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Volume 3, Number 1 (1994)
Discourse, Artifacts, and
the Ozarks: Understanding Academic Literacy
LINDA LONON BLANTON
University of New Orleans
As we teachers of ESL
reading and writing continue our discussions about preparing second
language (L2) students for the academic mainstream, we find ourselves on a
theoretical and pedagogical frontier that is largely uncharted. In
essence, we seem to be moving rapidly toward a broader social view of
language with hardly a border check as we cross from one paradigm to
another. In order to understand where we are headed and why we should
venture there, it seems important to survey the landscape and consider the
potential ahead. My survey proceeds as follows: (1) I wrestle with the
notion of academic discourse community, for without it we cannot
understand or even posit a concept of academic literacy; (2) in light of
the socially constructed nature of an academic literacy, I argue for a
different way of framing the questions we need to answer as we compose our
ESL classes; (3) I discuss the role of personal experience in learning,
language acquisition, and academic writing and reading, a role that I
claim is essential; and (4) I end with an assessment of the implications
for the ESL classroom.
Writing Groups:
Cross-Cultural Issues
JOAN G. CARSON
GAYLE L. NELSON
Georgia State University
It may appear that writing
groups, used in many English as a Second Language (ESL) composition
classrooms, would be familiar to ESL students from collectivist cultures
where group work is common in school both as a means of knowledge
acquisition and as a vehicle for reinforcing the group ethic. However,
writing groups may be problematic for students from collectivist cultures
(e.g., Japan, the People's Republic of China) in at least three ways.
First, writing groups, as used in composition classes in the U.S.,
function differently than groups in collectivist cultures: instead of
functioning for the good of the collective, writing groups more often
function for the benefit of the individual writer. Second, as a result of
the dynamics of ingroup relationships in collectivist cultures, ESL
students may be concerned primarily with maintaining group harmony at the
expense of providing their peers with needed feedback on their composition
drafts. Finally, the dynamics of outgroup relationships for ESL students
from collectivist cultures may result in behavior that is hostile,
strained, and competitive-behavior that is likely to work against
effective group interactions.
Process Approaches in
ESL/EFL Writing Instruction
BERNARD SUSSER
Doshisha Women's Junior College, Japan
Process has been an
important and sometimes contentious concept in both first language (L1)
and English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL)
writing instruction. This article attempts to resolve this contention by
defining process approaches and examining their role in ESL/EFL writing
instruction. The article first discusses three different meanings of
process, showing that the term is not the name of a writing theory, and
then describes the two main elements of process writing pedagogies,
awareness and intervention. The ESL/EFL writing literature is analyzed to
show how process approaches have been accepted in ESL/EFL composition.
Finally, this article discusses some problems in implementing process
writing pedagogies in ESL/EFL writing instruction.
Examining Expert
Judgments of Task Difficulty on Essay Tests
LIZ HAMP-LYONS
University of Colorado, Denver
SHEILA PROCHNOW MATHIAS
Associacao Alumni, Sao Paolo, Brazil
The question to which the
writer must respond (commonly called the prompt) is a key variable of an
essay test, and research to date has produced conflicting positions on
this variable's influence. Essay scorers, and language teachers who
prepare students for writing tests, often claim not only that some prompts
are harder than others, but also to know which are harder and which are
easier. This study investigated these "expert" judgments of prompt
difficulty in order to discover whether such judgments could be used as a
source of information at the item-writing stage of test development. The
results of the study show that "expert judges" share considerable
agreement about prompt difficulty, prompt task type, and difficulty of
prompt task type. However, the patterns shown by the score data ran in a
direction which was the reverse of that predicted by the "expert"
judgments. The findings contradict common assumptions in both testing and
teaching practice and suggest that close investigation of "expert judges"'
assumptions about tasks and other important variables of essay tests can
be a valuable research tool in understanding more about test design and
test difficulty.
Volume 3, Number 2
(1994)
Evaluating ESL Students'
Performance on Proficiency Exams
MARY K. RUETTEN
University of New Orleans
Research suggests that
English as a Second Language (ESL) students have difficulty passing
holistically scored proficiency exams. To determine why, researchers have
investigated the role of error in regular coursework and exams, the nature
of the exam and scoring procedure used, and students' writing processes.
