ideas if they use the correct tense or the correct prepositions or articles.

So, how does Paula see the writing center experience changing the way she views writing? First, she believed that the writing center experience had helped her understand the L2 writer better and had broadened her notions beyond the writer's writing process to the writer as a struggling undergraduate, desperately trying to cater to an unknown and slightly intimidating reader. Her notion of the writer now encompassed a number of perspectives including the social role played by the disciplinary community. In that sense there was a move towards a social-interactive view. Second, she felt that she had learned to understand writing within the context having seen the hindrances in the student writer's path more clearly (i.e., beyond her own experience as a student) and having understood how the context shapes the writer's concerns and needs. The change in her knowledge base is an interesting example of practitioner theory construction. She now seemed to see a false dichotomy between process and product, form and ideas, and lower and higher-order concerns. She was, like Peter, moving towards a context-enriched, student-centered knowledge base arising from the close encounter with troubled writers who arrived at the WAP seeking help. As a result of the experience, she felt more empowered to provide students an opportunity to see a real reader in action and understand "the expectations of a "Western teacher" as well as a "local" teacher--a distinction that Paula saw as crucial in her discussion of readers. Teacher 3: Mary Mary, a Western female, sees education as a process of nurturing individuals to achieve their full potential. She comes from a counseling background and brought to the WAP an understanding of how to create a safe and stress-free environment to foster learning. For Mary, writing has not been something that she has tried to know about. By nature, she is actively reflective in that she attends staff developmental seminars and questions what she is told. So the ideas of the reader and the academic discourse community are not new to her. In the first meeting, she talked about issues of disciplinary writing and importance of audience awareness: [-10-] Colleague: But the reader is always the teacher--and we do not really know what the teacher expects. Mary: Yes I think I agree--in our context the audience is the teacher who will give students a grade. But each teacher is looking for specific ideas--written in a particular way. Also for each assignment the expectation is different--we can infer some of these expectations from the writing assignment. With respect to feedback, she commented on purpose and reader expectation from the very outset. Many of her comments also related to logical organization. It was difficult to find a consistent pattern in her feedback, unlike that of Peter and Paula. In the interpretation sheet, we had wrote, "Her approach seems to be an amalgamation between process and current traditional." Although she agreed that it was a "fair

interpretation," she felt that there were tensions that went beyond such simple interpretations. The first of these tensions was between the paradigms. Discussions and seminars organized by the WAP, according to Mary, helped her see the different paradigms within which a writing teacher operates and how context and individual needs shape what we teach and do. The needs based support offered at the WAP, she felt, had made her realize that as a writing teacher she needed to rethink her broader notions of readership to incorporate a specific reader for whom the text is being prepared. She saw herself as a reader, in partnership with the writer, getting a text ready for a third unknown reader. Often she felt that since she did not know the reader, she had to accept student writers' assurances that their teacher-reader would understand what they had written. Thus, there was a constant battle between the reader and the text at the WAP because: Mary: . . . the "real" reader (the teacher for whom the text is prepared) and the general informed readership often have different needs. . . . In the WAP sessions the text takes center stage because it is there -- needing attention--and even a simple lower-level grammatical error correction--like crossing a "T" or dotting an "I"-- might lead to a neater text and a better grade. I felt that a discussion of readership with students is superficial--sometimes I felt I was wasting my time. S: But did you abandon these discussions? Mary: No--I continued--but there was this tension--often the feeling that the student did not get what she wanted. A dilemma, according to Mary, was to focus on appropriate needs. Student's felt needs were often lower-order proof reading while the teacher perceived needs were global. She said at the interview: Sometimes texts brought in for grammar correction were crying out for discourse-level rhetorical rethinking about the purpose and focus. I felt I had to point that out--but often saw that the student writer was much more interested when I was talking about a common error rather than logic or reader expectation. [-11-] Mary felt that within a nurturing environment, teachers have a moral obligation to meet the felt need of the student. Yet, as the teacher, it was her responsibility to take the student writer beyond the sentence and ultimately beyond the text so that one "is a teacher of writing and not a proofreader for one [particular text]." Mary herself saw an extension of her pedagogic content knowledge in that she felt that she had become a more effective writing teacher as a result of the experience. However, she pointed out that it would be difficult to attribute the changes in her thinking solely as the product of a semester long involvement with the WAP pilot, although the WAP did make her view student concerns, however low-level, more sympathetically. The involvement with the WAP, the readings, the collegial interaction with colleagues and

