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Writing instruction at the German Gymnasium: A 13th-grade English class writes the Abitur

1997; Elsevier BV; Volume: 6; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s1060-3743(97)90015-1

1873-1422

Melinda Reichelt,

Language, Metaphor, and Cognition

The field of contrastive rhetoric has until fairly recently focused for the most part on the features of texts written by writers composing in English as a second language in English-speaking environments. Current research in contrastive rhetoric, however, points to interest in broader concerns, including inquiry into the educational contexts around the world in which writing and writing instruction take place. This article reports on an investigation of the context of writing at a secondary school (Gymnasium) in Germany. In addition to reporting contextual information related to the Gymnasium and the Abitur, an exit exam required by all Gymnasiums in Germany, this article reports the responses to the English section of the Abitur of 13th-grade students who elected English as one of their Abitur subjects. Students' responses are reported concerning their perception of the purpose of this exam; their means of preparing for it; their expectations of it before taking it and their reactions to it afterwards; their descriptions of their writing process during the exam; and their perceptions of the differences between writing in a first language and writing in a second language.