First and Second Language Use During Planning Processes

Abstract

This chapter analyzes language planning processes undertaken by student writers when producing an academic text in English as L2. While the use of first versus second language in L2 writing has been investigated principally in relation to cognitive factors, more recently this language choice has been analyzed as the outcome of institutional and social setting factors, identifiable as part of a writer’s social writing network. This network assists students in their process of acquiring academic discourse. Additional factors that influence this process is the writer’s social motivation and the identity s/he wishes to project. Since acquiring and producing disciplinary language is a means of projecting a number of valued academic images important to the student’s academic network, it is worth inquiring whether there is a correspondence between the writer’s use of disciplinary language, the identity the writer wishes to project, the composition of his/her academic network and writer ’s use of LI vs. L2 during the activity of planning an academic paper in English as L2. Although through the academic network the writer is exposed to academic language and genres, the relationship between the writer’s social network and choice of language, LI vs. L2, during planning has yet to be investigated in detail. This chapter examines this relationship through qualitative analyses of data obtained from sociolinguistic interviews with L2 graduate students. As shown, the academic network is an important factor that shapes language choice, and ultimately, writers’ more versus less successful attempts at producing academic texts in English.