visiting experts, she felt, had made her more interested in second language writing and more aware of the approaches available. Indeed, she believed that working with a variety of students one-on-one has helped her understand the challenges that teachers of L2 writing face in enabling their student writers to see other facets of writing such as the process, the reader and the global context. As a practitioner, therefore, she now sees an emerging theory of writing--a theory that she never attempted to develop earlier, although she taught writing to all her students as part of general ELT. In response to the question of whether the WAP experience had changed and influenced her views of writing, she asserted: Of course--I have not read so much about writing and never had the opportunity to apply the readings directly to my teaching. But WAP discussions sort of situated the reading within the context--a sort of situated learning. None of the ideas were new--but they seemed new in light of our discussions and arguments. I started to realise how important reading and collegial supportive environments are for developing all of us--even the most experienced of teachers.

Discussion and Implications

These brief stories of three L2 teachers in a writing center offer an opportunity to see how teachers were able to build a knowledge base as a result of their involvement with a writing assistance program (WAP). One might question whether such refining and revising of knowledge would have taken place even if the teachers were not part of the WAP. Indeed, this was a question that was posed at the interviews. Only Mary conceded that her rethinking might have been influenced by factors beyond the WAP. However, all three asserted that their involvement with the WAP had extended their knowledge of teaching writing (pedagogic content) and enabled them to integrate that with new knowledge of writing (content knowledge) as a result of the readings and discussion sessions. This knowledge base was not simply shaped by the encounters with the students coming to WAP. Without a doubt, the very nature of the WAP encounters with students at different developmental levels coming in with a variety of texts--ranging from "excellent" to "Oh no!"--had a profound effect on theory development. However, the collegial environment that the WAP had created and the ways in which the organizers had provided a forum for teachers to reflect actively and learn from experience also fostered this development. We feel such a move has important implications for the classroom; as teams working with specific groups, we can together build in explicit reflective encounters of teams based on reading and experience-sharing so that every week of teaching experience also became a learning experience for a teacher (Bowen & Marks, 1994). [-12-] Another aspect of knowledge development was the more varied approach that all three were ready to adopt at the time interviews were conducted at the end of the pilot. This allowed them to take into account the four elements of writing from a variety of rational options. Thus, all three questioned certain dichotomies, though in different ways. We had

a peek into how teachers develop "ways of knowing and doing that represent the socially constructed, perceptual, and interpretative nature of real teaching" (Johnson, 1996, p. 770). Indeed, this ability to focus on different elements of writing at different points could probably be seen as situated theories (Freeman & Johnson, 1999). The final theory building was in the way the teachers developed an understanding of ESL student concerns. As teachers of writing, they had all seen the importance of lower-level mechanical accuracy but as members of the WAP teaching team, they may have started to question the narrow focus on these lower-level concerns. The WAP pilot experience may have helped them see that such concerns often arose from higher-level linguistic needs that students were unable to articulate. Further research is necessary to see whether the introduction of teaching initiatives, especially those in alternative teaching environments, such as writing centers, legitimize the examination and discussion of theory-practice connection for many teachers who might otherwise feel it unnecessary. The WAP seemed to be a catalyst in teacher reflection and development, and these teachers, who had together developed the WAP, mentioned this reciprocal nature of the context being shaped by their experiences while inexorably shaping their experiences in the process.

Conclusion
This paper is written with the belief that in order to value teacher theories as more than "practitioner lore" (North, 1987), we need to see the nature of developing knowledge base within the context in and by which such theory is shaped. We have tried to show how three teachers have developed their pedagogic understanding of second language writing and the kinds of contextual influences that shaped their development. We are, however, not suggesting that all innovative moves should follow the route we took. We only suggest that unless collegial and intellectual support is provided to anchor our teaching experiences as active reflection on action, experience may well become mere repetition because critical interactive opportunities, which encourage teachers to "innovate-reflectadjust", need to be created--they may not just happen.

