From Elaboration to Collaboration: Understanding and Supporting Second Language Writers

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From Elaboration to Collaboration Understanding
and Supporting Second Language Writers

• Alfredo Urzúa, Languages and Linguistics
• Kate Mangelsdorf, English (Rhetoric and Writing
  Studies)
• Facilitator Kerrie Kephart, Teacher Education

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Who Are Second Language Writersat UTEP?

• International Students
• Speak two or more languages
• Learned English in native countries
• Take English-as-a-Second-Language courses (ESOL)
• Plan to leave the U.S. after graduation, or
• Transnational

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Who Are Second Language Writers at UTEP?

• U.S. resident/immigrant/heritage language
  students
• Bilingual (speech)
• Do not self-identify as ESL students
• Attended U.S. high schools
• Take first-year composition in the English Dept.
• Plan to remain in U.S. or
• Transnational

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Terminology

• L1 first language
• L2 second language
• NES Native English speaker
• NNES Non-native English speaker
• Bilingual, multilingual
• Terminology inadequate for language dynamics,
  especially on border

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Second Language Acquisition

• Gradual process
• Years of study and practice
• Exposure to target language
• Not all skills develop simultaneously
• Very fluent second-language learners will have
  accents in writing

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Second Language Acquisition

• Non-linear process
• Back-and-forth mastery of linguistic features
• Mastery in one communicative context might not
  transfer to another
• Learn from mistakes
• Approximation of target language

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Second Language Acquisition

• Identity negotiation
• Language self
• Cultural affiliations
• Multiple roles
• Dynamic, shifting

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L2 Writing Students

• Writing Processes (Compared to L1)
• Produce shorter texts
• Spend less time planning
• Spend more time revising
• Focus on grammar
• Worry more
• Take more time to write
• L2 resources are more limited

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L2 Writing Students

• Writing Processes
• Greater metalinguistic awareness
• Broader perspective / experiences
• Skilled at shifting roles and identities
• Tacit knowledge about language usage
• Familiarity with grammatical terms

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L2 Writing Students

• Cultural Differences from L1
• Collectivist cultures texts belong to the group
• Different beliefs about documenting sources
• Less emphasis on originality

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L2 Writing Students

• Rhetorical Differences
• U.S. English The writer is responsible for
  communicating meaning
• Other languages Readers bear more
  responsibility for understanding texts

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Responding to L2 Writers Texts

• Treatable errorsrule governed
• Subject-verb agreement
• Verb tense
• Verb formation
• Word order
• Singular/plural nouns
• Articles

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Responding to L2 Writers Texts

• Untreatable errors
• Inappropriate word choices
• Idioms
• Prepositions
• Mass vs. countable
• Articles

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Responding to L2 Writers Texts

• Direct feedback
• Instructor provides the correction for the
  student
• Indirect feedback
• Instructor indicates an error has been made but
  the student makes the correction

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Responding to L2 Writers Texts

• What does the research show?
• Grammar instruction works ONLY if students
  immediately apply it to their own writing
• Indirect feedback much more effective than direct
  feedback on treatable errors
• Direct feedback effective for untreatable errors

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Responding to L2 Writers Texts

• Writing is communication
• Respond to content
• Focus on errors that impede communication
• Look for error patterns
• Ask students to correct errors
• Be sure to praise
• Offer explicit comments

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Activity

• Read the sample texts in your group and discuss
• How would you respond to each writer?
• (in the paper itself / during conferencing)
• When does different become incorrect or
  inappropriate?
• To what extent can/should L2 writers compete with
  L1 peers?

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Classroom Tips

• Writing Process
• Generation of ideas
• Planning the document
• Time to revise
• Time to edit

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Classroom Tips

• Rhetorical Concepts
• Describe audience expectations
• Explain how to structure the text
• Suggest headings and subheadings
• Show how to cite and document
• Give examples
• Define your terms (i.e., faculty often define
  report differently)

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Classroom Tips

• Vocabulary
• Define discipline-specific terms
• Write terms so students can see
• Give examples of formulaic academic language
  (e.g., it is well known that, as previous
  research has shown, the data suggest that)

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Classroom Tips

• Encourage student voices
• Give them a safe place to ask you questions
  (email)
• Ask students to help you design / negotiate
  assignments
• Provide opportunities to talk about writing
  issues
• When appropriate, encourage students to draw on
  their rich language backgrounds

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Resources at UTEP

• The University Writing Center (Library 300)
• ESOL 2303 English for Humanities and Social
  Sciences
• ENGL 5316 Graduate Writing Workshop
• Learning Communities/Team teaching