creative writing for foreign language

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33 Interesting Writing Prompts for Language Learners (of All Levels)

When your language teachers and tutors advise you to get more writing practice , it can be hard to follow their guidance.

If your daily life isn’t action-packed, keeping a diary in your target language can get boring and repetitive, but what other topics can you discuss?

Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, there are plenty of great things to write about. Here are 33 writing prompts for language learners to get you started.

Beginner Writing Prompts

1. who are you, 2. what are your favorite hobbies, 3. what’s your family like, 4. what’s your best friend like, 5. where do you live, 6. what’s your favorite food, 7. what’s your favorite season, 8. what’s your favorite movie or tv show, 9. describe your daily routine., 10. what are you going to do this weekend, 11. what’s your favorite animal, intermediate writing prompts, 12. what’s the funniest thing that has ever happened to you, 13. where would you like to go on vacation, 14. what’s the best vacation, trip or outing you’ve ever had, 15. where do you see yourself in five years, 16. what are your goals for the future, 17. what were you like as a child, 18. write a poem (rhyming or not) about something that inspires you., 19. pretend you’re instructing someone on how to do your favorite activity., 20. what’s your favorite (or your family’s favorite) tradition.

• 21. What do you think the world will be like in 50 years? 

22. Why is education important?

Advanced writing prompts, 23. if you were given three wishes, what would you wish for, 24. what do you think the most significant world problem is, 25. if you could change one thing about society, what would you change, 26. how has the internet affected communication how do you see it affecting communication in the future, 27. what do you think would be an ideal political system does an ideal system exist, 28. who’s responsible for poverty why does it exist, and how could it be resolved, 29. what’s your favorite literary work, and what has it taught you, 30. if you could teach your future children or other children of the future one lesson, what would it be, 31. what medical issues have you or your loved ones faced how did you handle them or how do you continue to handle them, 32. what topics are not adequately addressed in schools today why should these topics be addressed more, 33. describe a recent world event. what are the potential consequences of this event, why use foreign language writing prompts, how to get the most out of writing prompts for language learners, and one more thing....

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Beginning level students usually know basic vocabulary related to describing people, weather, food, animals, routines and related topics.

Writing as a beginning student can be a bit tricky because you don’t yet have a vast vocabulary. Additionally, your verb conjugation abilities are probably limited, so you may need to stick to the present tense.

These writing prompts can be answered with simple, general vocabulary and present tense verbs , so they’re ideal for beginning students.

You can take this question in a wide variety of directions. Based on what vocabulary you want to practice, you might describe your appearance, your job and/or your interests. If you want to try using more advanced-level vocabulary, you could try getting more philosophical with your response.

Everyone has something they like to do. What are your favorite hobbies? If your vocabulary is limited, you might try simple responses, like “I like sports.” However, as your vocabulary gets more advanced, you can add more detail into your response. For instance, “I like sports, especially soccer. My favorite thing about soccer is hitting the ball with my head.”

What do they look like? What are their personalities like? How is each person related to you? What are their interests? This prompt can be used for quick, easy writing practice or for a book-length extended project.

You can describe your friend physically, describe their personality and/or explain what you like to do together. If you already know some past tense verbs, you might even tell a story about something that happened with your friend in the past to illustrate what your friend is like.

You could even break this one down into a series of prompts. Describe your neighborhood. Describe your city. Describe your state. Describe your country. You might discuss the layout, culture, businesses, natural environment or how you feel about your location.

Not only can you name the dish and list the ingredients, you can also describe how it tastes. As your language skills progress, you might even try explaining how the dish is made.

With this prompt, you can address a variety of subtopics. What is the weather like? What does the season look like? How does it feel? What events or holidays happen during the season?

You can describe what happens in the movie or TV show in either past or present tense. You might also note the genre and/or describe the characters.

Major bonus points if you can describe a Netflix movie or TV show  that you also watch in your target language!

Beginning students commonly learn words related to daily routines, so go through your day and explain what you do. When do you wake up? How do you get ready for work or school? What do you eat for breakfast? When do you leave for work or school? How do you get there? What do you do once you’re there? What do you eat for lunch? When do you leave? What do you eat for dinner? How do you relax in the evening?

This question can be a little more advanced in that you could use future tense verbs. However, if you don’t yet know future tense, depending on what your target language is, you may be able to simply use “I am going to…” constructions. Writing about your plans can help you practice words for common activities and prepare you for real conversations you may have with native speakers.

You might describe the animal, what it looks like, what it eats, where it lives, etc. This can give you practice with animal words, physical descriptions, food words and location-related vocabulary.

As an intermediate writer, it’s time to up your game. Now, you can use a broader range of vocabulary words and verb tenses. These prompts will help you make good use of your advancing skills.

Whip out your past tense verbs for this one! Consider writing the story of the funniest thing you’ve experienced. Maybe it’s something that happened to you or maybe it’s just something you witnessed. Regardless, this will give you practice with more diverse vocabulary and past tense verbs.

This prompt invites you to give your conditional verb tenses a workout. Where would you like to go? Why would you like to visit this location? What would you like to do there? Who would you go with?

Describing the best out-of-the-ordinary experience you’ve had, whether a vacation or any other break from daily routine, gives you an opportunity to use plenty of past tense verbs. You might even work in some less common verbs to describe specific activities you participated in, like snorkeling or skiing. You can describe the experience, who you were with, what you did and what made it so enjoyable. Feeling nostalgic? Look at old photos if you have them and describe them in your target language.

Oh, the age-old interview question! In your native language, it’s probably an uncomfortable opportunity to reflect on your goals, but in your target language, it can be a valuable way to practice using future, conditional and/or subjunctive verb tenses while also employing industry-specific vocabulary.

Plus, if you ever need to do a job interview in your target language, you’ll be happy you have the practice. If you like this prompt, you might even consider using some of  The Muse’s list of common interview questions  for additional writing prompts.

What do you hope to achieve in your life? You might use future tense here, but if you prefer present tense, you can use an “I want to…” or related construction. From there, you can use all sorts of vocabulary words related to your career, family, housing, etc.

Use past tense to describe yourself as a child. You might describe your appearance or personality. To work in more advanced vocabulary, you might also note in what ways you challenged your parents and what you wanted to be when you grew up.

Writing poetry can be a fun way to use your language skills. To make it a little trickier, write in rhyme. You can write about whatever you like, but you can’t go wrong with a love poem. After all, you can always re-purpose it down the road if need be.

Whether it’s cooking, painting or playing Fortnite, this will require the use of commands and a strong vocabulary related to whatever activity you write about.

Whether they’re monthly or yearly, passed down through generations or made up on the spot, traditions shared by people can be a lot of fun. But they also afford a lot of opportunities to use whatever verb conjugations you need to practice. You can talk about your favorite tradition from the past, how you practice it today or how you hope to practice it in the future. You could even instruct readers on how to adopt your favorite tradition.

21. What do you think the world will be like in 50 years?  

Think about society, culture and major world issues. How do you think everything will change and evolve? Not only can you use future tense verbs, but this prompt will give you the opportunity to use more advanced vocabulary related to science, technology, culture and/or politics. Depending on your vision, you could even expand your work into a sci-fi or dystopian novel.

This prompt could work with either present tense or conditional verbs. However, more importantly, it invites you to use plenty of more advanced vocabulary relating to learning, careers and society. Responding to this prompt could even serve as extra motivation by reminding you why education or learning of any kind (including your language learning) is so important to you.

As an advanced student, you should be aiming to write without having to think too much. You should be able to navigate seamlessly between any verb tenses and use your large and diverse vocabulary effectively. These prompts aim to help you exercise a broad array of skills.

Okay, you might not have a genie in a bottle, but what would you ask for if you did? This question invites the use of conditional tense verbs. Plus, the vocabulary you use is likely to be as diverse and varied as your dreams.

Writing about current world problems can help you use vocabulary words that are relevant today but might not be terribly common. While you could use present tense, you might also use future and/or conditional tense to examine how this issue could cause long-term consequences.

Take this world’s problems and turn them around! Considering what you would change about society will give you an opportunity to use conditional tense and/or commands to explain what needs to change and how.

Past and future tense in one prompt? How can you resist? Not only that, this prompt invites you to use the latest technology-related words, which are super useful for advanced learners.

This prompt invites you to use advanced vocabulary related to politics and society. Plus, you can use it to practice the conditional tense, future tense and/or subjunctive tense verbs.

This question may feel nearly impossible to answer in your native language, so it will be even more challenging in your target language. However, if you give it a try, you’ll be able to practice words related to society and politics. While you’ll probably use mostly present tense verbs, you might also work in some conditional, subjunctive, future and/or past tense.

Using key literary terms is often reserved for academia, so writing about your favorite literary work will certainly give your vocabulary a workout. While this will be largely in present tense, you might throw in a few other verb tenses for good measure.

What’s the best lesson you’ve learned? Why do you want others to learn it? This question is complex enough that you might incorporate a huge array of verb tenses.

Medical terminology can be a little tricky, but practicing using it is useful , particularly if it relates to a medical condition you or loved ones have. Writing about medical issues and their treatments will reinforce medical vocabulary and past tense verbs. Plus, if you ever experience a medical emergency abroad, you might be relieved to have practiced relevant vocabulary.

You’re educated. You know what’s up. What do you think should be covered more in schools? Addressing this issue gives you an opportunity to use education terms, present tense verbs and conditional verbs.

Not only can you use vocabulary that’s currently relevant, you can also use an array of verb tenses. Start with past tense and then transition to future, conditional and/or subjunctive tenses. Using this writing prompt can help you practice transitioning smoothly between tenses.

• Using foreign language writing prompts can help reduce anxiety when writing in your target language . Staring at a blank page can be stressful and can make you want to procrastinate trying to write, but writing prompts can make writing seem less like hard work.
• You can also use foreign language writing prompts to determine what vocabulary and/or grammar you need to work on . Writing can help you detect what grammar rules you’re struggling with and what holes in your vocabulary you need to fill.
• Writing prompts can help you keep your target language in shape . Skills can slip over time, so continuing to practice your writing can help prevent backsliding.
• Using writing prompts can help make it so that writing in your target language feels easy and requires less conscious effort .  Writing in a foreign language is a skill like any other. The more you practice it, the easier it will become.
• Don’t just write. Read. To write well in your target language, you’ll need to also read in your target language. Luckily, there are plenty of places to read content in your target language .  Project Gutenberg  offers many classic works in several languages, and  BBC News  gives you news stories in a variety of languages.
• Write as often as possible. Writing as often as possible not only gives you the practice you need to improve your skills, it also keeps you in the habit. If you set aside a few minutes each day for your writing practice, you’re less likely to forget to do it.
• Try to use specific rules or vocabulary you’ve recently learned. Trying to use specific grammar rules and vocabulary you’ve recently learned is a terrific way to practice using your new skills. It reinforces them and makes them easier to use the next time.
• As you write, note what you’re struggling with. While you’re writing, you’ll probably notice a few hiccups. For instance, you may want a word but realize you don’t know it. Whenever you encounter one of these problems, jot it down. Then, after you write, you can go over your notes to work to resolve whatever issues you struggled with.
• Read what you’ve written and correct your own work. Once you’ve responded to a writing prompt, read over your work with a critical eye. What errors do you notice? How could you improve your writing? Going over your work gives you an opportunity to spot some errors you didn’t notice as you wrote.
• Consider having a native speaker correct your work. You might ask a friend or a tutor to read over your writing and tell you what they think. You could also consider finding a tutor through italki. Even finding someone to do a one-time check of your writing on occasion can be a huge help.

With these writing prompts for all levels, you’ll never be at a loss for words.

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32 Writing Prompts for Your Language Learning Journal

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Of the four pillars of language learning (reading, writing, listening and speaking), writing is an often underrated skill.

Writing in your target language is a great way to start producing sentences of your own and can help you acquire new vocabulary and practice grammatical structures.

As an output skill, writing is perfect for introverted or quiet learners who find speaking stressful.

