Effects Of First Language On Foreign Language Writing From A Cognitive Perspective: Translation Vs. Direct Composition

The impact of the first language on second language acquisition has been a heated topic in second language acquisition research. However, there was long a strong assumption that most of the difficulties the second language learners faced were imposed by his or her first language, which was represented by language transfer theory and contrastive analysis hypothesis. However, based on behaviorism, transfer theory and contrastive analysis hypothesis took no consideration of the possibility that the effects of L1 on SLA operated in other ways such as avoidance and borrowing rather than transfer. Viewing SLA as a process of learning, cognitive theory recognizes the role of L1 as a source from which L2 learners may consciously borrow in order to improve their performance (i.e. they think in L1 and then translate) and under the cognitive framework, communication transfer and learning transfer are distinguished. However, few empirical studies have been carried out on the impact of L1 on L2 writing from a cognitive perspective, especially in a Chinese context.Furthermore, as one of the important modalities of language, writing has been widely neglected compared with the other three modalities, namely listening, speaking and reading. Researches examining L2 writing within the domain of language transfer have mostly dealt with the writing product, which may produce biased results.This paper, based on the theoretical framework of the cognitive approach to language transfer as well as the recognition that writing is process-orientated, explores the impact of Chinese on English writing through a comparison between two different modes of writing, namely direct writing and writing via translation. The overall objective of the present study is to examine the impact of L1 on L2 writing against the view that thinking in L1 or writing out a text first in L1 may actually inhibit the production of a good writing in L2. The present study intends to address the following issues: First, are there any differences between writing an essay directly in English and writing one in Chinese first and then translating it into English? Second, what are the major benefits and limitations of direct writing and writing via translation in L2writing? Third, how should the role of L1 be evaluated in L2 writing instruction?In order to answer these questions, an experiment was designed. 34 third-year students of English major in Zhejiang Normal University participated in the experiment. They were asked to complete two separate types of writing with the same time limit: First, to write an essay directly in English; Second, to draft an essay in Chinese and then translate it into English. A comparative study was conducted between these two collections of essays to explore the effects of Chinese on the English compositions. When it came to the outcomes, the findings indicate that there were no significant differences between the translated and direct writing in sense of the language, organizational structure, and grammar, but significant differences occurred in clarity of ideas and use of connectors owing to the fact that the composition via translation were scored significantly higher than those composed by direct writing. When it came to the language complexity, compositions via translation were calculated significantly higher than those composed by direct writing. The retrospective report data from these student writers reveal that both benefits and limitations of direct writing and writing existed across the translated and direct writing and that all the participants were, more or less, thinking in Chinese when required to write directly in English. The results of this study demonstrate that L2 writing via L1 drafting and translation are rather common among these student writers and that L1 plays a role in L2 learning.Finally, major implications of the study are discussed and further research on the impact of L1 on L2 writing is proposed.