Abstract
The development of writing remains one of the least known aspects of second language learning. Learning to write is subject to a multitude of factors: cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural, and instructional. While the trajectory of writing development has been largely established for L1 speakers, no common developmental path for L2 learners has been found. Moreover, research agendas have favored college-level writing, leaving writing development in younger L2 learners underexplored. This case study tracks the development of writing in a 9-year-old beginning-level English Language Learner (ELL), a refugee with no previous schooling experience and no exposure to literacy in her mother tongue. Using the concept of writing purpose as the examination lens, the analysis of the subject’s writing samples reveals that her writing development falls into four distinct stages, each characterized by its own set of characteristics relating to content, text generation, and transcription. The article contemplates a possibility that, contrary to the current beliefs that L2 writing acquisition does not follow any predictable sequence, beginning L2 writers do progress through ordered stages, but the “variable noise” obscures the big picture. Since non-literate L2 learners do not experience a transfer of literacy knowledge and skills from L1, a longitudinal study of their writing development may allow us more accurate insights into the nature of this process.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allison, C. (1996). Old and new oral traditions in Badinan. In P. Kreyenbroek & C. Allison (Eds.), Kurdish culture and identity (pp. 29–47). London: Zed Books.
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of written composition. Hillsdale: Lawrence Earlbaum.
Berman, R. A. (2004). Between emergence and mastery: The long developmental route of language acquisition. In R. A. Berman (Ed.), Language development across childhood and adolescence (pp. 3–24). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Cumming, A. (2013). Writing development in second language acquisition. In The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 6254–6258). Hoboken: Blackwell.
Cumming, A. (2016). Writing development and instruction for English Learners. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 364–376). New York: The Guilford Press.
Edelsky, C., & Jilbert, K. (1985). Bilingual children and writing: Lessons for all of us. Volta Review, 87(5), 57–72.
Fayol, M. (2016). From language to text: The development of learning and translation. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 130–143). New York: The Guilford Press.
Flower, L., & Hayes, J. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365–387.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245.
Grabe, W. (2001). Notes toward a theory of second language writing. In T. Silva & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.), On second language writing (pp. 39–57). Mahwah: Lawrence Earlbaum.
Hamayan, E. (1994). Language development of low-literacy students. In F. Genesee (Ed.), Educating second language children: The whole child, the whole curriculum, the whole community (pp. 278–300). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jwaideh, W. (2006). The Kurdish National Movement: Its origins and development. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
Kamberelis, G. (1999). Genre development and learning: Children writing stories, science reports, and poems. Research in the Teaching of English, 33(4), 403–460.
Kigotho, M. (2007). From writing recount to writing in true narrative. Paper presented at AARE International Conference, November 25–29, Notre Dame University, Fremantle Perth.
Kroll, B., & Vann, R. (1981). Exploring speaking-writing relationships: Connections and contrasts. Urbana: National Councils of Teachers of English.
Leki, I., Cumming, A., & Silva, T. (2008). A synthesis of research of second language writing in English. New York: Routledge.
McCutchen, D. (2006). Cognitive factors in the development of children’s writing. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 115–130). New York: The Guilford Press.
McCutchen, D. (2011). From novice to expert: Language and memory processes in the development of writing skill. Journal of Writing Research, 3(1), 51–68.
Newkirk, T. (1987). The non-narrative writing of young children. Research in the teaching of English, 21(2), 121–144.
Nykiel-Herbert, B. (2010). From a collection of aliens to a community of learners: The role of cultural factors in the acquisition of literacy by Iraqi refugee students with interrupted formal education. Multicultural Education, 17(3), 2–14.
Puranik, C., & Lonigan, C. (2009). From scribbles to scrabble: Preschool children’s developing knowledge of written language. Reading and Writing, 24(5), 567–589.
Samway, K. D. (2006). When English Language Learners write: Connecting research to practice, K–8. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Sarroub, L., Pernicek, T., & Sweeney, T. (2007). “I was bitten by a scorpion:” Reading in and out of school in a refugee’s life. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(8), 668–679.
Sasaki, M. (2000). Toward an empirical model of EFL writing processes: An exploratory study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(3), 259–291.
Teale, W., & Sulzby, E. (1986). Emergent literacy: Writing and reading. Westport and London: Ablex Publishing.
Tolchinsky, L. (2016). From text to language and back. In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 144–159). New York: The Guilford Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nykiel-Herbert, B. (2019). “Birds Are Not Octopus:” Searching for Stages in Second Language Writing Development. In: Mianowski, J., Borodo, M., Schreiber, P. (eds) Memory, Identity and Cognition: Explorations in Culture and Communication. Second Language Learning and Teaching(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12590-5_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12590-5_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12589-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12590-5
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)