Key Points: This text looks at how to research ESL writing. There are two basic components in the research of second language writing. The first is the actual text that the second language writer writes and the other component is the process that the writer goes through in order to produce the text.
There are eight methods to researching second language writing outlined in this text. They are surveys, interviews, meta-analysis, classroom observation, text analysis and process research. Good research triangulates, which is to use as many of these methods as possible to insure a large sample of data.
Researcher may also look at the material that inspired the texts, such as text books, courses and teacher input.
Looking at the texts produced by ESL writers can help researchers learn about common problems and possible solutions to those problems. The problems being common mistakes in the texts. Looking at the text can also provide some insight in the the effects of methods used to teach ESL.
There are many complexities when evaluating a text. For instance, how does a researcher count mistakes in the texts. A researcher must also determine if some mistakes are worse than others. There are many aspects of text evaluation that do not lend themselves well to calculation.
Examining the process of writing is also complex and produces difficult to work with data. The two most common methods for collecting data when looking at the process are interview and observation. One particular method combines interview and observation by asking the test subject to watch a video of themselves writing and provide a narrative to what they are thinking at each step in the writing process.
The final part of the text gives the reader an example research project that makes use of a control group in order to observe the effects of teaching self modification in writing.
My interaction with the article: Now, I want to see results. I have read how about how research in writing is accomplished, but I haven't read much about the results that these studies produce. It is like reading about the science behind how a camera works but not yet seeing the pictures a camera takes.
Understanding the process and methods behind the research will enrich my reading of research results. I see a lot of reading about research projects and the results they produce in my future.
I'm guessing that this article will affect my teaching. In order to improve as a teacher I must be aware of these studies and the journals that they are in. To implement what I read into my classroom, I must understand exactly how the tests gathered data. If I want to see the same results in my classroom that I read about in the study than I must replicate the environment and the procedures that are used to make the results.
As for my reaction to the methods, procedures, and research outlined in the text, I am overwhelmed by the complexity in researching writing. Any attempt to simplify or streamline the process in order to get easier to examine data will not give the researcher enough information to come to any conclusions. If I were asked to produce results in a writing research project before I had read this text, I would have tried to make the test as specific as possible. I would have done things like counted how many times writers left out an article in their writing or timed them to get easy to work with data. I now know that that data means very little on its own and need to be triangulated with many methods of acquiring data.
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