Notes
1The focus of teaching was on the product in terms of analyzing discourse in word, sentence and paragraph; classifying discourse into rhetorical patterns, such as, description, narration, exposition. 2 At this stage, we had started drafting the first draft of the paper. Our plans changed since then. For example, we could only interview three teachers. [-13-]

About the Authors

Sima Sengupta teaches English language at the Department of English, in the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. Her research interests lie in literacy development

at the tertiary level and teacher education. She is currently involved in providing and researching language support to university teachers. Maida Kennedy Xiao has taught English in the US, China and Hong Kong. While teaching at the English Department & English Language Centre in the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, she set up and managed the writing programme described in this paper. Her scholarly interest is in rhetoric, composition and teacher education. She now resides in Shanghai where she is engaged in teacher training and educational and ELT consulting.

References
Allison, D. (1994). Comments on Sarah Benecsh's "ESL ideology and the politics of pragmatism: a reader reacts.TESOL Quarterly 28(3), 618-623. Bailey, K., & Nunan, D. (Eds.). (1995).Voices from the language classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press. Berlin, J.A. (1982). Contemporary composition: The major pedagogical theories. College English 44(8), 765-779. Borko, H. & Putnam, R.T. (1995). Expanding a teacher's knowledge base. In T.R. Guskey and M. Huberman (eds.)Professional Development in Education, (pp. 35-65). New York: Teachers College. Bowen, T. & Marks, J. (1994).Inside teaching. Oxford: Heinemann. Calderhead, J. & Shorrock, S. (1994).The nature and growth of knowledge in teaching. Paper presented to BERA conference, University of Oxford. Clarke, C. (1994). The dysfunction of the theory practice discourse. TESOL Quarterly 28(1), 9-26. Cumming, A. (1998). Theoretical perspectives on writing. In Grabe, W. (Ed.)Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, (pp. 61-78). USA: Cambridge university press. Freeman, D. & Johnson, K.E. (1999). Towards a new knowledge-base of second language teacher education. Plenary paper presented at the conference on Research and Practice in Language Teacher Education: Voices from the field, 1999. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota. Grossman, P.L. (1990).The making of a teacher. New York: Teachers College Press. Grossman, P.L., Wilson, S.M., & Shulman, L.S. (1989). Teachers of substance: Subject matter knowledge for teaching. In Reynolds, M.C. (ed.),Knowledge Base for the Beginning Teachers (pp. 23-36). Oxford: Pergamon.

Grotjahn, R. (1991). The research programme subjective theories: A new approach in second language research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 13,187-214. Harris, Muriel. (1997). Cultural conflicts in the writing centre: Expectations and assumptions of ESL students. In Severino, C, Guerra, J., & Butler, J.E. (eds.)Writing in multicultural settings (pp. 220-233). New York: The Modern Languages Association of America. Johns A.M. (1990). L1 composition theories: Implications for developing theories of L2 composition. In Kroll B. (ed.), Second language writing: Research insights for the classroom, (pp.24-36). New York: Cambridge University Press. Johnson, K.E. (2000). Innovation in TESOL teacher education: A quiet revolution. In K. Johnson (ed.)Teacher education (pp. 1-10). Virginia: TESOL. Johnson, K.E. (1996). The role of theory in l2 teacher education. TESOL Quarterly 30(4), 765-772. Kirschner, M., Spector-Cohen, E. & Wexler, C. (1996). A teacher education workshop on the construction of efl tests and materials. TESOL Quarterly 30 (1), 85-112. [-14-] Kumaravadivelu, B. (1994).The post method condition: (E)merging strategies for second/foreign language teaching. TESOL Quarterly 28 (1), 27--48. Matsuda, P. (1998). Situating ESL writing in a cross-disciplinary context. Written Communication 15(1), 99-121. North, S.M. (1987).The making of knowledge in composition: Portrait of an emerging field. New Hampshire, Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers. Nystrand, M., Greene, S. and Wiemelt, J (1993). Where did composition studies come from? Written Communication 10(3), 267-333. Pennington, M.C. (1995). The teacher change cycle. TESOL Quarterly 29(4), 80-106. Powers, J.K. (1993). Rethinking writing center conferencing strategies for the ESL writers. Writing Center Journal 13(2), 39-47. Raimes, A. (1985). What unskilled ESL students do as they write: A classroom study of composing,TESOL Quarterly 30(2), 281-296. Raimes, A. (1986). Teaching writing: What we know and what we do.(Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED 271 030). Raimes, A. (1987). Language proficiency, writing ability, and composing strategies: A study of ESL college student writers.Language Learning 37(3), 439-468.

