Cover not available
Part of
Understanding L2 Proficiency: Theoretical and meta-analytic investigations
Edited by Eun Hee Jeon and Yo In'nami
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 13] 2022
► pp. 159–211

Chapter 6
L2 writing and its external correlates

A meta-analysis

ORCID logo | Gifu City Women’s University
ORCID logo | Chuo University
ORCID logo | Teikyo University of Science

The present meta-analysis examined the overall average correlation between second/foreign language (L2) writing performance and each of 11 key predictor variables frequently investigated in the research domain, and compared the relative importance of those variables. A series of moderator analyses were also carried out to examine the effects of age, L2 proficiency, first language (L1) and L2 distance, learning context, and measurement characteristics for six high-evidence correlates (L2 grammar, L2 vocabulary, L2 reading, L2 speaking, L1 writing, and motivational constructs). By doing so, we examined various L2 proficiency models, writing models, and hypotheses, particularly the core-periphery model proposed by Hulstijn (2015). To this end, a total of 103 retrieved studies contributed 377 effect sizes based on 112,475 independent participants. The results showed that L2 reading and speaking achievement had strong average correlations with L2 writing performance, whereas L1 writing performance had a medium correlation with it. L2 linguistic knowledge (grammar, vocabulary, transcription, decoding) had more medium to strong effects on L2 writing performance than language-general cognitive skills and motivational constructs, which had only weak effects. The effects of metacognitive knowledge were trivial and insignificant. L2 proficiency, age, and certain measurement characteristics were found to be significant moderators for certain components.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background to the meta-analysis
    • 2.1Review of high-evidence correlates
      • 2.1.1L2 grammar
      • 2.1.2L2 vocabulary
      • 2.1.3L2 reading
      • 2.1.4L2 speaking
      • 2.1.5L1 writing
      • 2.1.6Motivational constructs
    • 2.2Review of low-evidence correlates
      • 2.2.1L2 transcription
      • 2.2.2L2 decoding
      • 2.2.3Language aptitude
      • 2.2.4Working memory
      • 2.2.5Metacognitive knowledge
    • 2.3Review of moderator variables
  • 3.Research questions for the meta-analysis
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Literature search and inclusion criteria
    • 4.2Acceptable measures of L2 writing performance and external correlates
    • 4.3Coding the primary studies
    • 4.4Research synthesis
  • 5.Results
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1High-evidence correlates
      • 6.1.1L2 grammar knowledge
      • 6.1.2L2 vocabulary knowledge
      • 6.1.3L2 reading
      • 6.1.4L2 speaking
      • 6.1.5L1 writing
      • 6.1.6Motivational constructs
    • 6.2Low-evidence correlates
      • 6.2.1L2 transcription
      • 6.2.2L2 decoding
      • 6.2.3Language aptitude
      • 6.2.4Working memory
      • 6.2.5Metacognitive knowledge
  • 7.Conclusion
  • References
  • Appendix
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 4 August 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.13.06koj
References
Alderson, J. C.
(1984) Reading in a foreign language: A reading problem or a language problem? In J. C. Alderson & A. H. Urquhart (Eds.), Reading in a foreign language (pp. 1–24). Longman.Google Scholar
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S.
(1996) Language testing in practice: Designing and developing useful language tests. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Baddeley, A. D.
(1986) Working memory. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
(2007) Working memory, thought, and action. Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A.
(1986) Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M.
(1987) The psychology of written composition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Bulté, B., & Housen, A.
(2014) Conceptualizing and measuring short-term changes in L2 writing complexity. Journal of Second Language Writing, 26 , 42–65. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Canale, M., & Swain, M.
(1980) Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1 (1), 1–47. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carroll, J. B.
(1972) Fundamental considerations in testing for English language proficiency of foreign students. In H. B. Allen & R. N. Campbell (Eds.), Teaching English as a second language: A book of readings (pp. 313–320). McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
(1981) Twenty-five years of research on foreign language aptitude. In K. C. Diller (Ed.), Individual differences and universals in language learning aptitude (pp. 119–154). Newbury House.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. M.
