Composing in Japanese as a First Language and English as a Foreign Language: a Study of Narrative Writing

Abstract

There have been several studies in second-language composing processes; however, little research has been done to investigate potential interrelationships between first- and second/foreign language composing behaviors. This article reports a study conducted to explore these interrelationships—specifically between composing in Japanese as a first language and composing in English as a foreign language. The research questions posited were: Are good writers in Japanese also good writers in English? and what role does learners' English proficiency play in their composing in English? Thirty-nine Japanese college students were asked to write two narrative stories based on two series of pictures, one in Japanese and the other in English The subjects' English and Japanese compositions were analyzed both quantitatively (the number of sentences, words, and idea units) and qualitatively (holistic scoring). It was found that the subjects' Japanese and English writing behaviors were, by and large, positively correlated. However, there seemed to be a threshold English proficiency level: the students above this level composed similarly in Japanese and English, whereas some of the students below the level had considerably more problems in composing in English than in Japanese.