Changes in Japanese students' English writing ability and motivation to write in English : A longitudinal study from a sociocultural perspective

本研究调查了12名英美专业的日本学生的英语写作能力在四年的大学生活中是如何发展的。在观察期内，研究的重点从动机对二语写作发展的影响转移到相关认知、情感和环境变量之间的关系发展。因此，这项研究考察了二语水平、一语写作能力和动机之间的相互关系的变化，以及对一语/二语写作的看法，以及参与者的社会文化经历，包括他们的留学经历。研究结果表明：(1)平均而言，四年来受试者的二语写作能力没有显著提高，而一语写作能力却显著下降；(2)SA经历的长短与他们二语水平的提高显著相关；(3)二语写作能力的提高与二语水平的提高显著相关；(4)受试者的一语和二语写作能力在四年中显著相关；(5)尽管受试者对好的二语写作的看法在四年中发生了变化，但他们对二语写作的看法并不影响他们的二语写作。

This study investigated how the English(L2) writing ability of 12 Japanese(L1) students majoring in British and American studies developed over their four-year university life. Over the observation period, the focus shifted from the effects of motivation on the participants' L2 writing development to relational developments among relevant cognitive, affective, and environmental variables. The study thus examined changes in the interrelationships linking L2 proficiency, L1 writing ability and motivation, and perceptions of L1/L2 writing as well as the participants' sociocultural experiences, including their study-abroad(SA) experiences. The results revealed that :(1) on average the participants' L2 writing ability did not significantly improve over the four years while their L1 writing ability significantly deteriorated ;(2) the length of their SA experiences significantly correlated with improvements in their L2 proficiency but not in their L1 or L2 writing ability ;(3) gains in their L2 writing ability significantly correlated with gains in their L2 proficiency ;(4) the participants' L1 and L2 writing ability were significantly correlated throughout the four years ; and(5) although the participants' perceptions of "good L2 writing" changed over the four years, their perceptions of L1 writing did not influence their L2 writing.