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15 From word processing to text processing John Milton, Ian Smallwood and James Purchase Introduction This chapter describes a prototype computer-writing environment unde r development at the Language Centre, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). It is intended to provide some of the cognitive and linguisti c support which our EFL learners require as they write. We expect thi s self-acces s resourc e t o aid both collaborativ e an d individua l composition within an academic environment by assisting in the planning, generation, formulatio n an d organizatio n o f ideas , a s wel l a s th e de velopment o f language fluenc y an d accuracy . Assistance i s keyed t o th e particular text-type s undergraduat e universit y student s ar e require d t o produce. A question raised repeatedly in this particular volume is the degree to which various techniques and methods encourage learner autonomy. This question certainly needs to be asked when the tutor is not always available or when the learning method might inhibit the process being learned, but is less meaningful whe n wha t i s proposed i s a tool that th e learner wil l always have available, which we hope will enhance production and which learners can access at their discretion. A related concern that might be raised, and which has been the subject of considerable research, is whether the use of word processors makes people better writers. While this may have been a relevant issue as long as the future of the technology was in doubt, it has become a non-issue now that so much writing is, by necessity, done on a word processor. As teachers interested in improving the resources learners have available for the acquisition and production of language, we need to look at ways in which the features of electronic editors can be enhanced for particular users . In thi s chapte r w e propose severa l ways o f improvin g and enhancing these features for learners of English. These techniques can 234 Joh n Milton, Ian Smallwood and James Purchase be adapted for any writers having to produce text in a foreign language . Hong Kon g tertiary students , in common with many othe r student s worldwide, regularly use computers to transcribe and print their coursework , but rarely compose on screen. Currently available software does little to hel p inexperience d writer s compos e i n English . Thi s situatio n i s particularly acute when the student is an EFL learner whose proficiency in both the target language skills and basic composing strategies is limited. Most electronic programs g o no further tha n providing English learner s with testing practice of grammatical structures or lexical items. Since the technology first appeare d critic s have complained abou t the inadequac y of CAL L (computer-assiste d languag e learning ) softwar e i n helpin g speakers o f othe r language s t o acquir e th e comple x skill s o f writin g i n English at levels above that of the clause (cf. Last 1992). The growing body of theory concerning both the analysis of text an d the modellin g o f compositio n ca n facilitat e th e developmen t o f bette r computational aid s fo r writers . Thi s include s th e relativel y recen t development and refinement of techniques for the analysis of text through, for example, thematic structure analysis (Berry 1989), genre analysis (Swales 1990), information structur e analysis (Hoey 1983) and rhetorical structure theory (Man n an d Thompso n 1987) . This work, combine d wit h earlie r research on the writing process (e.g. Hayes and Flower 1980), recent effort s to test theor y by implementing prototyp e application s (e.g . Glynn et al. 1989; Sharpies 1992 ) and researc h o n the effects o f data-drive n learnin g (e.g. Johns 1994 ) hav e mad e feasibl e th e desig n o f electroni c writin g environments for EFL learners. Theoretical background The computer program we describe in this chapter attempts to apply some of the findings of text linguists to the development of writing skills in EFL learners. These investigators have helped bring about a shift o f emphasis away from previous research into mainly syntactic and stylistic elements of...

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