Kobe Shoin Women’s University Repository
Title
The High Road to Writing Proficiency
Author(s)
Alan E.
Jackson
Citation
Shoin Literary Review,No.21:1-22
Issue Date
1987
Resource Type
Bulletin Paper / 紀要論文
Resource Version
URL
Right
The
High
Road
to Writing
Proficiency
Alan E.Jackson
1.Introduction Iamhereengagedintheproductionapieceofwriting.Iamboth makingan"essay"(strugglingthroughaprocessofgeneratingand expressingideas)andcreatinga"paper"(afinishedproduct),andif myessayistoturnintoasuccessfulpaperIwillneedtobringtothe taskofwritingbothanappreciationofwhatgoodproductslooklike andasufficientcontroloverwritingprocessestopermitmetofindout whatImeanandexpresswhatImeantosay. Butisthatall?The"what"and"how"ofwritingarenecessarybut notsufficient.Thereisalsothe"why".ff,inconsideringmypresent writingtask,IaskmyselfwhyIamdoingit,Icanfindannumberof answers.Tobeginwith,sinceIamafterallacollegeteacher,Imight saythatIamdoingitbecauseiamexpectedto.Butthisanswerdoes notcarrymeveryfar.OfmuchgreaterimportanceisthefactthatI wanttofindoutwhatIthinkandIwanttothinkabout,andcommuni-catetoothers,what,intheprocessofwriting,Iwillfindout. ThatIneedseveralreasonsforsettingaboutthetaskisindicativeof thefactthatwritingisapainfulandtimeconsumingbusiness.I persevere,however,becauseIknowthatthestrugglecanberewarding. 1'vebeenrewardedbeforeandconsequentlyhavetheconfidenceto investbo廿1timeandenergyinanenterprisewhoseresultsareuncer・ tain. Whatconcernsmeasateacherofwritinginjuniorcollege,however, -1一isthattherateofreturnonclassroomwritingactivitiesmaynotlook veryhealthytomanyofmystudents,Forthemthetimeandenergy.. investedmustoftenseemexcessiveinrelationtotherewardsthatare likelytoaccrue.Theyconsequentlyadopta"lowroad"stragegyof merely"satisficing",ofdoingtheminimumnecessarytosatisfycourse requirements.
ゆ
Lookedatinthisway,thetaskofthewritingteacherbecomesclear. Itistogetstudentsoffthe"lowroad"ofminimumeffortontoa"high road"towardswritingproficiencycharacterisedbyconstantsuccesson writingtasksofincreasingdifficultyattempedwiththeincreasing confidencethatsuccessbrings. Howthiscanbeachievedistheproblemaddressedinthispaperand, asafirststeptowardsfindingananswer,itisnecessarytosurveyand commentonwhatresearchersandteachershavediscoveredaboutthe skillofwritinganditsaquisition. 2.Background‐EmpiricalEvidence ThelargestbodyofKnowledgeofrelevancetothewritingteacher, thatrelatingtothelinguisticandsemanticstructureoftexts,issowell knownandhasforsolongbeenthemaininfluenceonwritingpro-grammedevelopmentthatlittleneedstobesaidaboutithere.Three othercategoriesofempiricalevidencedohowevermeritdiscussion 2.1.Input-DutputResearch Researchintotherelationshipbetweenwritingproficiencyanda varietyofwritingprogrammeinputshasbeencomprehensivelyrevi-ewedbyKrashen.〔1》Hisfindingsmaybesummarisedasfollows: a)StudiesofEFLwriting-Krashen(2》mentionsonlyone: *Thereseemstobearelationshipbetweenwritingfrequencyandbothaccuracyandfluencyofwritingatleastatthelevelofthe sentence.(Briere) b)Studiesoflanguageacquisitionofrelevancetothewritingteacher. AmongsttheseKrashen(2)quotesthefollowing: *Instructionofthetraditionalkindwhichseekstopromotecon-sciouslearningseemstobeofsignificantvalueonlyatbeginner levelswhensuchinstructionprovidesagreaterquantityofcompre- hensibleinputthaneitherlesscontrolledclassroomlearningactiv-itiesortheevenlessco-operativeoutsideworld.(Krashen) *Errorcorrectionseemslargelyirrelevanttolanguageacquisition. (Dulay,BurtandKrashen) c}Input-outputstudiesofmother-tongue(L1)writing.Againrelying onKrashen〔3)wefindthat: *Skilledwritershavedonemorewriting(Bamberg,McQueenetal) thoughtherelationshipbetweenwritingfrequencyandwriting proficiencyseemstobeweakerthanthatbetweenpleasurereading andwritingproficiency.Thislastpointhasbeenconfirmedby studieswhichlookedspecificallyattherelativeimportanceofthe twoinputs.(Heys,DeVries) *Writerswhoreceivefeedbackfromtheteacherbetweendraftsof anessayseemtomakemoreprogressthanthosewhoreceive feedbackonlyaftercompletingthefinaldraft.(Beach) *Formalinstructionincompositionproducedsomegainsinwriting proficiency.(Bamberg,Shaughnessy) *Fullerrorcorrectionofastudent'sfinaldraftproducesnogreater gainsinwritingproficiencythanwhentheteacherdrawsthe student'sattentiontoonlyoneerrorperessay.{Arnold} *Formalgrammarinstructionseemsirrelevanttothedevelopment ofwritingproficiency.(Elleyetal,Clark) 3一
Theoverallimpressionmadebythisbriefsurveyofinput-output studiesisreallyoneofdisappointment.Thefindingsaresuggestiveof anumberofthings‐thatreadingandwritingfrequencyareimportant, thaterrorcorrectionisirrelevant,andthatformalinstructionisless thanuseful‐buttheconfidencewithwhichwemakeuseofthemin thedevelopmentofEFLwritingprogrammesisseriouslyundermined bythefactthattheyareforthemostpartresultsofLIwriting research,Moreovertheinputsstudiedaresogross,sobroadlydefined, thatstudiesinvolvingthemservemerelytoconfirmcommonsense. Studieswhichseektoexploretherelationshipbetweenwriting proficiencyandmorecloselydefinedinputs--specifictypesofformal instruction,forexample‐i,e.studieswhichpromisetoyieldmore detailedandvaluableadvicetotheteacher,areinevitablyinconclusive sincethemorecloselydefinedtheinputstudied,thelargerthelearner samplerequiredandthegreaterthedifficultyencounteredincontrol-lingextraneousfactors. 2.2.WritingProcessResearch Anincreasinglyimportantsecondlineofresearchrelatestothe natureofthewritingprocessitself.Researchinthisfield,firstcarried outintheUnitedStateswithLIwritersbyEmig」4'andPerl,〔5)amongst others,andmorerecentlywithESLwritersbyresearcherssuchas Zamel,(6)・(7)andArndt,(8〕hasclaimedtodemonstrateahighdegreeof similaritybetweenthewritingprocessesadoptedbystudentswritingin theirmothertongueandthosecomposinginaforeignlanguage.The resultsofthesestudiesmaybesummarised,intermsofwhatskilled writersknowanddothatunskilledwritersdon't,asfollows *Skilledwritersknowthatwritingisamessybusinessthatleadsto clarity.Theyknowattheoutsetthattheirideaswilldevelopasthe
writingprocessunfoldsandthattheirfocusmaychange.They experiencewritingasaprocessofdiscovery. *Skilledwritersrealizethatwritingisarecursiveprocess,nota linearone.Awareoftheimportanceofideas,theyspendalotof timeplanningbutleavetheirplansflexible.Theyengagein retrospectivestructuring,frequentlyre-readingwhattheyhave writtenandfrequentlyrevising. *Skilledwriterstaketheirtime,arewillingtowriteseveraldrafts andrecognisethevalueofleavingoffwritingforawhilesothat theymayreturntoitwithfresheyesandfreshideas. *Skilledwriters,givingprioritytoideasandtheirorganisation, initiallyputasidetheirconcernwithlanguageandleaveeditingto theendwhenproblemsofcontenthavebeensubstantiallysolved. *Skilledwritersengageinprojectivestructuringi.e.theymodel theiraudienceandprojectthemselvesintotheroleofthereader. Theirwritingisdecenteredandexplicit. Itmustbeemphasisedthatthischaracterisationofskilledwriters, andbynegativeimplicationofunskilledwriters,isbothverygeneral indeedandpartlytheresultofinterpretationheavilyinfluencedbya bodyofimpressiveLlresearch.Itinfactconcealsagreatdealof individualvariationamongstbothskilledandunskilledwritersand shouldperhapsbemodifiedtotakeaccountoftheresultsofsome recentstudieswhichseemtoshowthatmothertonguewritingskills canbecarriedoverintotheforeignlanguage.Raimes,(9)forexample, showedthat *UnskilledL2writers,thoughconstrainedbylackofvocabulary, ,.
ノ
werenotasconcernedwitherrorashadbeenexpected.
*Theyseemedtobeabletoengage,tosomeextentatleast,in
writingasdiscovery.
-5
*Theydemonstratedsomeawarenessofaudience. 2.3.ResearchRelatingTaskStructuretoTaskPerformance Findingsincludethefollowing *Studentsintheearlystagesofawritingprogrammewritelonger, moreaccurately,inlesstimeandwithlessplanningontopicsof directpersonalrelevancethanonmoreobjectivetasks. (Taylor{log) *Inacademicsettingsstudentsreportapreferenceformoreob-jectivewritingtasks.(Zamel(11)) *Studentsreportgreatfrustrationatbeinggivenwritingtopics"out oftheblue"andbeingtoldtowritewithoutpreparation. (Zame1ロ2)) 3.Background‐Pedagogy Empiricalresearchinthefieldoflanguagelearningcanprovideno morethanpartofthefoundationonwhichateachingprogramcanbe built.Itmustbesupplementedbysomeconsiderationofthemore anecdotalyetnolessimportantevidenceprovidedbyclassroomexperi-ence. Attheoutsetitisimportanttonotethattherearemanywaysof combiningindividualteachingtechniquesintoawritingprogrammeand thereareprobablyasmanyapproachestotheteachingofwritingas thereareteachers.Itisneverthelessclearlynecessarytogeneralize aboutwhathappensinclassroomsand,forthispurpose,wecanmake useofanimportantdifferenceintheassumptions,consciousorother-wise,broughttotheclassroombydifferentgroupsofteachers.One group,adoptingaproductapproach,assumethatpoorwritingabilityis theresultofasyetinadequatelanguageaquisition.Theothergroup,
adoptingaprocessapproach,seelowproficiencyastheconsequenceof
theadoptionofaninefficientwritingprocess.
3.1.TheProductApproach
Writingcourseswhichmaybecharacterizedasfocussingonproduct
aretypicallyorganisedaroundasyllabusderivingfromresearchinto
thelinguisticandsemanticstructureoftext.Thesyllabusinventory
generallycontainsbothformalelements(unitsoftext,bothinter-and
intra--sentential)andsemanticelements{unitsofdiscoursestructure)
whicharethenorganisedintoasequencedsyllabusinaccordancewith
somefundamentalorganisingprinciple.Inthesedaysoffunctional
approachestosyllabusdesign,thisorganisationisoftenbasedona
gradedsequenceofimportantdiscoursetypessuchasnarrativeor
description.
Thepreferredteachingmethodologyemployedwithinthisapproach
isthefamillaroneofabstractingaparticularstructuralelement,
practicingitinisolationandinacontrolledmanner,andthenintegrat-ingitwithpreviouslylearneditemsinessayswhosetopicshavebeen
carefullychosentonecessitateuseoftheiteminquestion.Common
exercisetypesincludegapfilling,sentencecombining,sentencesequen-cingandparagraphwritingbasedonmodels.
Theproductapproachseemstoofferasuitablewayforwardtoat
leasttwogroupsofstudents;beginnerswhostillhavealotoflanguage
acquiringtodo,and,attheotherendofthespectrumoflanguage
learningexperience,relativelyadvancedlearnerswhomayneedto
acquireanabilitytoproducesomekindsofhighlyconventionalised
textssuchasformalletters.
Butwhatofthevastmajorityoflearnerswhofallbetweenthesetwo
extremes?Assumingthatsuchstudentsneedbothmorelanguage
7
acquistionandmorecomposingpractice,themethodologiesoffered withintheproductapproachmaybelessthanadequate.Asfaras languageacquisitionisconcerned,theapproachisprobablyoverheavy onactivitiesdesignedtopromoteconsciouslearning,thoughthiscriti-cismcanbecounteredbyarefinementtothemethodologywhich replacesabstractionandcontrolledpracticeofsyllabusunitsbyexer-ciseswhichobligestudentstoanalysetextsforthemselves.Ofgreater importisthefactthathavingstudentswritefrommodelsconstrains themsoseverelythattheyhavenoopportunitytoworkthroughthe multitudeofproblems,ofgeneratingideas,oforganisation,ofpurpose andofaudience,thatthereal-lifewriterisconfrontedwith.Theyare excusedthestruggleandconsequentlyforgothelearning.AsZameli13) says:"Ratherthanassigningessaysthataresupposedtorepresent idealrhetoricalmodelsandwhichareoftentheimitationofsuch models,weshouldbehelpingstudentsunderstandthatdecisionsabout formandorganisationmakesenseonlywithreferencetotheparticular ideasbeingexpressed.Thetendencytodootherwise,toappropriate students'textsbytakingprimarycontrolofthechoiceswritersmake givesthestudentstheimpressionthatwhattheywantedtostayisless relevantthantheteacher'sexpectationsabouthowtheyshouldhave saidit." Deprivedofanopportunitytosaywhattheywanttosayandofareal audiencetosayitto,thebusinessofputtingwordsonapagebecomes forthestudent(touseWiddowson'swords(14))"notasocialactivitybut alanguageexercise;amanifestationoflinguisticrulesfordisplayand notarealizationoflinguisticrulesforcommunication." Theresult,asRaimes(15)pointsout,oftrappingthestudentsinthe sentenceorprepackagedparagraphareessaysthatareflat,uninspiring anddevoidofthepersonalinvolvementsonecessaryforlearning.Since
theneedtoexpressmeaning,tocommunicate,istheprimarymotiva-tionforceinlanguagelearning,wecanagreewithTaylor(16}thattasks whichputrealcommunicationonthesidelinecheatthestudentsoutof animportantlearningexperience. 3.2.The」Process/4砂70α`ん Processbasedwritingcoursesgenerallydispensewithalinguistic syllabusandbuildindividualunitsofworkaroundsuitabletopicsor combinationsoftopicandmajordiscoursetype.Derivingfrom researchintothewritingprocessesofbothskilledandunskilledwriters, processbasedcoursesattempttomodifystudents'writingbehaviour towardstheseeminglymoreefficientprocessesadoptedbyproficient writers.Strippeddowntoitsessentialsthemethodologycanbeseenas comprisingthefollowingelements *Apre-writingstageduringwhichstudentsarehelpedandencour-agedtogenerateideasaboutthechosentopic,andformulatea looselystructuredwritingplan. *Thewritingofafirstdraftwiththeemphasisoncontentandits organisationandwithstudentsencouragednottoconcernthem-selvesundulywithhowthecontentisexpressed. *Afeedbackstageinwhichtheteacherand/orfellowstudents respondtothewritersideasandcommentonthecoherenceoftheir organisationandonthewriter'ssuccessinaccomodatingthe audience'sviewoftheworld. *Thewritingofasecondreviseddraft. *Asecondfeedbackstagesimilartothefirstbutwithsomeatten-Lionpaidtoexplicitnessofexpression. *Thewritingandeditingofafinaldraft. *Afinalresponsefromtheteacher,primarilytocontent,butwith -9一
attentionalsopaidtoselectedaspectsofvocabulary,sentence structureandtextstructure. Underlyingthisapproachtotheteachingofwritingarethreekey assumptions;thatunskilledwritershaveanerroneousviewofwhat writinginvolves,thattheyareunabletomodeltheiraudience,andthat theirinabilitytowritewelldoesnotresultfrominadequatelanguage acquisition.Learners,tobemoreprecise,areassumedtoseethe processofconstructinganessayasanessentiallylinearprocessinvoly-ingtheexpressionofalreadywell-formedandwell-organisedideas .As aresult,theydevelopexcessivelyrigidwritingplansandaresopre-occupiedwiththetaskoffindinglanguagewithwhichtoencodetheir ideas,andespeciallywithavoidingerror,thatcontentremainsun-developed.Furthermore,theyfailtocreatetextthatissufficiently explicittopermitthereadertodecodetheintendedmessagewith precision. Themethodologyemployedcounteractstheseproblemsinthree ways:byemphasisingcontent,byencouragingthewritertoreflecton whatheorshehaswrittenandthenmakeuseofre-writingstrategies tofurtherdevelopcontentandorganisationunhamperedbyworries overlinguisticaccuracy,andbyconfrontingthewriterwithaspecific readersothatheorshemaylearntotakeaccountofaudiencefactors . Theprocessapproachseemstohavemetwithsuccessinsituations whereitsunderlyingassumptionsholdtruei.e.inLlwritingclasses (seeOde11(17)andHilgers(18りbutmaybelessthanwhollyappropriate whentransferredwholesaletoadultEFLclasses.Tobeginwith,the abilitytouselanguageindecontextualisedsituationsi.e.towritewith explicitness,islearnableinanylanguageandcanbetransferredto writinginanyotherlanguage.Further,asRaimes'(19〕studydemonstrat・ ed,adultESLwriterscanexperienceL2writingasdiscoveryandcan
takeaccountofaudiencefactors.Finally,apointmadebyArndt,(2①the existenceofconsiderableindividualdifferencesinthewritingprocesses adoptedbyequallyproficientwriterscallsintoquestiontheadvisability ofrequiringallstudentstofollowthesamerigidcomposingprocedure sincesomestudentsmaywellviewwell-meaningteacherintervention asteacherinterference. 4.The」 田9宛1ヒoα4 Whatisstrikingaboutthetwoapproachestotheteachingofwriting describedaboveistheextenttowhichtheyreflecttheconcernsof researcherswitheitherwritingastextorwritingasprocessatthe expenseofwhatinmanyteachingsituationsmaybeofmorefundamen-talimportance‐theteacher'sneedtoraiseandthenmaintainstudent motivationtowrite.Thedangeristhatteachersmayadopteitherone ofthesewell-establishedapproachestotheteachingofwritinginthe mistakenbeliefthattheyrepresent"methods"ofuniversalapplication. Thatthismayhappenisnotsurprisingsincebothapproachesarelinked toasubstantialbodyofempiricalresearchwhich,incomparisonwith thegeneralinconclusivenessofinput-outputstudies,seemstooffer certaintyinaworldofgeneralconfusion. Thiscertaintyis,however,likelytobemisleadinginmanyteaching situationsandshouldbeabandonedinfavourofacriticalevaluationof teachingtechniquesinrelationtothespecificgroupoflearnerswith whichtheteacherisinvolved.Thoughthistaskmaybeadifficultone, itisessentialthatindividualteachingtechniquesbedissociatedfrom theirpackages,themethods,andrecombinedandsupplementedas occasiondemandsi.e.accordingtothestudents'developmentstage,so astomaintainprogressalongthemostefficientpathtowardswriting proficiency. -11一
Buthowcanonecharacterisethismostefficientpath?Bywhat criteriacanoneevaluateteachingtechniquessoastodeterminetheir applicabilitytostudentsofaparticularbackgroundandataparticular developmentstage?Theanswer,intheabsenceoftrulyconclusive evidenceastotheresponsivnessofwritingproficiencytoawiderange ofteacherinputs,isthatoptimalprogressisonlyattainedwhenlear- nerscompletewritingtaskswithsufficientsuccesstoapproachsubse-quentandmoredifficulttaskscertaininthebeliefthattheytoocanbe successfullycompleted. Thisofcoursesoundsveryvagueandneedsclarification.Letme explain.Wecanviewstudentsasbringingtothewritingclassabasic motivationcomprisingoneormoreofthefollowingelements;adesire tomeetcourserequirements,aneedtolearntowriteforpurposes beyondthecourse,anexpectationoffindingpleasureinthecourse itself.Confrontedwithawritingtask,theywillrepresenttothemselves theproblemsitposesandmakeeffortstosolvethemonlytotheextent thattheyaremotivatedtodoso.Ifboththeirneedtolearntowriteand theirexpectationofgainingpleasurefromthetaskareminimal,they willadoptthe"lowroad"approachofdoingtheminimumtosatisfy courserequirements.Theproblemsposedbythetask--generating ideas,organisingthem,modellingtheaudienceandfindinglanguagefor theexplicitexpressionofmeaning‐willatbestbeonlypartially solvedandnomotivationalmomentumwillhavebeengainedtobe carriedforwardtothenexttask. Tohelpstudentsgetonthecontrasting"highroad"towriting proficiencycharacterisedbyconstantwritingsuccessonincreasingly difficultwritingtasksdonewithprogressivelylessteacherassistanceit willbenecessaryfortheteachertodooneormoreofthefollowingas appropriate
*Designtaskswhichareintrinsicallymotivatinginthatthey involverelevantsubjectmatter,allowstudentstoengageinthe. satisfyingsocialactivityofcommunicatingmeaningandcreating dialogue,andprovideanopportunityforstudentstofindtheirown voiceandexperiencewritingasaprocessofdiscovery.As Arndt'21'says,"writingisanactofpersonalcommittmentandthe abilitytosaysomethinginyourownvoiceisanimportantmeasure ofquality." *Helpstudentstorepresentthewritingproblemtothemselvesby helpingthemintothetopicand,ifnecessary,byprovidingassis-tancewiththetaskofmodellingtheaudience. *Reducethewritingproblembyloweringperformanceconstraints, notsomuchastotrivialisethewritingtask(theprocessoflearn-ingtowriteconsistsinthestrivingforasuccessfulfusionof thoughtandlanguagetofittherhetoricalcontext),butsufficient toallowstudentstobothhaveandfulfillexpectationsofwriting success. Theprecisenatureofappropriateteacherinterventiondependsof courseonthenatureofthelearners.Sincewearehereconcernedwith thetaskofoutliningawritingcourseforjuniorcollege,thenextsection willattemptasketchoftheneeds,skillsandattitudesofjuniorcollege studentsandadescriptionoftheirlearningsituation. 5.TheLearnersandtheContextofLearning 5.1.刀z召 五earners While190r20yearoldjuniorcollegestudentsexhibitconsiderable varietyastotheirneedsandtheskillsandattitudestheybringtothe classroom,itispossibletocharactisetheminnottoogrossgeneral termsasfollows 13
