40. Writing Skills: Exploring Cultural Influences & Classroom Applications

Transcription

1 40. Writing Skills: Exploring Cultural Influences & Classroom Applications Many factors influence good writing, including cultural expectations. High school and college English language learners often come with native language writing styles that impact their writing abilities. This interactive session will address how teachers can help students maintain their cultural voice while achieving academic writing proficiency for various audiences and purposes. Presenters Dr. Cheri Pierson Hannah Markley Kara Sappington Sara Vroom I. Understanding ELL Writing a. Elements of Good Writing i. Awareness of Audience ii. Identity iii. Meaningful, Detailed Content iv. Accuracy v. Organization b. Instructors have written, on foreign-student papers, such comments as: The material is all here, but it seems somehow out of focus, or Lacks organization, or Lacks cohesion. And these comments are essentially accurate. The foreign-student paper is out of focus because the foreign student is employing a rhetoric and a sequence of thought which violate the expectations of the native reader. (Kaplan a13) II. Contrastive Rhetoric in Review a. Kaplan Early Research b. Research Expansion 80s c. Towards Process Writing

2 III. Relevance a. Educators b. Students IV. Application V. Conclusion Kaplan s Model Language Generalizations English - Writer responsible, more explicit patterns Spanish - Academic writing usually includes long sentences, embedded clauses and poetic, flowery language (Englander, 56), deviation from the stated topic and direct coherent progressions. Arabic - Use many connectors and connections of parallel ideas. Positive and negative parallel structures to support a thesis and the conclusion is stated at the end (Kaplan, 15-16). Asiatic Languages - Moves closer and closer towards the main point of the essay towards the end. 2

3 What are Elements of Good Writing? 1. What is the role of the author (writer)? a. Restate what the experts say. b. State an original argument. c. Present the general topic without expressing an opinion. d. Present all sides of the argument. 2. How should a writer build an argument? Indirectly Directly 3. What is the best way to make an argument? Present information by... a. Giving two or three parallel forms of the argument. b. Giving general information at the beginning, slowly narrowing in to the argument. c. Giving a broad and in depth view of the context as you make the argument. d. Giving a brief introduction of the topic and then moving directly into your argument for the rest of the paper. e. Other: 4. What information best supports an argument? Select the top two: a. Cultural wisdom: proverbs, parables, fables, etc. b. Shared cultural values and beliefs c. Facts, statistics, and research d. Quotes from known authors e. Quotes form spiritual or inspirational writings f. Personal experiences g. Other: 5. Where is the best place to position a thesis statement? a. As the 1st sentence of the essay b. As the last sentence of the introduction c. As the last sentence of the essay d. In the middle of the introduction e. In the main body f. In the conclusion g. No thesis statement is needed 6. Well crafted writing... a. Is direct and to the point. b. Is beautiful and poetic. c. Is formal and respectful. d. Uses set phrases and pre-established formulas. e. Other: 3

4 Case Study: Read the following example of a low advanced secondary student. Focus on the overall discourse structure and writing style, not on the grammatical or usage errors. As you read, think about how you would move this student toward a more American writing style, while still retaining native voice and incorporating appropriate elements of its style. Student Writing Sample: In writing a comparison about the life in my country verses the life in the United States, I have to mention first that this is a difficult comparison, since the two countries have almost different historical, political, and social background. Since the creation of mankind there is a one goal and only one, which is who to achieve better life? Using the best knowledge you have, in incourging the conceivable ideas, and utilizing the most efficient way to achieve it. Back 4000 years ago when the first state, the first government and the greatest civilization ever built had been established along the banks of the Nile there were men love their country, I am seeing the image of the past and the greatness of the present. The mankind s growth was the greatest part of it (I mean his attitude, and his struggle against the evil acts whenever it occurs). When I am speaking about American I can t miss the recognition of the technology revolution which the American peoples takes a credit for it. And once more thanks to the system who gives everyone the chance to manipulate his brain power and his attribution to achieve the most efficient life for the mankind. Follow up: Look back at the survey and answer the questions according to the way this student would. What are one or two things that make this writer s voice distinct? How could those distinctive elements be incorporated into an American writing style? 4