(1959) The Modern Language Aptitude Test. Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Carson, J. E., & Kuehn, P. A.
(1992) Evidence of transfer and loss in developing second language writers. Language Learning, 42 (2), 157–182. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Christensen, C. A.
(2004) Relationship between orthographic-motor integration and computer use for the production of creative and well-structured text. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74 (4), 551–564. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cohen, A. D., & Brooks-Carson, A.
(2001) Research on direct versus translated writing: Students’ strategies and their results. The Modern Language Journal, 85 (2), 169–188. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Csapó, B., & Nikolov, M.
(2009) The cognitive contribution to the development of proficiency in a foreign language. Learning and Individual Differences, 19 (2), 209–218. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cumming, A.
(1989) Writing expertise and second-language proficiency. Language learning, 39 (1), 81–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J., & Swain, M.
(2016) Bilingualism in education: Aspects of theory, research and practice. Routledge.Google Scholar
De Jong, N. H., Steinel, M. P., Florijn, A. F., Schoonen, R., & Hulstijn, J. H.
(2012) Facets of speaking proficiency. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34 (1), 5–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dörnyei, Z.
(2000) Motivation in action: Towards a process-oriented conceptualisation of student motivation. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70 (4), 519–538. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2003) Attitudes, orientations and motivations in language learning: Advances in theory, research and applications. Language Learning, 53 (S1), 3–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Farsani, M. A., Beikmohammadi, M., & Mohebbi, A.
(2014) Self-regulated learning, goal-oriented learning, and academic writing performance of undergraduate Iranian EFL learners. TESL-EJ, 18 (2), 1–19.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, J., & Shanahan, T.
(2000) Reading and writing relations and their development. Educational Psychologist, 35 (1), 39–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Flahive, D. E., & Snow, B. G.
(1980) Measures of syntactic complexity in evaluating ESL compositions. In J. W. Oiler & K. Perkins (Eds.), Research and language testing (pp. 171–176). Newbury House.Google Scholar
Grabe, W., & Kaplan, R. B.
(1996) Theory and practice of writing: An applied linguistic perspective. Longman.Google Scholar
Graham, S.
(2006) Writing. In P. Alexander & P. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 457–477). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Harrison, G. L., Goegan, L. D., Jalbert, R., McManus, K., Sinclair, K., & Spurling, J.
(2016) Predictors of spelling and writing skills in first- and second-language learners. Reading and Writing, 29 (1), 69–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hayes, J. R.
(1996) A new framework for understanding cognition and affect in writing. In C. M. Levy & S. Ransdell (Eds.), The science of writing: Theories, methods, individual differences and applications (pp. 1–27). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
(2012) Modeling and remodeling writing. Written Communication, 29 (3), 369–388. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hayes, J. R., & Flower, L. S.
(1980) Identifying the organization of writing processes. In L. W. Gregg & E. R. Steinberg (Eds.), Cognitive processes in writing (pp. 3–30). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Hirose, K.
(2003) Comparing L1 and L2 organizational patterns in the argumentative writing of Japanese EFL students. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12 (2), 181–209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hirose, K., & Sasaki, M.
(1994) Explanatory variables for Japanese students’ expository writing in English: An exploratory study. Journal of Second Language Writing, 3 (3), 203–229. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hirvela, A., & Belcher, D.
(2016) Reading/writing and speaking/writing connections: The advantages of multimodal pedagogy. In R. M. Manchón & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 587–612). Walter de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jak, S.
(2015) Meta-analytic structural equation modelling. Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jeon, E.-H., & Yamashita, Y.
(2014) L2 reading comprehension and its correlates: A meta-analysis. Language Learning, 64 (1), 160–212. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jones, D. A., & Christensen, C. A.
(1999) Relationship between automaticity in handwriting and students’ ability to generate written text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91 (1), 1–6. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Juel, C.
(1988) Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80 (4), 437–447. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kamimura, T.
(1996) Composing in Japanese as a first language and English as a foreign language: A study of narrative writing. RELC journal, 27 (1), 47–69. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kellogg, R. T.
