Research on EFL Writing Strategy Using SRP: An Empirical Study in DUT

| June 26, 2008
Title
Research on EFL Writing Strategy Using SRP: An Empirical Study in DUT

Keywords: EFL, writing strategy, Stimulated Recall Protocol, writing proficiency

Authors
Liu Wenyu & Lu Yang
School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, China

Bio Data
Liu Wenyu is an Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Languages at Dalian University of Technology. He has been teaching since 1993. His research interests are teaching English as a second or foreign language, computer assisted language learning and neurolinguistics. He holds an M.A. in English Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Dalian Maritime University, China.

Lu Yang received her Master of Arts from Dalian University of Technology. Her research interests are ESL learning strategy and computer assisted language learning. The paper is based on a project sponsored by the Graduate School, Dalian University of Technology.

Abstract
In the past 20 years, research in the field of ESL writing has made great progress. However, research on EFL writing strategies is still a latecomer, especially in China. A review of the previous studies at home shows that most of the research subjects are adults; research on local techniques outnumber those on global strategies and the researchers employed either qualitative or quantitative instrument in the research. Motivated by the limitation of the previous research, the present study focuses on the writing strategies of Chinese college EFL writers. Conducted in Dalian University of Technology, the study aims at analyzing the relations among writing proficiency, writing strategy and writing scores. A combination of quantitative instrument, questionnaire and qualitative instrument known as Stimulated Recall Protocol (SRP) is employed in this study and computer software SPSS 10.0 is used to compile statistics. It is found that there exist significant differences in strategy use between English major and non-English major writers; English major students hold a more positive attitude towards English writing; both English major students and non-English major students cannot handle the strategy of coherence well and English major students pay more attention to global strategies while non-English major students pay more attention to local strategies. Not only are the findings of the present study pedagogically helpful for EFL teachers, but also they reveal the writing habits of Chinese EFL writers with different writing proficiency, which can help them improve their own writing.
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Category: Main Editions, Volume 10 Issue 2