چکیده (انگلیسی):

In the present study, Vygotsky’s (1978, 1986) sociocultural framework of the zone of proximal
development (ZPD) and scaffolding writing (Bodrova & Leong, 1995, 1996; Ross, 1976) are used
as the theoretical basis to study the development of second language writing. A course project is
presented in which advanced English language learners of Spanish acted as authors and editors to
create their own professional magazines for an authentic audience. In the project, each student
authored four essays which went through four peer- and instructor-edited stages of scaffolding
writing techniques. After each stage, ratings were given by the editors who also facilitated
feedback debriefing sessions (Lidz, 1991). Statistical analyses revealed significant improvement
within the four essays demonstrating writing development of subsequent revisions of a single
essay. There was also significant improvement between the four essays revealing a linear,
continuous writing development. In all, these results support a notion that scaffolding writing
techniques and feedback debriefing sessions within the ZPD effectively develops writing skills in
second language learning when contextualized through a writing workshop involving the creation
of a professional magazine designed for an authentic audience.