Research papers are hard for students to write and hard for teachers to teach even when they are written in the students' native language. Preparing a research paper involves many steps, each of which may be confusing and time consuming. This paper begins by discussing the unique problems and difficulties, but also the advantages, associated with teaching English research writing in an Asian context. The authors describe an approach to teaching Korean university students to develop English research papers which requires groups of students to work through each stage of the process as they carry out an actual research project based on research questions and questionnaires developed in class through carefully planned assignments and activities. The final result is a class presentation and a written, referenced research paper. While students report that they find such a project challenging, they also consider it very useful, interesting, and motivating.
 

"Numerous Challenges" in Completing a Research Essay (Spack, 1990, p. 171)

• To find a topic that engages your interest
• To formulate a question that your readers will answer
• To decide which research materials you will need
• To evaluate the ideas and information in different sources
• To synthesize (combine and integrate) ideas and information
• To examine various sides to an issue
• To establish a position in relation to the topic

Advantages of Teaching Research Writing

• Usually isn't taught in Korean universities, but is a useful "real-world" skill (e.g., for graduate school, business)
• Gives students a chance to get more involved with a relevant topic than with shorter assignments; can be interesting and motivating
• Encourages development of useful organization skills; students learn to plan and work through a challenging process
• Can focus on many individual writing skills (e.g., summarizing, paraphrasing), but students have to put the parts together for the finished product
• Emphasizes the reading/writing connection; may help students learn to understand published research better (e.g., textbooks, newspapers and magazines) and to read more critically
• Requires students to get involved with English texts outside of the classroom
• Students tend to produce more than they thought possible; a true "sense of accomplishment"

Advantages of Collaborative Writing

• "Through collaborative group production, students experience valuable opportunities to improve their ability to read and write because the ongoing community orientation of this approach enables them to draw upon the strengths and resources of their peers while sorting through their own growing knowledge of L2 reading and writing."  (Hirvela, 1999, p. 12)
• "If we want to ensure that our ESL writing classes prepare students for their life outside the classroom, we must give them opportunities to experience collaborative writing." (Murray, 1992, p. 100)
• "Whether the context is EFL, ESL, or teacher training, collaborative learning strategies can be applied to help language learners make more effective transitions to real-world settings, where they will draw upon their experiences and skills to communicate, negotiate, build consensus, cooperate, and learn with others." (Wilhelm, 1999, p. 18)

References

Brightwell, G. (1998). Writing up research: Using an on-line course to make classroom teaching more learner-centered. ThaiTESOL Conference Proceedings 1998, 3-4.

Caposella, T.-L. (1991). Students as sociolinguists: Getting real research from freshman writers. College Composition and Communication, 42(1), 75-79.

Cornwell, S., & McKay, T. (1998). Making the transition from writing short essays to long research papers. The Language Teacher Online, 22(4). Retrieved September 4, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/98/apr/cornwell.html.

Crowe, C., & Peterson, K. (1995). Classroom research: Helping Asian students succeed in writing courses. Teaching English in the Two-year College, 22(1), 30-37.

Gregg, J. Y. (1993). Communication and culture: A reading-writing text. (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Hirvela, A. (1999). Collaborative writing instruction and communities of readers and writers. TESOL Journal, 8(2), 7-12.

Murray, D. E. (1992). Collaborative learning as literary event: Implications for ESL instruction. In D. Nunan (Ed.), Collaborative language learning and teaching (pp. 100-117). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Silva, T. (1993). Toward an understanding of the distinct nature of L2 writing: The ESL research and its implications. TESOL Quarterly, 27(4), 657-677.

Spack, R. (1990). Guidelines: A cross-cultural reading/writing text. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Spack, R. (1999). Guidelines: A cross-cultural reading/writing text. Cambridge: Cambridge Unversity Press.

Thein, M. M. (1999). Facilitating student research. ThaiTESOL Conference Proceedings 1999, 56-57.

Wilhelm, K. H. (1999). Collaborative dos and don'ts. TESOL Journal, 8(2), 14-19.
 
 

Useful World Wide Web Resources

• A Brief Guide to Informal Survey Research for Introductory CompositionStudents

<http://omni.cc.purdue.edu/%7Epmatsuda/english/resource/survey.html>
 
• Daily Grammar Mailing List

<http://www.dailygrammar.com/>
 
• Eleven Rules of Writing

<http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/>
 
• Garbl's Writing Resources Online

<http://pw1.netcom.com/~garbl1/>
 
• A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on MLA Documentation

<http://cctc.commnet.edu/mla.htm>
 
• A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on Styles Recommended by the APA

<http://cctc.commnet.edu/apa/apa_index.htm>
 
• Indispensable Writing Resources

<http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/writing.html>
 
• Ohio University Writing Resources for English Language Learners

<http://www.tcom.ohiou.edu/OU_Language/english/writing.html>
 
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab

<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/>
 
• Using the Internet for Research (FAQs)

<http://www.purefiction.com/pages/res1.htm>
 
• Writing and Research: On-line Resources

<http://www.clet.ait.ac.th/EL21OPEN.HTM>

Susan Oak
Ewha Woman's University, General English Program
11-1 Daehyun-Dong, Seodaemun-Ku, Seoul, 120-750, Korea
susanoak@hotmail.com
 

Rodney E. Tyson
Daejin University, English Department
Pocheon, Kyeonggi, 487-711, Korea
rtyson@road.daejin.ac.kr
http://english.daejin.ac.kr/~rtyson/