Competencias de escritura académica del español como lengua extranjera

Abstract

Students learning Spanish as a foreign language for academic purposes have difficulties in writing specialized texts, directly affecting their performance and interest in learning Spanish. Therefore, by observing this common situation from the experience of teaching Spanish as a foreign language, this research´s objective is to improve the writing of argumentative essays through the design and implementation of a teaching sequence. This sequence aims to guide the non – native Spanish student in the identification, development, and practice of academic writing skills. The study applies a qualitative methodology through action research and takes into account two approaches, modern linguistics and the eclectic approach to teaching this foreign language. Data collection is undertaken through a preliminary interview about their experience in writing essays with two North American students who took a course in grammar and advanced composition at the University of Cuenca. In addition, a preliminary and a final essay are analyzed to compare the results of applying the didactic sequence in the student´s written production. During the teaching sequence, the writing process is assessed through direct, in classes teacher observation, class discussions of the topics covered, and personalized tutorials. These activities allow the triangulation of data to strengthen this research. Although with some limitations, the results indicate that with the intervention of the didactic sequence mainly favorable changes were recorded in the linguistic competence and in the writing of the essays, while for the pragmatic and discursive competences there were differences in the performance of both students.