5 Resources: Editing Principles for Assessing ESL/EFL Student Papers Adapted from Dr. Alan Seaman s Reading and Writing Course Notes, 2011 (63) and Don Snow, More Than a Native Speaker. TESOL, When marking papers Always have a clear, focused purpose. 2. Let the student/class know your purpose. 3. Mark, but don t correct things they already know; for new or difficult errors, help the student correct them. 4. Be aware of the emotional impact of your marking or lack of. 5. Build on past corrections and experiences. 6. Move them towards self-editing. 7. When writing comments, be as specific as possible. Resources: Websites Academic English Café (Prompts, activities, vocabulary builders and model essays) Advanced Composition for Non-Native English Speakers (Explanations, worksheets and quizzes) Essay Writing Resources (Graphic organizers/outlines, sentence writing exercises and activities) Guide to Grammar & Writing (Sentence, Paragraph and essay level guides, proofreading and more) Interactive Online Writing & Prompt Ideas International Writing Centers Associations (Writing center resources and peer tutoring information) Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (Creative, argumentative and exploratory essay writing) Purdue Online Writing Lab (ESL teacher resources, grammar/mechanics, workplace writing, etc.) The Elements of Style (Rules and principles of composition) Rubric Creator (Free tool to make custom or pre-created rubrics for multiple subjects including writing.) 5

6 Bibliography & Resources Bojana, P. (2005). Contrastive Rhetoric in the Writing Classroom: a Case Study. English for Specific Purposes, 24, Connor, U. (1996). Contrastive Rhetoric: Cross -Cultural Aspects of Second-Language Writing. The Cambridge University Applied Linguistic Series. M. H. Long and J. C. Richards (Eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Connor, U. (1997). Contrastive Rhetoric: Implications for Teachers of Multicultural Classrooms. In C. Severino, J. C. Guerra, and J. E. Butler (Eds.). Writing in Multicultural Settings. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. Crawford, T. (1997). The Cultural Rhetoric of Second Language Writing in Mexico. In C. Severino, J. C. Guerra, and J. E. Butler (Eds.). Writing in Multicultural Settings. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. Englander, K. (1997). But It Would Be Good in Spanish: An Analysis of Awkward Scholarly Writing in the US by L2 Writers. In C. Severino, J. C. Guerra, and J. E. Butler (Eds.). Writing in Multicultural Settings. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. Focus on Writing 1-5. (2012). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education ESL. Grabe, W. and Kaplan, R. (1989). Writing in a Second Language: Contrastive Rhetoric. In D. M. Johnson and D. H. Roen (Eds.). Richness in Writing: Empowering ESL Students. White Plains, NY: Longman. Kaplan, R. (2001). Cultural Patterns in Inter-cultural Education. In T. Silva and P. K. Matsuda (Eds.). Landmark Essays: On ESL Writing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. Leki, I. (1991) Twenty-Five Years of Contrastive Rhetoric: Text Analysis and Writing Pedagogies. TESOL Quarterly, 25 (1). Leki, I. (1992). Understanding ESL writers. Portsmouth, N.H.: Boynton/Cook Publishers. Lisle, B. and Mano, S. (1997). Embracing a Multicultural Rhetoric. In C. Severino, J. C. Guerra, and J. E. Butler, Eds. Writing in Multicultural Settings. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. Matusda, P. K. (2001). Contrastive Rhetoric in Context: A Dynamic Model of L2 Writing. In T. Silva and P. K. Matsuda (Eds.). Landmark Essays: On ESL Writing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. Panetta, C. G. (2001). Understanding Cultural Differences in the Rhetoric and Composition Classroom: Contrastive Rhetoric as Answer to ESL Dilemmas. In C. G. Panetta (Eds.). In Contrastive Rhetoric Revisited and Redefined. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. Reid, J. M. (1989). English as Second Language composition in Higher Education: The Expectations of the Academic Audience. In D. M. Johnson and D. H. Roen (Eds.). Richness in Writing: Empowering ESL Students. White Plains, NY: Longman. Severino, C., Guerra, J. C., and Butler, J. E., (Eds.). (1997). Writing in Multicultural Settings. New York: The Modern Language Association of America. Silva, T. and Matsuda, P. K. (Eds.). (2001). Landmark Essays: On ESL Writing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. Xiao, Y. (2008). Building Formal Schemata with ESL Student Writers: Linking Schema Theory to Contrastive Rhetoric. Professional Teaching Articles, 32. Presenters cheri.pierson@wheaton.edu, hannah.markley@my.wheaton.edu, kara.sappington@my.wheaton.edu & sara.vroom@my.wheaton.edu 6