Creative writing in English as a foreign language (E.F.L.) teaching and learning: a case study of multiple revisions under supervision

This case study investigates the revision process of an English as a foreign language (E.F.L.) creative writing project through the collaboration between a Chinese learner-writer and her supervisor during the development of her memoir, Souliloque. Grounded in narratology and literary stylistics, the study examines drafts-in-progress to explore how revision facilitates literary expression, emotional articulation, critical-creative literacy, and intercultural meaning-making. Focusing on the learner-writer's responses to supervisory feedback, the analysis traces how challenges related to narrative voice, point of view, dialogue and thought representation, and culture-loaded expressions are negotiated across successive drafts. Comparative textual analysis reveals that revision (1) deepens literary learning through active textual production; (2) fosters emotional engagement and reflective understanding of lived experience, contributing to personal growth; (3) cultivates critical-creative literacy through the interplay between craft decisions and critical thinking; and (4) sharpens the learner-writer’s intercultural awareness and supports the emergence of a distinct voice as a cultural mediator. Though the pedagogical value of creative writing has been widely recognized in English-speaking countries and English as a second language (E.S.L.) contexts, such practices remain relatively underrepresented in the E.F.L. context in the Chinese mainland. By foregrounding revision as a meaning-making process, this study demonstrates the productive integration of literary, linguistic, and intercultural perspectives in E.F.L. creative writing.