Source Use in Integrated Writing among Chinese College ESP Learners with Different Language Proficiency

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed the increasing importance and necessity of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching. Integrated writing task evaluating test-takers’ discourse synthesis ability is an effective tool for ESP teaching with improved authenticity, but its mechanism is still far from clear. This study investigated the processes related to source material use in a TEM8 reading–writing task with a medical topic among ESP students. Source material use variations among students with different language proficiency were also examined in terms of organization, obtaining opinion and language support, and context comprehension. Results demonstrated that compared with low proficient student, high proficient ones exhibited higher awareness of effectively using source material and stronger tendency for organizational support, idea selection and gaining idea, but the difference in context comprehension and language support did not vary between two groups. These evidence underlie further design and development of integrated task in ESP writing course.