An analysis of English as a Second Language (ESL) students' writing experiences as reflected through the portfolio writing process approach /
When used as the only means of evaluating and assessing English as a Second Language (ESL) students, traditional methods appear to be problematic for ESL students' writing experiences. Copious ESL research exists on testing, evaluation, and writing assessment, but the ESL writing exp...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2001.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=726083021&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | When used as the only means of evaluating and assessing English as a Second Language (ESL) students, traditional methods appear to be problematic for ESL students' writing experiences. Copious ESL research exists on testing, evaluation, and writing assessment, but the ESL writing experience as seen through the portfolio writing process approach has been scantily researched-if at all. Alternative approaches, such as the portfolio approach, appear well suited for exploring the writing experiences of ESL students because they appear to be able to tap in to ESL students' cognitive processes. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore and analyze seventh grade intermediate ESL students' perspectives of their writing experiences through the portfolio writing process approach. Using purposeful sampling, seven seventh grade ESL students were selected for the inquiry (three females and four males). Prior to this study, the participants had not had any experience with the portfolio writing process approach. This study investigated the participants' writing experiences and perspectives by focusing on the students' writing prompts, metanarratives, and personal interviews. Employing a naturalistic emergent design, data from the students' metanarratives and personal interviews underwent content analysis. One research question guided this study: What patterns or anomalies emerged from the emic perspectives of seventh grade ESL students' writing experiences reflected through their own metanarratives and personal interviews? This study found that students value being bilingual for utilitarian reasons and Spanish for the cultural identity, through deep personal connections to their Hispanic culture. Home language and culture impacted their writing. For example, their thinking in both languages and their writing impacted their understanding of their culture by stimulating new reflections on their prior experiences. The study also found that non-stop "invisible" pre-writing gave students a new level of freedom by increasing their comfort, their independence, and their self-confidence. This enabled them to take risks in their writing. Pre-writing also promoted greater thinking about the writing process itself. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Curriculum and Instruction". |
| Physical Description: | x, 146 leaves ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-136). |