ERIC Number: EJ960901
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Mar
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0346-251X
EISSN: N/A
ESL Students' Attitudes toward Punctuation
Hirvela, Alan; Nussbaum, Alexander; Pierson, Herbert
System: An International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied Linguistics, v40 n1 p11-23 Mar 2012
Punctuation is a surprisingly underexplored area of second language writing and learning. The small body of published literature about punctuation tends to look at ways in which punctuation can be taught. Little is known, except anecdotally, about how English as a second language (ESL) students actually feel about using English punctuation, despite the fact that they must use it frequently if they are writing in English, and may have different notions of how it functions based on its use in their native language. In this paper we report on a survey study of university students' attitudes toward punctuation in English as a first step toward generating deeper understanding about students' use of punctuation. The results suggest that students are generally somewhat positive about their use of English punctuation, with some variance in their use of punctuation depending on the writing context at hand. (Contains 14 tables.)
Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Punctuation, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Writing (Composition), Teaching Methods, Second Language Instruction, Student Surveys, College Students
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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

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