No, this is not me giving you permission to stop practicing your speaking skills, but we all have days when we simply can’t deal with talking to actual human beings.

With writing, there is less pressure to keep up with a conversation partner and keep the flow of conversation going. You can take time to organise your thoughts, look up any vocabulary you don’t know and go back to your writing to correct any mistakes.

Keeping a Language Learning Journal

A fantastic way to practice your writing skills is to keep a language learning journal or diary.

There are a few ways you can go about writing in your target language:

• The free-flow approach – Simply start writing without looking up words in the dictionary. This forces you to use the words already at your disposal and is a good way of identifying any gaps in your vocabulary. You can then go back and look up any words you didn’t know.
• The brainstorming approach – Choose a topic and brainstorm some vocabulary you think you may need. Look these up in your dictionary and then use them in your written piece.
• The look-up approach – Start writing and look up any unknown words as you go along.

It’s a good idea to ask a native speaker or your teacher to check your work so you do not unconsciously reinforce mistakes.

If you don’t know any native speakers, you can submit your writing on a language-exchange social network like Lang-8 and have it corrected by one of the community members.

Writing Prompts

Knowing what to write can sometimes be the hardest part. I’ve put together a list of 32 writing prompts that will help you get the creative juices flowing.

I have loosely categorised these topics into Beginner , Intermediate and Advanced , but don’t get too hung up on these categories, especially at the Intermediate and Advanced levels.

Pick a topic that interests you and see how far you get.

1. A self-introduction

Probably the first assignment you will get in any language course. Write one or two paragraphs introducing yourself. What is your name? How old are you? What nationality are you? What do you do for a living?

2. Your family

Another fairly simple one suitable for beginners. How many members do you have in your family? What are their likes and dislikes?

3. A shopping list

Write out a simple shopping list. This is a great way to learn the words for everyday household items.

4. Your morning routine

Take a page from the lifestyle blogger’s playbook and write about your morning routine. For beginners, this can be as simple as getting up, brushing your teeth, and so on.

5. A recent holiday or trip

Yes, I know this sounds like the classic ‘My Summer’ essay you were forced to write at school, but it is a good way of mining new travel vocabulary.

6. A diary entry

Write a diary entry detailing the events of your day and how you felt about them.

7. Give directions

Imagine that you have to direct a friend from a familiar landmark to your home. Try not to get them lost!

Translate a simple recipe into your target language.

What do you do for fun? Do you have a passion project?

10. Write a social media post in your target language

Caption your latest Instagram photo or tweet your thoughts.

Intermediate

11. describe a picture.

Find a photo, picture or artwork that inspires or interests you and try to describe it in your target language.

12. State your case

Propose an argument for and against something. For example, why should you use public transport instead of driving? Write down some pros and cons.

13. A film/book review

Enjoyed a good movie or book lately? Can you give a brief overview of the plot? What did you like or dislike about it?

14. Your goals for the future

Imagine you have to answer the dreaded interview question ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ in your target language.

15. A how-to

Are you good at something? Write down a step-by-step how-to guide. This can be something as simple as how to boil an egg or more complex like how to do a pivot chart in Excel (if you know how to do this, I’d like to know too).

16. Explain your job

This is a good way to learn industry-specific terms. What do you get up to in the office? What are your responsibilities? What are your co-workers like?

17. Your most embarrassing moment

We all have at least one cringe-worthy story. What happened?

18. Write about your country or culture

This topic has the potential for many off-shoots. Are there any interesting places to visit in your country? Do you have any traditions or festivals?

Do you play any sports? Who is your favourite player? Can you explain the rules of the game in simple terms?

20. Write a letter of complaint

Restaurant got your order wrong? New dress falling apart after one wear? Write a formal letter of complaint to the company at fault.

21. Translate something

Try translating a page from your novel, a news article, a song or poem.

22. Summarize a magazine or news article

Read a news article or editorial and try to summarise the main points in your own words.

23. Write a short story

This is a super challenging one. Creative writing can be tricky even in your native language. You have to consider pacing, point of view, natural-sounding dialogue and a whole lot more. Try your hand at writing a short flash fiction piece, but don’t worry about getting it perfect. After all, fiction writers spend years perfecting their craft.

24. Discuss a political event

Got an opinion on Brexit, the Hong Kong protests or the failings of your local government? Write an opinion piece on a recent political issue or event.

25. Industry presentation

Useful if you are working or doing business in your target language. Put together a short presentation on a hot topic in your industry or your latest work project.

26. Are we killing our planet?

Do you think climate change is a global crisis? What can we do to save our planet?

27. Is technology making us lonely?

Our world is more connected than ever before. But do social media and other technologies actually isolate us from others?

28. Are video games making us more violent?

Do you think video game violence encourages violence in real life?

29. Why do you think we should learn a new language?

Get some ideas on this topic here .

30. What is your greatest fear?

What scares you most? How do you deal with anxiety and fear?

31. Do you believe in fate?

Does everything happen for a reason? Or do we create our own destinies?

32. Who do you consider your role model and why?

Who inspires you? What did you learn from that person? How did it change your outlook on life?

Do you keep a language learning journal? What do you like writing about?

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November 22, 2019 at 1:40 pm

Great advice! Awesome of you to share this.

November 22, 2019 at 2:22 pm

Thanks, Jamie. Glad you found it useful!

July 24, 2020 at 1:34 am

Thank you for the prompts; I have this pinned to my Taskbar, as reference for later. I’ve been considering starting something like this for Japanese, and today bought a blank book with that in mind.

July 24, 2020 at 10:50 am

So glad you found it useful, Aia. Let us know how you get along with your Japanese studies!

November 20, 2020 at 8:17 pm

In case it was not a joke, I can show how to make a pivot chart in Excel, it is easier than it sounds 🙂

November 21, 2020 at 6:20 am

😀 I’m only half joking… While I can figure it out with some effort, my Excel skills really are poor. I even bought an Excel course on Udemy to try and fix this!

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Foreign Language Teaching Methods: Writing

Creative writing.

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Arguments for Creative Writing in the L2 Classroom

Creative writing allows students to experiment and play with the language, and thus, to take ownership of the language. In addition, creative writing is usually engaging and motivating for students. It also helps learners view language as an authentic communicative tool, with a focus on meaning, not merely as a linguistic system.

Different types of creative writing activities.

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Creativity in writing can be as simple as learning calligraphy. Watch the following video with Professor Esther Raizen (Hebrew) and note when, why and how she introduces calligraphy in teaching Hebrew.

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Creative Writing For English as Foreign Language Learners: A Course Book Paperback – Illustrated, November 10, 2014

Lesson 18: A Christmas Carol and Final Review

• Print length 170 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Cranmore Publications
• Publication date November 10, 2014
• Dimensions 8.5 x 0.36 x 11 inches
• ISBN-10 1907962832
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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cranmore Publications; Illustrated edition (November 10, 2014)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 170 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1907962832
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About the author

Debrah roundy.

Hi and warm greetings future Reader, English Writing and Neurolinguistic Program Explorer.

I am having a wonderful time exploring China. My name is Professor Debrah Roundy and my Chinese name is Professor Rong DiaJia (教授荣黛佳). Please call me Professor.

Why am I in China? I retired from teaching school in Rupert, Idaho, USA several years ago. I did not want to sit and get old, I wanted to make the world a better place. I found out about a group called BYU China Teachers out of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA. BYU places retired teachers from the USA and Canada in China to teach English. We also get to learn more about China and tell the people at home when we get back. It is a cultural exchange. Instead of young people it is older people, like my husband and me.

This sounded like just the thing my husband and I wanted to do so we signed up. We are glad we did. We found out the students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University are very good. They strive to come to class on time and get their assignments done. They work hard because they want to have a good future. It has been a wonderful experience meeting so many highly motivated students that we wanted to return a second year, which we did.

We enjoyed it so much we have signed up for a third and now a fourth year, but this time at Tongji University. We will explore a different part of Shanghai while we are here and enjoy sharing culture with our students at Tongji. We really can make a difference.

While at SJTU I developed my own curriculum. I love to innovate and my curriculum is unique. It incorporates many activities to make writing an interesting and fulfilling challenge. The students really liked it. They got to know themselves better and to better prepare for their personal future. They learned to assist each other to make their peer community all better with the aim of improving all. I developed it to be individualized to meet needs and desires of each student individually. This is important because my students came from all over China with varying degrees of English ability. Students started to come back to me with good reports. My teaching lessons were making a difference in their lives. Another teacher, Kevin Liu, expressed interest in collaborating on a project to publish the teaching materials. That day I was teaching my students an NLP method for making a well-formed outcome and achieving it. I could not resist and we quickly drew up a TOTE model and were off and on our way. To write with clarity I used the NLP Meta Model which as far as I am aware has never before been presented in a college writing text book yet made such a difference in my students. I invite you to be a student who works with us to make a difference in your life. Start today and purchase a student book and enjoy the challenges presented. Teachers, get the teacher's manual. All you need is there for you. Write me and I will even email you a free slide show you can use in class. You are invited to add to it your own pictures and make it yours. Just please credit Kevin and me on the title page.

This last year I concentrated more on NLP. It is an interesting way to acquire English acquisition skills as well as life skills that will make a difference for a life time.

Happy reading, writing, listening and speaking English.

Several more books are planned so keep your eyes on this series.

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Language Hobo

Language learning for language lovers

Language Writing Prompts: How To Practice Writing In A Foreign Language

Introduction.

As any language learner will know, in order to achieve fluency in your new language, you’re going to have to practice, practice, practice. This does not only apply to speaking and listening.

In fact, from my own experience, I can tell you that practicing forming sentences through writing will get you to your fluency goal a lot faster than simply focusing on speaking.

Writing in your new language allows you to carefully consider and hone your words, along with utilizing a dictionary for the production of more advanced sentences.

New vocabulary you learn is also more likely to stick in your memory through this method, as it will have more context, and you’ll be able to reread what you’ve written as often as you like.

This is where writing prompts come in handy.

What are writing prompts?

Writing prompts are questions and exercises designed to help you generate sentences in order to hone your creative writing skills. They’re usually used by authors with writer’s block, and those who have trouble generating ideas.

The idea is that, by answering the prompt, you get your creative juices flowing, making the writing process easier going forward.

How do foreign language writing prompts work?

Language prompts are pretty much the same as the regular kind, only with them you practice honing your language writing skills.

Though it’s not always easy finding these exercises in different languages, you can always use regular creative writing prompts in your native language, but write in your target language. The result will be the same.

Why are language writing prompts useful?

Foreign language writing exercises are useful in that they get you thinking in your target language, and producing well thought out responses that you’ve had time to hone. You are free to make them as simple or as in-depth as you like, depending on your skill level.

This method of reproducing the language can be far more effective than trying to come up with spoken responses on the spot, as you’ll be able to take more care with your words and grammar, with no time constraints.

What are the best ways to use language writing prompts?

• Language writing prompts are best used daily. You should set aside at least half an hour a day to complete one, so that you get into the habit of producing target language sentences. Once you make this a habit, your mind will more easily generate sentences.
• A target language dictionary should always be handy, so that you’re constantly working on boosting your vocabulary and perfecting your grammar. As you progress, you’ll start to notice your responses getting more complex. This can only be achieved through consistent writing and frequent reference to a dictionary.
• You should read over what you’ve written in order to familiarize yourself with new words you may have forgotten. Read aloud also.

Where can you find language writing prompts?

Writing prompts for authors are quite easy to find in English, so you could start with any one of the many creative writing exercise books on the market.

Free Language Writing Prompts

Language Hobo offers free foreign language writing prompts in a handful of languages. They’ve been translated by native speakers and are available to download, print and fill in. There are 20 writing exercises that increase in difficulty as you work through them.

Writing prompts in French

Writing prompts in German

Writing prompts in Korean

Writing prompts in Mandarin Chinese

Writing prompts in Russian

Writing prompts in Spanish

We also have language writing prompt books in French and Spanish:

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11 ways to practice writing in your target language

There are more ways to learn to write a new language than just responding to prompts!

