“There is no one ‘process’ for writing, but many, as writers juggle the various responsibilities they have to genre, to the situation, to their roles, to the language, or to themselves as thinking, negotiating participants in the production and revision of texts” (p. 198). I started this reflection with this quote is because I believe that there are many ways of teaching writing and the process of learning a new language should be fun. However, when we introduce different writing genres in the class, it is important to provide guidelines for students to follow and also the purposes of writing in certain genres. When I was learning English in junior and senior high school, there was no such thing as writing a business letter, fiction or poems. Also, in public schools, they did not provide any class specifically for English writing. The only opportunity we had to write were exercises where we had to put sentences together (the sentences we imitated from textbooks) into paragraphs with correct grammar. This kind of formalist writing style is very suitable for exam-based educational systems (like Taiwan) because if we can produce paragraphs with accurate grammar, we are able to enter good schools.
I also like that Johns mentioned about peer editing and revising in The Sydney School system. If we open a space for ESL students to explore their own voices through different genre writing, they can have some fun playing with the language. Also, through peer editing, students can receive critiques from others and generate more ideas and contents. Writing should not only focus on the sentence level, but the richness of the content.
I wonder how genre writing can help students who need to pass English exams to go to high school and college. There is only a certain amount of time for students to finish their writing with a given topic. Also, since the English class is driven by the exam-based system, how do teachers incorporate genre writing into the class and show the transition between genre writing and exam writing?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ch. 1 & Ch. 2 from The Politics of Second Language Writing
1. Writing Development and Biliteracy – Danling Fu and Marylou Matoush
Human naturally acquire language in compelling social contexts (p. 9).
Sequential biliteracy – abstract and decontextualized nature of academic language
Spontaneous biliteracy – prior contextualized social knowledge as a legitimate goal (p. 9)
(Becoming bilingual and bilterate) not only involves a transformation process that appears to require a greater degree of cognitive, social and linguistic flexibility than monolingualism, but also potentially affords a greater degree of cognitive, social and linguistic freedom of choice (p. 10).
ELLs’ writing development research – four transitional stages: 1. First Language Usage to 2. Code-Switching to 3. Trans-Language Usage to 4. Approaching Standard English (p. 12).
If we don’t value what and how ELLs write in the transitional stages, but only aim at teaching them to write correctly or learn Standard English, these students
won’t develop into writers with depth of thinking and logical thought (p. 24).
2. Reforming High School Writing: Opportunities and Constraints for Generation 1.5 Writers – Kerry Enright Villalva
Ecological framework is based on an understanding that literacy is social practice (p. 31).
Ecological framework – Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystems, and Macrosystem (p. 32)
Generation 1.5 writing research – How does systemic factors influence the writing
development of Generation 1.5 writers?
Questions
1. Fu and Matoush mentioned that if language learners are encouraged to choose between languages when they write, they can construct and develop ideas better. From your experience as a language learner, did your first language(s) help you with English learning? How?
2. What does “language errors” (p. 25) mean to you? How can you demonstrate the positive value of “language errors” as “the precursors of flexible dual language word choice and phraseology” (p. 25) to your bilingual/multilingual students? What kind of methods would you use to show them the transition from errors to Standard English?
3. What values did you find from Fu and Matoush’s chapter? Are the four transition stages applicable? If you see it as applicable, how do you use the stages in your ESL class? What kind of assignments can you see being used in your class?
4. From Villalva’s chapter, “peer-modeling” and “cross-age tutoring” (p. 46) seem to create space for Generation 1.5 to develop their languages and generate ideas and topics for their projects. Why can’t this kind of group work be done in a regular class with mainstream students? If we separate the Generation 1.5 students to a different cohort-based organization, aren’t we creating otherness in the class?
5. What benefits and flaws do you see in making a personal project as a new graduation requirement? Should there be double standards for English-speaking students and bilingual/Generation 1.5 students?
Human naturally acquire language in compelling social contexts (p. 9).
Sequential biliteracy – abstract and decontextualized nature of academic language
Spontaneous biliteracy – prior contextualized social knowledge as a legitimate goal (p. 9)
(Becoming bilingual and bilterate) not only involves a transformation process that appears to require a greater degree of cognitive, social and linguistic flexibility than monolingualism, but also potentially affords a greater degree of cognitive, social and linguistic freedom of choice (p. 10).
