Title: How to Support ESL Learners’ Writing through Mentor Texts
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
Presentation Type: Virtual Presentation
Authors:
Wangmei Zhou, University of San Diego, United States
Abstract:
To write effectively is extremely important as a means of communication in the 21st century, but it is also arguably the most demanding challenge for all school students (Kane, 2012). Language learners, especially ESL learners, experience writing anxiety which might result from their low self-confidence in English writing and gender and grade level (Cheng, 2002) and their lack of writing skills (Daud, Daud, & Kassim, 2016). Such anxiety discourages them from writing. Consequently, it is important for ESL writing instructors to emotionally support their students while improving their writing skills. In this article, I report on an action research where I utilized mentor texts and mini-lessons to teach writing to an English as a Second Language (ESL) learner who was experiencing writing anxiety because of his dislike of academic writing rules and the lack of the ability to write coherently. In order to minimize his writing anxiety and enhance his writing skills, I planned three phrases for action and implemented the first two phrase action plans. The findings suggest that through the use of mentor texts, ESL learners can better appreciate the beauty of coherence in mentor texts and are willing to write creatively but with strong coherence by imitating the structure, craft, and style in the mentor texts. Furthermore, mentor texts should be carefully chosen to meet ESL students’ interests and needs. Last but not least, the writing intervention could start from the sentence level and then move to the paragraph level.
Virtual Presentation
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