Language-switching in Chinese ESL students' writing processes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of language proficiency and different levels of task demand on language-switching in bilinguals' thinking processes when engaged in second language composing tasks using the think-aloud protocol. Participants (n = 50) who speak Mandarin Chinese as their first language at two proficiency levels were recruited from ESL programs at local universities in the Southern California region. Participants used the think-aloud protocol to verbalize their thinking during the writing process when writing a personal letter and an essay. Results from one-way MANOVA showed that language proficiency had significant effects on language-switching duration but not on frequency; moreover, task difficulty had significant effects on both language-switching duration and frequency. Multiple regression analysis showed language-switching duration and frequency had no significant effect on writing scores. Although language-switching duration and frequency did not affect writing scores positively, language-switching behaviors during the writing processes did not have negative effects on writing quality.; The implication is that using native language in the thinking processes when performing writing tasks may not have harmful effects on the writing outcome. Thus, discouraging native language use in thinking processes for ESL students may not be necessary in their thinking processes. The think-aloud procedures can be used as a diagnostic tool for ESL students' writing problems. The limitations of this study lie in the domains of gender and the different learning styles of ESL students. Further studies can investigate the effects of other variables such as gender and learning styles of ESL students on the quality of L2 writing in addition to the effects of English proficiency levels and task demands.