This study investigates the success of ESL students as compared to native
English-speaking (NES) students on an institutional exit proficiency exam.
It also compares the source of success (the exam or the appeals folder, a
portfolio of writing done during the semester) and the number of attempts
required by ESL students and NES students to pass the exam/course. The
results indicate that ESL students are twice as likely as NES students to
fail the exam, but they compensate for their failure by passing the
appeal, giving ESL and NES students a comparable pass rate in the course.
In addition, the results show no significant difference in the number of
times the two groups attempt the exam/course. This research suggests that
holistically scored proficiency exams are difficult for ESL students and
that some form of portfolio assessment may be more valid to judge their
writing. Suggestions for improving evaluations of ESL writing include
training non-ESL faculty to evaluate ESL error during holistic readings.
Journal Writing in the
Training of International Teaching Assistants
ISOBEL STEVENSON
University of South Africa
SUSAN JENKINS
University of Cincinnati
Research in international
teaching assistant (ITA) training suggests that four areas of competence
are critical for success, namely language proficiency, cross-cultural
communication skills, teaching skills, and personal and institutional
support. Journal writing has been used as a technique for developing
language skills, learning course content, and reflecting on educational
and personal experiences. Although journal writing has not been widely
used in ITA training programs, the uses to which it has been put in other
contexts seems to mirror the needs of ITAs in training. This article
reports a case study involving a detailed content analysis of the daily
journal writing of 20 ITAs to determine whether journal writing could
contribute to the previously identified needs of ITAs. Results showed that
the students' major focus of concern was language proficiency and the
resulting stress in their daily lives. The majority of students approved
the assignment and benefited from journal writing, particularly in
developing confidence and fluency in language use, and as an outlet for
stress management. However, there was little evidence that the
instructor's expectations for reflective or analytical journal writing
were met. Suggestions for modifying the assignment to appeal to differing
student backgrounds and to encourage greater reflectivity are made.
Speaking of Writing: Some
Functions of Talk in the ESL Composition Class
BOB WEISSBERG
New Mexico State University
The social interactionist
view of emergent literacy holds that a learner's early attempts at writing
are grounded in speech and, therefore, that the development of written
language is best fostered within a supportive conversational environment.
Many second language (L2) teachers recognize that an interactive classroom
also benefits L2 writers by providing them with an enhanced oral language
environment in which to develop literacy skills. However, the specific
roles that oral discourse plays in the L2 writing classroom are not well
understood. This article explores the functions of oral language in
university English as a Second Language (ESL) composition classes. A case
study is reported describing instructional discourse in five ESL writing
classes. A set of discourse categories is employed that analyzes classroom
conversation specifically as it relates to writing. Findings indicate
relatively little classroom talk devoted to topic invention and
development or to oral rehearsal of potential written text. The majority
of teachers' speech moves functioned either to give direct instruction or
to analyze already written texts. Results also point to the critical role
that transmission-style instruction and textbook use play in determining
the oral discourse characteristics of composition classes. Finally,
techniques are suggested through which ESL writing teachers can better
manage the role that talk plays in their composition classes and allow for
a greater range of classroom discourse styles to best fit their
instructional goals.
Feedback on Feedback:
Assessing Learner Receptivity to Teacher Response in L2 Composing
JOHN HEDGCOCK
Monterey Institute of International Studies
NATALIE LEFKOWITZ
Central Washington University
Writing research has
generated impressive empirical data on composing processes, including text
production, recursive procedures, and the contribution of feedback to
revision. Second language (L2) intervention studies further indicate that
certain forms of teacher feedback affect text quality more positively than
others. Mixed findings suggest that we should look beyond the written
product to explore the cognitive effects of intervention as they influence
the mediational processes of text construction and modification. Few
studies have accounted for learner reactions to teacher intervention
behaviors which impact emerging composing skills and ultimate proficiency.
