Rhetoric Construction of Chinese Expository Essays: Implications for EFL Composition Instruction

Recent scholarship on Chinese students’ English expository essays tends to blur or mitigate the differences between English and Chinese writings. This alleged convergence of English and Chinese rhetorical norms gives rise to a view that rhetorical aspects in second language writing instruction and research in China should be de-emphasized. Drawing on data from full-score Chinese compositions of College Entrance Examination, this study examines how Chinese expository paragraphs are developed. Results show great disparities between English and Chinese expository writing at paragraph level such as non-English rhetorical mode, reliance on authorities, rhetorical paragraph, and figurative language in topic sentence. We argue that Chinese rhetorical strategies are likely to be transferred to English writing if English rhetoric is not taught and reinforced in college.

Google Classroom: An Effective Virtual Platform to Teach Writing in an EFL Composition Course

In the face of globalization, information communication technologies (ICTs) play a paramount role in the teachingand learning of foreign languages. This action-research was conducted with a group of sophomore students enrolledin the course Composition at Universidad Nacional, Coto Campus. The study required the administration of twosurveys prior to and after the implementation of Google Classroom (GC) as an educational platform to assist studentsduring their learning process of the course. The research was aimed at revealing the students’ use ICTs to practicetheir writing skill outside the classroom and analyzing the impact of GC in the development of the students writingskill out of the school environment. The findings exposed that the use of this platform brings about benefits thatallow students and teachers ease the teaching and learning of writing. Students also expressed that they practice theirwriting mainly for both academic and non-academic purposes in an engaging attractive space; lastly, students andresearchers pointed out that the experience using GC was more satisfactory than other platforms.

EFL Learners’ Development of Voice In Academic Writing: Lexical bundles, Boosters/Hedges and Stance-taking Strategies

In EFL composition courses, teaching and learning normally orbit around norms of unity, coherence, support, and sentence skills that L2 learners are expected to comply with, at the expense of opportunities to develop voice. Against this backdrop, we resolved to examine the extent to which students’ exposure to and practice with lexical bundles, boosters/hedges and stance-taking strategies allows them to build a stronger discoursal and authorial voice as future academic writers. Evaluation of the students’ works revealed their level of success in this endeavor and analysis of student surveys unveiled the tensions and struggles they faced along the way. At the end of this paper, we advocate for academic writing courses to be transformed into spaces where students not only come to terms with the basic norms they have to conform to, but also build a discoursal and authorial voice as L2 writers.

Laying the Ground for Online English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) Composition Courses and University Internationalization

As universities internationalize and U.S. and Chinese universities become partners, there is growing demand for online English language courses for students seeking to improve their English prior to arriving to the U.S. Situated in the context of a partnership between a U.S. Midwest university and its Chinese partner, this chapter provides a methodological model for assessing (1) English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) composition and online learning needs and resources prior to developing courses for a new population; (2) the potential for collaboration between partnering institutions; and (3) the effectiveness of an online English composition course. The chapter illustrates, in a step-by-step fashion, the decision-making process which shaped the needs assessment and the actions based on it. By doing so, it provides a realistic portrayal of the complexity of the Needs Assessment (NA) and curriculum development process.

Laying the Ground for Online English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) Composition Courses and University Internationalization

As universities internationalize and U.S. and Chinese universities become partners, there is growing demand for online English language courses for students seeking to improve their English prior to arriving to the U.S. Situated in the context of a partnership between a U.S. Midwest university and its Chinese partner, this chapter provides a methodological model for assessing (1) English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) composition and online learning needs and resources prior to developing courses for a new population; (2) the potential for collaboration between partnering institutions; and (3) the effectiveness of an online English composition course. The chapter illustrates, in a step-by-step fashion, the decision-making process which shaped the needs assessment and the actions based on it. By doing so, it provides a realistic portrayal of the complexity of the Needs Assessment (NA) and curriculum development process.

Laying the Ground for Online English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) Composition Courses and University Internationalization

As universities internationalize and U.S. and Chinese universities become partners, there is growing demand for online English language courses for students seeking to improve their English prior to arriving to the U.S. Situated in the context of a partnership between a U.S. Midwest university and its Chinese partner, this chapter provides a methodological model for assessing (1) English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) composition and online learning needs and resources prior to developing courses for a new population; (2) the potential for collaboration between partnering institutions; and (3) the effectiveness of an online English composition course. The chapter illustrates, in a step-by-step fashion, the decision-making process which shaped the needs assessment and the actions based on it. By doing so, it provides a realistic portrayal of the complexity of the Needs Assessment (NA) and curriculum development process.