Richards, J.C. (1996). Teachers maxims in language teaching. TESOL Quarterly 19(2), 229-258. Richards, J.C. & Nunan, D. (eds.) (1990).Second language teacher education. Australia: Cambridge University Press. Schn, D. A. (1983).The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Aldershot Hants, England: Avebury. Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher 15(2), 4-14. Silva, T. (1990). Second language composition instruction: developments, issues and directions in ESL In Kroll B. (Ed.)Second Language Writing: Research insights for the classroom, (pp.7-23). New York: Cambridge University Press. Silva, T. (1993). Towards an understanding of the distinct nature of l2 writing: The ESL research and its implication. TESOL Quarterly 27(4), 657-677. Thanus, T. (1993). Tutors as teachers: Assisting ESL/EFL students in the writing center. Writing Center Journal 13(2), 13-26. Xiao, M. K. (2001). A Writing Center with Hong Kong Characteristics. In Leki, I (ed.) Aceademic Writing Programs (pp 7-19). @Alexandria, Virginia: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) Wilson, S.M., Shulman, L.S. & Richert, A.E. (1987). '150 different ways' of knowing: representation of knowledge in teaching. In J. Calderhead (Ed.)Exploring teachers thinking, (pp. 104-124). London: Cassell. [-15-] Wu, Kam-yin and Sengupta, S. (1998). Hong Kong ESL teachers' questions about English grammar. Language and Education 12 (2), 137-153. Young, R. (1978). Paradigms and problems: Needed research in rhetorical invention. In Cooper, C. and Odell, L. (eds.)Research on composing: Points of view, (pp. 29-47). Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English Publication. Zamel, V. (1984). In search of the key: research and practice in composition. In Handscombe, J., Orem, R. and Taylor B. (eds.) On TESOL '83: The question of control, (pp. 195-207). Washington, D.C.: TESOL. Appendix A To: Peter Re: Interview: details

Dear Peter I wish to tell you a little about this study and the interview. I am trying to see how the experience of WAP has made all of us develop a deeper understanding of second language writing. I have chosen four teachers specifically because from the tapes of the meetings (I have heard them all) I have made some assumptions about the ways in which you conceptualized writing and the rethinking that seems to have taken place. I have then had a quick look at some of the sessions you have taught at WAP. However, this is my interpretation of you from two sources of data: audio taped data where many other voices were present and a quick look at your teaching records in the WAP files. I feel that as a researcher, I have no right to interpret your words and actions without confirming my interpretation with you. Therefore, the aim of today's interview (30--40 minutes) is to start with my interpretation (enclosed)--and then taking that beyond to your interpretation of the ways in which WAP has added to your knowledge base about writing. This interview is for a paper I am writing. In this paper, I will not use your name and it will not be possible to identify you as I will interview a number of people and only choose four people. The theme of the paper is to argue that teacher knowledge is constructed through experience and WAP provides an ideal experience for developing teachers' knowledge of writing. Here is an extract from the paper: "I focus on teachers' images and understanding of the four elements in writing: the writer, the reader, the context and the text. I trace whether these images were enriched, revised and re-conceptualized as a result of the teachers' involvement in a pilot writing center started in the department of English in the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. My purpose within the confines of this paper, as a teacher and writer of this piece, is not simply to narrate changing images but to examine practitioner theory building in context--within and beyond the writing center". [-16-] If you have any concerns about this paper, please feel free to voice them. All I can say is that there will be no judgment or evaluation in this paper! I look forward to seeing you at 1:00 on Monday. Thanks a lot Sima Enclosure: My interpretation sheet