ELLs’ writing development research – four transitional stages: 1. First Language Usage to 2. Code-Switching to 3. Trans-Language Usage to 4. Approaching Standard English (p. 12).
If we don’t value what and how ELLs write in the transitional stages, but only aim at teaching them to write correctly or learn Standard English, these students
won’t develop into writers with depth of thinking and logical thought (p. 24).
2. Reforming High School Writing: Opportunities and Constraints for Generation 1.5 Writers – Kerry Enright Villalva
Ecological framework is based on an understanding that literacy is social practice (p. 31).
Ecological framework – Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystems, and Macrosystem (p. 32)
Generation 1.5 writing research – How does systemic factors influence the writing
development of Generation 1.5 writers?
Questions
1. Fu and Matoush mentioned that if language learners are encouraged to choose between languages when they write, they can construct and develop ideas better. From your experience as a language learner, did your first language(s) help you with English learning? How?
2. What does “language errors” (p. 25) mean to you? How can you demonstrate the positive value of “language errors” as “the precursors of flexible dual language word choice and phraseology” (p. 25) to your bilingual/multilingual students? What kind of methods would you use to show them the transition from errors to Standard English?
3. What values did you find from Fu and Matoush’s chapter? Are the four transition stages applicable? If you see it as applicable, how do you use the stages in your ESL class? What kind of assignments can you see being used in your class?
4. From Villalva’s chapter, “peer-modeling” and “cross-age tutoring” (p. 46) seem to create space for Generation 1.5 to develop their languages and generate ideas and topics for their projects. Why can’t this kind of group work be done in a regular class with mainstream students? If we separate the Generation 1.5 students to a different cohort-based organization, aren’t we creating otherness in the class?
5. What benefits and flaws do you see in making a personal project as a new graduation requirement? Should there be double standards for English-speaking students and bilingual/Generation 1.5 students?
Monday, October 12, 2009
Week 7 - Matsuda's Chapter 3
I have been thinking about the purpose of college writing. Is it the class for students to develop their sense of identity, voice, audience and writer/reader responsibility in order to be a better writer? Or is it to prepare students to accomplish their academic writing? I was observing a college writing class last semester and was amazed by the way the professor taught the class. Students were asked to write paranormal stories and peer response was also incorporated into the writing process. I am not sure how much the students can transfer what they learned from the class to real academic writing; however, I believe that this kind of writing encourages students to develop their imagination and the peer response can stimulate their critical thinking. Also, there’s another college writing class for ESL students in which students are asked to write poems. Without the pressure of forming perfect grammar and sentence structure, students may gain their confidence in writing in a different language. I really like the idea of implementing creative writing in the class in order to raise students’ awareness of every element in writing. However, how much can those elements be transferred to students’ academic writing? I think that teachers’ and students’ expectations are different. It is important to clarify the purpose of the way we teach writing and be open-minded toward communications with students.
If the writing class is designed to incorporate creative writing skills, I wonder if plagiarism is taken into consideration. We cannot assume that students have fully learned what plagiarism is and are able to apply it to their writing before coming to college. On page 65, Leki mentioned that a professor does not care if students reproduce her lecture words. I was really surprised to see this. If there’s no standard for plagiarism from professors for students to follow, what should students do? How do we cite from a lecture?
Writing is not an easy task. It takes time for a person to write well. I wish that there was an academic writing class for me to attend when I first came here because I was panicking about writing for the class. I would love to learn how to do creative writing as well because I have never learned writing in that kind of style.
I was thinking that a lot of articles we’ve been reading are always putting the blame on teachers and schools systems for not being prepared for ESL students and place ESL students as victims of the educational system. I wonder if any articles acknowledge ESL students’ responsibilities and attitudes towards studying in a different country. Some of them might not be efficient with their writing, but if they are to attend American universities, they can’t just see university as a way to learn English, but also professional knowledge. Of course schools should provide them with real assistance in writing and speaking (it’d be better if it is throughout the 4 academic years, but is it possible?); however, I think ESL students should hold some responsibility as well.
