In the article Polio (2017) presents a few interesting areas of L2 writing development that can be explored in future research. While all the suggested areas are interesting in their own way, I think that the research task I would explore has to do with genre progress. Genre knowledge and how to write for those different genres is something I have always been personally interested in as a L1 writer but recently became more interested in as a ESL/EFL teacher teaching writing. As a writer, I understood that there were important differences between the genres (e.g. general format, grammatical structure, and vocabulary) but I often struggled because I think I approached writing them all in a similar manner, namely as a five paragraph argumentative paper. I remember hating writing more “creative” pieces, such as poetry or short fiction stories, because I left like it needed and introduction, body, conclusion, and it needed to make some type of important point (other than expressing my feelings). Additionally, I struggled with the amount of details to include so that it was interesting but also not excessive. Of course this later developed as I read more, but I cannot really describe how I learned the different genres and how my writing process changed. As a ESL/EFL teacher, I have noticed, as confirmed by Polio, that teachers are told to teach different writing genres but they may not be aware of how to teach the different genres. I feel like there was not a lot of discussion in my classes about the differences between the genres and how my students might approach each differently. However, I do feel like I still need more knowledge on how L2 writers approach writing for these genres differently and how they may use their L1 to assist with their development. On the section focusing on genre, Polio briefly mentions that one possible approach for studying L2 writers’ development of specific genres could be to follow them as they learn the different genres in real life. Thus, as a researcher I would be able to observe what L2 students are doing and how their writing in a variety of genres (e.g. digital writing, argumentative, persuasive, creative, etc.) develop over time. Of course this would need to be a longitudinal study and probably small scale (1-3 people) as it will generate lots of data and will require a lot of time. Also I would need to decide if I wanted to work with children or adults and if I wanted to study those who may have limited L1 literacy or have experience writing these genres in their L1.
After reading Polio’s “research agenda,” I realized the importance and difficulty of longitudinal studies. I agree with Rocky that all areas are interesting in their own way, and there are more than one that I’d love to pursue. However, after reading Research Task 2 “Determine how oral and written language do or do not coincide for different populations.” (p. 265), I thought “this is it!” This task actually made me re-considered my research proposal for this class. As I read her description and suggestions, I couldn’t help to relate it to my recent topic of interest: Heritage Language learners, who Polio mentions as a possible research target group for this task. Polio explains how writing, given that it takes a “slower language production than speaking,” might lead to acquisition of speech. I found this idea fascinating. Relating it with what I have read lately about HLL, who are known to be more proficient orally than in writing, and my own experience working with students writing in Spanish as a Foreign language (and as a Heritage Language), I couldn’t help to feel drawn to this topic. Nevertheless, reading that the field lacks “longitudinal studies with comparable counterbalanced tasks” discouraged me just a little bit. I have been lately trying to reach out to participants to finish collecting data for another project, and that has not been easy, so I right I don´t feel inspired to consider a longitudinal study. Polio’s introduction is not exactly encouraging either. I do wonder if studies other than longitudinal can have broad teaching implications. Moreover, another event that made me wonder about this was Paul K Matsuda writing on Facebook on Sunday: “The primary purpose of a research project at the doctoral level should be to support, question, challenge, revise, extend or replace a theory, not just to solve local and immediate problems of teaching or administration.” I thought it was timely.
Polio (2017) showed how writing development studies have been conducted in large areas. I was particularly interested in the part that describes conducting holistic case studies of multilingual writers at the transition period to see how they experience changes in their writing. Probably most international students will experience this kind of transition after graduation, especially if they plan to go back to their native country. In my case, my target language for my career will not change when I go back to my country, but people from other disciplines other than foreign language are more likely to use their first language (L1) to deliver their knowledge that they learned in English (L2). These days, based on my information, most higher academic institutes in Korea look for people who are able to teach in English regardless of their discipline. Nonetheless, as an international student who uses both languages, sometimes the conventions that I used to write in L1 affect my writing style when I write in L2. For example, I tended to address my main point at the end of a paragraph after showing several examples, or sometimes the order of the words or the expression of the words are directly translated from my L1 when I write. I think the idea that Polio showed in task 5 is interesting to me and I would like to implement this with people who have a degree from outside of their native country to examine how their L2 influences them when they write a letter in L1 or teach in L1 after they return home. I would also like to know how their identity changes because of their transition. In reverse, examining transnational students who stay in the U.S could also be interesting to see how L1 interference takes place in their L2 writing. The influence from L1 can be positive or negative to L2 development in terms of mechanical or global issues.
