A Study of the Relationship between Persian and English Writing Skills among Adult EFL Learners in Iran

Abstract

This research aims at investigating the relationship between writing skill and sub-skills of first language (Persian) and foreign language (English). Therefore, 50 upper-intermediate EFL learners in Iran who were majoring in the English language were asked to write on two different topics in Persian and English. Then, the compositions were evaluated based on ESL Composition Profile. Subsequently, using Pearson product-moment correlation, the correlation between the compositions overall scores in L1 and L2, as well as the correlations between each of five major components of writing, including content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics in the two languages were examined. The results displayed large correlations between the compositions overall scores as well as between the four writing sub-skills in L1 and L2. The highest correlations were observed between writing sub-skills of vocabulary, mechanics, language use, and content respectively. These findings entail some pedagogical implications for effective language learning in both L1 and L2, utilizing the enhancing effect of cross-linguistic transfer of writing.

A Single or Separate Entities? A Genre-Based Investigation Into the Correspondence Between L1 and L2 Writing Skills

“…Although writing skill has been surrounded by a plethora of studies to reduce the challenges L2 learners encounter, this skill is still a source of worry and anxiety for Iranian L2 learners who were not given the chance to practice this skill and its components enough (Ansarimoghaddam & Tan, 2014;Javadi-Safa et al, 2013). In addition, L2 writing skill has been reputed as the tough one because L2 learners have to deal with the principles governing this skill along with the command over the second language that makes it trickier (Tavakoli et al, 2014).…”

A Preliminary Investigation of Writing Beliefs of Secondary School Arab Teachers of English and Arabic in Northern Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…All the above studies, both explicitly and implicitly, imply that L1 and L2 teachers of writing should consider more the common deep underlying writing skills in a way that they can be tapped into when learning a foreign language by drawing students' attention to what they have already acquired in their first language, and how to transfer these to second language writing context (Javadi-Safa, Vahdany and Sabet, 2013).…”