The influence of proficiency, extraversion, and inter-personal interaction on ESL writing
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The Department of English seeks to provide all university students with the skills of effective communication and critical thinking, as well as imparting knowledge of literature, creative writing, linguistics, speech and technical communication to students within and outside of the department.
History
The Department of English and Speech was formed in 1939 from the merger of the Department of English and the Department of Public Speaking. In 1971 its name changed to the Department of English.
Dates of Existence
1939-present
Historical Names
- Department of English and Speech (1939-1971)
Related Units
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- Department of English (predecessor, 1898-1939)
- Department of Public Speaking (predecessor, 1898-1939)
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Abstract
The transfer of speech features to writing is a common problem in the writing development of non-native speakers of English because students often do not recognize when this transfer is occurring and how it can impact a piece of discourse. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the factors of proficiency, extraversion, and use of English influence this transfer in non-native speakers of English who are learning English for academic purposes. Proficiency was determined by the English as a second language writing course in which participants were enrolled at the time of the data collection. Participants also completed a measure of their level of extraversion and a questionnaire measuring the extent to which they use English, and submitted two pieces of writing, a descriptive essay and a process essay. The extent to which writing samples showed evidence of speech features was measured using a technique based on the concept that groups of cooccurring linguistic features in a text cause it to resemble speech rather than isolated features alone.