Written Academic ELF: Developing Writing Concepts in the New Normal

• Published in: English Teaching Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 57 - 79
• Main Authors: Huh, Myung-Hye, Lee, Inhwan, Kim, Junghwa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea Association of Teachers of English 30.12.2020; 한국영어교육학회
• Subjects: Academic Language; College Students; Concept Formation; English (Second Language); Essays; Feedback (Response); Foreign Countries; Language Role; Language Teachers; Males; Native Speakers; Paragraph Composition; Persuasive Discourse; Private Colleges; Rhetorical Theory; Scientific Concepts; Text Structure; Writing Instruction; Writing Strategies; Written Language; Young Adults; 영어와문학; South Korea (Seoul)
• ISSN: 1017-7108; 2671-9312
• DOI: 10.15858/engtea.75.4.202012.57

In this study, we propose a link between L2 rhetorical concepts and ELF as a way of the analysis of the development of a single concept, of an EFL college student's rhetorical knowledge. Using Vygotskian sociocultural theory as analytical lenses, we examine whether L2 rhetoric can be mastered and internalized as a culturally neutral concept, i.e., the formulaic knowledge of L2 writing the student has learned from the NEST through instruction; and how the student's L1 rhetorical concept and ELF performance together mediate his L2 concept development in his academic writing. The data consist of a student's personal narratives, text-based interviews and academic writings. Rather than the mastery of a single variety of English, he produced texts that reflect the flexibility and variability inherent in written ELF. From ELF perspectives, this study offers an opportunity of establishing a new normal, in which rhetorical conventions of texts should be viewed as constructs that are dynamic, emergent, and therefore negotiable and adaptable.