Reviews on Individual Differences and Second Language Writing

【Abstract】Individual difference has played a more and more important role in second language acquisition and it interacts with second language writing which is a skillful and complex task. And there is a significant positive relation between self-efficacy beliefs and writing performance across gender which could shed light on teaching strategies and language learning.

【Key word】individual differences； second language acquisition； second language writing； self-efficacy beliefs

I. Introduction

So far， many researches on individual differences have been carried out by linguistic scholars. Though influences and depth of researches maybe still fall behind general or universal researches， individual difference （ID） has played a more and more important role in the theoretical framework and the researches of second language acquisition （SLA）. Individual difference is often referred to as， to some extent， those different characteristics showed out by each person which are consistent and personal. It is codetermined by humanistic attribute of the discipline and the learners physiological status. Even though a huge amount of theoretical bases and research methods or techniques are indispensable in relevant researches， more and more attention have been paid to this area and its development space is also extensive and incalculable. In general， the division of the individual difference factors is quite difficult and obscure and various standards have been made by different scholars. In addition， in some important models of SLA， such as Krashens Monitor Model， the necessity of ID has been pointed out that it can not only directly have an impact on learning results， but also can interact with other factors （mostly environmental factors） to jointly affect the learning status. In recent years， great achievement on ID have been made and its research themes become more complicated and methods are diversified， for example， the application of the combination of qualitative and quantitative researches， or the use of measuring tools in other subject fields. Besides， a growing number of researches adopt questionnaires or quizzes to collect data and apply SPSS （Statistical Package for Social Sciences） software to integrate and analyze data. Generally speaking， individual difference factors include the following parts：（1） Affect factors， such as anxiety， attitude， personality （2） Motivation （3） Cognitive factors， such as language aptitude and working memory.endprint

Writing task is regarded as an important tool， which can help students consolidate their understanding of the subject and also can assess students performances in higher education through essays， reports， literature reviews or term projects. Writing is a process of forming a text as a communicative connection between the reader and the writer. （Seidlhofer & Widdowson， 1999） In Felors article， writing is one of the four skills in language learning which more attention must be paid. In Judit Kormoss paper， it is said that writing is a complex task and a time-consuming activity which requires concentration and determination.

To many people， these two fields， second language writing （L2 writing） and SLA， often look like unlikely partners. （Silva & Leki， 2004） That is to say， L2 writing and SLA seems to have no connections with each other and furthermore no interfaces. But in Lourdes Ortegas paper， they are close， and there are areas that have made dialogue between the fields of L2 writing and SLA difficult in the past. And the author hopes that they could thrive and make contributions to special issues. Besides， in Judits paper， IDs can have an impact on the process of L2 writing and on learning through writing.

II. Review of Four Papers

2.1 Theoretical Research

Among these four papers， Judits is a theoretical study and Lourdes is a literature review and both of the two are literary written-style as combinations of statements and analysis without supporting data or too much convincing examples.

Judits paper mainly expounds the role of IDs in L2 writing. The author emphasizes three IDs variables or factors：cognitive individual differences （aptitude and working memory） and motivation， and focuses on these factors in different stages of writing and processes of learning L2 through writing.

While Lourdes paper is organized in a logical way of what-why-how pattern which states that L2 writing and SLA do have interfaces， instructional interests can be seen as emerging terrain for interfaces of these two fields and by giving former researches， reports and statements， the author gives a clear reasoning process and verification on some special issues and some additional reflections on the present.

2.2 Empirical Research

On the contrary， Felors and Rosas are empirical researches with investigation data and credible tables. Besides， the contents of these two papers are mainly related to self-efficacy beliefs and L2 writing.endprint

Felors paper is experiment-oriented and in this paper the author conducts one experiment in TEFL students to examine whether there is any relationship between self-efficacy and writing performance across genders. By using two statistical tests， SGSES and Three IELTD writing tasks， the results reveal that none of four hypotheses are acceptable and reach a conclusion that there was no significant relationship between male and female EFL students self-efficacy and writing performance. But it also found that here was a significant positive relationship in self-efficacy between female and male EFL students.

