Basic Writing - Definition and Examples in Composition Studies

Basic Writing s in Composition Studies Basic writing is a pedagogical term for the writing of high risk students who are perceived to be unprepared for conventional college courses in freshman composition. The term basic writing was  introduced in the 1970s as an alternative to  remedial  or  developmental writing. In her ground-breaking book Errors and Expectations (1977), Mina Shaughnessy says that basic writing tends to be represented by small numbers of words with large numbers of errors. In contrast, David Bartholomae argues that a  basic writer  is not necessarily a writer who makes a lot of  mistakes (Inventing the University, 1985).  Elsewhere he observes that the distinguishing mark of the basic writer is that he works  outside the conceptual structures that  his more literate counterparts work within (Writing on the Margins, 2005). In the article Who Are Basic Writers? (1990), Andrea Lunsford and Patricia A. Sullivan conclude that the population of basic writers continues to resist our best attempts at description and definition. Observations Mina Shaughnessy had much to do with encouraging the acceptance of basic writing as a distinct area of teaching and research. She named the field and founded in 1975 the Journal of Basic Writing, which continues as one of the most important vehicles for the dissemination of research articles. In 1977, she published one of the most important scholarly books on the subject, Errors and Expectations, a book that remains the most important single study of basic writers and their prose... [O]ne of the values of her book is that she showed teachers how they could, by viewing errors as linguistic misconceptions, determine the causes of writing problems that on the surface might appear confusing and unconnected.(Michael G. Moran and Martin J. Jacobi, Introduction. Research in Basic Writing: A Bibliographic Sourcebook. Greenwood Press, 1990) Speaking (and Writing) the Language of the University Every time a student sits down to write for us, he has to invent the university for the occasioninvent the university, that is, or a branch of it, like History or Anthropology or Economics or English. He has to learn to speak our language, to speak as we do, to try on the peculiar ways of knowing, selecting, evaluating, reporting, concluding, and arguing that defines the discourse of our community...One response to the problems of basic writers, then, would be to determine just what the communitys conventions are, so that those conventions can be written out, demystified, and taught in our classrooms, Teachers, as a result, could be more precise and helpful when they ask students to think, argue, describe, or define. Another response would be to examine the essays written by basic writerstheir approximations of academic discourseto determine more clearly where the problems lie. If we look at their writing, and if we look at it in the context of other student writing, we can better se e the points of discord when students try to write their way into the university.  (David Bartholmae, Inventing the University. When a Writer Can’t Write: Studies in Writer’s Block and Other Composing-Process Problems, ed. by Mike Rose. Guilford Press, 1985) [T]he real challenge for us as teachers of basic writing lies in helping our students become more proficient at abstracting and conceptualizing and hence at producing acceptable academic discourse, without losing the directness many of them now possess.  (Andrea Lunsford, quoted by Patricia Bizzell in Academic Discourse and Critical Consciousness. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992) Where Do Basic Writers Come From? [T]he research does not support the view that basic writers come from any single social class or discourse community... Their backgrounds are too complex and rich to support simple generalizations about class and psychology to be particularly useful in helping to understand these students.(Michael G. Moran and Martin J. Jacobi, Research in Basic Writing. Greenwood, 1990) The Problem With the Growth Metaphor Many early studies of basic writing in the 1970s and 80s drew on the metaphor of growth in order to talk about the difficulties faced by basic writers, encouraging teachers to view such students as inexperienced or immature users of language and defining their task as one of helping students develop their nascent skills in writing... The growth model pulled attention away from the forms of academic discourse and towards what students could or could not do with language. It also encouraged teachers to respect and work with the skills students brought to the classroom. Implicit in this view, though, was the notion that many students, and especially less successful or basic writers, were somehow stuck in an early stage of language development, their growth as language users stalled...Yet this conclusion, pretty much forced by the metaphor of growth, ran counter to what many teachers felt they knew about their studentsmany of whom were returning to school after years of work, most of who m were voluble and bright in conversation, and almost all of whom seemed at least as adept as their teachers in dealing with the ordinary vicissitudes of life... What if the trouble that they were having with writing at college was less a sign of some general failing in their thought or language than evidence of their unfamiliarity with the workings of a specific sort of (academic) discourse?(Joseph Harris, Negotiating the Contact Zone. Journal of Basic Writing, 1995. Reprinted in Landmark Essays on Basic Writing, ed. by Kay Halasek and Nels P. Highberg. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001)

