The Differences and Similarities in the Perception of the Writing Process in Transactional Texts in L1 and L2 in Translation Students

Abstract

Writing as a process has been a trend in teaching since the 1960s, nevertheless, students in the Argentine educational system are rarely aware of the steps involved in the activity. This seems to be the case not only in their L1, but also in their L2. Furthermore, regarding second language acquisition, there is an over-reliance on the L2 in detriment of students’ native language, when there is solid evidence that learners’ L1 enhances their foreign language skills. This paper purports to explore to what extent the writing process is perceived as different in L1 and L2. In order to explore this issue, a group of 18 students working towards their degree in translation were given a task in Spanish, their L1, and a similar task in English, their L2. A questionnaire measured their perception by posing questions regarding the writing process in the two tongues. The result obtained showed that the writing process is seen as similar in both languages, revealing the same flaws and strengths in the two cases. Furthermore, there was a correlation between writing skills in L1 and L2. Few students actually wrote a draft or made an outline of their work and there was no awareness that they belonged to a discourse community. The pre-writing stage and the editing stage were especially neglected. The fact that skills in both languages go hand in hand seems to show that there is a teaching opportunity missed by not recurring to L1 when teaching L2 writing.