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Integrating appraisal theory with possible selves in understanding university EFL writing

McKinley, J; (2018) Integrating appraisal theory with possible selves in understanding university EFL writing. System , 78 pp. 27-37. 10.1016/j.system.2018.07.002. Green open access

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Abstract

This article explores how the taxonomy of evaluative meanings supplied by Martin and White's (2005) appraisal framework might be deployed to linguistically operationalize an analysis inspired by Clark and Ivanič’s (1997) ‘possibilities for selfhood’. While these two ‘frameworks’ operate at different logical/conceptual levels (i.e. they are concerned with meaning making at very different levels of abstraction), the taxonomies can be connected to make the analysis of EFL writer identity more explicit. In SFL terms, the appraisal framework offers an account of meaning making potential at the (discourse) semantic level, while Clark and Ivanič’s system of different selves operates at the level of context of situation/culture. That is, the ‘possibilities of selfhood’ is a taxonomy of social roles while the appraisal framework is a taxonomy of meanings. The theory was tested in a study that examined the experiences of sixteen EFL writers in a Japanese university learning English composition over a period of one year. The paper shows how the framework can be applied through a detailed analysis of one case in this study, serving as an impetus for further inquiry into providing EFL writing teachers and students with explicit metalanguage for the social construction of writerly selves.

Type: Article
Title: Integrating appraisal theory with possible selves in understanding university EFL writing
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2018.07.002
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.07.002
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Writer identity, Foreign language writing, EFL writing, Appraisal theory, Writer selves, Authorial self
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Culture, Communication and Media
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10057823
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