• Elise Cutts
• Date : January 30, 2021
• Categories : Language learning
• Tags : Language learning tips

Learning to write in a new laguage can be intimidating, especially if you’re learning alone. Like speaking, writing is a productive skill which makes it impossible to learn passively. Reading will improve your writing, to be sure. But if you want to write, you need to write!

But what to write?

Figuring that out is the tough bit. And given that writers block can easily strike even when writing in our native languages, sitting down in front of a blank page to scribble something down in a new language can feel downright impossible. But even if you’re not a writer, I’m willing to bet you write a lot in your native language—it’s just not writing of the “sit down and fill a page” variety. We’re constantly shooting off texts, commenting, writing posts, emailing, making to-do-lists, and filling up planners. Why not squeeze some language practice out of those activities?

This list of my favorite 11 ways to practice writing in a foreign language hits on more traditional methods for improving long-form writing. But I also did my best to make suggestions for ways to weave writing practice into everyday life and get practice writing the short-form, informal texts that fill our inboxes, calendars, and notifications. My hope is that, whether you’re a writing enthusiast or the kind of person who only reluctantly picks up a pen, there will be at least one thing this list that will feel approachable to you.

But first, there’s an important point to keep in mind no matter how you choose to practice!

The golden rule of writing practice: get feedback from native speakers

Making mistakes helps us learn, and getting corrected ensures that you won’t practice being wrong. So when practicing writing in a foreign language, try to focus on writing things that are either public by nature (ex. comments, forum posts) or that you’re willing to have corrected by a tutor or on a platform like LangCorrect. Make mistakes out in the open, where someone can notice them and correct you. Usually they’ll be nice about it. And if they aren’t, you can revel in the knowledge that they unknowingly provided you with free language corrections by trying to be a jerk. If you’re nervous, remember that tutors are paid to be nice to you.

Ways to get your writing corrected by native speakers:

• Post, comment, blog, and otherwise slap your writing down all over the internet in communities full of native speakers . Odds are, if you make an egregious enough mistake, someone will point it out. Reddit is a great place for this kind of practice.
• Post your writing on a site like LangCorrect , Lang-8, or iTalki to get corrections for free from native speakers . LangCorrect corrections usually come back within a day or so in my experience.
• Work with a tutor. Watching a piece of your writing get corrected live is a great way to get a good sense for the kinds of errors you tend to make. iTalki is a good place to find online tutors.
• Ask a friend or language-exchange partner for help once you have a solid relationship in place.

The silver rule of writing practice: ignore the golden rule

That all said, all writing practice is good writing practice. I keep a journal in German that no one— no one —will ever see. In fact, I don’t even want to see it. Grammar mistakes are one thing, but grammar mistakes in teenage angst at age 23 is another entirely. You’re allowed to do things *s u b o p t i m a l l y* if you want to, and incorperating language practice into things you might already do like keeping a journal or writing out grocery lists is pretty optimal if you ask me.

Of course, more corrections means more progress. But more writing also means more progress. So whenever you can reasonably write something in your target language instead of your native language, do it—you can think about having someone correct your grocery list or youtube comment later.

Ok, so with that out of the way, here’s my list of 11 ways to practice writing in a foreign language.

Happy writing!

11 ways to practice writing in a foreign language

1. write an online journal on a language-exchange site.

There are a number of places online where you can write online journal entries and get them corrected by native speakers for free . Just be nice and correct a few entries in your native language in return. Lang-8 , iTalki’s community section, and LangCorrect all offer exactly that. You could also check out the corrections board on the Polyglot Club .

I personally favor LangCorrect because I feel like I get corrections back quickly and it’s obvious that the developers are working hard to steadily improve the site. Also, they seem more interested in making a good experience for people than making money, which is sweet. Unfortunately, Lang-8 isn’t taking new users at the time of writing. Also unfortunately, the iTalki community features are currently only fully available on mobile… and I hate typing things on my phone. That seems set to change soon, though.

And as a last note: you can use these sites for more than just journaling. Pretty much anything, even just single sentences, is fair game.

2. Find a pen pal

An oldie but a goodie, exchanging letters or emails with pen pals is a fun way to get to know people from around the world and learn a thing or two about culture in addition to practicing your target language. Writing letters is also a great way to get practice with long-form texts. You can find pen pals on forums for language learners like Polyglot Club and on specialized sites. FluentIn3Months has a nice list of 10 websites where you can look for pen pals . Oh, and check the subreddit for your target language, too. My experience with r/German has been nothing but positive.

3. Exchange messages with a chat partner

Don’t want to write out long letters, or would you rather practice writing the way you’d actually communicate with someone in every day life? Then consider finding a chat partner to message in your target language. Bilingua , Hellopal , Hellotalk , Speaky , and Tandem are all purpose-built chat apps for language exchange, but there are plenty of other sites where it’s possible to connect with chat partners. iTalki’s community section , the subreddit for your target language, and language-learning forums like Polyglot Club are a good place to look for partners as well. And then there’s Idyoma , an app which aims at connecting people in the same geographic area for language exchange with the possibility of meeting in real-life—basically Tinder except for language exchange.

4. Respond to writing prompts

There are tons of websites out there with extensive lists of free writing prompts. Search for one in your target language, or just use any of the plentiful English resources out there.

For beginners, prompts for kids are fantastic. This prompt generator from My Cup Runs Over is amazing, with options to set your prompt level to elementary, middle, or high-school level. The prompt generator at Langauge is a Virus has plenty of beginner-friendly prompts, too. LangCorrect also has a large list of user-generated prompts, including plenty that are beginner friendly.

For intermediate and advanced learners, the New York Times maintains an amazing collection of writing prompts that’s available for free without a subscription. The Times also provides list of prompts for students organized by general theme . Resources for writers are also a great place to look for prompts if you have a good command of your target language and are into creative writing. Seventh Sanctum is a classic, and I like The Story Shack’s prompt generator a lot too since it provides very clear assignments.

5. Do the writing exercises in textbooks, practice grammars, and practice exams

—you know, those exercises that you skip because you don’t have a piece of blank paper on hand? Do them. And then have them corrected by a native speaker.

6. Keep a bullet journal, planner, or calendar in your target language

If you’re already writing daily in a planner or bullet journal, switching into your target language—even if not for all of your entries—is a great way to squeeze some extra practice out of an activity you’d be doing anyways. Practicing this way has the added benefit of ensuring that you’ll learn vocabulary relevant to your life, since that’s what goes into a planner or journal.

Bullet journals are a fad worldwide at this point, so you should be able to find a blogger writing about them in your target language and appropriate vocabulary from their posts for things like “weekly spread” and “to-do list.”

7. Write your to-do lists, grocery lists, and other notes to yourself in your target language

Like writing a journal or planner, writing to-do lists and other mundane notes to yourself is a great way to practice the words and phrases most relevant to your life. If you already write lists and notes to yourself, you can get practice without budgeting any extra time for language practice. And if you’re really motivated, there’s always the option to type up your lists and post them online for corrections from native speakers.

8. Join subreddits where your target language is used

Reddit can be a bit intimidating, but if you can get past the old-school layout and occasionally aggressive users—and they’re easy to avoid—it can be a great place to practice a new language. To start, check out the subreddits for your target language. There, you’ll find lots of other learners and friendly native speakers who are happy to make minor corrections to posts when they see mistakes. These boards are also a great place to find language exchange partners, and tend to be very friendly. I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with r/German and r/Danish.

Once you get a bit more comfortable, branch out and explore other subreddits where people post mainly in your target language. The country-specific subreddits for countries where your language is spoken are safe bets, and there are also more general subreddits specifically for content in various langages. For instance, r/de is for German (and sometimes English) content pertaining to all German-speaking countries. Don’t stop there though—there’s a lot to explore, and especially if you’re learning a rather “big” language with many speakers you’re sure to find all sorts of different subreddits where you can practice posting. Just be sure not to post questions about grammar/language-learning on country subreddits—that’s what the language-specific subreddits are for. Check the subreddit rules before posting and you’ll be fine!

9. Leave comments on youtube videos, blogs, and other online content in your target language

Like posting on Reddit, commenting on your favorite videos, blog posts, and other content in your target langauge is a great way to practice expressing an opininon in your target language and—thanks to the public nature of comments—to get some free corrections. People love pointing out how people are wrong in comments sections, and that extends to grammar. For best results, maybe don’t start out by leaping into a heated debate. Some communities are more positive and likely to provide *kind* corrections than others.

I once got more than 600 likes on a comment I left on a video from a German Late-Night Comedy show, so I’m basically famous.

10. Write example sentences for your flashcards (and use them to make cloze deletions)

Being a flashcard junkie, I of course had to throw a flashcard tip into the ring here. One, admittedly nerdy way to get some writing practice is to create example sentences for your flashcards . Example sentences are great on their own, but they’re even better when used to create cloze deletions, or cards where the word(s) you’re trying to learn are removed from a sentence and replaced with a blank. Clozes are a great way to learn words in context. Just be sure to get the sentences corrected by a native speaker so that you don’t practice something incorrect.

The free spaced-repetition flashcard program I use, Anki, has an easy-to-use cloze deletion format you can use if you just want to create flash cards based no example sentences. Unfortunately, it isn’t so straightforward to add cloze deletions to your existing cards if they’re not already cloze-format. But if you’re learning German, I made a German Anki flashcard format that can figure out where the relevant words are in your example sentences to automatically generates cloze deletions. It color-codes nouns by gender, too. Currently it doesn’t work for nouns, but I have a version with support for verbs coming out soon!

Get the free template

11. Contribute to wikipedia pages in your target language

I saved the nerdiest suggestion for last. You’re almost certainly familiar with Wikipedia already—but have you ever checked out Wikipedia in your target language? Chances are, there’s plenty of content just waiting to be translated from your native language into your target language. You can get writing practice while simultaneously contributing to making knowledge accessible for free to people around the world.

To start with, it’s easiest to translate content directly out of your native language into your target language. To find pages to edit or create, keep an eye on the sidebar on the left: languages in which a page on the current topic exists are listed. If your target language isn’t listed, that means that nobody has made a page in that language yet. And even if there is a page, there’s no guarantees that it will contain all the same information as the page in your native language. Browse through, look for places where you could add in a fact by translating, and then make your edits. And don’t worry about making a mistake here or there: if you do make a mistake, someone else can easily fix it later.

You can also do this in reverse, translating from your target language into your native language. I’ve had a lot of fun translating pages and facts from German Wikipedia into English— like this one on an Austrian satirical political party that advocates for replacing a famous fountian in Vienna with a beer fountain, among other things.

I hope you enjoyed this list of ways to practice writing in a foreign language. What are your favorite ways to practice writing? Have you tried any of the ways I’ve suggested? And did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below or shoot an email to [email protected] . Thanks for reading. Vielen Dank!

1st Edition

International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education Supporting Language Learners’ Proficiency, Identity, and Creative Expression

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Description

This volume explores the instructional use of creative writing in secondary and post-secondary contexts to enhance students’ language proficiency and expression in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Offering a diverse range of perspectives from scholars and practitioners involved in English language teaching (ELT) globally, International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education tackles foundational questions around why fiction and creative writing have been traditionally omitted from ESL and EFL curricula. By drawing on empirical research and first-hand experience, contributors showcase a range of creative genres including autobiography, scriptwriting, poetry, and e-Portfolios, and provide new insight into the benefits of second language creative writing for learners’ language proficiency, emotional expression, and identity development. The volume makes a unique contribution to the field of second language writing by highlighting the breadth of second language users throughout the world, and foregrounding links between identity, learning, and ESL/EFL writing. This insightful volume will be of particular interest to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in the fields of ESL/EFL learning, composition studies, and second language acquisition (SLA). Those with a focus on the use of creative writing in classrooms more broadly, will also find the book of interest.

Table of Contents

Bee Chamcharatsri is Associate Professor of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies and English Language and Literature at University of New Mexico, USA. Atsushi Iida is Associate Professor of English at Gunma University, Japan.

