A Study on the Effect of Scaffolding through Joint Construction Tasks on the Writing Composition of EFL Learners

A. Majid Hayati, Zohreh Ziyaeimehr

Abstract


The present study is an attempt to investigate the effect of scaffolding writing proficiency through joint construction tasks on the writing composition of Iranian EFL learners and to investigate any significant difference in the writing proficiency of the girls and boys after receiving the instruction. To this end, sixty intermediate learners of English, majoring in Literature and Translation, studying at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz participated in the research and then were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental and the comparison. During the course of this study, i.e. 10 sessions, the participants were assigned to write compositions of about 150 words on eight writing topics. To find out whether there is any significant difference in the writing proficiency of the learners who receive join construction instruction, two tests were used to compare the writing performances of the groups: a pretest prior and a posttest. Results of the Data analysis indicated that there is a significant difference in the writing proficiency of the learners who receive join construction instruction. The results also showed that, as far as the instruction on joint construction was concerned, females outperformed the males.
Key words: Scaffolding; Joint Construction Task; Composition; Writing

Keywords


Scaffolding; Joint Construction Task; Composition; Writing

Full Text:

PDF ()

References


Bailey, E.P., & Powell, Ph.A. (1987). The practical writer with readings. New York.

Bitcher, J., Young, S., & Cameron, D. (2005). The effect of different types of corrective feedback on ESL student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 14, 191-205.

Bodrova, E. (1998). Scaffolding emergent writing in the zone of proximal development. Literacy Teaching and Learning, 3(1), 1-13.

Boughy, Ch. (1997). Learning to write by writing to learn: A group-work approach. ELT Journal, 51, 126-134.

Daiute, C., & Dalton, B. (1992). Collaboration between children learning to write: can novices be masters? A Technical Report No. 60. Los Angeles: California State University.

Ellis, R. (2000). Task-based research and language pedagogy language. Teaching Research, 4, 193-220.

Ferris, D.R. (1995a). Student reactions to teacher response in multiple-draft composition classrooms. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 33-53.

Ferris, D.R. (1995b). Teaching students to self-edit. TESL Journal, 4, 18-22.

Harris, (2006). Collaboration is not collaboration: Writing center, Tutorials vs. peer-response groups. Scholarly Journals. Retrieved August 2010 from http://www.jstor.org/.

Holzen, R.L. (1993). Effects of group composition and gender on colledge students’ computer knowledge and attitude. Online doctoral dissertation, Texas tech University. Retrieved August 2010.

Hyland, K. (2003). Tasks in L2 writing class. In Jack C. Richards (Ed.), Second Language Writing (pp. 112-141). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Jones, L.A. (1999). Pedagogical implications of gender issues in a composition classroom. Retrieved August 2010 from http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/these/awailable/etd1027200831295013725360/unrestricted/31295013725360.pdf

Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2002). The effect of interaction in acquiring the grammar of a second language. International Journal of Educational Research, 37, 343-358.

Larkin, M. (2002). Using scaffolded instruction to optimize learning. Retrieved December 2, 2002. Lawson, L. (2002). Scaffolding as a teaching strategy. Retrieved November, 2002.

Mangelsdorf, K. (1992). Peer reviews in the ESL composition classroom: What do the students think? ELT Journal, 46(3), 274-283.

Nassaji, H. (1999). Towards integrating form-focused instruction and communicative interaction in the second language classroom: Some pedagogical possibilities. The Canadian Modern Language Journal, 55, 383-402.

Oliver, R. (2005). Notes on teaching writing: Scaffolding writing. Retrieved March 5, 2009.

Oxford, R.C. (1997). Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction: Three communicative strands in the language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 81, 443-456.

Peterson, TH. (2005). Peterson’s TOEFL. United States of America.

Polias, J. (1996). The role of grammar in literacy development. Retrieved August 6, 2009 from http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/curric/files/links/grammarliteracy.doc

Porto, M. (2001). Cooperative writing response groups and self-evaluation. ELT Journal, 55(1), 38-45.

Robb, T., Ross, S., & Shrtreed, I. (1986). Salience of feedback on error and its effect on EFL writing quality. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 83-95.

Savignon, S.G. (2001). Communicative language teaching for the twenty first century. In Celce-Murcia, M. (ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3rd ed.). 13-28. Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers.

Skehan, P. (1996). A frame work for the implementation of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics, 17, 38-61.

Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Storch, N. (1998). A classroom-based study: Insight from a collaborative text reconstruction task. ELT Journal, 52, 291-300.

Storch, N. (1999). Are two heads better than one? Pair work and grammatical accuracy. System, 27, 363-374.

Storch, N. (2001a). How collaborative is pair work? ESL tertiary students composing in pairs. Language Teaching Research, 5, 29-53.

Storch, N. (2001b). Comparing ESL learners attention to grammar on three different classroom tasks. RELL Journal, 32, 104-121.

Storch, N. (2002). Patterns of interaction in ESL work. Language Learning, 52, 119-158.

Storch, N. (2005). Collaborative writing: Product, process, and students’ reflection. Journal of Second Language Writing, 14, 153-173.

Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and cognitive processes generate: a step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16, 371-391.

Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1998). Interaction and second language learning: two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal, 82, 320-337.

Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2000). Task-based second language learning: The uses of the first language. Language Teaching Research, 4, 251-274.

Van Der Stuyf. R. (2002). Scaffolding as a teaching strategy: Adolescent Learning and Development. Retrieved November 17, 2008.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). The development of higher psychological processes. Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Zare Ekbatani, A.R. (2004). A comparative study of two feedback methods on Iranian EFL learners’ writing skill. Unpublished MA dissertation. Islamic Azad University, Iran, Tehran.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c)




Share us to:   


 

Online Submissionhttp://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard


Reminder

How to do online submission to another Journal?

If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:

1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author

Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.

2. Submission

Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.


We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org

 Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).

 STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office

Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138 
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org 
E-mailoffice@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture