[ELIZABETH’S FEEDBACK IN BLUE CAPS]

Something I Learned About Myself as a Writer in My L2

I am out of practice in my L2 and had a very difficult time remembering even the basic vocabulary that I needed to complete my writing project. So I used a lot of avoidance strategies, as fundamental as changing the topic: “Is it really reloz? It can’t be. That’s wristwatch. I’d better write about the door.”

A WORLD FAMOUS AVOIDANCE STRATEGY.  AND IT MADE YOU THINK ABOUT THE MEANING OF RELOZ.

After a few minutes, when the time ran out, all I had were some stray, semi-connected nouns, a small selection of basic verbs, and a whole lot of spaces. It was a sad reminder of how little I remember of Spanish. I was, however, skilled at avoidance. Had we been in a situation in which the teacher could have done some pre-writing vocabulary building, that would have been constructive.

AND NOT ONLY DID YOU THINK ABOUT AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES BUT WAYS TO TEACH A SIMILAR LESSON WITH SCHEMA BUILDING FIRST.

Something I Learned About Myself as a Writer in My L1

I can’t say I learned anything about how I write in my L1. Through most of my adult years I’ve been as free-form a writer as I am a reader. I start, stop, read, move on, reread and revise from the beginning, write a bit more, go back two paragraphs and rewrite, etc. It is not efficient but, for better or worse, it is my creative process. The frequent rewriting midstream has a powerful influence on what follows. If I wrote straight through, I would miss opportunities to explore different ways to craft the text. I use this method (if one can call it that) for first-person and documentary writing, letters, articles, and everything that requires imagination and original turns of phrase; these come to me from manipulating the text into submission; they resist rolling spontaneously and effortlessly from my fingers on the first pass. The ideas seem to emerge from the writing process itself.

However, I have always found free-writing exercises important and constructive. It lubricates the writing gears in the brain and sends the internal critic out to lunch. For people less comfortable with writing, it is a powerful tool to allow unfiltered words reach paper: a liberating experience, and one that can help build literary fluidity and confidence.

YES, IT IS KEY FOR THOSE LESS COMFORTABLE WITH WRITING.  YOU’VE DEVELOPED YOUR OWN STRATEGIES AND THERE’S NO REASON TO CHANGE SINCE YOU’RE SUCCESSFUL, BUT FOR THOSE LESS PROFICIENT, YOU KNOW WHICH STRATEGIES TO WORK ON WITH THEM.

When I write academic papers, the process is slightly different. I spent days or weeks researching: reading everything I can get my paws on, taking notes, following intellectual threads to new resources and taking more notes. And then I begin writing, once key ideas are fixed in my head. I tend to write for a longer stretch before I stop to revise. And of course I go through many revisions, most times unearthing new ideas as well.

In summary, my writing is far from efficient or methodical, and I lose a lot of time as a result. But the gains come in the form of unexpected and more sharply defined ideas.

IT SOUNDS AS IF YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH HOW YOU WRITE BECAUSE OF THE END RESULT.

Something I Learned About How Students Learn to Write in an L2

Fan Shen writes, “Learning the rules of English composition is, to a certain extent, learning the values of Anglo-American society.” (460). While exploring the pragmatics of a second (or additional) language is an inherent part of teaching each of the four skills, I suspect it may be a particularly pronounced task in writing. English writing is the format in which we tend to be  most formal, and our communication values most codified.

In discussing writing as an international student, Joseph Mukoroli (2009) echoed this idea of culture being embedded in language. “Once you embrace a language, you automatically embrace the culture.”

Learning to write in English, I realize, is a much more onerous undertaking for English-learners than putting their spoken words to paper. True, the writer has time to ponder and revise — impossible in spoken communication — but many new obstacles take its place.

I appreciated the error correction class. In the past when faced with writing that is error-ridden, I have been confounded as to how to address the problems without returning a paper that looks blood-stained. (Actually, I won’t be using red for students.) Focusing on one variety of error at a time, for example, makes life better for the student and the teacher.

I THINK ERROR CORRECTION IS THE HARDEST ASPECT BECAUSE IT HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGH STRESS FOR OUR STUDENTS.  THINKING OF SPECIFIC WAYS TO MAKE THE PROCESS LESS PAINFUL IS IMPORTANT.

During our process writing class, Sabah was my partner. As a native reader, I noticed far more errors — grammatical, syntactical and semantic — than I do when listening to her speech, in which she is competent. But her writing was filled with so many errors that I was baffled as to how to respond. I always praise people for the good I see — and if I don’t see it, I keep digging till I find it. But Elizabeth’s instruction for the first peer-review — to underline one or two key parts that we liked — was very helpful in articulating a response. Not only that, when I read Sabah’s second draft I realized the process had helped her to focus her story. I was also interested to notice a phenomenon I’d heard about: when L2 writers read their own work, they will often self correct when they hear themselves speak. In several instances I heard Sabah do that, and found it intriguing — and applicable to my future teaching.

I ALSO REALLY FIND THE STRATEGY OF READING ALOUD SUCCESSFUL (FOR MYSELF AND FOR MY STUDENTS).  IT’S AMAZING HOW MUCH MORE YOU CATCH ORALLY. SABAH IS AN INTERESTING STUDENT.  SHE’S A FLUENT SPEAKER, BUT NOT A FLUENT WRITER.  SHE REALIZES IT AND FEELS VERY BAD THAT SHE IS NOT AT THE LEVEL THAT SHE EXPECTS FROM HERSELF AS AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER. PERHAPS HER FRUSTRATION WITH HERSELF ALSO INFLUENCES HER WRITING CHALLENGES.  THAT’S WHY THE STEP TO UNDERLINE SOMETHING YOU LIKE IN YOUR PARTNER’S WORK SOMETIMES WORKS WELL AS A WAY TO (RE)BUILD CONFIDENCE.

Something I Learned About Teaching English Writing in Relation to My Internship/Lesson Plan

Lucy Calkins, in describing process writing, notes, “Revision for me, then, is quite literally a time to see again.” (7).

I have always disliked revision, whether it is on my own initiative or that of an editor or teacher or friend. But Calkins has the right attitude: thinking of the process as an opportunity to create anew, rather than as a laborious exercise in rearrangement and fine-tuning. It is easier to imagine this idea than to put it into practice, however. But if I can instill in my students a sense of excitement and possibility in the revision phases, that will be an accomplishment. Since process writing requires so many revisions, it’s imperative that perceive them as creative opportunities rather than dry duties.

I FIND IT EASIER (AND MORE FUN) TO REVISE NOW THAT I DO MOST OF MY FIRST DRAFTS ON THE COMPUTER (AND NOT ON A LEGAL PAD LIKE I USED TO).  HOW DO YOU DO YOUR DRAFTS?

In our teaching module I saw two potential hindrances to a positive experience with process writing, and I will try to be aware of them when teaching in Mexico:

• If a student isn’t fully engaged in the topic s/he is writing about, it will be a form of torture to proceed through the iterations of process writing. For example, in our class session we wrote about “our favorite possession.” I don’t know why, but the idea did not engage me, and the more I worked on it, the more I resisted it.In light of that, I may give students choices of topics, or otherwise engage them in the decision-making process, while still making sure the exercise meets its language objective.

  GOOD INSIGHT.  A CHOICE OF TOPICS WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER CHANCE OF ENGAGING ALL STUDENTS.  YOU’RE RIGHT THAT HAVING TO GO THROUGH ALL THE STEPS OF PROCESS WRITING WITH A DULL TOPIC WILL NOT RESULT IN THE KIND OF ENGAGEMENT WE HOPE OUR STUDENTS WILL HAVE.

  A side note: One might think that a topic that pertains directly to the experience of a student would, by definition, be a subject of interest for him or her. As I mentioned in class, I experienced the opening brainstorming exercise as an invasion of my privacy. My resistance was high. The lesson for me is that, as a teacher, I can’t assume that just because something has relevance and meaning to a student, it will appeal to them. For a five-minute free-writing topic, it’s not the end of the world to pick something that doesn’t hook the student. But for process-writing, with all its steps, it can be strongly negative.

• Peer-review has many potential strengths, outlined in a number of our readings. For one thing, prose is intended (usually) to be read by an audience, and what better audience than students in the same setting? That said, there are hazards. Some of these, the teacher can ameliorate: for example, teaching students the tools for honest and constructive critique as an antidote for disrespectful or irrelevant feedback. Other drawbacks are more difficult to control. It is fine to pair a strong writer with a weaker one on occasion, and it is mutually beneficial — to a point. But sooner or later, the stronger student is likely to feel s/he is not benefiting from the partnership: is not growing. A solution that Elizabeth mentioned is to pair students of similar aptitude. That can help, but there remains a problem: when a student writes and rewrites and possibly rewrites again, s/he may (with some justification) have little faith that s/he is focusing on that which needs work. Some students will want teacher feedback sooner. Rewriting, despite Lucy Calkins’ quote, is hard work. Hard work without conviction that it is the right hard work — that is, overseen by the teacher or another qualified person — may prove counterproductive.

KEEP ALL OF THIS IN MIND.  TRY OUT PROCESS WRITING.  GET STUDENTS’ FEEDBACK.  THEN MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW YOU’LL USE IT IN THE FUTURE. (OR IF YOU’LL USE IT).  I FIIND THAT PROCESS WRITING IS NOT FOR EVERYONE, BUT SOMETIMES TRYING IT OUT WILL WIN OVER STUDENTS WHO ARE INITIALLY RELUCTANT.

That said, I agree with Calkins’ assertion that an important facet of students’ learning to write is their ability to “perceive themselves as authors” and to see their “printed words reach the hearts and minds of readers” (9) — and their peers are part of that audience.

Here are two other important ideas that emerged from this rich unit, about which I could write much more if there were time:

• Joseph Mukoroli (2009): “Remember your students are ESL students; don’t judge their writing according to L1 standards.”

• Ishmael Bhebhe (2009) echoed my beliefs about encouragement of students. He talked about the need to be positive, and not to jump to negative conclusions about students’ writing. Some take more time to write than others, so understanding and patience is imperative. And, while it is my tendency to be considerate in my statements, Ishmael made one remark underscored how important that is: “Teachers’ remarks go a long way in the lives of a student.” He still remembers comments he received (both negative and positive) from his instructors, and these words, he said, have either held him back or pushed him forward.

I THINK THE PANEL WAS WONDERFUL BECAUSE OF THE TYPES OF INSIGHTS YOU MENTION ABOVE.  WE’VE DONE THIS WRITING PANEL EACH YEAR FOR AWHILE AND EACH YEAR THERE ARE NEW AND AMAZING COMMENTS THAT HELP ME UNDERSTAND L2 WRITING CHALLENGES A LITTLE BETTER.

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References

Shen, Fan (1989). The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identify as a Key to Learning English Composition. College Composition and Communication, 40(4), 460.

Calkins, Lucy McCormick (1994). The Art of Teaching Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Mukoroli, Joseph. International writing panel. SIT Graduate Institute, Brattleboro, VT. 12 Nov. 2009. MAT roundtable discussion.

Bhebhe, Ishmael. International writing panel. SIT Graduate Institute, Brattleboro, VT. 12 Nov. 2009. MAT roundtable discussion.

GINNA, I REALLY ENJOY READING YOUR PAPERS, BOTH FOR THE IDEAS AND FOR YOUR CLEAR WRITING STYLE.  THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT PROCESS WRITING.  IT REALLY ISN’T FOR EVERYONE AND THE SUGGESTIONS YOU’VE PRESENTED ARE CERTAINLY ONES TO CONSIDER.