The purpose of this study was to explore the process of L2 writing for stance. A beginner to intermediate level student in an undergraduate seminar was observed and narrative inquiry was used. Weaker L2 writers' struggle with stance formation and the role of L1 will be discussed.
Though stance and voice are understood to be crucial elements of writing, there is still little research on how to develop them, or how they are developed. This paper explores one Japanese university student's bilingual theses in an undergraduate setting.
The purpose of this study was to explore the process of writing and stance formation for beginner to intermediate level L2 writers. An undergraduate student in a foreign language education seminar participated in the study. Her proficiency in English was around CEFR B1–B2 levels, and it was her first time writing a research paper. The participant was observed in their seminar and outside-when she consulted the supervisor. The interactions and discussions were examined.
The student was writing her thesis bilingually using both L1 and L2, and met with the instructor to shape her research into a coherent piece of writing. The dialogic process of learning, negotiating, and forming a stance and expressing it in both L1 and L2 texts are detailed.
The participants struggled at different stages of writing-reading, stance formation, stance expression in L1 and L2, and non-stance related writing processes.
The outcome of the observation and written products are used to draw implications about weaker L2 writers' formation of stance in L2 writing, and the role L1 plays in discussions and negotiations of stance and writing processes for L2 writers.