If the writing class is designed to incorporate creative writing skills, I wonder if plagiarism is taken into consideration. We cannot assume that students have fully learned what plagiarism is and are able to apply it to their writing before coming to college. On page 65, Leki mentioned that a professor does not care if students reproduce her lecture words. I was really surprised to see this. If there’s no standard for plagiarism from professors for students to follow, what should students do? How do we cite from a lecture?
Writing is not an easy task. It takes time for a person to write well. I wish that there was an academic writing class for me to attend when I first came here because I was panicking about writing for the class. I would love to learn how to do creative writing as well because I have never learned writing in that kind of style.
I was thinking that a lot of articles we’ve been reading are always putting the blame on teachers and schools systems for not being prepared for ESL students and place ESL students as victims of the educational system. I wonder if any articles acknowledge ESL students’ responsibilities and attitudes towards studying in a different country. Some of them might not be efficient with their writing, but if they are to attend American universities, they can’t just see university as a way to learn English, but also professional knowledge. Of course schools should provide them with real assistance in writing and speaking (it’d be better if it is throughout the 4 academic years, but is it possible?); however, I think ESL students should hold some responsibility as well.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Week 6 - Braine
In this reflection, I would like to separate my thought into two different directions. The first thing I want to talk about is qualitative and quantitative research. I like qualitative research because it helps to explore clear and detailed insights of participants’ experiences and backgrounds which are unreachable and invisible through quantitative research. Also, through qualitative research, I may be able to find connections with my participants (with the same linguistic and cultural background) and feel relieved that I am not the only one who see things that way. For example, I was working on a topic about second language humor for a research paper and my participants were from Taiwan. During the data collecting process, the participants were asked to read comics and watch cartoons in order to interpret the American humor from their perspectives. Their linguistic and cultural backgrounds and life experiences in the U.S. were included to explain their reactions toward American humor. I found some connections with my participants because we all thought swear words are funny in the cartoons (the facial and physical expressions in the cartoon were funny with the swear words). Without interviewing my participants, I would not have been able to catch what they thought about swear words. However, which research method is more reliable? Would you trust a study without any numbers? What’s the purpose of integrating numbers? To make the research look more scientific? Or would you rather read some research with narratives? Should we incorporate both research methods in our study? I guess that it all depends on the research project.
The second thing I want to talk about is the academic literacy that non-English speaking graduate students need to have. A lot of internal and external factors can influence how a person writes. It is mentioned in the article that teachers think finding appropriate vocabulary is a problem for non-native speakers. I still have trouble putting the right words or right sentence structures in my paper. Sometimes I think the words or sentences look fine, but actually they do not. They look awkward for Americans. However, I think my writing is getting better than when I first came here (my writings in the first year here were really scary when I go back and look at them). Through reading articles, talking to my classmates and professors and asking people to review my writing help me construct what writing process should be like. Social interaction and negotiation create a space for me to grow my academic literacy.
The second thing I want to talk about is the academic literacy that non-English speaking graduate students need to have. A lot of internal and external factors can influence how a person writes. It is mentioned in the article that teachers think finding appropriate vocabulary is a problem for non-native speakers. I still have trouble putting the right words or right sentence structures in my paper. Sometimes I think the words or sentences look fine, but actually they do not. They look awkward for Americans. However, I think my writing is getting better than when I first came here (my writings in the first year here were really scary when I go back and look at them). Through reading articles, talking to my classmates and professors and asking people to review my writing help me construct what writing process should be like. Social interaction and negotiation create a space for me to grow my academic literacy.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Plagiarism Presentation
1. Bloch, J. (2001). Plagiarism and the ESL students: From printed to electronic texts. In D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), Linking Literacies: Perspectives on L2 Reading-Writing Connections (pp. 209-228). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
The notion of intellectual property and authorship (p. 210)
• Printed forms vs. electronic forms
• Cultural or non-cultural
Any cross-cultural comparison runs the danger of dichotomizing the two cultures into polar opposites, presenting one culture as the opposite of the other (p. 213)
• Social factors
• The notion of intellectual authorship
• The changing definition of plagiarism
Plagiarism from students’ perspectives
Teaching about plagiarism
• Printed forms – Explicitly teach the norms of plagiarism (p. 220)
• Electronic texts – The distinction between what is private and what is public, the basis for determining whether something has been plagiarized, is even less clear in the electronic medium than in the medium of print (p. 212)
2. Pecorari, D. Plagiarism and the ESL students: From printed to electronic texts. In D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), Linking Literacies: Perspectives on L2 Reading-Writing Connections (pp. 229-245). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
The concept of plagiarism is fully embedded within a social, political, and cultural matrix that cannot be meaningfully separated from its interpretation (229)
Plagiarism is far from a clearly defined construct (p. 233)
There is not as yet scholarly consensus as to whether electronic sources should or should not be treated as distinct from more traditional media for the purposes of debate about intellectual property (p. 234)
From Pecorari’s study, the reaction toward plagiarism from university is that “punishment is the norm” (p. 243)
Because of the conventions for citation are not universal, both students and their teachers need policies that permit new practices to be absorbed gradually, like all other new skills, and that allow students a margin of error as they try to hit a new target. Unfortunately, the majority of institutional responses to plagiarism surveyed here deny students that support (p. 244)
Class Discussion
Group 1
1. How do you define plagiarism? Is your definition different from your classmates? How (social, political, cultural factors)?
