ERIC Number: EJ805982
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Sep
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1060-3743
EISSN: N/A
Evaluating ESL: Making Sense of University Professors' Responses to Second Language Writing
Roberts, Felicia; Cimasko, Tony
Journal of Second Language Writing, v17 n3 p125-143 Sep 2008
This study addresses the response of social science and engineering science faculty to a naturally occurring sample of second language writing. Using a matched-guise protocol, faculty participants were led to believe that the one-page essay was produced by an international student whose first language was either Chinese or Spanish. The faculty evaluated the writing holistically (on a scale from 1 to 10) and were invited to "correct the five most troublesome errors." Results indicate that the ethnic guise did not affect holistic scores; however, the social science and engineering science faculty did rate the composition differently. While qualitative analysis demonstrates that, not surprisingly, individual editing styles among faculty are quite variable, there was a tendency across faculty to edit semantic gaps as opposed to grammatical items. This indicates a preference by the faculty to clarify content, a finding that supports prior research. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Foreign Students, Writing (Composition), Semantics, Social Sciences, Interrater Reliability, Grading, Writing Evaluation, English for Academic Purposes, Cognitive Style, College Faculty, Engineering Education, Second Language Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A