Writing assessment of Japanese as a Second Language: Pursuit of good writing

这项特别的研究的目的是回答这个问题：什么是好的日语写作作为第二语言？本研究的最终目的是从更广泛的角度探讨影响日语写作质量的因素，但本研究的目的是阐明日语教师对日语写作质量的认知。在本研究中，我们首先从评分者差异的角度探讨了写作评价分歧的根源(Tanaka和Nagaka，2009)。接下来，我们对排名进行了研究。在这项研究中，10名经验丰富的日本教师使用整体方案对两种类型的作文(六篇说明文和六篇议论文)分别进行了排名。这些作文是由日本大学的亚裔学生撰写的计时即兴写作测试，事先经过研究人员评估，排在前六名。结果表明：1)日语作文不像英语作文那样具有明显的“作文风格”；因此，作文评分者缺乏强有力的作文评价标准。2)日本的一些论文，即使没有完全完成任务，或者缺乏主旨和组织意识的一致性，但由于在支持观点或整篇文章中感受到了学术精神(学术氛围)，所以排名很高。在日语中，某些汉字的使用有助于“学术”。在英语散文中，任务完成、主旨和良好的组织被认为是评估的先决条件，而不是“学术”。这项研究证实了在日语教育工作者中建立写作评估的共识的必要性，包括评分规则和评分程序。

The purpose of this particular study is to answer the question : What is good writing in Japanese as a second language? The ultimate purpose of this research is to explore the elements that make good writing in Japanese from a broad perspective, but the aim of this particular study is to clarify how good writing in Japanese as a second language is perceived by Japanese teachers. In this study, we first investigated the source of disagreements on writing assessment from the perspective of rater variation (Tanaka and Nagasaka, 2009). Next, we conducted research on ranking. For this research, two types of essays (six expository and six argumentative) were ranked separately by 10 experienced Japanese teachers using holistic schemes. Written as timed impromptu writing tests by mostly Asian students at Japanese universities, these essays had been assessed in advance by researchers and ranked as the top six. In order to clarify the decisive factors in ranking these essays, raters' think-aloud protocols were recorded and analyzed along with the questionnaire.The results indicated : 1) Japanese writing does not have a clear "Essay Style" as English essays do ; therefore, raters lack strong criteria for assessing essays. 2) Some Japanese essays, even though they did not fulfill the task completely, or lacked consistency of main idea or awareness of organization, were ranked high because "academism" (academic atmosphere) was perceived in the supporting ideas or throughout the essay. In Japanese, the use of certain "Kanji" (Chinese characters) words contributes to "academism."In English essays, task fulfillment, main idea, and good organization are considered as preconditions for assessment regardless of "academism." The present study confirmed the necessity for the establishment of common understanding, including scoring rubrics and scoring procedures, for writing assessment among Japanese language educators.