INVESTIGATING ESL STUDENTS’ WRITING STRATEGIES: A CORPUS-BASED MOVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The goal of this study is to investigate how Reciprocal Teaching Strategies (RTS) of Language Learning Strategies (LLS), proposed by Palincsar and Brown (1984), develops the writing performance of ESL students in Malaysia. A total number of 50 male and female ESL students studying in a selected college in Malaysia has been purposively selected. The participants were divided into 2 groups; a control group and an experimental group. However, the participants in the control group did not receive any treatment. This study using a mixed method is divided into three steps: pre-test, intervention, and post-test. On the pre-test, the subjects are given a written assignment followed by a series of related reading passages during the intervention and a post-test at the end. The students’ writing development is analyzed by using the computer-assisted corpus analysis (CACA) approach as proposed by Author 2 (2014). The RTS method enabled the researcher to highlight the rhetorical moves frequently used by students in their written texts. The findings of this study indicated that the method of reciprocal teaching strategies has positive effects on ESL students’ writing skill.