Investigating the Planning and Translating Processes in Foreign Language Reading-to-Write

This study looked at how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writers formulated macro and micro writing plans, as well as how they translated abstract ideas into concrete linguistic forms while completing a reading-to-write task. Results showed that most of the participants engaged in planning and translating processes during task completion. They appeared to focus on planning the text’s content, with little thought given to the intended readers or the piece’s genre and style. There is also evidence that the participants used micro-planning processes when planning at the sentence and paragraph levels, with the processes of selecting and connecting being used frequently to aid the micro-planning process. The results of the micro-planning process may have been stored in the minds of the participants in the form of abstract thoughts, which were then likely translated into verbal forms.