PUB TYPE Repotz.s- Research/Technical (143)-- Journal Articles (080) JOURNAL CIT Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education; vl n2

A 6-month case study of one adult composing in both his native and second language was undertaken to examine the complexity of second-language composing and the relationship between processes in the two languages. Two thinking-aloud protocols were collected from the subject, who was composing in response to a writing task. The first data were collected in his second language, English, and the second set was collected in his first language, Portuguese, 6 months later. After each task, he was interviewed about the task and his composition. Protocols and interviews were transcribed and coded for specific writing processes (translating and reviewing) and subprocesses (generating, goal-setting, evaluating, revising). Striking similarities were found in the processes used in the two languages, with the overall goals-to-text model evident in each. Initial problem representation and high-level goal structure were clear. Differences occurred in the efficiency of attaining these goals. Difficulties in reaching high-level second-language goals occurred because of occasional inability to translate, some low-level skills that were not fully automatic, and difficulty in structuring first-language knowledge in a second-language format. Additional research is recommended. A 26-item bibliography is included. (MSE) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document.