2. As a literacy educator, how do you avoid plagiarism in your students’ writing?
3. Bloch pointed out that “lacking formal knowledge of the rules governing the use of intellectual property, these students may produce texts that generate charges of plagiarism when there in fact was no actual intent to steal or cheat” (p. 221). Do you agree with his statement? Why?
Group 2
4. Should the importance of electronic texts weigh the same as printed texts? Please explain why.
5. How do you describe plagiarism?
6. Pecorari posed a question in her article, “is plagiarism, then, a defect in the product or in the process”? (p. 234) How would answer this question? Please explain why.
Group 3
7. What should teachers do when plagiarism occurs in a writing class consisting of English-speaking and non-English speaking writers? Should they be treated differently? Please explain why.
8. When was your first time to be introduced to the concept of plagiarism? Where and how did you get informed? Did your writing style change after that?
9. How do you define intellectual authorship? How is your definition different from other classmates?
The notion of intellectual property and authorship (p. 210)
• Printed forms vs. electronic forms
• Cultural or non-cultural
Any cross-cultural comparison runs the danger of dichotomizing the two cultures into polar opposites, presenting one culture as the opposite of the other (p. 213)
• Social factors
• The notion of intellectual authorship
• The changing definition of plagiarism
Plagiarism from students’ perspectives
Teaching about plagiarism
• Printed forms – Explicitly teach the norms of plagiarism (p. 220)
• Electronic texts – The distinction between what is private and what is public, the basis for determining whether something has been plagiarized, is even less clear in the electronic medium than in the medium of print (p. 212)
2. Pecorari, D. Plagiarism and the ESL students: From printed to electronic texts. In D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), Linking Literacies: Perspectives on L2 Reading-Writing Connections (pp. 229-245). Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
The concept of plagiarism is fully embedded within a social, political, and cultural matrix that cannot be meaningfully separated from its interpretation (229)
Plagiarism is far from a clearly defined construct (p. 233)
There is not as yet scholarly consensus as to whether electronic sources should or should not be treated as distinct from more traditional media for the purposes of debate about intellectual property (p. 234)
From Pecorari’s study, the reaction toward plagiarism from university is that “punishment is the norm” (p. 243)
Because of the conventions for citation are not universal, both students and their teachers need policies that permit new practices to be absorbed gradually, like all other new skills, and that allow students a margin of error as they try to hit a new target. Unfortunately, the majority of institutional responses to plagiarism surveyed here deny students that support (p. 244)
Class Discussion
Group 1
1. How do you define plagiarism? Is your definition different from your classmates? How (social, political, cultural factors)?
2. As a literacy educator, how do you avoid plagiarism in your students’ writing?
3. Bloch pointed out that “lacking formal knowledge of the rules governing the use of intellectual property, these students may produce texts that generate charges of plagiarism when there in fact was no actual intent to steal or cheat” (p. 221). Do you agree with his statement? Why?
Group 2
4. Should the importance of electronic texts weigh the same as printed texts? Please explain why.
5. How do you describe plagiarism?
6. Pecorari posed a question in her article, “is plagiarism, then, a defect in the product or in the process”? (p. 234) How would answer this question? Please explain why.
Group 3
7. What should teachers do when plagiarism occurs in a writing class consisting of English-speaking and non-English speaking writers? Should they be treated differently? Please explain why.
