This study investigated the effect of cooperative learning on writing anxiety alleviation through a pre-test/post-test assessment. 120 EFL learners from a Chinese polytechnic institute were assigned into two groups: one experimental (cooperative writing) and the other comparison (solitary writing). Results revealed that cooperative learning…

Contributors suggest ways to (1) phrase reading for second-language learners, (2) improve comprehension through creative mapping, (3) improve student "browsing" skills in a library, and (4) help students overcome writer's block. (FL)

Outlines a multistep writing program in which English as a second language students participate in the writing process and relate to their fellow writers (classmates and teachers) in various ways, using journals, learning logs, and essays. The extent to which activities increase writing proficiency and reduce students' writing apprehension is…

A study investigated the utility of a measure for assessing the writing apprehension of Japanese students of English as a second language. The Daly-Miller questionnaire, designed to measure writing apprehension, was translated into Japanese and administered to 687 first- and second-year students of English at a Japanese junior college. Results…

The writing apprehension experienced by Puerto Rican university students is examined. Levels of apprehension when writing in English versus native Spanish, for males versus females, and for students enrolled or not enrolled in writing classes are compared. The results indicate that the students, particularly the women, are more apprehensive when…

The creative writing of English poetry by English as a second language college students helps them to: overcome initial psychological inhibitions to language learning; stimulate interest and involvement in study; develop a means of self-expression; and prepare for study in other areas. (Author/CB)

The case study examined the development of English writing skills in a native Russian-speaking college student with no previous instruction in English as a Second Language. It drew on writing samples from 2 years of English language instruction. Theories of first and second language acquisition, especially in written expression, are analyzed in…

This paper offers an example of how to apply action research to improve English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL)/English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing instruction. This research was conducted over a 5-year period while the researcher taught 9 semester-long sections of advanced EFL writing to Taiwanese undergraduates. Using Reid's (1987) Perceptual…

This volume includes papers presented at the 1998 Japan Association for Language Teaching Conference. Section 1, "Voices of Experience," includes: "Towards More Use of English in Class by JTEs" (Midori Iwano); "Paperless Portfolios" (Tim Stewart); "Textbook Creation in Reverse Order for Chinese" (Chou Jine…