Writer’s Use of Lexical Retrieval Strategies in the L2 Writing Process of EFL Students

Abstract

Although productive skills such as writing is being continually emphasized in the area of English teaching, studies on the writing process of students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) have been overlooked in the Korean context. Also, there is scarcity of studies that systematically examine the process of writing with respect to performance-based lexical (PBL) problems, which require the use of strategies for writers to retrieve lexical knowledge to produce target words. As such, this study investigates the L2 writing process by categorizing the types of retrieval strategies, and the PBL problems which trigger the use of strategies when writers try to retrieve the best word for their target meaning. The strategies used to solve the different types of PBL problems indicated that it is a cluster of strategies rather than an independent strategy that leads to effective strategy use. To obtain data on the retrieval strategies for PBL problems, 12 Korean university students were asked to think-aloud while writing in English with word processors. The findings of the study contribute to model building of the L2 writing process regarding lexical aspects.