<p> This study emphasized the instructional input and student uptake of high school students’ EFL writing process in Taiwan. A multiple-draft writing approach was utilized to meet students’ need for writing preparation for college admission tests, the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT) and the Department Required Test (DRT). Thirty-six 10<sup>th</sup> grade students, whose English proficiency ranged from low to intermediate, participated in this study along with their EFL teacher. Students’ essays were assessed by two high school teachers using five criteria: <i>content, organization, grammar/syntax, vocabulary/spelling, and format awareness,</i> as released by the College Entrance Exam Center in Taiwan. Students wrote two themed essays during the implementation of the multiple-draft approach and two timed essays; one before the implementation of the writing approach (pre-test), and the other after completion of the thirteen writing sessions (posttest). Paired-sample t-tests measured the difference between the pre- and post-test. Results indicated a significant difference in one category, <i>format awareness.</i> A grounded theory approach was used to analyze interview transcript data, the field notes and peer review responses. The results indicate that students felt that the time factor had little to do with their timed writing performance; instead, confusion regarding basic English grammar, insufficient experience with English essay writing, the uncertainty of how to apply vocabulary and doubts regarding meaning of vocabulary were obstacles preventing uptake in their writing process. Students highly valued the input via personalized feedback from the teacher participant and the researcher. Though teacher-student meetings served the purpose of content development and grammar correction, students preferred one-on-one meetings with the teacher. Students benefitted from peer-to-peer discussions and heightened awareness during process writing but doubted the validity of peer review feedback they had received. The teacher participant reported struggling to step out of his teacher-centered approach while attempting to utilize the suggested student-centered instructional approach. Pressured to keep up with the school’s strict curriculum and with limited instructional time, he resisted offering basic grammar review based on students’ observed needs for English basics. These factors mitigated greatly the promised potential of input and uptake in utilizing a process writing approach with EFL high school students.</p><p>
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10621929 |
Date | 31 October 2017 |
Creators | Hsu, Yi-Ting |
Publisher | Indiana University |
Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | thesis |
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