Chapter 1 Introduction to an EFL Writing Workshopand Its Research Context 11.1 Theoretical Background of the Study 21.2 Statement of the Phenomenon 41.3 Current Educational Context of the Study 10Chapter 2 North American ESL Writing Theories andEnglish Writing Instruction in China 152.1 Overview of ESL Writing Research 152.2 Approaches to L2 Writing Pedagogy: An Overview ofCurrent Trends 172.2.1 Focus on Form and Current-Traditional Rhetoric, 1966 172.2.2 Focus on the Writer: Expressionism andCognitivism, 1976 182.2.3 Focus on Disciplinary Content and DiscursivePractices, 1986 212.2.4 Focus on Readers and Discursive Communities: SocialConstructionism, 1986 222.2.5 Focus on Sociopolitical Issues and CriticalPedagogy, 1990 232.3 The Context of Education in China 262.3.1 Historical Background 262.3.2 The Goal of Education 272.3.3 The Role of the Teacher 282.3.4 Classroom Participation 282.3.5 Cultural Framework 29VI The Principles and Applications of North American Process Writing Approach2.4 Current English Writing Instruction and ClassroomPractice in China 302.4.1 Overview of English Writing Instruction 302.4.2 English Writing Teaching and Research in China 332.5 North American Process Writing Approach Frameworkin an EFL Setting 342.5.1 Characteristics of the L2 Writer 352.5.2 L1 ReaderAudience of the L2 Text 362.5.3 L2 TextGenre and Discourse Communities 372.5.4 Contexts for L2 WritingCultural, Social, andSituational Aspects of Writing 402.5.5 Interaction in an Authentic EFL Setting 412.6 Building Adequate Writing Competence Among EFLUniversity Students 422.6.1 Components of Writing Proficiency 422.6.2 Factors Affecting ESLEFL Writing Development 422.7 Summary 43Chapter 3 A Process Writing Workshop Conducted at aChinese University 453.1 The Qualitative Nature of the Study 453.2 Overview of the Study 473.2.1 Research Setting 493.2.2 Participants 523.3 Design of the Writing Workshop 583.3.1 Theoretical Basis of the Writing Workshop 583.3.2 Goals and Objectives of the Writing Workshop 583.3.3 Writing Workshop Description 593.4 Three Sets of Empirical Data 603.4.1 Process Data 62Contents VII3.4.2 Product Data 633.4.3 Perception Data 633.5 The Analysis of Three Sets of Data 673.5.1 Process Data 683.5.2 Product Data 693.5.3 Perception Data 693.6 The Trustworthiness of the Study 713.6.1 Credibility 713.6.2 Transferability 723.6.3 Dependability 733.6.4 Confirmability 733.7 Summary 74Chapter 4 Chinese Writing Teachers Classroom Practiceand Perceptions of Process Writing Approach 754.1 Problems and Concerns in EFL Student English Writing 754.2 EFL Teachers Writing Class Practice 784.2.1 Gaos Writing Class 794.2.2 Chens Writing Class 804.2.3 Wangs Writing Class 814.2.4 Lins Writing Class 834.3 EFL Teachers Perceptions of North American ProcessWriting Activities 844.3.1 Gaos Perception 844.3.2 Chens Perception 854.3.3 Wangs Perception 864.3.4 Lins Perception 87VIII The Principles and Applications of North American Process Writing ApproachChapter 5 Students Experiences, Attitudes andAchievements from the Process WritingWorkshop 915.1 Students Previous Writing Experiences and Attitudes 915.1.1 Previous Writing Experiences 925.1.2 Previous Writing Attitudes 935.2 Students Workshop Writing Experiences and Attitudes 945.2.1 Most Liked Workshop Activities and StudentsAttitudes 955.2.2 Least Liked Workshop Activities and StudentsAttitudes 1005.2.3 Attitudes Toward Specific Writing Strategies 1025.3 Students Written Evaluations of Workshop Sessions 1115.3.1 Strategies to Get Started 1125.3.2 Raising Awareness About Writing 1135.3.3 Taking Charge of Their Own Learning in the WritingProcess 1135.3.4 Learning Specific Strategies and Applying toOwn Writing 1155.4 Students Writing Samples in the Workshop 1195.4.1 On the Textual Transitions 1215.4.2 On Providing Details to Improve Clarity andReinforce Arguments 1225.4.3 On Providing Vivid Descriptions 1245.4.4 On Providing Supporting Evidence to GeneralAssertions 1265.4.5 Revision of Opening Paragraph 129Contents IX5.5 Main Achievements from the Writing Workshop 130Chapter 6 Discussion and Interpretation of the ProcessWriting Workshop 1336.1 Overall Discussion and Interpretation 1366.1.1 The Concept of Writing and Learning to Write 1366.1.2 Overcoming Writing Apprehension and ApplyingWriting Strategies 1386.1.3 The Recursive Writing Process in the Workshop 1396.2 Conflict and Convergence Between Traditional ChineseLearning and Western Style Learning 1416.2.1 The Fundamental Principles Behind Chineseand American Composition 1416.2.2 Conflicts Between Chinese Educational Traditionsand Western Pedagogy 1466.3 Adapting and Tailoring Writing Courses for EFL Students 1526.3.1 Building Adequate Writing Proficiency 1526.3.2 Interactions Among Four Components of WritingProficiency 153Chapter 7 The Implications of Teaching English Writingin Chinese Universities 1577.1 Conclusions 1577.2 