(1996) A model of working memory in writing. In C. M. Levy & S. Ransdell (Eds.), The science of writing: Theories, methods, individual differences and applications (pp. 57–71). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Koda, K.
(2005) Insights into second language reading: A cross-linguistic approach. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koda, K., & Yamashita, J.
(2019) Reading to learn in a foreign language: An integrated approach to foreign language instruction and assessment. Routledge.Google Scholar
Kormos, J.
(2012) The role of individual differences in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21 (4), 390–403. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kyle, K., & Crossley, S.
(2016) The relationship between lexical sophistication and independent and source-based writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 34 (1), 12–24. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B.
(1998) The development of passive and active vocabulary in a second language: same or different? Applied Linguistics, 19 (2), 255–271. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lee, S. Y.
(2005) Facilitating and inhibiting factors in English as a foreign language writing performance: A model testing with structural equation modeling. Language Learning, 55 (2), 335–374. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leki, I., Cumming, A., & Silva, T.
(2008) A synthesis of research on second language writing in English. Routledge.Google Scholar
Levelt, W. J. M.
(1989) Speaking: Form intention to articulation. The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Li, S.
(2016) The construct validity of language aptitude: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38 (4), 801–842. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
MacArthur, C. A., & Graham, S.
(2016) Writing research from a cognitive perspective. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (pp. 24–40). The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Manchón, R. M.
(2001) Trends in the conceptualizations of second language composing strategies: A critical analysis. International Journal of English Studies, 1 (2), 47–70.Google Scholar
Manchón, R. M., & Roca de Larios, J.
(2007) On the temporal nature of planning in L1 and L2 composing. Language Learning, 57 (4), 549–593. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C.
(2003) Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language Learning, 53 (1), 123–163. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Melby-Lervåg, M., & Lervåg, A.
(2011) Cross-linguistic transfer of oral language, decoding, phonological awareness and reading comprehension: A meta-analysis of the correlational evidence. Journal of Research in Reading, 34 (1), 114–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Murphy, P. K., & Alexander, P. A.
(2000) A motivated exploration of motivation terminology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25 (1), 3–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nation, P.
(2013) Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nicolas-Conesa, F., Roca de Larios, J. R., & Coyle, Y.
(2014) Development of EFL students’ mental models of writing and their effects on performance. Journal of Second Language Writing, 24 , 1–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L.
(2000) Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50 (3), 417–528. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oh, E., Lee, C. M., & Moon, Y. I.
(2015) The contributions of planning, L2 linguistic knowledge and individual differences to L2 writing. The Journal of Asia TEFL 12 (2), 45–85.Google Scholar
Olive, T.
(2004) Working memory in writing: Empirical evidence from the dual-task technique. European Psychologist, 9 (1), 32–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012) Working memory in writing. In V. W. Berninger (Ed.), Past, present, and future contributions of cognitive writing research to cognitive psychology (pp. 485–503). Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Pennington, M. C., & So, S.
(1993) Comparing writing process and product across two languages: A study of 6 Singaporean university student writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 2 (1), 41–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pimsleur, P.
(1966) Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L.
(2014) How big is “big”? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64 (4), 878–912. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Purpura, J. E.
(2004) Assessing grammar. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Read, J.
(2000) Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roca de Larios, J., Manchón, R., Murphy, L., & Marín, J.
(2008) The foreign language writer’s strategic behaviour in the allocation of time to writing processes. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17 (1), 30–47. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roca de Larios, J., Marín, J., & Murphy, L.
(2001) A temporal analysis of formulation processes in L1 and L2 writing. Language Learning, 51 (3), 497–538. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roca de Larios, J., Nicolas-Conesa, F., & Coyle, Y.
(2016) Focus on writers: Processes and strategies. In R. M. Manchon & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 267–286). Walter de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, R.
(1979) The “file drawer problem” and tolerance for null results. Psychological Bulletin, 86 (3), 638–641. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sarkhoush, H.
