Keynote Developing Writer Identity: Self-representation in L2 English Text more

Sat, Dec 18, 11:00-12:00 Asia/Tokyo

Writers as agents project their identity in their texts in a variety of ways. The most direct way is by referring to themselves explicitly in their texts (e.g., “I/we,” “the author/researcher”). In this presentation, we share our recent research on self-representation in English and Japanese argumentation essays. By comparing the essays written by novice, intermediate, and advanced L1/L2 writers, we found a complex picture. Our analysis reveals that development of self-representation by L2 writers moves in a gradual, non-linear way from personal to more objective, nuanced, and implicit. The presentation focuses on changing uses of first-person pronouns (“I/my/we”) and opinion qualifiers (e.g., “I think”) in L2 English essays by Japanese writers, as compared with essays on the same topics by North American L1 English writers. The findings suggest strategies Japanese writers at various levels can adopt to represent themselves more confidently and appropriately in their L2 English writing.