Implications for Current EFL Writing Practice 1587.2.1 Adjusting Students Attitudes Toward EnglishWriting 1597.2.2 Providing Support for Writing CompetenceDevelopment 1607.2.3 Considering Realistic Teaching Context 1617.2.4 Making Cultural Adaptations 162X The Principles and Applications of North American Process Writing Approach7.3 Future Research in EFL Wirting in China 1647.3.1 Individualized Learning and CollaborativeLearning 1647.3.2 Hyper-textual Learning 1657.4 Concluding Remark 167References 169Appendix 179List of TablesTable 1: Demographic Information of Student Participants 53Table 2: Demographic Information of EFL Teacher Participants 56Table 3: Previous Attitudes Toward Writing in English 93Table 4: Summary of Workshop Writing Strategies and StudentPerceptions 102
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Teaching English writing in China has undergone a series ofreforms under the influence of L1 composition theories rooted inNorth America. In the late 1980s, the process approach was formallyintroduced to English teaching circles in China Wang, 1986, andthen more Chinese scholars suggested rethinking English writinginstruction and calling for process approach Yu & Zhang, 1996;Li, 2000; Wu & Zhang, 2000. With the rapid development of EFLwriting research in China, college-level English writing has attractedmuch attention in the field.This study came from my inquiry to find out how EFL teacherscould teach English writing more effectively in Chinese teachingcontext. As an English writing instructor in China, I have observedthat hundreds of Chinese students who have adequate Englishreading competence and strong speaking and listening skills stillencountered a variety of difficulties in English writing. Gradually, Ibecame concerned about the problem and have always wanted to findeffective ways to help students overcome their writing difficulties, andto provide scaffolding to help them achieve fluency in their Englishwriting.This study outlines what happened in a semesters academicwriting workshop at a university in Beijing. The teacher-researcherapplied the principles of qualitative methods in a classroomII The Principles and Applications of North American Process Writing Approachsetting: the teacher-researcher provided abundant instructions andconducted a series of scaffolding activities to guide students throughtheir writing process in the academic writing workshop. At the endof the semester, students reflected on their academic writing processand what they learned from this process-oriented writing workshop.The study aims to find out the answers to these key questions:1. What would be the students attitudes toward this writingworkshop experience? Which activities would they favor, andwhich would they find problematic?2. What would be the Chinese EFL teachers perceptions towardincorporating some aspects of North American processwriting approach in college-level English writing classes?3. How could such an approach, if found to benefit students,best be integrated into the Chinese educational context?Through prolonged engagement in an academic writingworkshop, data was collected and triangulated to provide a betterunderstanding of students writing process for exploring theirown writing potential where the research focus was on studentsperceptions of their academic writing experience. The studyshows that students could develop academic genre awareness, andbecome better writers in their academic disciplines through activeparticipation in scaffolding activities and through constant writingpractice. This study has certain significance in L2 writing pedagogyand research. Moreover, I hope this study would be a helpful additionto current L2 writing research in China, and provide an opportunityfor Chinese EFL writing teachers to rethink the nature of L2 writingand gain insights from the application of North American processpedagogy for future L2 writing research and practice.When I am about to share this research with ESLEFL teachingcommunity and academic audience in the field, I would like toexpress my deep gratitude to Professors Jeannine M. Fontaine, JeanNienkamp and John A. Mueller at Indiana University of Pennsylvaniafor their guidance, advice and continuous support during the courseof completing this research. I also want to thank all the studentparticipants, the four Chinese writing teachers and the Americanwriting instructor who actively took part in my research. Withouttheir participation and support, I would never accomplish thecurrent study. My sincere thanks also go to Ms. Liu Yan and hercolleagues at Tsinghua University Press, who have spent time andeffort polishing this book draft. Last but not least, I want to thankSchool of International Studies, University of International Businessand Economics, my academic institution, for funding the publicationof this book.He JiajiaMay 2016