I agree to allow this data to be used provided my name and identity is kept confidential. Signature _______________________ Date________________

Peter: Initial ideas: Peter seems to be a person who does not take things lightly. Although a native English speaker, Peter obviously recognizes the difficulties both teachers and students may have and expect in L2 writing. He sees writing as an intensely personal act at the broadest level. He sees the therapeutic, thought-provoking nature of personal writing and feels that within certain contexts the reader is not an issue. In that sense Peter is an expressivist--seeing personal writing as an act acceptable on its own merit. Within this view of writing, Peter does not see the student writer as someone who ought to be constrained by reader concerns at all times and sees unknown teacher/reader in a writing center as someone who needs to keep in mind the goals that drive students to seek assistance in the first place. He seems to see a definite contradiction between focus on form and focus on meaning. He comments that it would be good to throw form out but it quite unrealistic to expect teachers to be able to teach everything about structure. In the first two meetings Peter's approach is pragmatic. He started off with the student in mind and felt that most students would come with partly composed texts. These students, he felt, may not want help beyond the immediate needs of the text and thus may not necessarily wish the teacher to take an approach that covers the process but may expressly wish to focus on the product. In Peter's mind the discourse community is not a great issue. He feels that he himself knows little about genres of other disciplines and thus does not feel comfortable about dealing with genre-related concerns. However, a few meetings later, Peter does mention conventions--I get the distinct feeling that Peter has started to see the social nature of writing. But this is a cautious step and not a zealous conversion. I also feel that Peter has started to re-think the role of the reader as often his sessions bring the reader in. Although all the sessions Peter taught were those in which students came with a product--Peter does not ignore the process as his sessions progress. Towards the end of the pilot he often focuses on meaning even when students come for lower-level proofreading help. The change in Peter seems to consist of: [-17-]

Seeing the role of the reader slightly differently as a result of reflecting on the WAP experience Recognizing a social dimension of writing Not seeing a great divide between lower and higher-level concerns as the lower-level concerns often generate from higher-level meaning-related issues.

Appendix B

WAP Reading List: Given to all teachers and discussed in meetings

1. Brannon, Lil, and C.H. Knoblauch. "A Philosophical Perspective on Writing Centers and the Teaching Writing." Writing Centers: Theory and Administration. Editor Gary A. Olson. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1984. 36-47.

2. Brooks, Jeff. "Minimalist Tutoring Making the Student Do All the Work." The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Editors Christine Murphy and Steve Sherwood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 83-87. 3. Carino, Peter. "Early Writing Centers: Toward a History." The Writing Center Journal 15.2 (1995): 103-15. 4. Clark, Irene Lurkis. "Collaboration and Ethics in Writing Center Pedagogy." The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Editors Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 88-96. 5. Connonr, Ulla Mary Farmer. "The Teaching of Topical Structure Analysis As a Revision Strategy for ESL Writers." Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom. Editor Barbara Kroll. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 126-39. 6. Cumming, Alister, and Sufumi So. "Tutoring Second Language Text Revision: Does the Approach to Instruction or the Language of Communication Make a Difference?" Journal of Second Language Writing 5.3 (1996): 197-226. 7. Fathman, Ann K. Elizabeth Whalley. "Teacher Response to Student Writing: Focus on Form Versus Content." Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom. Editor Barbara Kroll. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. 8. Fitzgerald, Sallyanne H. "Collaborative Learning and Whole Language Theory." Intersections: Theory-Practice in the Writing Center. Editors Joan A. Mullin and Ray Wallace. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1994. 11-18. 9. Fletcher, David C. "On the Issue of Authority." Dynamics of the Writing Conference: Social and Cognitive Interaction. Editors Thomas Flynn and Mary King. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1993. 41-50. 10. Flynn, Thomas. "Promoting Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Writing Conferences." Dynamics of the Writing Conference: Social and Cognitive Interaction. Editors Thomas Flynn and Mary King. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1993. 3-14. 11. Fulwiler, Toby. "Provacative Revision." The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Editors Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 71-82. 12. Harris, Muriel. "What's Up and What's In: Trends and Traditions in Writing Centers." Landmark Essays on Writing Centers. Editors Christina Murphy and Joe Law. Davis, California: Hermagoras Press, 1995. 27-36. [-18-] 13. Hayward, Kathy. "Writing Centres in Self-Access Centres." Modern English Teacher 5.3 (1996): 57-63.