This study focuses on the following research questions: (1) How do L2
learners react when they receive teacher feedback? (2) How do these
responses affect the evolution of students' perception of text quality and
their composing processes? (3) Do English as a Second Language (ESL) and
foreign language (FL) learners differ systematically in terms of
self-appraisal patterns and responses to feedback? Quantitative data based
on an analysis of an in-depth survey of 247 basic L2 (110 ESL and 137 FL)
writers' responses to feedback conventions employed by their composition
instructors are presented. The findings provide insight into teacher
behaviors which function positively and negatively as apprentice writers
create and modify text.
Volume 3, Number 3
(1994)
Language Development in
Students' Journals
CHRISTINE PEARSON CASANAVE
Keio University
In this article, I examine
changes in the writing of a small group of intermediate English students
over three semesters of their intensive language program in Japan. The
purpose of the study was to find concrete ways that language development
could be demonstrated in students' journal writing, in the absence of
testing and systematic instruction in writing, grammar, or vocabulary.
T-unit analysis demonstrated that the writing of all the students changed
over time, but in a variety of ways not necessarily predicted by the
T-unit research. The same individual diversity was revealed with simple
measures of coordination and vocabulary. Samples of the students' writing
demonstrate that improvement cannot be measured only quantitatively
through group averages, but that it must be identified in a variety of
ways that differ for individual writers. I conclude that the notion of
"improvement" needs to be reconceptualized and that students need to be
convinced of the many ways that their English can improve.
Explanatory Variables for
Japanese Students' Expository Writing in English: An Exploratory Study
KEIKO HIROSE
Aichi Prefectural University
MIYUKI SASAKI
Nagoya Gakuin University
The present study
investigated the relationship between Japanese students' English L2
expository writing and several factors that might influence the quality of
the writing product. Nineteen Japanese university students provided both
quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative analysis showed that the
students' L2 proficiency and L1 writing ability accounted for a large
proportion of variances in L2 writing quality. The finding that L1 writing
ability was highly correlated with L2 writing ability is important because
it suggests the existence of composing competence across L1 and L2 even
for EFL students. There was also a significant interaction between this
composing competence and L2 proficiency. Qualitative analysis suggested
that the students' composing competence was related to: (a) use of several
good writers' strategies, (b) writing fluency, and (c) confidence in
writing. Furthermore, probably due to the input-poor EFL environment, the
amount of self-initiated L2 writing experiences seemed to play an
important role in determining students' L2 writing quality.
Guidelines for Designing
Writing Prompts: Clarifications, Caveats, and Cautions
BARBARA KROLL
California State University, Northridge
JOY REID
University of Wyoming
Regardless of the pedagogy
of any given writing program, in the academic world, students are
frequently evaluated on the basis of writing products they produce in
response to various writing topics in a variety of circumstances. In
testing situations, the stimulus for the student to respond to is referred
to as a prompt. Special consideration should attend the preparation of
writing prompts when there is a significant number of test-takers who are
nonnative speakers of English. Writing prompts must be carefully prepared
by test developers so that the student has the best possible chance to
demonstrate accurately his or her true level of writing skills. This
article proposes that there are six categories that test developers must
consider and control as they develop appropriate prompt items: contextual
variables, content variables, linguistic variables, task variables,
rhetorical variables, and evaluation variables. Using a variety of
examples from topics developed for the Test of Written English (TWE) and
for other testing purposes, we show step by step how to distinguish
between well-developed prompts and problematic ones by detailed
exploration of each of these six variables.
Peer Response Groups in
ESL Writing Classes: How Much Impact on Revision?
ULLA CONNOR
KAREN ASENAVAGE
Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
The purpose of this
research was to investigate the impact of peer responses on subsequent
revisions, comparing comments from the teacher with other sources. The
revisions in essays from two groups of freshmen ESL students were
evaluated over several drafts. The peer collaboration was audiotaped;
written comments by the teacher or others were noted. Faigley and Witte's
(1981) taxonomy of revisions was used to identify the types of revisions:
surface or text-based. There are six specific types of revisions in each
of these broad categories. The results show that the students made many
revisions but that few of these were the result of direct peer group
response. Students who made the greatest number of changes made
predominantly more text-based changes. Students who made fewer changes
generally made more surface changes. The results of this research raise
questions regarding group formation and types of modeling done for group
work.
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