The second task that I was interested in was addressing issues in assessment. When I read the assessment part (task 9), it reminds me of predictive validity issues in large-scale language tests (e.g. TOEFL or IELTS). Predictive validity is one of the important factors to evaluate the test quality that shows the extent to which one can predict future performance based on the result of the previous given assessment. For example, TOEFL is a placement test that international students need to take for college admission. Many studies conducted previously focused on finding the relationship between language test scores and GPA, so these various studies investigated the correlation between measures of language proficiency and academic success among nonnative English speakers. Instead of doing quantitative analysis, I would like to interview students to learn how they perceive this kind of placement test and whether it helps them develop writing skills in terms of either local or global aspects of their writing.
Kye, I love the example of L1 and L2 differences in writing and the end of your first paragraph. What this something that someone pointed out (teacher or professor) or something you personally realized? Are there times where this difference may be helpful when writing?
Polio has come up with an appealing list of research tasks, and I could imagine myself getting involved an any number of them. However, tasks 4 & 5 (coincidentally the ones Rocky and Kye chose), falling under broader conceptions of writing development, speak most to me. I'm probably not as attracted to the linguistic aspects of writing in part because I don't have enough knowledge about linguistics and feel out of my depth/less able to connect. If I'm thinking about something I'd like to take on in the future, task 5 might be the most appealing because it would allow me to dive into the relationship between writing and issues like the ones Polio mentions at the beginning of the section: motivation, goal setting and beliefs. I've always been interested in the psychological aspects of writing development, including affect and notions of self-efficacy or self-confidence and the role writing support providers can play. It is harder for me to think about what "critical transition" I would want to zoom in on, though I love Kye's idea of looking at new academics who have to transition from being graduate students using their L2 to faculty members using their L1. I would love to do a longitudinal, naturalistic case study (by that I mean a study that spans over a year of data collection) because I've always been interested in development of the writing process and writerly identity. Moreover, I feel like another theme in the readings we've done in this class (as well as in this article by Polio) is that this sort of study can get at valuable information that experimental or cross-sectional studies can't access.
I feel Polio’s article is great, because it points out many critical points in the research of SLW. One of the research that I am very interested in is the assessment rubrics. Polio raised a very important point that should rubrics include things that students can not make improvement in a short term. This is a great question for me who is interested in SLW assessment to ponder! If accuracy, sentence variety, use of preposition and article (findings of Carol’s current survey study) can not be immediately learned, to what extent should we include them in the rubric?
Additionally, I am very interested in non-essay types of writing, which is pointed out in the final thoughts by Polio. Recently, I am reading Second Language Writing Myth and I have to say that all chapters in the book talk about academic writing, which does not reflect the diversity of the book title. As a second language writer, I really want to bring this “neglected” type of writing to public eyes and dig out the potential needs of learning writing in informal settings.
My name is donald boykins , am here to appreciate Dr Akhigbe for using his herbal medicine to cure my Herpes virus. Is about 3 years and 6 months now I have been living with this virus and it has been a serious problem to me, I was so confused cause i have been taking several drugs to be cured but all of my effort was in vain,one morning I was browsing through the internet then I saw several testimonies about Dr. Akhigbe curing people from Herpes virus and immediately i contacted Dr. Akhigbe on his email: drrealakhigbe@gmail.com, i told him about my troubles and he told me that i must be cured, he gave me some instructions and which i rightly followed. so he prepared a herbal medicine and sent it to me which i used for 2 weeks and i was cured everything was like a dream to me and my Herpes virus was totally gone, dr .Akhigbe, God bless you and give you more power and ability for more cure.I don't know if there is any one out there suffering for herpes virus or any of these diseases..DIABETES, CANCER, HIV/AIDS, HERPES HEPATITiS A AND B DISEASES HEART DISEASE, CHRONIC DISEASE,EPILEPSY, LUPUS, STROKE,PARKINSON'S DISEASE, SPINAL CORD INJURY, ECZEMA, KIDNEY DISEASE, ACME, BACK PAIN,EXTERNAL INFECTION, CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE etc. why don't you contact dr.Akhigbe today and be free from your diseases because he is very good and honest Doctor and he is also called the godfather of herbalism contact him via email; drrealakhigbe@gmail.com or whatsApp him on +2348142454860