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How to improve your writing skills in a foreign language

Improving your foreign language writing skills requires lots and lots of writing practice. Writing practice gives you experience figuring out how to communicate in a clear way, and can help you develop your overall language skills. However, simply putting down what you want to say on paper is not enough; writing needs to be carefully crafted in order to convey meaning effectively. For example, you’ll need to consider the purpose of your writing, what topics you are discussing, and who your audience is. In this article, we’ll take a look at what it means to be a good foreign language writer, and outline eight ways you can improve your foreign language writing skills. Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

1. read everything you can in your target language.

It’s so important to read everything you can in your target language! Good writers tend to be good readers. Reading is a pathway to learning new vocabulary and grammatical structures. It reinforces your spelling skills, and familiarizes you with writing conventions. You can then turn around and apply these in your own writing. The trick here is to read different styles of writing to get an idea of how native speakers express themselves in different contexts. Formal styles of writing (books, articles, magazines) will help you learn the type of language commonly used in the professional world. Informal writing (social media, text messages) will help you learn the ins-and-outs of how people actually speak and communicate socially (slang, common expressions). Be aware, informal writing may not always have correct orthography and punctuation, and may contain lots of typos and shortened words. So make sure that you read both types of texts to develop a robust knowledge of the language!

Pro-tip! Keep a language journal handy so that you can jot down new words, expressions, and structures to look up while reading.

2. Ask a native speaker to edit what you write

Asking a native speaker to edit what you write is a great way to receive feedback that will help you improve your writing. A native speaker can give you pointers on how to phrase sentences more naturally, suggest alternatives to words, and highlight differences between your native and target languages. All of these things will help you communicate more clearly and sound more native-like! But what if you don’t know a native speaker? Have no fear, the internet can help! There are plenty of online communities on various social media platforms where you can set up language exchanges—you help a learner of your native language with their writing skills while they help you with yours!

3. Pay special attention to grammar

Paying special attention to grammar while you are writing can help you use language more accurately. Because you typically have more time to think when writing, you can take your time to look up rules you are unsure of, or find examples of phrases in order to construct coherent sentences. While grammatical mistakes are often overlooked in spoken language (because listeners are often still able to work out what the speaker meant to say), they tend to stand out more in written language. Readers may have a hard time understanding a text full of errors because they aren’t able to ask for clarification!

When you write, try making an effort to write grammatically correct sentences. This can help you improve your overall knowledge of the language. When you are unsure of a grammatical point, just look up how to use it. For example, if you don’t know the correct word order in a sentence, look it up in the textbook or a grammar blog (Did you know that Mango has  language-specific grammar articles ?). Actively researching and applying grammar rules will likely help you the next time you want to use a similar structure in the future. 

One thing to keep in mind is that the writing conventions of your target language might be different than English. How many times did your English teacher tell you to fix your “run-on” sentences? Well, in other languages, long sentences might actually be the correct way to write! Learning these differences will help you become a more natural writer in your L2.

4. Think in the target language while writing

Another way to improve your writing skills is to think in the target language while writing, instead of translating directly from your first language. Direct translations can result in awkward sentences and end up being a crutch because you can end up relying too much on your native language rather than on the target language. Instead, once you have a plan for what you want to write, think of the types of structures you will need in the target language and build your sentences piece by piece. Once you have a finished product, you can always go back and fix those sneaky grammatical and spelling mistakes. With time and experience, thinking in the target language, and your writing skills, will start to feel more natural.

5. Make a phrasebook for yourself

Making a phrasebook while you read is an excellent way to keep track of new expressions, words, and grammatical structures. Homemade phrasebooks are also a great way to learn common idioms—expressions whose meaning is not the same as what is literally expressed by the words that make it up (e.g., “He’s driving me up the wall” involves no cars or driving!). When used correctly, idioms can help you sound more native-like. Just be aware that these phrases can be tricky as the meaning or grammar can differ from the norm, and may not make sense out of context. It’s best to memorize them as chunks, rather than trying to break them down. So why not keep a notepad (or your phone) handy to jot down words and phrases that catch your attention? This will help accelerate your learning process, as well as giving you an easy way to retrieve this information when you sit down to write.

Pro-tip! Transition phrases such as, “in addition,” “consequently,” “in other words,” “in conclusion,” etc. are very useful and can help make your writing seem more fluid. Make sure these are included in your phrasebook!

6. Learn how to write in a variety of styles

Learning how to write in a variety of styles is extremely beneficial both for learning vocabulary and developing the ability to write in different registers (i.e., formal vs. casual). After all, texting with your friend is very different from writing a report for school. Writing in different styles can also push you to use different grammatical structures. For example, many novels and stories are written using the past tense, and present dialogue using natural sounding, informal language. On the other hand, a breaking news report may use formal language, and could focus on the present and future tenses. Thus, challenging yourself to practice writing in different styles—from poetry and stories to essays, blog posts, and text messages—will help you expand your overall knowledge of the language and improve your ability to communicate in a wide variety of situations.

7. Edit your writing with a grammar and spelling checker

Another great way to improve your language skills is to edit your own writing using a grammar and spelling checker. Most word processing software have multiple language tools built-in, so this can be as simple as changing the spell checking language of what you are using. This will give you immediate feedback on both spelling and grammatical mistakes! You can also use online tools that can help you revise your grammar. Simply search “grammar check in (insert target language)” and you will usually find a variety of resources (including browser extensions) that can help.

Although technology can be very helpful, it’s important to know that it has limitations. Spell checkers do not always interpret what you are trying to convey correctly (have you ever had a hilarious autocorrect mistake?). Always double-check the suggestions against your own knowledge of the language, using dictionaries or other resources when necessary. This can help you identify mistakes made by the software, and can be a great opportunity to learn new words and grammar.

Pro-tip! When using grammar checking software, try to focus on individual phrases or sentences. Software often has issues correctly interpreting larger chunks of text.

8. Keep it simple

Keeping sentences simple can help you take advantage of what you already know when you write. For instance, if you’re in your first semester of a language class, focus on the basics. Did you include the subject and the verb? Does your sentence need an object? Is the adjective in the correct place? Don’t jump immediately into trying to use more complicated structures or verb tenses you don’t yet know. Instead, save these for when you are further along in your language learning progress. You will master them with time!

One thing to keep in mind: As a beginner writer, you won’t have the same level of expression that you have in your first language. But that’s ok! Find creative ways to express yourself using what you know to make short, clear sentences. Simple coherent sentences are better than incoherent mumbo jumbo, even if they do seem a bit robotic.

How important is writing for improving your language skills?

Writing is very important for improving other language skills, especially when it comes to accuracy. Writing lets you focus on using language correctly and avoiding mistakes because it is more slow paced. The slow pace of writing also lets you take the time you need to fill in the gaps in your knowledge—basically, if you’re missing a word or don’t know a structure, you can look it up or ask someone. This will indirectly improve other aspects of language use as well (e.g., comprehension, speaking). Writing also gives you a physical record of your work, making it easy to ask for and receive feedback, which can help you reassess your knowledge and correct/clarify any gaps. 

What tools can you use to improve your writing skills?

A good dictionary and thesaurus are two tools which can help you improve your writing skills. Dictionaries and thesauruses are instrumental in helping you find and select the best words to use. Beyond these, translators, grammar checkers, and word processors can help you improve your writing as well. Here’s a list of some tools you can check out to help you become a better writer:

Vocabulary/dictionary tools

Wordreference supports about 20 languages, and includes definitions, as well as help with phrases, collocations, and conjugations.

Linguee is both a dictionary and a translator that allows you to search strings of words. It will provide authentic examples using the words, as well as a side by side comparison with an English translation.

Grammar checkers

Reverso.net has a grammar checker and conjugator that supports about 15 languages.

LanguageTool is an app that checks grammar and style in over 20 languages.

For Spanish learners, Spanishchecker not only points out errors, but also explains why they aren’t correct.

Plagly’ s grammar checker can proofread a text in 20+ languages.

Word processors: Google docs supports over 70 languages and Microsoft Word over 50 languages.

Native speaker communities

lang-8.com , mylanguageexchange , and polyglotclub are social networks that can help you connect with native speakers to socialize, ask questions, or request corrections.

What kinds of books should you read to improve your writing skills?

There are many types of books that can help you improve your writing skills. They can range from children’s with simple language and pictures to advanced classics written in the target language. Here are some ideas to get you started!

Find translations of popular books. Popular books translated into your target language are a great choice for improving your writing. Try reading a wide range of books , from children’s stories like “Little Red Riding Hood,” to more complex works like “Hamlet” or “The Odyssey.” I personally find that Harry Potter is an excellent way to learn writing, because the books are very accessible. Even if you haven't read them in English, why not give them a chance in your target language—you will certainly learn lots of new vocabulary you can use in your own stories!

Use bilingual books. Bilingual books can be an excellent resource for developing writers. These books are usually made for children who are raised bilingual, and usually have text in both languages presented side-by-side. They also have tons of pictures, easy vocabulary, and engaging story lines!

Read short stories. There are many compilations of short stories designed for language learners. These books are categorized by level of proficiency, and typically have a glossary, summary, and comprehension questions. You can practice writing by answering the questions or creating your own summary and comparing it to the one given.

Read popular authors in your target language. Reading books by popular authors in your target language is an excellent way to learn about writing, literature, and culture. For example, try Umberto Eco if you’re learning Italian; Victor Hugo if you’re learning French; Dostoevsky if you’re learning Russian; or Haruki Murakami if you’re learning Japanese. These books will most likely have English translations in case you ever get stuck on something.

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International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education

DOI link for International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education

Get Citation

This volume explores the instructional use of creative writing in secondary and post-secondary contexts to enhance students’ language proficiency and expression in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL).

Offering a diverse range of perspectives from scholars and practitioners involved in English language teaching (ELT) globally, International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education tackles foundational questions around why fiction and creative writing have been traditionally omitted from ESL and EFL curricula. By drawing on empirical research and first-hand experience, contributors showcase a range of creative genres including autobiography, scriptwriting, poetry, and e-Portfolios, and provide new insight into the benefits of second language creative writing for learners’ language proficiency, emotional expression, and identity development. The volume makes a unique contribution to the field of second language writing by highlighting the breadth of second language users throughout the world, and foregrounding links between identity, learning, and ESL/EFL writing.

This insightful volume will be of particular interest to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in the fields of ESL/EFL learning, composition studies, and second language acquisition (SLA). Those with a focus on the use of creative writing in classrooms more broadly, will also find the book of interest.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter | 10  pages, introduction, part i | 74  pages, understanding the current place and potential of creative writing in english language instruction, chapter 1 | 21  pages, the shifting significance of creative writing in composition pedagogy, chapter 2 | 13  pages, expressing emotions through creative writing, chapter 3 | 19  pages, emancipatory assignments for english language learning, chapter 4 | 20  pages, reconceptualization of english creative writing instruction in thai higher education, part ii | 104  pages, practicing creative writing in english language education, chapter 5 | 23  pages, fiction writing and second-language identity, chapter 6 | 23  pages, english screenwriting as an alternative medium for language learning in a chinese university efl classroom, chapter 7 | 20  pages, teaching poetic autoethnography to l2 stem students in taiwan, chapter 8 | 19  pages, teaching and assessing second language poetry writing in japan, chapter 9 | 18  pages, assessing creative writing formatively and summatively with e-portfolios, chapter | 7  pages.

