Exploring challenges and supports for writing in Standard Australian English for Australian secondary English as an Additional Language/Dialect Students: A scoping study

Lisbeth Kitson; Minglin Li

doi:10.21153/tesol2023vol32no1art1803

Authors

Lisbeth Kitson Cavendish Road State High School, Brisbane, Australia
Minglin Li School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4919-4489

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2023vol32no1art1803

Abstract

The overall purpose of this study was to explore the identified language challenges and supports for writing in Standard Australian English for secondary English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) students. An initial review of the academic literature revealed that this research topic has not been extensively researched within the Australian context. For this reason, this research project involved a systematic scoping study of the academic literature, based on the framework of Arksey and O’Malley (2005). This scoping study mapped the current research, and through a content analysis, synthesised the findings. In total, Level 1 searching of five digital data bases revealed 77 potential studies based on key word searches of titles and abstracts, published from 2010-2022. Further reading and searching refined these to 35 articles that addressed the research question. These articles revealed a range of themes that either challenged or supported the writing process for Australian EAL/D secondary students. These related to aspects at the policy, contextual and classroom level that shaped teachers’ knowledge practice, beliefs and skills in relation to teaching and learning, planning and assessing writing in a range of secondary areas. Gaps in the literature and a way forward, as well as implications for the future are discussed.

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Author Biographies

Lisbeth Kitson, Cavendish Road State High School, Brisbane, Australia

Lisbeth is an experienced educator, having taught in a range of contexts from primary to university, as well as secondary. Her main areas of expertise are in relation to English and literacy, in particular multiliteracies, including the literacy demands of curriculum areas. Lisbeth is an experienced researcher and author, with many publications in these areas. More recently, catering to the needs of EAL/D students has become an important focus, with Lisbeth furthering her studies by completing a Master of TESOL. She currently works as an EAL/D Coordinator, EAL/D teacher and English teacher at Cavendish Road State High School, Brisbane, Australia.
Minglin Li, School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University

Minglin is a Senior Lecturer in TESOL / Educational Linguistics in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Griffith University, Australia. Since 1987, Minglin has been a TESOL teacher trainer and educator, and has taught English language and linguistics, second language acquisition, and is currently teaching second language teaching theories and approaches, second language curriculum design, and research methodologies in TESOL. Minglin is a researcher in the field of Educational Linguistics. Her main areas of expertise include language education policy and planning, TESOL pedagogy, TESOL teacher education, TESOL curriculum study, and studies on learners’ dictionary.