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Article published In: Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 31:1 (2018) ► pp.378–407

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Understanding the use of mediational means in academic writing

A case study of a novice EFL academic writer

 | Shantou University
 | University of Macau
Published online: 27 August 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.15038.yu
Abstract
While the majority of previous studies on EAP (English for academic purposes) writing have been devoted to professional or academic writing at a more advanced level (i.e., PhD students and scholars) in ESL contexts, little attention has been paid to the academic writing of master-level novice writers in EFL contexts. From a sociocultural perspective, the present case study examined the writing strategies of a master-level novice writer – Alice in Macau context. Non-structured, semi-structured and text-based interviews were used as the primary source of data, with document analysis used for triangulation. The study identified two major categories (i.e., artifacts and community) and five subcategories of mediational means (i.e., journal articles and theses, languages, online writing materials, peers and experts) as significant in the novice writer’s academic writing activities. It also unveiled double-edged features of mediational means and recognized their interplay with the writer’s goals and relatedness to her situated context.
Resumen
Mientras que la mayoría de los estudios disponibles sobre la escritura en inglés con fines académicos (EAP) se ha centrado en la escritura profesional o académica a un nivel avanzado (ej. académicos y estudiantes de doctorado) en contextos de inglés como segunda lengua (ESL), la escritura académica de aprendientes a nivel de máster en contextos de inglés como lengua extranjera (EFL) ha recibido muy poca atención. El estudio de caso aquí presentado examina, desde una perspectiva sociocultural, las estrategias de escritura de una escritora aprendiz a nivel de máster – Alice, ubicada en Macao. La triangulación de los datos se realizó mediante entrevistas de tres tipos (no estructuradas, semiestructuradas y basadas en textos), que fueron la fuente principal de datos, y mediante el análisis de documentos. En el estudio, dos macrocategorías (artefactos y comunidad) y cinco subcategorías (tesis y artículos de revistas, lenguas, materiales de escritura en línea, pares y expertos) de tipos de mediación fueron identificados como significativos en las actividades de escritura de la aprendiente. El análisis también reveló tipos de mediación de doble cara y mostró la interacción de los mismos con los objetivos de la aprendiente y con la relación con su contexto situacional.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Research design
    • 3.2Context of the study and the participant
    • 3.3Data collection
    • 3.4Data analysis
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1English journal articles and theses and online writing resources
    • 4.2Languages
    • 4.3Peers
    • 4.4Supervisors and instructor
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (42)
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