8. When was your first time to be introduced to the concept of plagiarism? Where and how did you get informed? Did your writing style change after that?
9. How do you define intellectual authorship? How is your definition different from other classmates?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Third Reflection on Ivanic and Camps (Sept. 23rd)
Ivanic and Camps (2001) mentioned that “the term ‘voice types’ useful to refer to the culturally recognizable ‘way with words’ that align a speaker or writer with one social group rather than another” (p. 6). I found this statement very interesting because there were some words that I tended to use in my papers because I thought they were more polite and not too strong, which might seem awkward to some Americans. My professor pointed out that the way I used “could” in my paper can be my ESL way of writing where he would have used “can” in that sentence. If word selection counts as part of my voice, do I need to change it based on my audience? How do I find a balance between audience and voice? Also, I found that my writing has been changing after being in the United States for four years. Writing is not only influenced by the culture from the L1 country, but also the environment, interaction with others and publications we read.
The authors also mentioned about how individuals can practice their power to accept or refuse privileged voices. If the context turns into a communist country, will Ivanic and Camps’ statement on voice stay the same? How do individuals exercise their voices while the communist country only accepts one? How do teachers encourage their students to have their personal voices in that kind of framework?
The authors also mentioned about how individuals can practice their power to accept or refuse privileged voices. If the context turns into a communist country, will Ivanic and Camps’ statement on voice stay the same? How do individuals exercise their voices while the communist country only accepts one? How do teachers encourage their students to have their personal voices in that kind of framework?
Monday, September 14, 2009
Second Reflection on Kaplan's article (Sept. 16th)
It was interesting to see different writing styles from Kaplan’s article; however, I wonder if Kaplan over generalized how L1 can influence how people compose in L2 by categorizing through ethnicity or language. In the article, Kaplan pointed out that in the Arabic language, people develop their writing with both positive and negative points. This writing style is very easily recognized in Chinese writing (in Taiwan) as well in that we are taught to include both positive and negative viewpoints in our essays in L1. By means of both perspectives, we are able to show readers how we understand the problems and which position we take. However, when we are taking TOEFL classes (in cram schools), we are always urged to provide only one perspective because that is not the way that Americans write.
Kaplan also mentioned about how Arabic students use coordinating elements when they write in English. I remember that teachers from the TOEFL cram school always reminded us that we should use coordinating elements as often as possible to connect ideas together and create a smooth flow in the writings. By using many coordinating elements, it is more possible to get a higher TOEFL grade. I am not sure where this strategy came from, but it seems like the teachers believe that the TOEFL composition reviewers prefer this kind of writing style.
I started to think that L1 might not always be the one reason why we write in English differently from Americans. There are other reasons that can influence how we compose. Like the two examples I have above, it could be the stereotypes that teachers or schools have for American writing. Cultures and L1s are not necessarily always the reasons that create differences in writing in English. There can be other external influences.
Also, I was wondering why we need to write like native speakers of English. I understand that we have to write according to the audience. However, if we follow how to write like Americans, aren’t we colonized by English speakers? Will we at the same time lose our voices? Which native speakers’ model should we follow? We cannot assume that every English speaking country writes the same and how do writing teachers decide what to teach?
Kaplan also mentioned about how Arabic students use coordinating elements when they write in English. I remember that teachers from the TOEFL cram school always reminded us that we should use coordinating elements as often as possible to connect ideas together and create a smooth flow in the writings. By using many coordinating elements, it is more possible to get a higher TOEFL grade. I am not sure where this strategy came from, but it seems like the teachers believe that the TOEFL composition reviewers prefer this kind of writing style.
I started to think that L1 might not always be the one reason why we write in English differently from Americans. There are other reasons that can influence how we compose. Like the two examples I have above, it could be the stereotypes that teachers or schools have for American writing. Cultures and L1s are not necessarily always the reasons that create differences in writing in English. There can be other external influences.
Also, I was wondering why we need to write like native speakers of English. I understand that we have to write according to the audience. However, if we follow how to write like Americans, aren’t we colonized by English speakers? Will we at the same time lose our voices? Which native speakers’ model should we follow? We cannot assume that every English speaking country writes the same and how do writing teachers decide what to teach?
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