a)Needs‐Thestudentsneitherhavenorareconsciousofhavinga pressingneedtolearntowriteinEnglishforpurposesbeyondthe writingcoursei.e.noclearinstrumentalmotivation,sincefewcan realisticallyexpecttomakefrequentuseofEnglishintheirfuture employment.Thisdoesnotofcoursemeanthattheyhavenoreason tolearntowrite.Theymayfindlearningtowriteaninteresting challenge,theymayseewritingasassistingtheminthemoregeneral taskofacquiringanactivecommandoftheEnglishlanguage,orthey mayfeelaneedtoacquireaverygeneralizedEnglishwritingability whichcanlaterberefinedandturnedtoaccountifandwhentheneed arises. b)KnowledgeandSkills‐TheyhavebeenlearningEnglishforat leastsixyearsandhavemadeconsiderableprogresstowardsacquir-ingareceptiveknowledgeofEnglish.Muchofwhattheyhave learned,however,hasyettoberoutineizedforimmediateandeffi-cientproductiveusesincetheyhavehadfewopportunitiestousethe languageforauthenticcommunicativepurposes.Theyhavenot,to paraphraseWiddowson,(22)acquiredasufficientlylargesetofadapta-bleclichestoallowthemtotransfertheirattentioneasilyawayfrom thetaskofconstructingaccuratetexttothehigherordercom-municativeoperationofconstructingcoherentdiscourse.Inaddition theyseemtolackanadequateactivevocabularyandwastemuchof theirefforttorectifythisdeficiencybymakingpooruseofdiction-aries. Asadults,ofcourse,theybringtotheclassroomaconsiderable knowledgeoftheworldaroundthemand,Iwouldguess,anabilityto writewithconsiderableaccuracyandfluencyintheirownlanguage. Theymustcertainlyhaveexperiencedwritingasdiscoveryintheir mothertongueandarenodoubtcapableofmodellingtheiraudience
andconsideringitsneedswhencomposing. c)Attitudes‐Thestudentsareatthatintermediatestageoflan-guagelearningcharacterisedbyrisingdoubtsastowhetherprogress isactuallybeingmadeand,sincethesenseofdirectionthatreal worldlanguagelearninggoalsprovideisunfortunatelyunavailableto them,areoftennotveryhighlymotivated. Theyoftenseeminhibited,partlyofcoursebylanguagerestriction andafearofbeingcriticisedformakingerrors,butmostlybecause thepublicexpressionofideas,attitudesandopinionsinnotsome-thingthathasbeenencouragedintheireducationalexperience. Conditionedintoviewinglanguagelearningastheacquistionofan abstractsystemoflinguisticrulesandnotasameansbywhich meaningisnegotiated,socialrelationscementedandtheirworlds controlled,theydoasBlanton's〔23)studentsand``respondtoeachact ofwritingasifitwereatest,therebydenyingthemselvesthe psychologicalandintellectualspacetoworkwithwrittenlanguage." Thoughtheycometothewritingclasswithaconcernforformal correctnessthatmayinhibittheexpressionofcontent,theirconcern doesnotgoverydeep.Unlikenativespeakersforwhom,according toWiddowson,(24)correctnessisenforcedbysocialpressure,learners ofEnglishasaforeignlanguagehavenoinbuiltawarenessoftheloss ofstatusandrespectthataccompaniestheuse,especiallyinwriting, ofEnglishthatisill-formed.Asaresult,intheabsenceofteacher comment,theymayfailtoeditouteveneasilycorrectableerrors fromtheiressays. Onamorepositivenote,itisgenerallytruethatthestudentscome totheclassroomequippedwithastrongintegrativemotivationwhich makesthemhighlyresponsivetotaskswhichinvolvetheminco-operativeworkwitheitherteacherorotherlearners. -15一
5.2.TheLearningContext Salientfeaturesofthelearningcontextincludethefollowing a)Classesarerelativelylargeandrelativelylittletimeisdevotedto theskillofwritingmakingitdifficulttoprovideagreatdealof individualattention. b)Thecollegecurriculumcomprises,inadditiontoawritingcourse, alargenumberofcoursesbasedonreading.Agreatdealofprovi-sionisthusmadewithinthecurriculumforlanguageacquisition activities. 6.AWritingProgrammeDutline Armedwithourprofileofthelearnersandtheircontext,itisnow possibletospecifyingeneraltermsandforeachstageofthewriting programmethetypesofwritingtasksandtaskadministrationproce-duresthatwillallowstudentstogetonandcontinuealongthehighroad towritingproficiency. Thewritingprogrammeoutlinedbelowcomprisesaflexiblethree-stagesyllabus,withsuccessivestagescorrespondingtotheneedto changestudentattitudes,toallowthemtoexperiencewritingasdiscov-eryandtoprovidewithinthecourseaseriousobjectivetowardswhich effortscanbedirected,andamethodologywhichstrikesabalance betweenthepracticalnecessityfortheteachertodealwiththeclassas awholeandthestudents'needforindividualattention. 6.1.PhaseOne‐Transition a)Objective‐Sincestudentsgenerallybringtotheclassroomaset ofattitudesthatmilitateagainstwritingsuccess,thekeyobjectivein thisfirst"transition"phaseis,inBlanton'S(2s)words,"toreshapehow theyfeelaboutwritingtohaveanychancewiththematall."
