| L2 writing strategies, facilitated by sociocultural artifacts such as social interaction, collaborative activities, and the role of a knowledgeable teacher, are explored. The multiple case study reconceptualized L2 writing strategies used by ESL students, and the mediational role of the teacher, from Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective to facilitate students' writing development. A sample of 12 ESL students and two ESL instructors from an English language school participated in the study. Researcher-adapted interviews, class observations, and think-aloud protocols were used to answer the research questions: (1) what sociocultural writing strategies do ESL students use when working collaboratively on an assigned writing task? (2) What mediational role does the instructor use to activate the ESL students' writing development within their ZPD? And (3) how do ESL students perceive sociocultural L2 writing strategies? Thematic data analysis was used to identify common and divergent themes. The study's findings revealed the following common themes related to L2 writing strategies: (a) brainstorming, (b) interaction outside of the group/class, (c) use of background/personal knowledge, (d) use of dictionaries, (e) use of expressions, (f) use of internet searches, (g) use of reading (books and magazines), and (h) use of spell-check. Two divergent themes also emerged, (a) gaining teacher feedback and (b) the use of writing samples. Primary themes related to the mediating role of the teacher were: (a) activating prior knowledge, (b) brainstorming, (c) smart boards, and (d) word banks. Additional themes included: (a) positive reactions to collaboration/ group work and (b) students kept their own opinions in the group, yet benefited from group work. All main themes revealed secondary themes as well. Recommendations such as (1) training teachers to apply L2 writing strategies from the socio-cognitive perspective to raise students' awareness regarding the mediation of strategies and resources in L2 writing classes, and (2), exposing ESL learners to a variety of strategies and tools available in writing classes. Future mixed research methods were recommended to provide understanding and to strengthen the findings and interpretations. Further research is suggested to investigate the differences in L2 writing strategies used by high academic level students and low academic level students. |
