Liwen Bing

Liwen Bing

Department of Linguistics and Communication
Doctoral researcher

Contact details

Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

PhD title: A Longitudinal Study of the Disciplinary Writing Development of Chinese Students in a UK University: Writing Development from a Dynamic System Theory Perspective
Supervisors: Dr Paul Thompson and Dr Amanda Patten
PhD English Language and Applied Linguistics

Qualifications

  • MA in applied linguistics + CELTA certificate

Research

The ability to compose suitable pieces of written work correlates directly to students’ success in the higher education sector. In current UK higher education institutions, assessed writing is the main form of examination, especially in arts, humanities and the social sciences. Meanwhile, International students in the UK tend to struggle more as they often possess little knowledge of the academic literacy norms of English-Speaking countries. My research aims to investigate the academic writing development of second language learners on a one-year postgraduate programme in a UK university from the perspective of Dynamic System Theory, using the standard measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency in the writing of assignments. Moreover, it will also record contextual factors, such as writing support, and examine how the support mechanisms available to participants help with their writing development. Therefore, it is a combination of both quantitative and qualitative research.