Teaching English Listening Skills to ESL Classes

Teaching English Listening Skills to ESL Classes Teaching listening skills is one of the most difficult tasks for any ESL teacher. This is because successful listening skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice. Its frustrating for students because there are no rules as in grammar teaching. Speaking and writing also have very specific exercises that can lead to improved skills. This is not to say that there are not ways of improving listening skills, however, they are difficult to quantify. Student Blocking One of the largest inhibitors for students is often mental block. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesnt understand what is being said. At this point, many students just tune out or get caught up in an internal dialogue trying to translate a specific word. Some students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken English well and create problems for themselves. Signs that Students are Blocking Students constantly look up wordsStudents pause when speakingStudents change their eye contact away from the speaker as if they are thinking about somethingStudents write words down during conversation exercises The key to helping students improve their listening skills is to convince them that not understanding is OK. This is more of an attitude adjustment than anything else, and it is easier for some students to accept than others. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time. Listening Exercise Suggestion Suggest a number of shows in English on the radio, podcasts online, etc.Have students choose one of the shows based on interestAsk students to listen to the show for five minutes three times a weekKeep track of student listening to encourage them to keep up the practiceCheck with students to confirm that their listening skills are improving over time Getting in Shape I like to use this analogy: Imagine you want to get in shape. You decide to begin jogging. The very first day you go out and jog seven miles. If you are lucky, you might even be able to jog the whole seven miles. However, chances are good that you will not soon go out jogging again. Fitness trainers have taught us that we must begin with little steps. Begin jogging short distances and walk some as well, over time you can build up the distance. Using this approach, youll be much more likely to continue jogging and get fit. Students need to apply the same approach to listening skills. Encourage them to get a film, or listen to an English radio station, but not to watch an entire film or listen for two hours. Students should often listen, but they should listen for short periods - five to ten minutes. This should happen four or five times a week. Even if they dont understand anything, five to ten minutes is a minor investment. However, for this strategy to work, students must not expect improved understanding too quickly. The brain is capable of amazing things if given time, students must have the patience to wait for results. If a student continues this exercise over two to three months their listening comprehension skills will greatly improve.

Realationship at work 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Realationship at work 2 - Essay Example In the role play, I am the junior colleague who is talking with my Boss, who is also the EDM’s boss. My strategy had been to be assertive since I expected that my boss would be aggressive and would not understand what I had to say. I also wanted to be assertive so as to convince my boss to meet with the EDM. However, during the role play, she was quite accommodating. She let me explain everything that I needed to say and she asked the right questions. She was also confident and this helped me to remember all through the role play that I was addressing the boss. My boss was very considerate and she helped me get my point across every now and then (Scarnatti, 1998). Although she asked a lot of questions, she was not aggressive while asking them. This is the main reason that made me change my communication strategy to being less assertive. At the start of the role play, I was quite nervous since I did not know how my boss would react. This affected my confidence and my voice was low at the beginning. However, when I realized that the boss was not as aggressive as I had thought she would be, I grew more confident. I even managed to maintain good eye contact throughout the role play. Since my strategy was to use assertiveness from the beginning, I used my hands for emphasis (Armstrong, 1999). Sometimes the hands were open, sometimes closed. I felt under pressure, especially when my boss started asking me some questions and I had to give satisfactory answers. In my strategy, I had planned to control the conversation, but my boss is the one who controlled it instead. I did not ask my boss any questions, but she listened to what I had to say very actively. She even asked me for more information to solve the problem (Knapp and Vangelisti, 1992). Towards the end, I thought that my strategy was almost not working because for a few moments my boss sided with the EDM. At the end of the role play, I decided to use my strategy which involved convincing her of the