Writing strategy instruction: Its impact on writing in a second language for academic purposes

Abstract

Writing for academic purposes in a second/foreign language is a major challenge faced by many students at both secondary and tertiary levels. This suggests that displaying content knowledge and understanding of a subject through a second language is a very complex process. This article discusses the findings of a longitudinal intervention study that attempted to investigate the impact of writing strategy instruction on writing strategy use and writing performance of a group of undergraduate students following a course in English for Academic Purposes in Sri Lanka. The study used a pre-test post-test experimental research design and the data were collected using multiple methods. The results revealed that the students could be trained to use writing strategies effectively and their writing strategy use and writing performance increased significantly after strategy instruction.

The effects of strategy-based writing instruction in Singapore primary schools

“…In contrast to De Silva's (2015) finding on planning, the experimental students did not use their planning strategies more often than their control counterparts after the intervention. One possible reason would be that the students in the control group also used their planning strategies very frequently.…”

“…Using a pre-/post-/delayed test and experimental/control group design, the present study found that the intervention brought about significant improvements in the participants' writing competence and overall use of writing strategies. Similar positive treatment effects were also reported by De Silva (2015) and Gunning and Oxford (2014).…”

“…In the English as a second (ESL)/foreign (EFL) language context, intervention studies find that strategy-based instruction (SBI) can exert a positive impact on ESL/EFL learners' use of writing strategies both quantitatively and qualitatively, as well as their writing competence (De Silva, 2015;Hu, 2005;Ong & Zhang, 2013;Wong & Hew, 2010). However, several issues exist with regard to writing SBI research.…”

The Effect of Cognitive and Metacognitive Writing Strategies on Content of the Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Writing

“…The results support the idea of De Silva (2015) and Ong and Zhang (2013) who concluded that writing strategy instruction contribute toward enhancing the quality of the learners' writing. Both cognitive and metacognitive writing strategies help learners to go one step further in their writing and have better perception of the content of their writing.…”

Learning Strategy Training and the Shift in Learners’ Beliefs About Language Learning

“…The magnitude of the differences in the means, according to Cohen (1988), was very large (η 2 = 0.1). The results of the present study, first and foremost, support the usefulness of explicit instruction of strategy as already proposed by some scholars (Anderson, 2005;Butler, 1997;Cohen, 1998;De Silva, 2014;Goh & Taib, 2006;Gu, 2007;Nguyen & Gu, 2013;Nunan, 1997;O'Malley & Chamot, 1990;Oxford & Leaver, 1996;Rubin & McCoy, 2008;Shen, 2003). Change in the learners' beliefs about language learning as a result of teaching language learning strategies could lead to familiarizing the learners with what the nature of language is and how it is learned.…”