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Article published In:
The Assessment of Functional Adequacy in Language Performance: Special issue of the Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning 2:1 (2022)
Edited by Folkert Kuiken and Ineke Vedder
[TASK 2:1] 2022
► pp. 115–136

Exploring the pedagogical use of the rating scale for functional adequacy in L1 writing instruction

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This study aims to investigate whether a short training, during which a group of native Italian university students used the scale for Functional Adequacy (FA) developed by Kuiken and Vedder (2017) to assess texts written by their peers and their own texts, lead them to improve their L1 writing skills. The participants were assigned to an experimental (N = 15) and a control group (N = 15). A pre-test / treatment / post-test design was adopted. Results showed that the participants in the experimental condition benefited from the instructional treatment, but the gains they had in comparison to the control group were not statistically significant.

Keywords: functional adequacy (FA), rating scale, L1 writing instruction, motivation letter, L1 Italian
Article outline
  • Background
    • University students’ L1 writing skills
    • Applicability of the FA rating scale for L1
  • Aims and research questions
  • Method
    • Design and participants
    • The writing tasks
    • The instructional treatment
    • The rating procedure
    • Data analysis
  • Results
  • Discussion
    • Research question 1
    • Research question 2
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 20 June 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/task.21011.nuz
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Wei, Ran & Xiaoyan Zhao
2024. Effects of task-based language teaching on functional adequacy in L2 writing. Assessing Writing 60 ► pp. 100838 ff. DOI logo
Kuiken, Folkert & Ineke Vedder
2022. Chapter 14. Speaking. In Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research Methods [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 3], ► pp. 329 ff. DOI logo

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