Teaching for transfer between first and foreign language classroom contexts
Developing a framework for a strategy-based, cross-curricular approach to writing pedagogy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.34601Keywords:
WRITING, LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES, CROSS-CURRICULAR, TRANSFER, FOREIGN LANGUAGE, FIRST LANGUAGEAbstract
Writing is a skill which is actively taught in both first (L1) and foreign language (FL) classrooms, yet surprisingly few cross-curricular links are made. This paper, aimed at both practitioners and researchers, presents a framework for designing and implementing a strategy-based, cross-curricular approach to writing pedagogy in schools. It first considers the factors which should be taken into account when designing such an intervention in both L1 and FL classrooms. It then outlines the key steps in the implementation of such a programme of strategy-based instruction. To exemplify this, the paper reports on data throughout from an empirical study involving a classroom intervention of explicit strategy-based instruction which was delivered first in the German FL classroom, and later also in the English classroom of a Year 9 (age 13–14) class in a secondary school in England. The aim was to help students to develop their writing strategies and to encourage transfer between languages. Findings suggest that while a programme of strategy-based instruction can improve strategy use and attainment in writing within a particular language context, effects are most powerful when there is collaboration between L1 and FL teachers. Evidence therefore calls for a multilingual approach to writing pedagogy.
<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons Licence" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>.References
Bai, B. (2015). The effects of strategy-based writing instruction in Singapore primary schools. System 53, 96-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.05.009
Bereiter, C. and Scardamalia, M. (1987). The Psychology of Written Composition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Berman, R. (1994). Learners' transfer of writing skills between languages. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL Du Canada 12 (1), 29-46. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v12i1.642
Bialystok, E. (1978). A theoretical model of second language learning. Language Learning 28 (1), 69-83. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1978.tb00305.x
Bouwer, R., Koster, M., and van den Bergh, H. (2018). Effects of a strategy-focused instructional program on the writing quality of upper elementary students in the Netherlands. Journal of Educational Psychology 110 (1), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000206
Burley, S. and Pomphrey, C. (2003). Intercomprehension in language teacher education: A dialogue between English and Modern Languages. Language Awareness 12 (3-4), 247-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410308667080
Chamot, A. U. (2005). Language learner strategy instruction: Current issues and research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 25, 112-130. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190505000061
Chamot, A. U. (2008). Strategy instruction and good language learners. In C. Griffiths (Ed.), Lessons from a Good Language Learner, 266-281. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511497667.024
Chamot, A. U., Barnhardt, S., El-Dinary, P., and Robbins, J. (1999). The Learning Strategies Handbook. White Plains, NY: Addison-Wesley.
Cohen, A. D. (1998). Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language (1st ed.). Harlow: Longman.
Cohen, A. D. (2011). Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman.
Cohen, A. D., Weaver, S. J., and Li, T. Y. (1998). The impact of strategies-based instruction on speaking a foreign language. In A. D. Cohen (Ed.), Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language. Harlow: Longman.
Collins, J. L. (1998). Strategies for Struggling Writers. New York: Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/358940
Cumming, A. (1989). Writing expertise and second language proficiency. Language Learning 39 (1), 81-141. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1989.tb00592.x
Dan, M. (2017). An empirical study on writing strategies: Training mode in CSL teaching. Chinese as a Second Language Research 6 (1), 175-200.
De Angelis, G. and Jessner, U. (2012). Writing across languages in a bilingual context: A dynamic systems theory approach. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), L2 Writing Development: Multiple Perspectives, 47-68. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781934078303.47
De La Paz, S. and Graham, S. (2002). Explicitly teaching strategies, skills, and knowledge: Writing instruction in middle school classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology 94 (4), 687-698. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.4.687
De Silva, R. and Graham, S. (2015). The effects of strategy instruction on writing strategy use for students of different proficiency levels. System 53, 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.06.009
Flower, L. and Hayes, J. R. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication 32 (4), 365-387. https://doi.org/10.2307/356600
Forbes, K. (2016). Cross-Linguistic Transfer of Foreign Language Writing Strategies: Developing First and Foreign Language Writing Through Metacognitive Strategy Use (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Forbes, K. (2018a). 'In German I have to think about it more than I do in English': The foreign language classroom as a key context for developing transferable metacognitive writing strategies. In Å. Haukås, C. Bjørke, and M. Dypedahl (Eds),?Metacognition in Language Learning and Teaching. New York: Routledge.
Forbes, K. (2018b). The role of individual differences in the development and transfer of writing strategies between foreign and first language classrooms.?Research Papers in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2018.1452963
Forbes, K. and Fisher, L. (2018). Strategy development and cross-linguistic transfer in foreign and first language writing. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2018-0008
Graham, S. and Harris, K. R. (2003). Students with learning disabilities and the process of writing: A meta-analysis of SRSD studies. In H. L. Swanson, K. R. Harris, and S. Graham (Eds), Handbook of Learning Disabilities, 323-344. New York: Guilford Press.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., and Mason, L. (2005). Improving the writing performance, knowledge, and self-efficacy of struggling young writers: The effects of self-regulated strategy development. Contemporary Educational Psychology 30 (2), 207-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.08.001
Graham, S. and Macaro, E. (2007). Designing Year 12 strategy training in listening and writing: From theory to practice. Language Learning Journal 35 (2), 153-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571730701599203
Grenfell, M. and Harris, V. (1999). Modern Languages and Learning Strategies: In Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.
