Cultural Diversity and Its Implications for Second Language Writing

ING AND INDEXING For a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed, please visit www.ondiversity. com/journals/collection. RESEARCH NETWORK MEMBERSHIP Authors in The International Journal of Diversity in Education are members of the Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations Research Network or a thematically related Research Network. Members receive access to journal content. To find out more, visit www.ondiversity. com/about/become-a-member. SUBSCRIPTIONS The International Journal of Diversity in Education is available in electronic and print formats. Subscribe to gain access to content from the current year and the entire backlist. Contact us at support@cgnetworks.org. ORDERING Single articles and issues are available from the journal bookstore at www.ijde. cgpublisher.com. HYBRID OPEN ACCESS The International Journal of Diversity in Education is Hybrid Open Access, meaning authors can choose to make their articles open access. This allows their work to reach an even wider audience, broadening the dissemination of their research. To find out more, please visit www.ondiversity. com/journals/hybrid-open-access. DISCLAIMER The authors, editors, and publisher will not accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made in this publication. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. The International Journal of Diversity in Education Volume 17, Issue 1, 2017, www.ondiversity. com © Common Ground Research Networks, Silvia Corral-Robles, Daniel Madrid, Gracia González-Gijón, All Rights Reserved Permissions: support@cgnetworks.org ISSN: 2327-0020 (Print), ISSN: 2327-2163 (Online) Cultural Diversity and Its Implications for Second Language Writing Silvia Corral-Robles, University of Granada, Spain Daniel Madrid, University of Granada, Spain Gracia González-Gijón, University of Granada, Spain Abstract: Today the importance of culture on the process of language learning is widely recognized, namely that learning to communicate in a second language always implies understanding the existing interrelation between culture and language. Many different aspects of language are influenced by cultural factors. Nonetheless, research on the influence of cultural diversity on writing in a second language has been problematic. To address this concern about the differences between L1 and L2 rhetorical paradigms in written discourse, we focus on a comparative study based on contentand language-integrated learning (CLIL) or content-based instruction (CBI) and English as a foreign language (EFL), Spanish groups of upper-secondary students and their competence in written English. To this end, this study aims toward a descriptive analysis based on contrastive rhetoric. In order to address this sociolinguistic component, it has been determined that the most appropriate methodology is content analysis based on a T-unit analysis, relying on Hunt’s proposition along with an interlinguistic (L1 interferences) error analysis. Results show that the written texts of both groups reflect Spanish-writing patterns and cultural conventions and that interlinguistic error analysis can help us to predict students’ linguistic and pragmatic difficulties in written expression, given that their L1 may cause negative interference. Today the importance of culture on the process of language learning is widely recognized, namely that learning to communicate in a second language always implies understanding the existing interrelation between culture and language. Many different aspects of language are influenced by cultural factors. Nonetheless, research on the influence of cultural diversity on writing in a second language has been problematic. To address this concern about the differences between L1 and L2 rhetorical paradigms in written discourse, we focus on a comparative study based on contentand language-integrated learning (CLIL) or content-based instruction (CBI) and English as a foreign language (EFL), Spanish groups of upper-secondary students and their competence in written English. To this end, this study aims toward a descriptive analysis based on contrastive rhetoric. In order to address this sociolinguistic component, it has been determined that the most appropriate methodology is content analysis based on a T-unit analysis, relying on Hunt’s proposition along with an interlinguistic (L1 interferences) error analysis. Results show that the written texts of both groups reflect Spanish-writing patterns and cultural conventions and that interlinguistic error analysis can help us to predict students’ linguistic and pragmatic difficulties in written expression, given that their L1 may cause negative interference.