(2013) Relationship among Iranian EFL learners’ self-efficacy in writing, attitude towards writing, writing apprehension and writing performance. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4 (5), 1126–1132. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, M.
(2009) Changes in English as a foreign language students’ writing over 3.5 years: A sociocognitive account. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), Writing in foreign language contexts: Learning, teaching, and research (pp. 49–76). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, M., & Hirose, K.
(1996) Explanatory variables for EFL students’ expository writing. Language learning, 46 (1), 137–168. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N.
(2010) Researching vocabulary: A vocabulary research manual. Palgrave MacMillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schoonen, R.
(2019) Are reading and writing building on the same skills? The relationship between reading and writing in L1 and EFL. Reading and Writing, 32 (3), 511–535. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schoonen, R., Snellings, P., Stevenson, M., & Van Gelderen, A.
(2009) Towards a blueprint of the foreign language writer: The linguistic and cognitive demands of foreign language writing. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), Writing in foreign language contexts: Learning, teaching, and research (pp. 77–101). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schoonen, R., Van Gelderen, A., De Glopper, K., Hulstijn, J., Simis, A., Snellings, P., & Stevenson, M.
(2003) First language and second language writing: The role of linguistic knowledge, speed of processing, and metacognitive knowledge. Language Learning, 53 (1), 165–202. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schoonen, R., Van Gelderen, A., Stoel, R. D., Hulstijn, J., & De Glopper, K.
(2011) Modeling the development of L1 and EFL writing proficiency of secondary school students. Language learning, 61 (1), 31–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Service, E.
(1992) Phonology, working memory, and foreign-language learning. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 45 (1), 21–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Service, E., & Kohonen, V.
(1995) Is the relation between phonological memory and foreign language learning accounted for by vocabulary acquisition? Applied Psycholinguistics, 16 (2), 155–172. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shanahan, T.
(2016) Relationships between reading and writing development. In C. A. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 194–207). The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Sparks, R. L., Humbach, N., Patton, J., & Ganschow, L.
(2011) Subcomponents of second-language aptitude and second-language proficiency. The Modern Language Journal, 95 (2), 253–273. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R. L., Patton, J., Ganschow, L., & Humbach, N.
(2009) Long-term relationships among early first language skills, second language aptitude, second language affect, and later second language proficiency. Applied Psycholinguistics, 30 (4), 725–755. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2012) Do L1 reading achievement and L1 print exposure contribute to the prediction of L2 proficiency? Language Learning, 62 (2), 473–505. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Speciale, G., Ellis, N. C., & Bywater, T.
(2004) Phonological sequence learning and short-term store capacity determine second language vocabulary acquisition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25 (2), 293–321. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, M., Schoonen, R., & De Glopper, K.
(2006) Revising in two languages: A multi-dimensional comparison of online writing revisions in L1 and FL. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15 (3), 201–233. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stoller, F. L.
(2004) Content-based instruction: Perspectives on curriculum planning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24 , 261–283. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ushioda, E., & Dörnyei, Z.
(2012) Motivation. In S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 396–409). Routledge.Google Scholar
Vanderberg, R., & Swanson, H. L.
(2007) Which components of· working memory are important in the writing process? Reading and Writing, 20 (7), 721–752. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Viechtbauer, W.
(2010) Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package. Journal of Statistical Software, 36 (3), 1–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weigle, S. C.
(2002) Assessing Writing. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wesche, M., & Paribakht, T. S.
(1996) Assessing L2 vocabulary knowledge: Depth versus breadth. Canadian Modern Language Review, 53 (1), 13–40. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Whalen, K., & Ménard, N.
(1995) L1 and L2 writers’ strategic and linguistic knowledge: A model of multiple-level discourse processing. Language Learning, 45 (3), 381–418. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, B. J., & Risemberg, R.
(1997) Becoming a self-regulated writer: A social cognitive perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 22 (1), 73–101. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Mavrou, Irini & Javier Chao
2023. What Does Linguistic Distance Predict When It Comes to L2 Writing of Adult Immigrant Learners of Spanish?. Written Communication 40:3 ► pp. 943 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.