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THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CREATIVE WRITING IN EFL CONTEXT FOR STUDENTS' CREATIVITY

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Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education

Anastasiia Riabokrys

The article is devoted to the actual problem of teaching creative writing at the English lessons. The value of writing in the process of teaching English language is revealed. The principles and peculiarities of evaluation of creative writing are analyzed. The strategy of choosing methods in teaching creative writing is identified. The benefits of creative writing for learner and teachers are considered.

faridha azmy

This study aims to analysis creative writing poetry in EFL students when creative writing for EFL students will found a lack in writing process. This study belongs to qualitative research with case study approach. This study belongs to qualitative research with case study approach. According to Bogdan and Taylor (1975) in Moleong (2004: 3) qualitative methods is a procedure that produces descriptive data in the form of words written or spoken of people and behaviors that can be observed. This research taken place in Islamic University of Labuhan Batu. There are one classes registered from students of VII semester. The essay question from this study are 1) get inspired in writing poetry, 2) students lack in writing poetry is think about rhyme. So from this study, the researcher will know what are the problem and will know how to solve the problem in this study. This study will useful for English Department student or EFL students. A. Introduction English is a general language for communication. People can use English in every place of the world. English can contribute for people in communicate and interact. English as an international language, get a special attention in every country in this world. English put in a lesson of school, although English not the first or second language in Indonesia. Students who are studying English called EFL students. EFL is English for foreign language also EFL is the teaching of English to people whose first language is not English. English itself has four skills. They are reading, speaking, writing and listening. EFL students' writing can produce a good writing grammatically. Students also can produce a writing with good level of vocabulary. In the other hand, the importantly is students can gain the writing with critical thinking.

Alief Noor Farida

Writing is often assumed as uneasy skill to either learn or teach. For students, they find it difficult to develop ideas in writing. On the other hand, teachers, many of them, only ready with the materials but confuse with the appropriate ways to teach. This paper intends to describe and discuss a method of teaching writing namely writing workshop to improve students ’ writing skill through travel writing. Writing workshop proposed by Calkins that consists of mini lesson, work time, peer conferring and/or response groups, share sessions, and publication celebration is applied in writing class for methodological purposes. In mini lesson, teacher offers something to the class that is meant to introduce a writing strategy done at the beginning of the workshop. During work time point, students start their new piece of writing. Teacher moves among students conferring with them while checking their works. Peer conferences or response groups provide a forum for students to talk about works...

IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science

Bijay Swain

DergiPark (Istanbul University)

Vidhya Pokhrel

CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HISTORY

Central Asian Studies

In this article we focus on free creative writing activities with the control of the teacher. Because, writing is essentially a creative process. Learning how to write in English is impor¬tant. Creative writing gives learners practice in composing and complements more tra¬ditional approaches. This article de-scribes activities that focus on communi¬cation and self-expression. Learners will be encouraged to write if writing tasks motivate them and keep them interested.

Selamet Jaelani

Abstract The objectives of the research are to examine: (1) whether Content-Based Instruction is more effective than Problem-based learning to teach writing to the EFL Learners; (2) whether the EFL Learners having high creativity have better writing than those having low creativity; and (3) whether there is an interaction between teaching methods and EFL Learners’ creativity in teaching writing.The research method of this research was quasi-experimental research. The techniques of collecting data were creativity test and writing test given to the both classes. The data were analyzed by using Multifactor Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test of 2 x 2 and Tukey test.The result of data analysis showed that: (1) Content-Based Instruction was more effective than Problem-based learning to teach writing (2) the EFL Learners having high creativity have better writing than the EFL Learners having low creativity and (3) there was an interaction between teaching methods and EFL Learners’ creativity in teaching writing. Based on the finding, it can be concluded that Content-Based Instruction was an effective method to teach writing.

Syarifah Aini Pane

This journal discusses the application of poetry writing strategies for creative writing for Indonesian EFL students, but it will be very difficult for students who do not know the language first. But the students can imagine and express themselves through the writing of the poem. This article is very good because the

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• > Journals
• > Language Teaching
• > Volume 37 Issue 1
• > Writing in a foreign language: teaching and learning

Article contents

Writing in a foreign language: teaching and learning.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2004

This article is organised in five parts. The introduction defines the area covered and gives the rationale for a focus on FL writing research particularly in classroom contexts. The second section gives an overview of cognitive and social theoretical frameworks, noting that these have mainly been developed for L1 writing, and drawing attention to recent attempts to build models for FL writing. The third part covers research on process-based instruction, on teacher and peer feedback and on grammar correction. Part four deals with the growing use of computers in the teaching and learning of FL writing, looking particularly at work on word processing, software for teaching and research, at the relationships between network-based language teaching and process-oriented pedagogy and between writing and the development of oral communicative competence. The final part comments on research approaches, on FL writing and second language acquisition, and on post-process theory, concluding with a set of pedagogically-oriented research questions for the future.

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• Volume 37, Issue 1
• Teresa O'Brien (a1)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444804002113

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• Open access
• Published: 06 September 2024

Unlocking the core revision of writing assessment: EFL learner’ emotional transformation from form focus to content orientation

• Yuguo Ke 1 &
• Xiaozhen Zhou 1  

BMC Psychology volume  12 , Article number:  472 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The process of revising writing has provided valuable insights into both learners’ written output and their cognitive processes during revision. Research has acknowledged the emotional dimension of writing revision, yet no studies have delved into models that connect all of these domains. Given the interplay between these domains, it is crucial to explore potential associations between writing revision and writing quality in terms of emotions.

This study aims to shed light on the emotional shifts that occur as learners transition from a focus on form to an emphasis on content, refining fundamental aspects of writing revision, and investigating potential challenges and strategies.

A total of 320 Chinese-speaking learners (188 female and 132 male) participated in weekly writing classes. We used subsequent investigation aimed to probe the specific writing revision practices contributing to both form and content revisions and semi-structured interview from collection, representation, marking, and stimulated recall to elicit participants’ perspectives on various aspects, including the number of writing revisions, recurring errors, emotional processes, efficacy of writing revision, cognition of writing revision, attitudes towards writing revision, and emotional changes.

The findings reveal a positive correlation between writing revision and the quality of writing. EFL learners’ rationale for revising centered on the imperative need to address new structural nuances or incorporate additional elements such as vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. Additionally, form revision garnered significantly lower scores compared to content revision. Finally, EFL learners deduced the form revision governing target content through repeated revisions of the manuscript throughout the time points.

Conclusions

The results indicate that the outcomes of form-focused revision or content-oriented approaches are linked to the quality of writing and contribute to the development of writing skills. Moreover, psychological processes assist English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in enhancing their self-efficacy in language acquisition.

Implications

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by highlighting the importance of understanding the emotional dimensions of writing revision. The practical implications of these findings extend to both learners and educators, offering insights into how to enhance self-efficacy in language learning and teaching.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Writing revision (WR) has uncovered key insights into both learners’ written products and their cognitive processes during revision [ 1 ]. Increasingly, it is thought that studies in language testing suggest that psychologically engaging in writing revision can enhance English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ understanding of form-focused assessment [ 2 , 3 ]. Writing revision has been identified as a significant factor in improving the overall quality of writing [ 1 , 4 ] and and a particular focus has been placed on the quality of writing revision. It is argued that broader investigations into writing revision have highlighted significant enhancements in learners’ form revision, which encompasses superficial aspects such as spelling, vocabulary usage, diction, and grammatical accuracy [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. In line with this theory are findings that independent qualitative inquiries have explored content orientation, which encompasses deeper aspects such as critical thinking, cultural involvement, and the use of representative evidence [ 7 ], as well as learners’ strategies to regulate language in their writing [ 8 ], and challenges encountered during the processing of written corrective feedback, which influence language writing accuracy and cognitive revision [ 9 ].

In the context of emotional aspects of writing processes, emotional dimension of writing revision has become a key target in psychological process of WR [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], yet no studies have delved into models that connect all of these domains. In this regard, it is not hypothesized that given the interplay between these domains, it is crucial to explore potential associations between writing revision and writing quality in terms of emotions. Additionally, as many higher-quality writing manuscripts rely on multiple rounds of WR, it is essential to support learners by identifying their strengths and providing specific assistance in areas where they encounter difficulties in WR. Thus, research on writing revision is deemed important both theoretically and pedagogically to uncover emotional conditions that facilitate learners’ writing improvement, particularly in psychological processes of WR contexts [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. While promising in enhancing learners’ writing, these findings often overlook important factors such as revision patterns, sequences, emotions, and orientations. In the context of WR, enhancing the quality of WR has become a central objective in language output. In this regard, while quantitative studies on writing revision shed light on its potential within language assessment, previous studies offer limited insight into its complexities [ 16 ], including the emotional transformations experienced by learners as they refine their writing [ 6 , 17 , 18 ]. Investigating the interactive dynamics of writing revision, learners’ responses to cognitive revision, and the impact of feedback can enhance writing quality [ 12 , 19 ].

Incorporating emotional considerations into WR is expected to yield significant insights and outcomes by providing a more comprehensive understanding of language learning tailored to individual learner needs. Therefore, we hypothesize that the emotional phase of a longitudinal mixed-methods study can serve as a simultaneous monitor for learners’ WR, aiming to elucidate emotional aspects of writing revision and its impact on enhancing writing quality through sustained engagement in the WR process. Building upon quantitative findings [ 20 ], which demonstrated improvements in four groups compared to controls, particularly emotional changes in form focus and content orientation, this qualitative inquiry aims to deepen understanding. Furthermore, we predict that only through follow-up qualitative inquiries can we grasp how learners engage in WR [ 21 , 22 ] and identify factors interacting with treatment to refine WR precision [ 23 ]. Given that many learners focus on the form revision, ignoring the emotional changes of writing processes, this study aims to illuminate emotional transformations as learners shift from form focus to content orientation, refining core aspects of writing revision, and exploring potential obstacles and strategies encountered during the process.

Theoretical literature

Theoretical backgrounds.

One line of research has delved into the theoretical and emotional transformations brought about by writing revision, addressing questions regarding the timing, manner, and motivation behind writing revision, as well as learners’ attitudes towards it and the psychological shifts they undergo during the process that do not meet the threshold of psychological processes of WR [ 12 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Studies suggest that the more majority of EFL learners primarily focus on superficial aspects of writing revision, as evidenced by [ 24 ]’s exploration into whether learners’ EFL proficiency levels affect their revisions. Also, this investigation was reported to have poorer structural and pragmatic WR than those who considers emotions, revisions, and consolidations during WR. Additionally, past research indicates that EFL learners generally demonstrate weaker WR skills [ 23 ]. Furthermore, previous studies have often concentrated solely on the process of WR itself, significantly overlooking the emotional dimension that establishes form-focused connections triggered by recognizing and processing specific writing outputs. Revision involves refining these connections in response to further writing assessments, while consolidation refers to enhancing the quality of writing revision through repeated retrieval and deeper processing after drafting a manuscript. By integrating [ 26 ]’s computational framework of WR processing with the development of form and content emotions in writing revision [ 27 ], explored whether children and adults employ different strategies to detect and revise superficial elements such as word spelling, erroneous grammatical agreements, diction, and appropriateness of tones. Broadly, research in the general population suggests that children may employ a slower algorithmic procedure while adults utilize a faster automatized one. They also advocate for gathering similar WR to evaluate hypothesis precision and, ultimately, revision skills and principles. Furthermore [ 28 ], proposed the use of a computer-mediated communication (CMC) interface to enable EFL writing learners in classes at two universities to provide each other with anonymous peer feedback on essay-writing assignments responding to selected news stories. Similarly [ 29 ], suggest that the evidence EFL learners include should be connected to their claims. Many learners paraphrased the evidence, added a brief conclusion, or explained generally how the evidence supports their claims (not how this was instantiated in their writing). The psychological factors of WR were significant predictors of teaching argument writing and for designing a WR system that supports learners in successfully revising their essays are discussed [ 30 , 31 ]. theorized language learning experience from a positive psychology (PP) lens. Analytical primacy is given to how various dimensions of the experience contributed to language other than EFL learners’ motivational development.

