UNIVERSIDADE TECNOLGICA FEDERAL DO PARAN

DEPARTAMENTO ACADMICO DE LNGUAS ESTRANGEIRAS MODERNAS

CURSO DE LICENCIATURA EM LETRAS PORTUGUS/INGLS

CAROLINE FRAGOSO DOS SANTOS

THE EFFECTS OF PLANNING ON THE USE OF PAST TENSES IN

SECOND LANGUAGE NARRATIVE WRITING: A SUMMARY

SUMMARY

CURITIBA
2016

The Effects of Planning on the Use of Past Tenses in Second Language

Narrative Writing, a research paper written by Flvia Azevedo, presents an
analysis of [] the effect of two types of planning conditions (pretask planning
and no planning) on a group of pre-intermediate Brazilian learners written
narratives based on a scene of a movie. (AZEVEDO, 2010, p. 68) The
productions are the core of the research, as the data used in the investigation
comes from them. Additionally, Azevedos paper was based on The Effects of
Planning on Fluency, Complexity, and Accuracy in Second Language Narrative,
the study of Ellis & Yuans.
Azevedo offers a first view on Ellis & Yuans theory on the introduction
section, explaining what constitutes a task-based research [] and first (L1)
and second (L2) language writing. (AZEVEDO, 2010, p. 68). Following, the
author presents Ortegas point of view on the subject, elaborating her theory for
the data analysis, which will be explored in the following sections.
As the paper is a research one, Azevedo presents the articles question,
the method, design and the participants used in the development of the paper.
The study contemplated
[] two levels of planning conditions (pretask planning and no
planning). Twelve participants were divided in two groups of six by their
English teacher according to their grades in a recen written test.
Participants with similar scores were placed in different groups to
minimize the possible effects of the difference of proficiency between
them. Each group produced a written narrative based on a scene of a
movie. Their writings were then analyzed in terms of accuracy in the
use of past tenses. (AZEVEDO, 2010, p. 70).

The task, explained in Portuguese, asked from students to develop a

short narrative regarding the chain of events, which is presented in the first ten
minutes of the movie The Truman Show (1998), that students watched during the
class. The classmates were divided in two groups: one remained at the classroom
and required to write a 200-word narrative in twenty minutes; the other followed
the papers author to another room and were given instruction to plan their written
production and take notes from the films clip for ten minutes. The results were
analyzed and explored with graphics.
By the end of the paper, Azevedo presents her considerations, pointing
out the results [] show that there is a relation between planning time and the

accurate use of verbs in the past tenses, but this information is still not sufficient
to explain why this variation occurred between the two groups. (AZEVEDO,
2010, p. 75). The author also discussed the limitations of the work and the
possible interference on the results of the study. Concluding, Azevedo calls the
readers attention to deficiency regarding an investigation to the interrelation
among writing process and the final production, as finding in such study would be
beneficial to teachers and testers in pedagogical matters.

REFERENCES
AZEVEDO, F. (2010). The effects of planning on the use of past tenses in second
language narrative writing. Revista CAMINHOS EM LINGUSTICA APLICADA,
UNITAU.

Volume

2,

Nmero

1,

2010,

67-77.

Available

at

<

http://periodicos.unitau.br/ojs2.2/index.php/caminhoslinguistica/article/view/1122/826>. Access on 11 Aug

2016.
ELLIS, R.; YUAN, F. (2004). The Effects of Planning on Fluency, Complexity, and
Accuracy in Second Language Narrative. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 26, 59-84.
KELLOG, R. (1996). A model of working memory in writing. In C. Levy & S.
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MEHNERT, U. (1998). The effects of different lengths of time for planning on
second language performance. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 5283.
ORTEGA, L. (1999). Planning and focus on form in L2 oral performance. Studies
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Second

Language

Acquisition,

21,

108-148.

WOODHALL, B. (2002). Language switching: Using the first language while

writing in a second language, Journal of Second Language Writing, 11, 7-28.
<http://faculty.vassar.edu/lowry/newcs.html>, accessed in: November 20th,
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<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_of_variance>, accessed in: November
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