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ERIC Number: EJ1013768
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-527X
EISSN: N/A
The Role of Previously Learned Languages in the Thought Processes of Multilingual Writers at the Deutsche Schule Barcelona
Tullock, Brandon D.; Fernandez-Villanueva, Marta
Research in the Teaching of English, v47 n4 p420-441 May 2013
In recent years, scholars have voiced the need for research which focuses on the ability of multilinguals to write across multiple languages rather than on the limitations that they face when composing in a non-native language. In order to better understand multilingual writers as resourceful and creative problem-solvers, the current study aims to investigate how German/Spanish/ Catalan multilinguals draw on the full extent of their linguistic repertoires to solve lexical problems while writing in their fourth language, English. Think-aloud data were collected from 10 informants (8 female, 2 male; ages 16-17) in a German immersion secondary school in Barcelona, Spain. Analysis of the participants' protocols revealed that the activation of lexical items across several languages was a common approach to tackling lexical problems. The writers' resourcefulness and creativity were apparent in the activation of cognate forms and their willingness to experiment with language. In their metacomments, they expressed awareness of their strategic behavior as well as their degree of satisfaction with their solutions. It is argued that more research into the strategic behavior of multilingual writers is necessary in order to inform multilingual pedagogy. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures, and 1 note.)
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Spain (Barcelona)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A