A Study Of L1 Use In The L2 Composing Process

Writing, as one of the primary skills of communication, has always held an important place in the teaching of foreign languages. In applied linguistics, first language/native (L1) usage in the context of foreignsecond language (L2) composing process has got much attention of linguists. While disparity persists concerning the nature and extent of first language influence (Jarvis, 2000), there is now certain recognition that the L1 bears a positive influence in the course of L2 learning. However, it is unclear to what extent and in which thinking activity L1 can enhance L2 writing. In the second place, an overview of the L1 and L2 writing research shows that most theories about EFL writing processes are largely based on research in L1 and ESL writing. Despite the prevalence of studies on the L2 composing process, many of them are still at the theory-building stage (Wang & Wen, 2002). What the difference between L1 and L2 writers is not adequately addressed. Finally, the researches on the effect of L1 on L2 writing mainly focus at the product level. How much L1 is involved in L2 writers' mental operation during the L2 composing process is not adequately stated.To address these questions, this thesis makes cognitive study of the role of mother tongue in the English writing process of Chinese EFL writers through think-aloud technique and retrospective recall. In order to discover the role of mother tongue in the process of L2 writing, the relationship between the proportion of mother tongue in the L2 composition process and the final scores will be explored. The study also explores the effects of writer's L2 development and culture element to see whether the output of native language varies with L2 development and culture-related topics. In addition, the functions of native language in each thinking activity (task-examining, idea-generating, idea-organizing, text-generating, and process-controlling) will be explored.The major findings of this study are summarized as follows:(1) The results of this study confirm that the L2 composing process is a bilingual event: L2 writers have two languages at their disposal when they are composing in L2.(2) The distributions of L1 use in five thinking activities are uneven. The percentage of L1 use is significantly higher in the thinking activities: task-examining, idea-generatingand idea-organizing than that in text-generating.(3) The amount of L1 varies with L2 proficiency and culture-related topics. The studentstend to use more L1 on the topic related to their own culture and get higher final scores.Though the amount of L1 declines with the development of students' L2 proficiency,the declination varies in different thinking activities...