چکیده (انگلیسی):

Although numerous studies have been conducted to investigate second language composing
processes; little research has been dedicated to investigate potential relationships between second- and foreignlanguage composing behaviors. This article is done to shed some light into these relationship(s)-specifically
between composing in Persian as a second language and composing in English as a foreign language. The
research questions posited were: Are good writers in Persian also good writers in English? And what role does
learners' English proficiency play in their composing in English? Eighteen Iranian Arab high-school students were
asked to write two narrative stories based on two series of pictures, one in Persian and the other in English. The
participants' English and Persian compositions were analyzed both quantitatively (the number of sentences,
words, and idea units) and qualitatively (holistic scoring). It was found that a high degree of correlation exists only
between the compositions of the participants with a comparatively higher level of proficiency. This finding
indicated that there should be a threshold English proficiency level: the students above this level composed
similarly in Persian and English, whereas some of the students below the level had considerably more problems in
composing in English and Persian.