Specificallyitisnecessarytohavelearnerscometorealizethatwhat theysayisofinterestandimportanceandthatcommunicatingtheir ideasthroughthemediumofEnglishwritingisanintrinsically satisfyingactivity. b}Strategy‐Thestrategyforachievingthisreshapingobjective consistsofthefollowingelements *Thecreationintheclassroomofacommunicativenetworkof student-studentandstudent-teacherdialogues. *Anemphasisoncontentandacorrespondingde-emphasisof formalaccuracy. *Studentfreedomtocontrolwritingtopicandlength ,torepresent thewritingproblemtothemselvesinaself-regulatingadjustment ofwritingcomplexitytowritingability. c)Methodology‐Theabovestragegyisrealizedbytwosetsof learningactivities. *Outsideclass--Thestudentskeepajournalinwhichtheyfreely recordbothinformationaboutthemselvesandtheirexperienceand impressionsofandreflectionsontheworldaboutthem .Journal entriesmustbewrittenonaregular,preferablydaily ,basiswith theteacherrespondingtotheircontentperiodicallysoastocreate afriendlyandpersonalteacher-studentdialogue.Additionally ,the teachermaykeepajournalofhisorherownanddistributecopies ofittothestudentsbywayofencouragingthemwiththeirown journalsandcontributingtothedialoguebetweenteacherand class.Allthis,ofcourse,takesagreatdealofteachertimebut experienceshowsthatthemaintenanceofadialogueinjournal formoverasixorsevenweektransitionperiodbringsrewardsin theformofenhancedstudentmotivationandapplicationoutofall proportiontotheeffortputin. -17一
*Inclass‐Studentfreedomtocontrolcontentgiveswayto teacherdirectedtaskswhichareintendedtofacilitatecommunica-一 一 tioninwrittenEnglishbetweenstudents.Appropriatetasksare short,therebykeepingproblemsofdiscoursecoherenceandtext cohesiontoaminimum,andsoorganisedastoensurethatevery-thingwrittenisrespondedto.Whiletasksshoulddemandavariety ofwritingstyles,asubstantialproportionshouldobligestudentsto expresstheirownfeelingsandopinions. 6.2.PhaseTwo‐Development a)Objective‐Thissecondmuchlonger"development"phasehasfor itsobjective,giventhatlanguageacquisitionislargelycateredfor elsewhereinthecurriculum,thegradualdevelopmentofwriting skillsthroughwritingpractice. b)Stragegy‐Centraltotheachievementofthisobjectiveisthe provisionofagradedseriesofsubstantialessaytasks,meaning essaysoftwoormoreparagraphsontopicsofsufficientinterestand complexitytoallowstudentstoexperiencewritingasdiscovery,and theuseofclassroomprocedureswhichobligestudentstocommuni-catetheirideastoothers. c)Methodology--Thestrategycanberealizedbyamethodology comprisingthefollowingfoursetsofteacherinterventiontechniques. *TaskDefinition-Duringthissecondphaseofthewritingpro-gramme,theteachercantakeaccountofthestudents'growing proficiencybygradingtasksaccordingtolength(from,say,200 wordsto500words),topic(frommorepersonaltomoreobjective) anddiscoursetype(fromdescriptionandnarrative,whichoften haveanaturalstructure,tothemorecomplexexpositoryand argumentativestyles).
