Teaching English Writing for a Global Context: An Examination of NS, EST and EFL Learning Strategies That Work

Abstract

This study, examines two well-known writing pedagogies from the fields of Composition and Rhetoric, and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) for teaching literacy, or reading and writing skills in order to identify intersections for the English Language Learner (ELL) in an EFL learning environment. In addition, I present both quantitative and qualitative data in order to identify the learning strategies that are most effective from the Native Speaker (NS), English as a Second Language (ESL), and the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning environments. The data is as follows: 1) a survey of the perceptions of both ELL and NS students to analyze their assessment of current instructional methods and learning strategies; 2) an observation of and interview with an ELL student examining the strategy and process for producing effective writing; and 3) analysis of several writing samples from ELL students in EFL writing courses here in Thailand. The purpose of this examination is to identify where the two pedagogies intersect and identify the best learning strategies for the EFL learning environment in order to improve the acquisition of English writing skills.