In the article Polio (2017) presents a few interesting areas of L2 writing development that can be explored in future research. While all the suggested areas are interesting in their own way, I think that the research task I would explore has to do with genre progress. Genre knowledge and how to write for those different genres is something I have always been personally interested in as a L1 writer but recently became more interested in as a ESL/EFL teacher teaching writing. As a writer, I understood that there were important differences between the genres (e.g. general format, grammatical structure, and vocabulary) but I often struggled because I think I approached writing them all in a similar manner, namely as a five paragraph argumentative paper. I remember hating writing more “creative” pieces, such as poetry or short fiction stories, because I left like it needed and introduction, body, conclusion, and it needed to make some type of important point (other than expressing my feelings). Additionally, I struggled with the amount of details to include so that it was interesting but also not excessive. Of course this later developed as I read more, but I cannot really describe how I learned the different genres and how my writing process changed. As a ESL/EFL teacher, I have noticed, as confirmed by Polio, that teachers are told to teach different writing genres but they may not be aware of how to teach the different genres. I feel like there was not a lot of discussion in my classes about the differences between the genres and how my students might approach each differently. However, I do feel like I still need more knowledge on how L2 writers approach writing for these genres differently and how they may use their L1 to assist with their development. On the section focusing on genre, Polio briefly mentions that one possible approach for studying L2 writers’ development of specific genres could be to follow them as they learn the different genres in real life. Thus, as a researcher I would be able to observe what L2 students are doing and how their writing in a variety of genres (e.g. digital writing, argumentative, persuasive, creative, etc.) develop over time. Of course this would need to be a longitudinal study and probably small scale (1-3 people) as it will generate lots of data and will require a lot of time. Also I would need to decide if I wanted to work with children or adults and if I wanted to study those who may have limited L1 literacy or have experience writing these genres in their L1.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Polio’s “research agenda,” I realized the importance and difficulty of longitudinal studies. I agree with Rocky that all areas are interesting in their own way, and there are more than one that I’d love to pursue. However, after reading Research Task 2 “Determine how oral and written language do or do not coincide for different populations.” (p. 265), I thought “this is it!” This task actually made me re-considered my research proposal for this class. As I read her description and suggestions, I couldn’t help to relate it to my recent topic of interest: Heritage Language learners, who Polio mentions as a possible research target group for this task.
ReplyDeletePolio explains how writing, given that it takes a “slower language production than speaking,” might lead to acquisition of speech. I found this idea fascinating. Relating it with what I have read lately about HLL, who are known to be more proficient orally than in writing, and my own experience working with students writing in Spanish as a Foreign language (and as a Heritage Language), I couldn’t help to feel drawn to this topic.
Nevertheless, reading that the field lacks “longitudinal studies with comparable counterbalanced tasks” discouraged me just a little bit. I have been lately trying to reach out to participants to finish collecting data for another project, and that has not been easy, so I right I don´t feel inspired to consider a longitudinal study. Polio’s introduction is not exactly encouraging either. I do wonder if studies other than longitudinal can have broad teaching implications. Moreover, another event that made me wonder about this was Paul K Matsuda writing on Facebook on Sunday: “The primary purpose of a research project at the doctoral level should be to support, question, challenge, revise, extend or replace a theory, not just to solve local and immediate problems of teaching or administration.” I thought it was timely.
Polio (2017) showed how writing development studies have been conducted in large areas. I was particularly interested in the part that describes conducting holistic case studies of multilingual writers at the transition period to see how they experience changes in their writing. Probably most international students will experience this kind of transition after graduation, especially if they plan to go back to their native country. In my case, my target language for my career will not change when I go back to my country, but people from other disciplines other than foreign language are more likely to use their first language (L1) to deliver their knowledge that they learned in English (L2). These days, based on my information, most higher academic institutes in Korea look for people who are able to teach in English regardless of their discipline.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, as an international student who uses both languages, sometimes the conventions that I used to write in L1 affect my writing style when I write in L2. For example, I tended to address my main point at the end of a paragraph after showing several examples, or sometimes the order of the words or the expression of the words are directly translated from my L1 when I write.
I think the idea that Polio showed in task 5 is interesting to me and I would like to implement this with people who have a degree from outside of their native country to examine how their L2 influences them when they write a letter in L1 or teach in L1 after they return home. I would also like to know how their identity changes because of their transition. In reverse, examining transnational students who stay in the U.S could also be interesting to see how L1 interference takes place in their L2 writing. The influence from L1 can be positive or negative to L2 development in terms of mechanical or global issues.
