A Study of the EFL Writing of Chinese Learners: A Critical Narrative

Writing is often a massive challenge for the learners who study English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Many EFL practitioners are searching for solutions to help learners improve the level of their writing. In this auto-ethnographic study, two narratives are discussed. In the first narrative, the primary challenges of EFL writing encountered by a cohort of Chinese international students studying in Australia are narrated and then examined from the perspective of a Chinese EFL researcher. In the second narrative, the author’s personal experiences of EFL writing are recounted, with a focus on dialogical awareness and identity construction of an EFL writer. The interactive relationship for EFL learners between English learning and identity construction is discussed. In conclusion, the author reflects upon a dialogic model of EFL teaching and learning in the Chinese cultural context and calls for the setting up of interactive contact zones to help the identity construction of Chinese learners in their EFL writing practices as well as in EFL teaching and learning.