This study explores differences in teachers' perceptions of "good" JSL writing, in relation to their background, conceptions of writing instruction, and focus of evaluation. It attempts to examine empirically the dynamic phenomenon of second language writing assessment (Silva, 1993; Matsuda, 1997) from the standpoint of differences in teachers' perspectives. Even when rubrics for writing assessment, such as opinion essays (ikenbun), have been developed, understanding of the criteria for assessment seems to differ among teachers. With increasing internationalization, there is greater demand for teaching more advanced Japanese writing, yet its instruction and assessment still tend to rely on judgments by individual teachers.
Participants for this study were 30 college-level Japanese teachers in Japan. Based on previous literature, a model for conceptualizing aspects of teachers' perceptions of "good" writing was proposed as a framework for systematic analysis. Data were collected through a questionnaire that documented teachers' background, perceptions of good writing, conception of writing instruction, and focus of their evaluation. The quantitative findings will be described in respect to: 1) potential variables in Japanese teachers' background influencing beliefs about writing evaluation; 2) similarities and differences in conceptions of writing instruction, focus of evaluation and perceptions of "good" writing; and 3) correlations among these factors. Preliminary findings suggest that teachers who themselves have experience taking academic English writing tests pay less attention to naturalness of Japanese (Nihongo-rashisa), and that more experienced teachers focus more on organization in good writing.
Better understanding of the relationships among the factors influencing individual differences in teachers' perceptions of "good" writing will contribute to developing a theoretical framework for second language writing evaluation. Also, this study suggests that training teachers for writing evaluation is necessary, and contributes to a framework for developing training courses for writing instruction.