*Pre-writing-一 一一Priortostudentsputtingpentopaper,theteacher needstoassistthemwithboththegenerationofideasandwith language,particularlyvocabulary.Arangeofinventiontechniques areavailableforthispurpose(seeZame1126))andthesecanbe complementedbytheprovisionoftextsonthetopicinquestionand classdiscussion.Thispre-writingactivityservesnotonlythe functionofhelpingstudentsrepresentthewritingtasktothem-selvesandfindawayintothetopicbutalsoprovidesthemwith relevantvocabularyandhelpsmakewritingasharedactivity.The provisionoftextsalsoservesanotherfunction,thatofprovidinga contextforthefocussingofstudentattentiononaspectsoftext cohesionoftenneglectedinreadingcourses.Essayplanningcanbe lefttostudentsthemselves,theirmothertongueexperienceshould besufficientguideinthis. *BetweenDrafts-一 一Aspointedoutearlier,feedbackduringthe writingprocessandsubsequentrevisioniscentraltotheprocess approachtotheteachingofwriting.Suchfeedback,itisclaimed, helpsstudentsreflectontheirwritingandimproveitscontent, organisationandresponsivenesstoaudienceconsiderations.The contentionhereisthatoncetheprimacyofcontenthasbeen establishedandstudentshavecometoseetheirwritingastruly communicative,theneedtomakespecificprovisionfortheencour-agementofre-writingstrategiesisreducedsincestudentswill reviseasamatterofcourseanyway.Rather,feedbackbetween draftsisrecommendedheremainlytoreinforcethestudents'sense ofwritingasasharedcommunicativeactivityandtoimpresson themtheteacher'ssympatheticconcernwiththeirefforts. *AfterWriting‐Teacherfeedbackonfinaldraftsmustaboveall bepositive.Quitesimply"noticingandpraisingwhateverastudent -19一
doeswellimproveswritingmorethananykindoramountof correctionofwhathedoesbadly. (Diederich(27)).Praiseisnotall, however,fortheirisalsoaneedtocommunicatetothestudentsan increasingintoleranceofcorrectableerrorwhichalonewill motivatestudentstoedit.Thisneednottaketheformoflotsof redinkonessaysbutshouldratherbeaccomplishedbymeansof theteachermaintainingasteadilylengtheninglistofunacceptable errorstobepresentedperiodicallytothestudentsasawhole togetherwithsomeformofheuristiceditingprocedure. Inplacingsubstantialessaysatcentrestageinthissecondphaseof thewritingprogram,Iamnotofcoursesuggestingthatwritingprac-ticeendthere.Thereisastrongcasetobemadeforintroducing activitiessimplyonthebasisoftheirbringinganelementoffunor enjoymenttothecourse,andanothercasefordealingwithsometypes ofletterwritingbothformalandinfomal.Injustificationforincluding letterwritingintheprogramme,itispossibletopointtothefactthat studentsgenerallyseetheactivityasrelevant,thatletterwriting conventionsareoftenignoredinreadingclassesandthattheconcrete, transactionalnatureofthetaskprovidesagoodcontextforlanguage practice.Asformethodology,oneneedlooknofurtherthanthat generallyusedwithinproductapproachestotheteachingofwriting, namelyparallelwritingforinformalletters,whichcanbepracticedas anextensionofjournalwork,andwritingfrommodelsforformal letters,whoseformatandorganisationarehighlyconventionalized. 6.3.PhaseThree‐Assignment Itisunfortunatethatlearningtowriteservesnoeasilyidentifiable instrumentalpurposeforthestudents.Onepossibilityofremedying
thisdeficiencywouldbetorequiresubstantialwrittenEnglishelse-whereinthecurriculum,eitherintheformofendofyearreportsin contentclassesorasagraduationthesis.Intheabsenceofeither,it seemsadvisabletoprovidethewritingcoursewithasubstantialendof yearreportorassignmentofitsowntowardswhichcourseworkcan ultimatelybedirected.Suchanassignmentshouldbelengthy,ona serioustopic,taketimetocompleteandbepresentedformallytypedin aprescribedformat.Itshouldalsocarrysubstantialweightinthefinal allocationofcoursegrades. 7.Conclusion Theapproachtotheteachingofwritingoutlinedaboveproceeds fromaconsiderationoftheneeds,skillsandattitudesthatstudents bringwiththemtotheclassroomandcomprisesamethodologythat seeslanguagelearningasresultingfromtheeffortsmadebylearnersto conceive,expressandpurposefullycommunicateideastoaconcerned audience.Itplacesatcentrestagetheneedforstudentstogain satisfactionfromwriting,byengaginginbothpersonaldevelopment throughdiscoveryandsocialdevelopmentthroughcommunication,and relegatesthemoretechnicalandlessfundamentalconcernsofcontrol overlinguisticstructureandmasteryoverwritingprocesstothestatus ofconstraintstobemanipulatedbytheteacheronlytotheextentthat theirdeficiencymilitatesagainstwritingsuccess.Itconsequently representsahighroadroutetowritingproficiency,ofteachercommit-menttostudentandstudentcommitmenttowriting,thatisnotonly studentcenteredbuthighlycommunicativeandhumanistic. -21一
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