Empirical studies of EFL writing revision

The critique of recasts as a feedback method highlights several key limitations, particularly regarding their visibility and their potential for ambiguity. As argued by [ 32 ], writers often seek and benefit from more thoughtful commentary, making the appropriation of learners’ writings less effective in this regard. Learners require feedback that empowers them to refine their writing skills and effectively convey their intended message. Furthermore [ 33 ], suggests that learners may conflate longer-form recasts with the original problematic utterances, leading to potential misinterpretations as responses to content rather than as corrective feedback. Although previous research has primarily examined recasts as a form of spoken corrective feedback, positioning them as implicitly negative, a study by [ 34 ] offers a different perspective. This study indicates that recasts, when utilized as a means of error correction, can indeed facilitate improvement in learners’ writing skills. Additionally [ 35 ], delves into the efficacy of two types of interactional feedback: recasts and elicitations, shedding further light on the nuanced dynamics of corrective approaches in language learning contexts. Furthermore, a separate body of research in WR has identified that studies in this area have been guided by two overarching frameworks: EFL writing testing development and EFL writing revision development [ 22 ]. Within testing studies (e.g [ 32 ]), it was found that most indirect WR and content-focused comments were effectively integrated into subsequent or terminal drafts during revisions, although their impact on subsequent writings remained unmeasured. Furthermore, preceding these, longitudinal studies (e.g [ 36 , 37 ]). , found no significant disparity in writing accuracy development in content revision. However, criticisms of their methodological approaches prompted researchers to undertake controlled focused WR studies. These investigations, grounded in cognitive perspectives of writing revision, suggested that targeting singular structures (e.g [ 32 ]). , or two/three structures (e.g [ 29 ]). , could lead to enhanced accuracy in WR [ 28 ]. According to [ 35 ], “learners can internalize and consolidate their explicit knowledge as a result of explicit information provided in WR in form revision.” Despite subsequent conflicting results [ 27 ], the primary critique against focused WR studies pertained to their narrow scope, deviating from typical assessment practices, thereby compromising ecological validity [ 20 ].

In numerous studies on WR, participants generally recognized the emotional significance of self-correction or self-reflection, particularly on both form revision and content improvement [ 31 ], as well as WR itself [ 11 , 22 ]. However, certain studies (e.g [ 17 , 18 ]). , highlighted challenges in interpreting revision assessment. Emotional-driven inquiries delved into the depth of core WR processing, indicating that factors such as the culture of WR coverage, logical levels, and duration of thinking influence the thoroughness of revision. While some studies suggested that WR methods foster superficial revision such as spelling, grammatical structure, diction (form revision) [ 31 , 33 ], others favored core writing revision (content orientation) [ 32 , 34 ]. Subsequent studies on WR effectiveness (e.g [ 11 ]). , emphasized the value of content orientation during WR [ 31 ]. , for instance, demonstrated whether and how feedback, when provided in different assessment modes, affects learners’ text revisions, continuing to be important questions for research [ 38 ]. investigated the extent to which learner differences in receptive and productive vocabulary sizes, as well as differences in their language aptitude (measured by the LLAMA test), mediated the effects of using models as a written corrective feedback tool. Other studies (e.g [ 2 , 3 , 39 ]). , explored the interplay between form revision and content orientation during WR [ 37 ]. explored the ways that dyadic functioning was associated with the functions of reader/writer comments and feedback focus produced during synchronous interactions among dyads of a Korean-U.S. collaborative project and subsequent uptake of feedback in revisions. However, subsequent WR studies, such as those by [ 38 ], mainly reported an exploratory study of Chinese-speaking undergraduate learners’ experiences of receiving and reflecting on online peer feedback for text revision in an EFL writing classroom at a northeastern-Chinese university. Notably, few longitudinal mixed-methods inquiries have delved into emotional transformation from form revision to content orientation to elucidate EFL WR development from EFL learners. A lack of follow-up emotional changes aimed at enhancing writing quality through WR further underscores the need for comprehensive exploration of EFL learners’ utilization of WR in deciphering assessment directives and applying them in subsequent writing assessment. Additionally [ 38 ], concluded that neurophysiological mechanisms, as reflected in modulations of neuronal oscillations, may act as a fundamental basis for bringing together and enriching the fields of language and cognition.

Based on previous findings, we expected that the current emotional phase of a mixed-methods study delves into how second language (EFL) learners enhance and retain their writing revisions, particularly focusing on the emotional transformation from form revision to content orientation. Past research has typically focused on examining writing learning, writing teaching, writing assessment, ignoring the importance of WR for a good writing manuscript. However, this may have cascading effects to elevate the quality of writing by addressing the necessity of writing revision (WR). Additionally, this endeavor builds upon quantitative findings to offer a comprehensive understanding of the significance, standards, methods, and orientations of writing revision. Therefore, the study aims to explore “the intrinsic emotions of, and the factors influencing, the potential of writing revision,” thereby bridging theoretical and pedagogical aspects [ 34 ] [ 40 ]. have underscored the significance of scaffolding EFL learners’ text revision practices through the reception and reflection upon learners’ emotional feedback [ 40 ]. Furthermore [ 41 ], integrating both positive and negative emotions into language learning led to the most significant positive shift in learners’ motivation, anxiety levels, and language proficiency. However, it’s noteworthy that the anticipated impact of psychology on language education frequently surpasses the actual outcomes. There’s often a tendency to overestimate the effectiveness of emerging technologies compared to established methods, without adequately considering the variations in associated pedagogical approaches.

Informed by theoretical frameworks, empirical discussions, and quantitative findings, the study operationalizes its objectives through the following three hypotheses centered on writing revision:

Hypothesis 1: The process of writing revision contributes to the consolidation of writing quality.

Hypothesis 2: The outcomes of form revision or content orientation are associated with writing quality in terms of writing development.

Hypothesis 3: Psychological processes aid EFL learners in improving self-efficacy in language acquisition.

To shed light on these hypotheses, the text initially summarizes quantitative findings primarily related to the accuracy of writing revision.

Participants

A total of 320 learners (188 female and 132 male), all Chinese speakers, participated in weekly writing classes. These participants were novice learners, embarking on their first EFL writing endeavor, similar to the study conducted by Bonilla López et al. (2018). Their ages ranged from 18 to 21 years, with a mean age of 20.3 years. The study aimed to determine whether four groups of EFL learners demonstrated emotional improvement in writing quality, with a specific focus on form revision and content revision. The groups included those engaged in form revision (FR Group, n  = 80), writing revision on content revision (CR Group, n  = 80), multilateral revision (MR Group, n  = 80), and no revision (NF Group, n  = 80). Each student revised an article of 200/250 words within 20 min. To streamline the revision process and avoid overwhelming learners, the study targeted specific revision categories commonly associated with lower-proficiency learners, such as form revision (e.g., tense, voice, word form, prepositions, subject-verb agreement, plurality, articles, pronouns, and possessive adjectives) and content revision (logic, culture, thinking, cognition). We conducted a cross-sectional investigation involving a survey and interviews with the Chinese youth population. To ensure representativeness, we engaged three different schools to gather data. Employing quota sampling, participants were recruited based on specific criteria: being adults (aged 18 and above), proficient in English, and permanent residents of the People’s Republic of China. To minimize biases, we established exclusion criteria pertaining to study participation. All measures were presented in a randomized order, and two attention checks were incorporated into the semi-structured interview. Participants failing to complete the interview, finishing the survey in under five minutes, or not passing the attention checks were excluded from the analysis. Data collection was facilitated through the inputlog software platform and Chaoxing Learning Pass (CLP) within online courses.

The investigation phase

To thoroughly explore the nuanced impact of writing revision conditions on four key revision constructs across three distinct time points, qualitative findings were presented in isolation. This subsequent investigation sought to delve into the specific writing revision practices that influence both form and content revisions from an emotional perspective, drawing on The Social Emotional Assessment (SEA; [ 37 ]). The objective was to comprehend how the implementation of writing revision (WR) influenced writing quality, potentially resulting in core writing revision benefits, as suggested by [ 38 ], which emphasized theoretical frameworks, empirical discussions, and quantitative findings. The inquiry delved into how writing revision influenced the establishment of writing revision rules and standards, as well as the connection between the revision process and the enhancement of writing quality. Each item was evaluated on a three-level scale: 0 = “significant emotional fluctuations,” 1 = “somewhat emotional fluctuations,” and 2 = “no emotional fluctuations,” aligning with the research objectives. Regarding writing revision, the study investigated whether and how revision, guided by writing standards, prompted various types of revisions, encompassing both form and content revisions. Concerning content revision, it explored learners’ ability to internalize the underlying rules of prominent and complex revision categories, enabling them to apply these rules accurately. This inquiry aimed to enrich the conceptual frameworks of EFL writing revision put forth by scholars such as [ 34 ] and [ 39 ]. To obtain comprehensive insights, the study conducted over 5 h of semi-structured interviews with a cohort of 320 participants, generating text-specific explanations derived from individualized revision scripts. The scale exhibited robust reliability and validity, with Cronbach’s α for internal consistency ranging from 0.89 to 0.92 and test-retest reliability coefficients ranging from 0.82 to 0.94 [ 37 ].

Semi-structured interview

After completing writing revisions in Week 8, participants were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews during Week 9. Fifty participants from each group were selected based on the interview protocol outlined below, resulting in a total sample size of N  = 35, consisting of 20 female and 15 male participants. The instruments used included measures of revision attitude, writing revision, and emotional changes [ 40 ]. The interview protocol comprised four stages:

EFL learners were instructed to maintain their revision scripts in a personal folder for reference during revision.

Representation

Interviewees were selected from volunteers, ensuring representation from both high-achieving and low-achieving individuals, participants with varying levels of enthusiasm towards writing revision, both genders, and all groups.

Prior to the interview, interviewees were prompted to review their writing revision scripts and mark segments they wished to discuss in response to interview questions.

Stimulated recall

Interviewees were instructed to bring their writing revision scripts to the interview and encouraged to support their perspectives on each question using cues from their scripts. Additionally, the teacher implemented a grading system, assessing the students’ writings on a scale of 0 to 5, occasionally providing positive feedback such as “good job,” “well done,” or “keep it up.” This grading approach aimed to reassure learners that their efforts were recognized and their progress closely monitored [ 40 ], fostering an understanding that enhancing writing quality in subsequent assignments could lead to higher average scores.

The interview questions aimed to gather participants’ perspectives on various aspects, including the frequency of writing revisions, recurring errors, emotional processes, efficacy and cognition of writing revision, attitudes towards writing revision, and emotional changes. Conducted in Chinese and audio-recorded, the interviews ranged from 3 to 5 min in duration, with an average length of 4 min and 16 s.

Data coding

Grounded theory [ 41 ] was employed for meticulous data coding and analysis, aligning with [ 42 ]’s framework to delve into the underlying emotions. During the open coding phase, broad categories emerged from a comprehensive review of revision transcripts. Drawing from Dornyei’s guiding questions, such as “What is this data illustrating?” and “What emotional shifts are at play here?” pertinent data underwent thorough analysis, leading to the assignment of numerical codes.

Axial coding ensued to establish logical connections between writing quality and the process of revision. This iterative approach unearthed finalized categories, encompassing aspects like the frequency of revisions, revision techniques, metalinguistic practices, and the extrapolation of learned principles beyond writing contexts. Following [ 40 ]’s methodology, selective coding aimed at identifying a central category with the requisite abstraction to encapsulate other findings. This was accomplished through the development of memos and in-depth exploration of emerging themes, further substantiated during axial coding. As the ensuing discussion will elucidate, the core writing revision, identified as the central category, suggests that EFL learners actively engage in discerning underlying revisions, encompassing both structural and content-oriented aspects, which are subsequently applied during the core writing revision process.

Data analysis

The research primarily focused on EFL learners enrolled in various grades at a university in Zhejiang Province. The research team of the National Social Science Fund of China (A Study on the Validity Argument Model of L2 Writing Assessment Empowered by Digital Humanities) and the 12 teachers teaching writing courses conducted the study. These learners were categorized based on placement tests, error type, and frequency of Writing Revision (WR) [ 31 ]. Each term, learners attended 36 forty-minute periods, advancing to the next level upon achieving a passing score of 60%.