In Rosas article， the received instruction is stated as having an effect on students beliefs， especially their self-efficacy beliefs， as well as their beliefs about the nature of writing， and about the role of the writing， with the experiment conducted in University of Murcia including 4 men and 11 women. And the author gives a strong certification that the acquisition of writing competence must be understood within social and educational context in which the writers abilities have developed.

Between Felors and Rosas layouts there are some similarities and differences. Comparing these two papers， it can be seen that they are well-organized which show a very clear， reasonable and logical line of arrangement. Besides， these two articles are very descriptive which describe whole statements， experiments and analyses quite briefly and elaborately. In Felors paper， there are five sub-sections in method part， while in Rosas there are three sub-sections. Generally speaking， methodology of empirical researches which is used to test hypotheses contains the design of the study， participants， instruments， data collection procedures and data analysis. Tables are often embedded in these parts to integrate and display data in order to reveal some relations. According to the hypotheses or assumptions， the researcher needs to make design and determine research variables. By using instruments， such as questionnaires or tasks， the researcher can get various data from participants. In the process of collecting and calculating data， different kinds of computational methods and statistical tests will be used， for example， SPSS software can be widely used in many empirical researches on SLA， which could help to gain a better understanding of certain variables.

2.3 Summary

At the end of the articles， Judit and Rosa both point out limitations of their studies regarding realistic conditions or data sources and instruments. And these four papers all draw conclusions and provide suggestions for future research. Judit notes that future studies should pay more attention to collaborative writing activities rather than solitarily. Lourdes shows that the study may contribute to the future potential for relevant research and calls for the inclusion of teachers， tasks， and L2 proficiency as worthy additional cornerstones of future L2 writing and SLA interfaces. Felor hopes the study could shed light on self-efficacy and writing performance and give hints to teachers teaching strategies. And Rosa regards investigation of beliefs as opening a new path in L2 writing and SLA and hopes the study could help to close connection between learners beliefs and learning actions.endprint

III. Conclusion

During these years， individual difference has become a promising and hot-discussed field in SLA. Writing is a skillful task and also a complex process for both male and female， old and young. IDs and L2 writing can interact with each other. The importance of individual differences such as working memory capacity， motivation， and self-efficacy beliefs， has been explored in many studies in the field of L2 writing research （Pajares， 2003）. Self-efficacy beliefs are said to be the most important determinants in learning activity and it has close relationships with writing between male and female students. In a nutshell， the role of individual differences in learning a new language and in L2 writing is inestimable and the significant positive relation between self-efficacy and writing performance across gender sheds great light on teaching strategies and language learning.

References：

[1]Felor，H.Masoud，Z.Davoud，A.The Relationship between Self-efficacy and Writing Performance across Genders[J].Theory and Practice in Language Studies，2014（5）：1045-1052.

[2]Judit，K.The Role of Individual Differences in L2 Writing[J].Journal of Second Language Writing，2012（21）：390–403.

[3]Lourdes Ortega，Epilogue：Exploring L2 writing–SLA interfaces[J].Journal of Second Language Writing，2012（21）： 404–415.

[4]Rosa，M，M.Individual Differences in Foreign Language Learning：The Dynamics of Beliefs about L2 Writing[J].RESLA， 2009（22）：245-268.

[5]Fereshteh，S.Gender Differences in EFL Academic Writing[J].International Journal of Academic Research，2013（5）：79-87.

[6]戴運财.二语习得中个体差异研究的宏观描述及其新进展[J].当代外语研究，2012（9）：41-46.

作者简介：孙千惠（1992.3-），女，汉族，武警后勤学院基础部外语教研室，硕士学历，大学英语助教，外国语言学及应用语言学方向。endprint