In this study, individually written essays are compared with interactively written chat texts with the aim to investigate, describe and to some extent explain what happens to the language and the writing during a chat session. Students in a Swedish upper secondary school studying Spanish A2 completed two jigsaw tasks through writing and the texts were analyzed from a descriptive grammatical and stylistic perspective through variable analysis. In the results, the essays tended to be more complex syntactically whereas the chat texts showed more variation and accuracy regarding verb conjugation. As to fluency (text length), number of clauses and verbal forms there were no major differences. Chatting in school environment seemed to become semiformal in this study, with many incomplete sentences and interjections, but with few extra-linguistic signs and only some decline in the usage of accents. A challenging feature of the chat practice is that the interactivity makes the final text result an inseparable entity of two individual texts both regarding content and language. At the same time the interactivity could be the reason for the higher variation and accuracy of the verb conjugation in the chat texts of this study.

In this thesis I present a collection of semi-narrative poems about a rural Africa that is a place of folk-lore and tradition, but also a place of otherworldly, almost grotesque, incident. My characters are, similarly, range in type, from buskers, to guards, school-children, paupers and tycoons. Through the work a place that is both familiar and unknown, common-place and mysterious, emerge.

This study, which was carried out in Mdantsane township in the Eastern Cape, attempts to explain why some learners from the former Department of Education and Training, and whose mother-tongue is Xhosa, are more proficient English Second Language (ESL) writers than others. As one who grew up as an ESL learner, and has taught as an ESL teacher in this area, my interest in this field of study has been triggered by the concern of one who has experienced educational disadvantage. My understanding of what it means to be an ESL writer, given the status that English enjoys in South Africa presently, has been the motivating force behind this study. The study focuses on competent ESL writers. It is hoped that other researchers, teacher educators and teachers will learn something from the practices and strategies used by the learners in this study. In its investigation this study employs case studies. For purposes of triangulation, multiple sources of data collection have been used. The major areas of focus are on the learners and their ESL writing practices. Collection of data includes formal interviews with both ESL learners and their teachers, informal interviews with the learners' Xhosa teachers, observation as well as text analysis. The findings of the study suggest, among other things, that more often than not, it is learners who are motivated extroverts, ambitious go-getters and uninhibited survivors who become excellent ESL writers. Like any study, this has certain limitations. As a result the interpretation of data has been expressed in tentative terms. This does not mean that there is nothing to be gained from a study of this nature. Instead, the aim is to challenge more researchers to take up this issue, so that generalis ability across case studies can be achieved.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:24:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_leonice.pdf: 5260627 bytes, checksum: 3d1d7b139ab0d4e68b3f7dc36f2288a7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-01 / This work proposes evaluation parameters for text production, in a humanizing view, followed by a correction grid which gives them foundation. Studies on the need of inserting positivity in the teaching of the Portuguese language became the starting point, in an instrumental conception and not in a normative one, not only in terms of linguistic investigations involved in the production of written texts, but also as far as their evaluating practice is concerned. To develop this theme teaching, language and learner were considered variables, in order to demonstrate that the sociointeracionist focus applied in the Portuguese language depends upon the teacher s constantly updated knowledge on linguistic and evaluation theories, as seen as a continuous attitude. In this way, it is possible to ensure a teaching which favors an adequate written production making the individual subject of his own history when expressing himself, in writing, about the problems of the world that surrounds him. The methodology was a field work, preceded by the founding bibliography. This study is enrolled in two areas, Linguistics and Education. As the final result, it is hoped that this dissertation becomes a useful tool for the fellow Portuguese language teachers, helping them to improve their practice in the classroom. / Este trabalho propõe parâmetros para avaliação de produções textuais, numa visão humanizadora, acompanhados da grade de correção que os embasa.Tomou-se como ponto de partida estudos sobre a necessidade da inserção de positividade no ensino da Língua Portuguesa numa concepção instrumentalista e não normativista da mesma, tanto no que diz respeito à investigação dos fatos linguísticos envolvidos na produção escrita de textos, quanto no que concerne à prática avaliativa dos mesmos. Para o desenvolvimento do tema foram considerados variáveis o ensino, a língua e o aluno, buscando-se demonstrar que o enfoque sociointeracionista aplicado ao ensino da Língua Portuguesa depende de conhecimento sempre atualizado, pelo professor, sobre as teorias linguísticas e de avaliação, entendida esta como um fazer contínuo. Dessa forma, é possível um ensino favorecedor de uma produção textual adequada pelo educando, tornando-se sujeito de sua própria história ao se pronunciar por escrito diante dos problemas do mundo que o cerca. Como metodologia, foi usada a pesquisa de campo, aplicada a alunos do 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental do Colégio Militar do Recife, antecedida da bibliografia embasadora. Este estudo inscreve-se, portanto, em duas áreas, a Linguística e a Educação. Por resultado, espera-se que esta dissertação possa tornar-se uma ferramenta útil aos colegas professores de Língua Portuguesa, auxiliando-os na melhoria de sua prática em sala de aula.

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One of the fundamental problems facing writing instructors who use collaboration is that traditional assessment measures, such as in-class essay exams, undermine rather than support such writing activities that are rooted in social construction theory. While the use of collaboration in writing classrooms continues to grow, the field of assessment remains virtually silent about the compatibility of traditional assessment methods with collaborative writing tasks such as group work and peer review. This thesis discusses social construction and assessment theories, their relation to collaboration, and the current role of both in writing classrooms.

This thesis shows how Stephen Gosson's The School of Abuse (1579) functions as a rhetorical composition. The elements of writer, readership, and text are each examined in order to elucidate the rhetorical decisions made by Gosson during the composition of The School.

Recent research about L2 writing indicates that L2 writers are likely to instruct themselves on how and what to do during the writing process, using both languages to do so. This constant switch between their L1 and their L2 during their L2 composing process is known as "language-switching" (L-S). In this qualitative clinical study my goals were mainly three: a) to describe and understand the purposes for which participants would potentially language-switch to their L1s, b) to depict the perceptions and understandings these four participants have about their personal L2 composing process and the use of their L1s, and c) to describe the tensions they experienced during the L2 writing tasks in the study. The participants in this study were four students in an American university who completed two L2 writing tasks using a think-aloud technique, in which students verbalized all their thoughts while they wrote. Data collected in this study included interview transcripts, think aloud protocols, reflection sessions, videotapes, students' written texts and observations. The Atlas TI computer software assisted a constant comparative method which implied a continuous comparison of all the data sources (Merriam, 2009). I matched language-switching instances with the participants' behaviors and assigned codes referring the writers' actual activities, behaviors and perceptions. Findings suggest that the L2 composing process is a bilingual event in which L-S has a natural occurrence. The use of the writer's L1 during the L2 writing process is closely related to the writer's L2 proficiency, and the degree of proficiency can be related to the situational context (FL vs. SL) where the L2 is learned and used. Findings revealed that Generating L2 Content was the most recurring purpose for L-S during L2 writing, followed by Controlling the Process of Writing and Revising. It also revealed that participants transfer their L1 skills to the L2 writing process and that the writing expertise they bring to the L2 composing process may influence the L-S purpose frequency. One contribution of this study is the participants' perceptions about their L-S habits. Most were aware of the benefits that L-S brought to their L2 writing process. Their L1s helped them organize ideas, write better texts and understand the tasks given. This study also revealed that time frame, prompts, lack of L2 proficiency and think-aloud protocols can influence the participants' L2 writing process negatively.