Integrating process and product: the use of translation in high school EFL writing

Abstract

L2 writing revision techniques based on corrective feedback from teachers are common in EFL courses, but their efficacy for low-level students is becoming increasingly questioned. The present study tests the effectiveness of a traditional revision technique - signaling with symbols all errors in a composition - by comparing it to a new one that involves L2-L1 translation and peer revision. The study was carried out with two intact groups of EFL learners in Secondary Education. All learners were asked to write two compositions and to correct them following both revision techniques. Results indicated that the new technique helped students notice and correct errors that hinder communication between writer and reader, but it was not more effective than traditional techniques in the identification of isolated grammar errors. Therefore, this new technique seems appropriate to be used in combination with other techniques that focus on the correction of isolated grammar errors.