A Study Of The Frequency Effect In Reading-to-write Tasks On Senior Students’ Textual Borrowing And Writing Achievements

Frequency effect,which is generally defined as the number of times a specific word,structure,or other defined element of language draws the attention of a learner(Ellis 2002),has been considered a significant factor affecting second language acquisition,and has always been taken into account in foreign language teaching.Previous studies concerning frequency have confirmed the positive role of frequency on students’ second language learning,especially in writing,the weakest link in students’ English learning.On the other hand,textual borrowing has been increasingly deemed as an acceptable use of source text for novices to apply in their writing rather than an expression of low language competence.Since many studies have been conducted to prove the effectiveness of textual borrowing in improving L2 writing,the present study aims at investigating the influence of frequency effect on textual borrowing by using reading-to-write tasks.Additionally,the effect of the repeated tasks on students’ writing achievements is explored in the present study.To better solve the existed writing problems among high school students,this present study aims to examine how frequency effect in the reading-to-write task affects students’ textual borrowing in their argumentative writing.The study firstly explored the frequency effect in reading-to-write tasks upon students’ textual borrowing from three aspects,namely amount,type and function.And secondly not only the changes happening during the three tasks were analyzed,but also the differences between high score and low score group were demonstrated.Finally,the role of frequency effect in improving students’ writing achievement were discussed.By using Repeated Measures ANOVA and Multiple Pairwise Comparison of SPSS.The major findings were summarized as follows:1)With the increasing of frequency in reading-to-write task,the amounts of borrowed units and borrowed words are increasing distinctly.Additionally,the frequency of reading-to-write task also has a positive effect on students’ borrowing types.However,the influence of frequency effect on the function of textual borrowing is not that apparent.2)For high score students,the study shows that they borrowed more material from the original text than low score students according to the borrowed amounts.As for borrowed types,high score students are more likely to use the type of both modification and reformulation.Regarding the function of text borrowing,the high achievers use the demonstration function the most,and they use the counterargument function more to prove their points compared to low achievers.For low score students,they originally borrowed less source text,whereas their improvements appearing in borrowed amounts are more obvious.In terms of borrowed types,they use the type of copy most.Regarding the function of textual borrowing,demonstration is the most frequently used function while counterarguments are rare to be seen.3)Students’ writing achievements get a slight and steady improvement with the frequency of reading-to-write task increasing,which indicates that there is a significant difference among three tasks.In general,frequency in reading-to-write tasks does play a positive role in students’ writing achievements whether in the length of content,structure of writing or language of article.The results have confirmed the positive effect of frequency on second language learners’ reading and writing ability,especially their writing.