14. Johnson, JoAnn B. "Reevaluation of the Question As a Teaching Tool." Dynamics of the Writing Conference: Social and Cognitive Interaction. Editors Thomas Flynn and Mary King. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1993. 34-40. 15. Murphy, Christina. "Freud in the Writing Center: The Psychoanalytics of Tutoring Well." The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Editors Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 43-47. 16. ---. "The Writing Center and Social Constructionist Theory." Intersections: TheoryPractice in the Writing Center. Editors Joan A. Mullin and Ray Wallace. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1994. 25-38. 17. Neuleib, Janice Witherspoon, and Maurice A. Scharton. "Writing Others, Writing Ourselves: Ethnography and the Writing Center." Intersections: Theory-Practice in the Writing Center. Editors Joan A. Mullin and Ray Wallace. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1994. 54-67. 18. North, Stephen M. "The Idea of a Writing Center." Landmark Essays on Writing Centers. Editors Christine Murphy and Joe Law. Davis, California: Harmagoras Press, 1995. 71-85. 19. Powers, Judith K. "Rethinking Writing Center Conferencing Strategies for the ESL Writer." The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Editors Christina Murphy and Steve Sherwood. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. 96-103. 20. Shamoon, Linda K, and Deborah H. Burns. "A Critique of Pure Tutoring." The Writing Center Journal 2 (1995): 134-51. 21. Silva, Tony. "Second Language Composition Instruction: Developments, Issues and Directions in ESL." Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom. Editor Barbara Kroll. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 11-23. 22. Taylor, David. "A Counseling Approach to Writing Conferences." Dynamics of the Writing Conference. Editors Thomas Flynn and Mary King. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1993. 24-33. 23. Thonus, Terese. "Tutors As Teachers: Assisting ESL/EFL Students in the Writing Center." Writing Center Journal 13.2 (Spring1993): 13-26. 24. Wallace, Ray. "Text Linguistics: External Entries into "Our" Community." Intersections: Theory-Practice in the Writing Center. Editors Joan A. Mullin and Ray Wallace. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1994. 68-80. Copyright rests with authors. Please cite TESL-EJ appropriately. Editor's Note: Dashed numbers in square brackets indicate the end of each page for purposes of citation.

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JAC 11.2 (1991)

Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom , ed. Barbara Kroll (New York: Cambridge UP, l990, 246 pages).
Reviewed by Emily Carlson Ware, English Language Center, Old Dominion University
Many of us have experienced the frustration, even intimidation, engendered by the presence of non-native speakers in our composition classrooms. Often the greatest challenge is to identify and then decide how to treat ESL (E2) difficulties--problems which seem completely different from those of our native (L1) students. Do we dare ask non-native speakers to write in class? Are we obliged to discourage the use of their own languages while in the composing stage of an English composition? What kind of written feedback is appropriate for L2 writers? Should we try to teach them our own patterns of academic discourse, or is that expecting them to juggle too many tasks at once? These are the kinds of questions addressed in Second Language Writing by active, well-known teachers and researchers in the field of English as a Second Language. Divided into two parts, this anthology presents in its first division, "Philosophical Underpinnings of Second Language Writing Instruction," a historical overview of the philosophical bases for current ESL thinking about the process of L2 writing. It becomes clear that there are both inherent differences from and similarities to first language composition. There is perhaps no better way to show the scope of Part I than to summarize the subject material treated in each of the six chapters. Chapter l synthesizes years of ESL composition instruction history in just a few pages. It is an excellent summation of past and current theories and their advantages and disadvantages. The next chapter reviews composition theories for L1 writers and suggests applications to the development of L2 composition theory. For writing instructors familiar with L1 theory, this chapter is yeasty and inspires awareness of L1 relationships to the process of L2 writing. The third chapter exposes the number of contradictions which currently exist in L2 writing process research and invites continued search for answers. The writer of this chapter cautions L2 researchers, however, not to let L1 studies guide or determine their investigations of L2 writing processes because the research contexts are completely different. The fourth chapter brings up an old question about teacher response and concludes that written comment on student papers has little effect, whether the student is L1 or L2. As has been concluded many times before, alternative teacher response, specifically dialogue with the student, may be superior to detached written commentary. The final two chapters of this section call for more research in both assessment issues and the relationship between reading and writing. Both writers of these chapters make a strong point that in the field of ESL writing, there are far fewer answers than questions.