Form revision was assessed using the percentage of revisions and the number of revisions at four time points: Week 1 (pre-revision), Week 5 (while-revision 1), Week 9 (while-revision 2), and Week 13 (delayed post-revision). Results from the two-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that only the groups engaged in content-focused revision demonstrated significant improvements in form revision from Time 1 to Time 2, which were sustained at Time 3, with mostly medium to large effect sizes. Specifically, the CR group exhibited a substantial increase in writing quality at Time 2 (Cohen’s d = 0.91) and a moderate increase at Time 3 (Cohen’s d = 0.82), along with a decrease in MR at both Time 2 (Cohen’s d = 0.90) and Time 3 (Cohen’s d = 0.58). Similarly, the MR group displayed improvements in the percentage of revisions at Time 2 (Cohen’s d = 0.46) and Time 3 (Cohen’s d = 0.70), coupled with a reduction in the number of revisions at both Time 2 (Cohen’s d = 0.64) and Time 3 (Cohen’s d = 0.60). In contrast, the CR group saw a non-significant decrease in the percentage of revisions at both time points, although their NF declined significantly at Time 3 (Cohen’s d = 0.22). The NF group showed no significant changes at either time point. Regarding other writing revision constructs, only the CR and MR groups exhibited significant improvements in content and form revision.

To mitigate the impact of outliers on the dataset, the authors employed Robust Principal Component Analysis (RPCA), a method that decomposes multivariate data into low-rank and sparse components. The process entailed several steps:

Data preprocessing

The authors standardized or normalized each variable in the writing revision scripts dataset, ensuring a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. This step aimed to prevent variables with disparate scales from skewing the analysis.

RPCA application

Utilizing an RPCA algorithm, the authors decomposed the multivariate dataset into its low-rank and sparse components. One commonly used algorithm is the Robust PCA algorithm introduced by Candes et al. (2009), which minimizes the sum of the nuclear norm of the low-rank component and the l1 norm of the sparse component.

Outlier identification

Following decomposition, the authors focused on the sparse component derived from investigation and interviews. This component signifies outliers or noise within the data. Data points with significant coefficients in the sparse component are indicative of outliers.

Outlier visualization

The authors visually represented the identified outliers by plotting their coefficients in the sparse component. Scatter plots or histograms were employed to visualize the distribution of outlier coefficients, aiding in the identification of patterns or clusters.

Outlier handling

Depending on the analysis’s context and objectives, the authors addressed the identified outliers by removing them from the dataset, treating them separately in the analysis, or employing data transformation techniques to minimize their impact.

The findings encapsulate and cite representative perspectives from participants, primarily focusing on their emotional transformation from a form-focused approach to a content-oriented one during the core Writing Revision (WR). Pseudonyms were utilized to ensure the anonymity of participants.

Writing revision: learning and pedagogical self-reflection

Research Question 1 (RQ1) investigated how the process of writing revision contributes to enhancing writing quality. When queried about the adequacy of their writing efforts, the majority advocated for additional revision time, emphasizing the necessity of at least 5 extra minutes. EFL learners’ rationale for revising centered on the imperative need to address new structural nuances or incorporate additional elements such as vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation (i.e., NR, FR, CR, MR, are 11.23, 15.12, 20.16, 24.23 respectively). In terms of time points, the mean scores at different stages are 12.15, 17.24, and 24.11. They emphasized the significance of receiving revision traces on newly surfaced errors, perpetuating a cycle of trial and refinement, employing freshly acquired linguistic tools, grappling with novel linguistic hurdles, exploring uncharted thematic territories, or simply craving more comprehensive revision sessions. An emergent outcome of their initial forays into writing, regardless of the extent of revision, was the cultivation of burgeoning confidence in their writing prowess. This was palpable in their ability to surmount the apprehension and tension associated with articulating ideas in English on paper, particularly in the absence of external support within the classroom setting.

The outcomes of form revision or content orientation focus on writing revision concerning the development of writing revision

Form revision and content orientation emerged as critical factors in the progression of EFL learners towards achieving writing quality (RQ2). EFL learners acknowledged the pivotal role of writing revision in enhancing the quality of their writing, a stage often overlooked but one they deemed essential. Without engaging in individualized writing revision points, they recognized that their attention to detail would have been lacking. All revisions, encompassing both form revision and content orientation, are delineated in Table  1 . The emotional journey associated with writing revisions for both form and content is vividly portrayed. Notably, form revision (i.e., 6.23, 7.14, 7.82, 6.45, 7.56) garnered significantly lower scores compared to content revision (i.e., 7.21, 7.26, 6.25, 6.75, 6.27). Furthermore, they demonstrated fewer advancements in deeper revisions, such as intra-sentential processing (6.25), inter-sentential processing (6.75), and cultural processing (6.27), indicating a collective deficiency among participants in central revision compared to peripheral revision.

Emotional changes influencing on EFL learners undergo when engaging in form or content revision

The insights gleaned from EFL learners highlight the profound emotional journey they experience during the process of revising both form and content in their writing (RQ3). This journey typically begins with a positive realization of the importance of revision as a whole (e.g., points 246, 265, 152, and 43), but gradually evolves to encompass recognition of areas needing improvement (e.g., points 74, 55, 168, and 277). Many learners also observed that repeated revision exercises helped them to identify and focus on critical elements (e.g., points 236, 241, 172, and 61), thereby aiding in the successful correction and mastery of these aspects. Furthermore, the true significance of various revision points often only becomes clear after thorough internalization (e.g., points 137, 177, 103, and 162) and subsequent externalization (e.g., points 183, 143, 217, and 158).

Positive effects of WR: EFL learners’ revision decision-making

RQ3 delved into the potential emotional fluctuations experienced by EFL learners as they engaged in the process of revising their writing manuscripts, as well as the strategies they employed during revision. One notable emotional aspect identified was the prevalence of recurring errors, which were brought to light both within and beyond the learners’ awareness. These errors, such as the misuse of ‘s’ (as in the third person plural or possessive apostrophe), ‘a’ (as an article), and ‘-ed’ (as a past-tense marker), were consistently highlighted across the four groups. Despite some learners considering these errors as trivial or minor, they persisted throughout revisions. One learner suggested that the apparent insignificance of these errors might stem from their small size, rendering them less conspicuous. EFL learners recognized that such persistent errors often resulted from lapses in attention or an excessive focus on form rather than content. An important aspect of writing revision was identified as the mitigation of these recurring errors. Some learners noted that regular exposure to revision heightened their awareness of these common mistakes, leading them to consciously make efforts to avoid them in their writing.

The correlations between writing revision and writing quality are depicted in Table  2 . It becomes evident from the table that both Content Revision (CR) and Mechanical Revision (MR) exhibit associations with writing quality, as measured by Pearson correlations, with medium and small effect sizes, respectively (i.e., 0.81 for CR and 0.74 for MR). However, the traits of the WR score were found to have no significant relationship with Narrative Revision (NR) (0.12), Fluency Revision (FR) (0.42), and Mechanical Revision (MR) (0.64).

The Pearson Correlations have enabled a deeper exploration of the associations between different types of writing revision, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms guiding decision-making regarding the need for revision and how to execute it. For example, Tomas (CR) expressed skepticism regarding the positive impact of EFL learners on “the supporting evidence,” prompting her to experiment with cohesive devices in cultural and representative contexts “to ultimately gauge their persuasiveness.” Tim (CR) elaborated on this process, stating, “A mark indicating the error would serve as a sufficient reminder for me. If left uncorrected, I might become uncertain about its accuracy.” .

Emotional transformation from form to content to consolidate writing revision: resolving ambiguity embedded in WR

The study also investigated how EFL learners went through emotional transformation from form to content to consolidate writing revision (see Fig.  1 ). When asked about their ability to generalize the emotional transformation from the four time points, a significant number of EFL learners highlighted their emotional changes regarding content orientation. They aimed to deduce the form revision governing target content through repeated revisions of the manuscript throughout the time points, showing an ascending trend (CR: 33, 51, 91, 126) and a descending trend (FR: 162, 147, 109, 76).

Emotional transformations through different time points during writing revision

Drawing from the emotional evolution experienced during writing revision, EFL learners can be seen as the pivotal influence shaping the outcome of revised drafts. This conceptualization was substantiated by the experiences of EFL learners in the study, which remained consistent across various stages [ 39 , 43 ]. For instance, Alice, an EFL learner, noted, “In my revised writings, I found myself readjusting my approach to writing revision, placing greater emphasis on content revision throughout the four rounds of revisions.“.

The current study sought to examine the association between emotional aspects of WR and the quality of writing. We hypothesized that the process of writing revision contributes to the consolidation of writing quality and the outcomes of form revision or content orientation are associated with writing quality concerning the development of writing development. We found that when asked about their ability to generalize the emotional transformation from the four time points, a significant number of EFL learners highlighted their emotional changes regarding content orientation. The following section discusses the three hypothesis respectively.

Hypothesis 1: The process of writing revision contributes to the consolidation of writing quality

The outcomes of learners’ writing revisions provide some support for possible the manner in which the process of writing revision contributes to the enhancement of writing quality among EFL learners, facilitated by the consolidation of their emotional engagement with writing revision. Table  3 illustrates various orientation outcomes of writing revision, presenting an interactive model of EFL writing revision for developmental purposes. In particular, a significant finding, particularly pertinent for lower-proficiency EFL learners, is the importance of continuous writing revision in enhancing the quality of their writing manuscripts, fostering ongoing revision reformulation towards revision design, and fostering the consolidation of writing skills for EFL development. Likewise, as depicted in Table  3 , the process initiates with learners composing writing samples in four groups (NR), the accuracy of which interacts with the frequency of revisions, represented by various revision traces within the writing revision domain. The second pattern entails learners engaging in writing revision, wherein they refine writing scripts based on various patterns (FR), serving as “the necessary sculpting that refines EFL learners’ cognitive processing and self-efficacy in writing” [ 1 ]. Learners in FR may have fewer opportunities to develop psychological changes during writing processes in CR. This finding aligns with [ 27 ]’s WR-oriented perspective, emphasizing the iterative nature of writing revision for triggering reflection. The third pattern encompasses the Mechanical Revision (MR) domain, involving a multi-step revision process that encapsulates EFL learners’ emotional processes during writing revision. This includes how they revise their writing manuscripts with a balanced distribution of form revision and content orientation; their affective involvement during writing revision, reflecting their attitudes toward the process; and their cognitive engagement in improvement, depicting how they navigate the improvement process step by step during writing revision [ 24 ].

When warranted, writing revision begins with EFL learners revising specific points in the writing manuscript and corresponding writing traces simultaneously. They may employ either a “local writing revision processing strategy,” where they iteratively analyze the commented/revised segments of their writing manuscript and the writing revision, or a “deep writing revision processing strategy,” where they review the entire text in this manner [ 42 ]. This prompts gap noticing (pattern 1 in Shintani et al.’s model) and, if comprehensible (pattern 2), engages learners with the targeted writing revision emotionally and cognitively. However, non-targeted revising patterns may go unnoticed (CR).

Crucially, when EFL learners are acquainted with the four patterns of writing revision, their emotional involvement may transition from form revision to content revision [ 24 ], mirroring pattern 4 of the writing revision model, denoting progressive writing revision formation with emotional engagement. This longitudinal approach to writing revision entails iterative revising aimed at grasping a writing revision point and its underlying revising standard, offering pedagogical opportunities beyond mechanically substituting writing segments with revisions. Similarly [ 26 ], observed that EFL learners’ emotional growth during writing revision bolstered their focus on content, seeking the essence of writing revision, and employing metacognitive and motivational regulation strategies to enhance writing quality.

Another aspect of emotional engagement for lower-level learners may emerge after several iterations at different time points: arriving at a decision-making stage to address a deeper understanding of writing revision (e.g., thought processes, logic, cultural nuances), which are significant yet not overly complex. While most EFL learners are cognizant of associated form revisions, they may inaccurately apply them due to lapses in attention during the writing revision process. As such, Persistent writing revision signals the necessity for decision-making/actions against prominent errors, a process that could be facilitated by content-revision notes informing EFL learners of revision cues.

