Language-switching From L2 To L1 In L2 Writing Process

Language-switching (L-S) in the context of L2 composing has aroused much interest of the researchers in the field of second language acquisition and bilingualism in the past two decades. This thesis reviews the literature of the theories of bilingual memory, L1 and L2 writing theories and the previous studies on L-S in L2 writing process. Based on these theories and previous studies, this thesis seeks to answer three research questions: (1) What are the frequency and amount of L-S and the role of L-S in L2 composing process? (2) Does the frequency and amount of L-S in the L2 composing process vary with the writer's L2 proficiency or task difficulty? What are other factors affecting L-S amount in the L2 composing process? (3) How is L-S related to the effectiveness of L2 composing? After two pilot studies were conducted to decide the think-aloud drills and the writing tasks, four Chinese Year-4 college students specialized in English Language and Literature and four Chinese overseas postgraduates were asked to think-aloud when they wrote two essays, one with a familiar topic, the other with an unfamiliar topic. Retrospective interviews were carried out immediately after the writing tasks were finished. What's more, a questionnaire survey was administered to 48 high-school students, 46 Year 3 or Year 4 college students and 37 overseas postgraduates. Analyses of the think-aloudprotocols revealed that six of the writers switched to L1 in the writing process, while two didn't. The results of this study also revealed nine functions of L-S in L2 writing process. (1) Analyzing or commenting on the task; (2) Planning the content; (3) Planning the organization in an outline; (4) Producing the pretext; (5) Searching out appropriate wording; (6) Assessing appropriate wording; (7) Evaluating the text; (8) Back translating the produced text; (9) Monitoring-controlling word and time limit, and writing procedures. Additionally, the frequency and the amount of L-S were both significantly affected by the writer's L2 proficiency, but only the amount of L-S was affected by topic difficulty. Some other factors were also found in this study. Writing prompt written in Chinese, foreign language setting and more knowledge input in Chinese were found to be strong factors, while shorter prompt written in English, higher writing motivation and less training of L2 thinking acted as weaker factors, contributing to more L-S in L2 composing process. Finally, the L-S behavior did not affect the L2 text quality significantly. Based on the findings, a dynamic model of L2 writing process centering on L-S is proposed.