In fact, all of the chapters in this section make a plea for more research, with a resulting cumulative effect that is similar to singing an old gospel song: the verses are different but they always conclude with a familiar chorus. Part II, "Considerations for Writing Instruction," sets out to answer many of the queries posed in the previous section. Chapter 7, for example, may surprise some who have always thought that it is poor practice for foreign students to write first in their native language and then translate into English. We learn from this chapter that translation from the native language into English appears to help rather than hinder writers "when the topic-area knowledge is in the first language." Many of us who have struggled with a non-native speaker of English in the revision process will find the chapter on teaching topical structure analysis of great interest. This chapter provides a thorough description of this new linguistically based revision strategy and its application to ESL writing. Examples add welcome clarification and concreteness. Another fascinating area of discussion concerns the impact of time on an ESL writer. This chapter reveals that, while time allowed for the preparation of an essay can yield some syntactic and rhetorical improvement, there is no statistical significance in the differences between classroom and home performance. Such findings should reduce the level of guilt that some of us experience when asking non-native speakers to do in-class writing. The next chapters delve into two old conflicts: Do students need as much written feedback as they think they do? Should teacher feedback focus on form or content? There are no clear answers given, and further research is requested. Chapter l2 admonishes teachers to be aware of the fact that different topic tasks administered to writers of other linguistic and cultural backgrounds can elicit responses that are "linguistically measurable and measurably different." Thus, in a class of mixed students, the teacher is obligated to design fair and appropriate topics and, in addition, to encourage students to use appropriate academic forms. Possibly, some of us have not always considered the effect of a topic on the resulting writing; clearly, this author sees a tight connection. The final chapter addresses an issue I have encountered repeatedly in my role as a composition instructor both for native speakers in developmental writing classes and for non-native speakers in an intensive English program: writers, whether native or nonnative, experience great difficulty in using background texts for their own writing. Because non-natives usually read less efficiently than do their native counterparts, they write summaries and paraphrases less skillfully. Consequently, they lean more heavily on outside texts for their writing, especially at the beginning. Unfortunately, both native and non-native writers are often unaware of the methods for acknowledging another author. This chapter suggests that instructors assign written work which encourages non-native speakers to develop skills in academic writing. Couldn't all students use more practice in this area? A helpful note near the end of this chapter recommends B. Spatt's Writing from Sources (1987) as a clear, non-punitive textbook for teaching the protocol of academic writing. The very fact that this book is divided between philosophical and practical concerns makes it apparent that it is intended for a diverse audience. For classroom teachers in the

midst of immediate need, the second half of the book will seem more readable and concrete. Those who wish to know more about the field of ESL writing and what current theories are being posited about it will find the first section helpful, too. Graduate students in TESL who need a framework for future research will find both the suggested topics for research and the extensive bibliographies following each chapter invaluable. Teachers of ESL writing, many of whom seldom have the opportunity to confer with ESL colleagues concerning these questions, will appreciate the bird's-eye view of the field provided by others who have experienced the conflict between L1 writing theories and the realities of an L2 writing experience. Although the language becomes unbearably convoluted and vague in parts of several of the chapters, the knowledge imparted is valuable. One is struck with the relative novelty of the study of ESL writing evidenced by the recurring statements that we need more research in this area or that. Writing instructors who sometimes feel helpless when approached by a non-native speaker can take heart: help is on the way. Second Language Writing is an example. We can expect to see more such books as scholars and teachers take interest in and act upon the challenges set forth in this volume.
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