The second task that I was interested in was addressing issues in assessment. When I read the assessment part (task 9), it reminds me of predictive validity issues in large-scale language tests (e.g. TOEFL or IELTS). Predictive validity is one of the important factors to evaluate the test quality that shows the extent to which one can predict future performance based on the result of the previous given assessment. For example, TOEFL is a placement test that international students need to take for college admission. Many studies conducted previously focused on finding the relationship between language test scores and GPA, so these various studies investigated the correlation between measures of language proficiency and academic success among nonnative English speakers. Instead of doing quantitative analysis, I would like to interview students to learn how they perceive this kind of placement test and whether it helps them develop writing skills in terms of either local or global aspects of their writing.
Kye, I love the example of L1 and L2 differences in writing and the end of your first paragraph. What this something that someone pointed out (teacher or professor) or something you personally realized? Are there times where this difference may be helpful when writing?
DeletePolio has come up with an appealing list of research tasks, and I could imagine myself getting involved an any number of them. However, tasks 4 & 5 (coincidentally the ones Rocky and Kye chose), falling under broader conceptions of writing development, speak most to me. I'm probably not as attracted to the linguistic aspects of writing in part because I don't have enough knowledge about linguistics and feel out of my depth/less able to connect. If I'm thinking about something I'd like to take on in the future, task 5 might be the most appealing because it would allow me to dive into the relationship between writing and issues like the ones Polio mentions at the beginning of the section: motivation, goal setting and beliefs. I've always been interested in the psychological aspects of writing development, including affect and notions of self-efficacy or self-confidence and the role writing support providers can play. It is harder for me to think about what "critical transition" I would want to zoom in on, though I love Kye's idea of looking at new academics who have to transition from being graduate students using their L2 to faculty members using their L1. I would love to do a longitudinal, naturalistic case study (by that I mean a study that spans over a year of data collection) because I've always been interested in development of the writing process and writerly identity. Moreover, I feel like another theme in the readings we've done in this class (as well as in this article by Polio) is that this sort of study can get at valuable information that experimental or cross-sectional studies can't access.
ReplyDeleteI feel Polio’s article is great, because it points out many critical points in the research of SLW. One of the research that I am very interested in is the assessment rubrics. Polio raised a very important point that should rubrics include things that students can not make improvement in a short term. This is a great question for me who is interested in SLW assessment to ponder! If accuracy, sentence variety, use of preposition and article (findings of Carol’s current survey study) can not be immediately learned, to what extent should we include them in the rubric?
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I am very interested in non-essay types of writing, which is pointed out in the final thoughts by Polio. Recently, I am reading Second Language Writing Myth and I have to say that all chapters in the book talk about academic writing, which does not reflect the diversity of the book title. As a second language writer, I really want to bring this “neglected” type of writing to public eyes and dig out the potential needs of learning writing in informal settings.
My name is donald boykins , am here to appreciate Dr Akhigbe for using his herbal medicine to cure my Herpes virus. Is about 3 years and 6 months now I have been living with this virus and it has been a serious problem to me, I was so confused cause i have been taking several drugs to be cured but all of my effort was in vain,one morning I was browsing through the internet then I saw several testimonies about Dr. Akhigbe curing people from Herpes virus and immediately i contacted Dr. Akhigbe on his email: drrealakhigbe@gmail.com, i told him about my troubles and he told me that i must be cured, he gave me some instructions and which i rightly followed. so he prepared a herbal medicine and sent it to me which i used for 2 weeks and i was cured everything was like a dream to me and my Herpes virus was totally gone, dr .Akhigbe, God bless you and give you more power and ability for more cure.I don't know if there is any one out there suffering for herpes virus or any of these diseases..DIABETES, CANCER, HIV/AIDS, HERPES HEPATITiS A AND B DISEASES HEART DISEASE, CHRONIC DISEASE,EPILEPSY, LUPUS, STROKE,PARKINSON'S DISEASE, SPINAL CORD INJURY, ECZEMA, KIDNEY DISEASE, ACME, BACK PAIN,EXTERNAL INFECTION, CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE etc. why don't you contact dr.Akhigbe today and be free from your diseases because he is very good and honest Doctor and he is also called the godfather of herbalism contact him via email; drrealakhigbe@gmail.com or whatsApp him on +2348142454860
ReplyDelete