A Citespace-based Research on English Writing Instruction as a Foreign Language in China from 1995 to 2025

Abstract

In recent years, the teaching of writing in English as a foreign language (EFL) has become a prominent and recurring research theme in education. Despite this growing interest, previous studies have not provided an overview of the current state of research on EFL writing instruction from a bibliometric perspective.This paper presents a comprehensive review of writing instruction in China, encompassing the period from 1995 to 2025. The study is grounded in a systematic analysis of extant literature and data, drawing upon the insights of leading experts in the field, and provides valuable insights for the visual analysis of research on EFL writing instruction.

The study found that: 1) Academic interest in and research on the teaching of English writing has increased significantly over the past three decades as the status of English as an international language has improved, and it is expected that the number of publications will continue to grow in the future. 2) Research on the teaching of English writing is highly concentrated in the hands of a small number of high-producing researchers and institutions, and these core members dominate the direction of the field, with relatively little related research activity in China. 3) Despite the existence of some close-knit groups, collaboration among high-producing authors in Chinese research on the teaching of English writing is still limited, with most research activities confined within institutions and little cross -regional collaboration. 4) Keyword analyses demonstrate that the focus of research on the teaching of English writing has gradually shifted from foundational issues to students at different stages of their education, and has begun to focus on the application of emerging pedagogical methodologies and technologies, with an emphasis on the new curriculum standards and modern educational themes such as core literacy.