This study explored patterns in L2 writing development by focusing on one of the linguistic features of texts (fluency) from a complex dynamic systems perspective. It investigated whether two English-as-a-foreign-language university students would experience discontinuous change (phase transition) in their writing fluency through repetition of a…

We report a classroom experiment directed at increasing lexical fluency in writing. Participants were 107 Dutch students in bilingual (EFL) education (Grades 10 and 11). According to current theories of writing such fluency allows writers to devote more attention to higher order aspects of text production, such as idea generation, selection and…

Computer keystroke-logging programs, which record all keystrokes and mouse actions, facilitate the collection of quantitative data about text creation during writing revision. Presents the LS graph, a novel way of graphically representing and summarizing the quantitative data collected when keystroke logging. (Author/VWL)

Examines the writing strategies of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) student writers at different levels of ESL instruction. Results indicate that native and non-native writers had many strategies in common, but ESL learners were less inhibited by attempts to correct their work. Little correlation was found among English proficiency, writing…

Investigates factors influencing Japanese university students' expository writing in English. Quantitative analysis revealed that students' second-language (L2) proficiency, first-language writing ability, and metaknowledge were significant in explaining L2 writing ability variance. An explanatory model for writing ability in English as a Foreign…