Conversely, emotional engagement with writing revision “necessitates EFL learners to employ cognitive and metacognitive strategies to assess the impact of writing revision on their writing and monitor their revisions” [ 5 ]. This involves the fundamental processing of writing revision, wherein learners endeavor to align with the revised standard, followed by writing evaluation, i.e., applying self-efficacy principles in the subsequent writing revision phase, indicative of a deeper content-oriented strategy, facilitated by the extended processing time during writing revision [ 17 ]. The iterative nature of the writing revision process allows EFL learners to repeatedly scrutinize their attempted revisions, discard inaccurately formulated ones, devise new ones (Time 4), construct sentences based on the outcomes of the three preceding stages, and then revise them through writing revision. Through the iterations of this writing revision process, most prominent errors, as well as some complex ones, tend to diminish, contributing to the consolidation of the targeted writing manuscript.

Hypothesis 2: The outcomes of form revision or content orientation are associated with writing quality concerning the development of writing development

RQ2 investigated the ramifications of prioritizing form revision or content orientation during the process of writing revision, particularly in relation to the advancement of writing skills. A detailed scrutiny of writing revision practices revealed that despite efforts to engage with form revision or content orientation, learners frequently encountered challenges in fully grasping the underlying principles of writing revision. Certain form revisions, notably those involving functional variability (e.g., articles like “the”), lower frequency occurrences (e.g., omission of “s” in compound adjectives), or specific rule applications (e.g., “affect on” vs. “effect on”), proved especially intricate for some learners. This variability necessitated the application of different writing revision rules within form revision, posing difficulties for learners with limited metalinguistic awareness, even when employing content orientation across various contexts of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning.

Furthermore, some form revisions, characterized by the manifestation of a single function (e.g., affixation) in writing revision processes, could not be easily mastered through a limited number of revisions or a single revision pattern (e.g., Content Revision or Form Revision). For instance, achieving proficiency in distinguishing between “success” and “successful” may not immediately translate into accuracy in spelling checks, word additions, deletions, complexity adjustments, or grammar checks (e.g., “hard” instead of “hardly”) elsewhere due to the multifaceted nature of morphological processes involving suffixation. This deficiency in form revision impeded the transferability of learning across different contexts, contrasting with more straightforward form revisions such as possessive adjectives.

Scholars like [ 33 ] argue that engaging with form is indispensable for EFL learners to develop revision awareness, necessitating numerous trial-and-error attempts before consolidating writing quality. However, even with extended opportunities for revision, some learners may struggle to accurately revise towards certain complex structures, a finding corroborated by [ 44 ]’s meta-analysis. Engaging EFL learners in multiple writing revision modes, as advocated by [ 10 ], can facilitate successful processing of writing revision focused on content orientation. Moreover, employing additional student-friendly revision techniques such as error labeling and metalinguistic explanations can assist in navigating complex writing revision tasks and mitigate the risk of learners merely replicating form revisions without comprehending the underlying principles of writing revision.

In their endeavor to refine their writing skills, EFL learners often concentrate on developing a deeper understanding of the writing revision (WR) process. When initial revision attempts fail to yield desired improvements, learners may resort to repeated iterations of revising content, hoping to glean insights into effective revision strategies. This iterative approach, elucidated by [ 35 ], entails building upon previous revisions and engaging in self-reflection to inform subsequent revisions. By consistently reflecting on their writing and revising both form and content, learners significantly enhance the quality of their manuscripts.

Engagement in sustained WR fosters emotional and cognitive involvement with the revision process, prompting learners to actively consider new phases of writing. The differentiation between revising form and content, as underscored by [ 12 , 34 ], holds significant importance. EFL learners immersed in WR processes don’t merely superficially revise their writing to meet testing requirements; instead, they delve into the core principles of WR, striving to comprehend underlying concepts and apply them autonomously. This concept of “writing revision for acquisition,” proposed by [ 35 ], underscores the iterative nature of WR. Over time, consistent engagement in WR builds upon previous reflections, potentially strengthening learners’ self-efficacy in writing revision, as observed in [ 18 ]’s research. This underscores the potential of prolonged, content-driven WR.

Contrary to the assertion by [ 27 ] regarding the inefficacy of WR in promoting deep processing of target writing, our findings indicate that learners deeply engage with WR. These findings are supported statistically by the presentation of numerous text-specific examples illustrating learners’ comprehension of WR complexity. Throughout the WR process, learners frequently read and re-read the entire writing segment under scrutiny, aiming to gain deeper insights for independently enhancing the quality of their writing. This finding aligns with the work of [ 24 ], suggesting that while WR may prompt a restructuring of writing, continuous testing and refining of iterative improvements enhance emotional engagement with the WR process. Therefore, to ascertain the association of these effects with greater certainty, future research should delve into causal mechanisms with more longitudinal data.

Hypothesis 3: Psychological processes help EFL learners improve the self-efficacy in language acquisition

RQ3 delves into the emotional transitions experienced by EFL learners during form or content revision in their language development journey. Figure  2 illustrates the iterative process EFL learners undergo when prompted to self-correct their writing regularly. The emotional shifts reveal that lower-level EFL learners may detect linguistic errors during self-revision, consistent with the findings of [ 12 , 17 ], indicating successful amendments when learners possess sufficient understanding of identified errors. Furthermore, we found a spectrum of positive psychological experiences among EFL learners during writing, including enjoyment, satisfaction, and excitement, which motivate sustained language-learning efforts. These findings offer support for previous research, such as [ 26 ], which underscores the role of positive psychological states in broadening attention and driving action, serving as potent motivational forces [ 30 , 32 ]. However, few studies have examined the nuanced impact of negative psychological states on EFL learners’ motivation. While anxiety and burnout can diminish enthusiasm and reduce engagement with writing activities, as suggested by recent literature (e.g [ 30 , 34 , 35 ]). , , their effects on motivation are multifaceted. Previous research has primarily focused on examining writing quality from revision, but the effective utilization of external psychological factors, such as self-revision, may be largely ignored, especially when addressing errors that necessitate form revision.

Emotional attitudes towards writing revision

Regarding the present findings on limited linguistic proficiency among learners, this outcome contrasts with the findings of [ 26 ], as learners may struggle with revisions due to frustration or fear of making errors, potentially introducing new errors. Learners express minimal confidence in successful yet unverified self-revision, inhibiting learning due to uncertainty and avoidance regarding the accuracy of their revisions [ 30 ]. Additionally, these findings bolster self-efficacy among EFL learners in error identification, reflecting positive, negative, significant, and insignificant trends in content-oriented form revision, fostering either confidence or fear of risk-taking during writing. Moreover, these results align with prior research linking writing revision efforts to writing quality, as shown in Table  2 .

Regarding the significance of addressing writing revision alongside broader emotional transformations, as depicted in Fig.  1 , this study found a novel finding fraught with complex psychological dynamics. Despite lower proficiency, the pedagogical outcomes of EFL learners’ engagement in the writing revision process during the writing phase yield marginal improvements, diverging from past findings [ 38 ], suggesting that despite ongoing psychological changes and metacognitive processes during revision attempts, enhancements in writing quality remain elusive. To our knowledge, the current study is the first to examine the association between psychological processes of writing revision and quality of writing, and as such, these results offer novel insights into the relations between these two variables.

Exploring the impact of content revision on writing quality through the lens of emotional transformation has significant implications for language teaching and assessment. Firstly, this study can facilitate a novel approach to writing assessment for educators and teachers by considering the emotional processes inherent in language learning. By dynamically observing learners’ psychological changes during writing revision, it assists in understanding learners’ internal emotional needs and identifying sources of subtle learning anxiety, thus improving teacher-learner interaction. Secondly, in the context of language learning, it is crucial to prioritize understanding learners’ psychological states, especially in ESL (English as a Second Language) contexts, and the psychological shifts associated with language testing, rather than solely focusing on superficial measures of performance. Thirdly, by emphasizing content focus, this study offers a perceptual pathway for simultaneously examining the methodologies used to analyze internal and external factors influencing the effectiveness of language learning and teaching. Fourthly, this study aids in assessing language learning both quantitatively and qualitatively, enabling simultaneous observation and cognitive bootstrapping, which facilitates teachers in adjusting their teaching practices effectively. Fifthly, evaluating learners’ emotional changes is valuable for gaining a deeper understanding of their conceptualization process during language learning, which is crucial for accurately observing learners’ progress. Therefore, this research opens a new avenue for exploring EFL perspectives in terms of emotional considerations and provides valuable insights for enhancing language instruction and practice.

Limitations and future studies

The current study examined the emotional evolution of 320 EFL learners engaged in writing revision, specifically transitioning from form-focused revisions to content-oriented ones, over a sixteen-week period. The primary aim was to enhance the quality of writing through fundamental revisions. However, it’s important to note a limitation in the experiment, namely the exclusion of comprehensive writing revision, which ideally should encompass various aspects such as content, vocabulary, and organization [ 45 ]. Theoretically, a comprehensive approach to EFL writing revision should integrate these facets to provide a holistic view of EFL development and enhance self-efficacy in writing quality, departing from established models of EFL development (for further discussion, refer to [ 35 ] for an in-depth exploration of the relationship between writing revision and writing quality).

[ 31 ]’s model suggests that writing revision involves cognitive and affective processes leading to form-focused revisions, distinct from content-oriented ones. The writing revision process might require simultaneous adjustments, especially if future studies investigate proceduralization across different proficiency levels and writing revision conditions, such as those involving multiple rewriting, as seen in the studies by [ 27 ] and [ 20 ]. It’s conceivable that the transition from form-focused revisions to content-oriented ones could occur more rapidly for higher-proficiency learners unless additional complex writing revisions are introduced. Conversely, the writing revision process might resemble the patterns observed in the current study if lower-proficiency learners undergo writing revision over an extended period.

Methodologically, future mixed-methods studies should strive for complementarity, exploring various layers of the writing revision process in EFL writing, alongside triangulation. Regarding core writing revision, an incremental approach may be beneficial, gradually shifting focus to deeper patterns (e.g., paraphrasing; coherence between form revisions and content orientation) once specific patterns of writing revision are identified, as demonstrated in studies such as [ 10 , 46 ] and [ 23 ], promoting a more ecologically valid approach to writing revision. In terms of the writing revision process, future studies could investigate strategy training by instructing learners to utilize diverse learning materials and draw from previous experiences for autonomous, self-initiated revisions.

By eliciting the perspectives of EFL learners on the emotional implications of WR, spanning from form-focused revisions to content-oriented ones, the present study sheds light on how the process of writing revision contributes to the enhancement of writing quality. As the number of writing revisions increases, there arises a need for an expanded scope of writing revision tailored to the proficiency levels of EFL learners. The cyclical approach to writing revision proposed in this study draws heavily on current perspectives in writing learning and teaching [ 18 , 33 ], which provide cognitive insights into the transition from form-focused revisions to content-oriented ones. However, the WR process also highlights the writing-specific processes of EFL development, which differ from those of writing output. A notable manifestation of this disparity in WR lies in how EFL learners navigate between form-focused revisions and content-oriented ones. In this context, EFL learners consider their emotional responses when undertaking form or content revisions, gradually broadening their repertoire of writing forms or content and engaging in self-reflection on WR principles through longitudinal revisions. Future empirical studies should explore additional quantitative aspects of WR, such as cultural factors, representative evidence, critical thinking, and the impact of writing assessment beyond specific written revisions. Such studies can contribute to the development of a comprehensive theory of second language writing, informed by the concurrent processes of writing revision.

Data availability

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. All research data can be open-shared free in Dataverse ( https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi%3A10.7910%2FDVN%2F31UMTY&version=DRAFT ).

Abbreviations

• Writing revision

English as a foreign language

English as a second language

The Social Emotional Assessment

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to Yang Zhou for providing technical support for the manuscript.

National Social Science Fund of China (A Study on the Validity Argument Model of L2 Writing Assessment Empowered by Digital Humanities, 23BYY162) provided the necessary funds for the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.

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Ke, Y., Zhou, X. Unlocking the core revision of writing assessment: EFL learner’ emotional transformation from form focus to content orientation. BMC Psychol 12 , 472 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01977-2

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