Griffiths, C. (2013). The Strategy Factor in Successful Language Learning. Bristol: Multilingual Matters Ltd. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847699428
Gunning, P., White, J., and Busque, C. (2015). Enhancing pedagogy through first and second language teacher collaboration. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Association of Applied Linguistics, Toronto, Canada.
Harris, V. (2006). Language learning strategies across the curriculum: Government policy and school practice. In British Educational Research Association Annual Conference. University of Warwick: Education-Line. Retrieved from http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/160889.htm
Haukås, Å. (2015). Teachers' beliefs about multilingualism and a multilingual pedagogical approach. International Journal of Multilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2015.1041960
Hayes, J. R. and Flower, L. (1980). Identifying the organization of writing processes. In L. W. Gregg and E. R. Steinberg (Eds), Cognitive Processes in Writing: An Interdisciplinary Approach, 3-30. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
Hyland, K. (2002). Teaching and Researching Writing. London: Pearson Education.
Jones, C. S. and Tetroe, J. (1987). Composing in a second language. In A. Matsuhashi (Ed.), Writing in Real Time, 34-57. New York: Addison-Wesley.
Kecskes, I. and Papp, T. (2000). Foreign Language and Mother Tongue. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410606464
Kobayashi, H. and Rinnert, C. (2007). Transferability of argumentative writing competence from L2 to L1: Effects of overseas experience. In M. Conrick and M. Howard (Eds), From Applied Linguistics to Linguistics Applied: Issues, Practices, Trends. Proceedings of the 2006 BAAL/IRAAL Conference (Cork, September) (Vol. 22), 91-110. London: British Association for Applied Linguistics.
Kobayashi, H. and Rinnert, C. (2008). Task response and text construction across L1 and L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing 17 (1), 7-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.08.004
Macaro, E. (2001). Learning Strategies in Foreign and Second Language Classrooms. London: Continuum.
MacArthur, C. A., Philippakos, Z. A., and Ianetta, M. (2015). Self-regulated strategy instruction in college developmental writing. Journal of Educational Psychology 107 (3), 855-867. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000011
Manchón, R. M., Roca de Larios, J., and Murphy, L. (2007). A review of writing strategies: Focus on conceptualizations and impact of first language. In A. D. Cohen and E. Macaro (Eds), Language Learner Strategies: 30 Years of Research and Practice, 229-250. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
O'Malley, J. M. and Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524490
Odlin, T. (1989). Language Transfer: Cross-Linguistic Influence in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524537
OFSTED. (2012). Moving English Forward: Action to Raise Standards in English. London. Retrieved from
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181204/110118.pdf
OFSTED. (2013). Improving Standards in Literacy: A Shared Responsibility. London. Retrieved from www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/120363
Oxford, R. (2011). Teaching and Researching Language Learning Strategies. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Oxford, R. (2017). Teaching and Researching Language Learning Strategies: Self-Regulation in Context. New York: Routledge.
Perkins, D. N. and Salomon, G. (1988). Teaching for transfer. Educational Leadership, 46 (1), 22-32.
Pomphrey, C. (2000). Language transfer and the Modern Foreign Languages curriculum. In Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching, 269-282. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Pomphrey, C. and Burley, S. (2009). Teacher language awareness education and pedagogy: A new discursive space. Language Awareness 18 (3-4), 422-433. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410903197314
Pomphrey, C. and Moger, R. (1999). Cross-subject dialogue about language: Attitudes and perceptions of PGCE students of English and Modern Languages. Language Awareness 8 (3-4), 223-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658419908667131
Prior, P. (2006). A sociocultural theory of writing. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, and J. Fitzgerald (Eds), Handbook of Writing Research, 54-66. London: The Guilford Press.
Raimes, A. (1987). Language proficiency, writing ability, and composing strategies: A study of ESL college student writers. Language Learning 37 (3), 439-468. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1987.tb00579.x
Rubin, J., Chamot, A. U., Harris, V., and Anderson, N. J. (2007). Intervening in the use of strategies. In A. D. Cohen and E. Macaro (Eds), Language Learner Strategies: 30 Years of Research and Practice, 141-160. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an empirical model of EFL writing processes: An exploratory study. Journal of Second Language Writing 9 (3), 259-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00028-X
Sasaki, M. (2002). Building an empirically-based model of EFL learners' writing processes. In S. Ransdell and M.-L. Barbier (Eds), New Directions for Research in L2 Writing, 49-80. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0363-6_3
Schunk, D. H. and Swartz, C. W. (1993). Goals and progress feedback: Effects on self-efficacy and writing achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology 18, 337-354. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1993.1024
Sengupta, S. (2000). An investigation into the effects of revision strategy instruction on L2 secondary school learners. System 28 (1), 97-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(99)00063-9
Sharwood Smith, M. and Kellerman, E. (1986). Crosslinguistic influence in second language acquisition: An introduction. In E. Kellerman and M. Sharwood Smith (Eds), Crosslinguistic Influence in Second Language Acquisition, 1-9. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Tinsley, T. and Board, K. (2017). Language Trends 2016/17: Language Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools in England. London. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/language_trends_survey_2017_0.pdf
Vygotsky, L. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/11193-000
Yang, N.-D. (1999). The relationship between EFL learners' beliefs and learning strategy use. System 27 (4), 515-535. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(99)00048-2
Zamel, V. (1983). The composing processes of advanced ESL students: Six case studies. Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) 17 (2), 165-187. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586647