Writing Across the Curriculum

It’s possible to see WAC elements in introductory foreign language courses. Three-quarters into the semester of a 101-level French course, pair up your students to write a dialogue such as the following: the two speakers discuss how they view certain characters in a French painting from a nearby museum. You, the professor, will have chosen a dozen paintings that are meaty enough to work with, and on the back of each image that you randomly hand out to students it would be good to have background information that the museum provides for that painting. Even if the students end up not having time to visit the museums, the fact that they know that these objects are close by helps to reduce the gap that they may feel between themselves and a culture that is new to them. Back to how this writing assignment can work: each speaker must ask his/her classmate a few questions (to practice the different ways of forming questions), use the negating construction ne…pas to disagree at least twice, and provide a new way of seeing XYZ each time that there is a disagreement. For example: “Non, cet homme n’est pas fatigué !  Il  ______________ !” Creating follow-up questions using the interrogative adverb pourquoi (why) would deepen the dialogue. The students’ explanations for what they see will often be creative, but you can tell your students that if their statements are too silly, then that would most likely invite follow-up questions that they may not be able to answer in French, given that only a few chapters of the textbook have been covered so far. The 101-level students will of course not have enough vocabulary to provide in-depth arguments for their viewpoints, but this kind of dialogue in which each speaker defends his/her way of seeing something differently can move students past William Perry’s “middle stages of multiplicity” (Bean 22) and closer to that point when “a real need for reasoned argument begins to emerge” (Bean 22). Thus, students in introductory level foreign language courses are not merely learning to write. They are not limited to filling themselves with data. Writing a dialogue in which a piece of artwork is interpreted from different angles can be seen as a way of writing to learn. Assigning a dialogue that will be collected at the end of class can also make peace between the idea that learning French should be a more conversational type of activity and the idea that students need to be more conscientious about their writing. That each dialogue is being looked over by two students before they hand it in can help to reduce the number of grammatical errors.

When students see themselves able to write comprehensible albeit short paragraphs and dialogues in a language that they have recently learned, this can serve as a kind of support for them when they become frustrated with writing long papers (in their native or near-native language) for their other courses. If students catch themselves writing convoluted paragraphs for their other courses and can’t seem to find a way out for the time being, then thinking back on the short paragraphs and dialogues that they wrote for their introductory foreign language courses can be a reminder of how they have the ability to write clearly. That memory can be what gives them the push to take another stab at revising their convoluted papers for other courses. Happily remembering those short paragraphs and dialogues can take the edge off the stress momentarily, which is not a small thing.

References

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.

(image from Inside Higher Ed)

I recently had the pleasure of attending City Tech’s new faculty orientation, led by Professor Julia Jordan. At one point, she implored us, “Please, please do not spend the first class session reading your syllabus to your students. You know what’s in it.”

She moved on, but I didn’t, as that’s how I spend all my first class sessions. As professors, we know we have to convey how important this document is to students, that it’s a contract where students can find most, if not all, of the important course expectations, objectives, policies, and assignment due dates. We want to ensure that students have heard this information and leave with an understanding of what will be expected of them over the course of the semester.

We also know, as professors, that standing in front of a classroom reading from a document is poor pedagogy. Over the seven years I’ve been teaching at the college level, I have consistently heard colleagues complaining that students don’t read or refer to or know the syllabus. Most CUNY faculty I know also pride themselves on student-centered learning and how they work to engage and involve students in the classroom, but the first day of class sets the tone for the entire semester. If we stand up in front of our students and read the syllabus to them, are we really teaching them how to refer to important documents for information? That we expect them to do so? We know students don’t magically retain 100% of lecture material after any given class, so why do we expect them to know our syllabus after we review it once?

Instead, professors might begin to think through ways in which they can ensure students practice the skills required to read, refer to, and engage with professional documents over the course of the semester, instead of having students spend the first day of class checking their watches, hoping to get out early.

Here are a few of my own ideas on more generative ways to spend the first class session, that set the tone for a semester of engaged, collaborative learning:

• Assign your syllabus as a reading assignment, and quiz students on it at the beginning of the next class session, as Rebecca Devers, a professor in the English department, does in her classes. After quizzing students on the syllabus individually, put them into groups and let them help each other answer the quiz questions, collaborating and learning how to seek information about the course from each other as well as their instructor. Make sure, too, that the quiz gets students writing, asking at least one short answer question as opposed to multiple choice or T/F questions.
• Assigning your syllabus as required reading leaves room on the first day to focus, instead, on another activity that better reflects what class time will look like in the weeks ahead: an interactive lecture, a freewrite, or filling out a questionnaire that asks students to respond to questions in detailed, reflective ways (here’s my first day student questionnaire from the writing course I teach themed around dream interpretation).
• A group activity. As a writing instructor, I’ve designed a group activity around learning the differences between an em dash, en dash, and hyphen. Students must use these quirky punctuation marks, correctly, in three sentences describing things they have in common as group members. This exercise allows them to get to know one another, but also to practice focused discussion; they must figure out which commonalities lend themselves to the drama of the em dash; the numbers that usually surround an en dash; and what compound modifiers they might share as a group in order to use a hyphen. They are also learning how to incorporate sophisticated punctuation marks into their writing.

Full disclosure: I hated group activities when I was an undergraduate. I wanted to sit in my seat, usually at the front of the classroom, and be a good student all on my own. The reality is, however, that learning is a collaborative process, and I wish that more professors had called me out on my superiority complex. I often tell my students—you have something to learn from each one of your peers, listen to one another.

• At the very least, allow for five minutes at the end of class to have students write, on a cue card or piece of paper you collect, one question or concern they have about the course after reviewing the syllabus on the first day. I like to also ask students to articulate in writing what they are most excited about after the first day of class. This is a good practice, in general, after any class session, in order to find out what needs review and what students are taking away from your teaching. You’ll get a sense of your students as writers, as well—the more small, informal, in-class writing samples you can collect and read quickly, the more of a sense you’ll have of each writer’s voice. I always tell my students, because I read so much of their informal in-class writing, I’m able to spot plagiarism immediately. I recognize their voices on paper and miss them when they disappear in formal assignments. Let your students know from day one you listen, you hear them, and model the kind of reflective practice that allows for lifelong learning.

To that end, I’m grateful that Julia Jordan called me to reflect on how I might improve my teaching. If anyone reading is interested in a similar space for reflecting on pedagogical practice, please join WAC at our next faculty workshop, “Effective Assignment Design,” on Sept. 19th from 1-2:15 PM (location TBA).

At several points in my development as a college teacher, I have learned the hard way (and too late) that I bear the responsibility for my own expectations. This is not to say that students cannot be held accountable for their own work, but that we must be held accountable too. To that end, I believe my role as instructor must begin with humility and presence.

In the past, I have gotten caught in the forward force of the semester, and I have failed to reflect on how my students are doing (truly — in the ways that matter) and what I can and should change about what I am doing as their instructor. Indeed, just as students have one shot to get it right with each new class, an instructor has one shot to get it right with each new class of students.

I have found myself at the semester’s end realizing that my students were not taking good notes, that the classroom presentations were not as fulfilling as they could have been, and that the instances of plagiarism I saw may have occurred in part because I had not taken enough time to explain how to cite original sources.

Maintaining a sense of humility — that my instructions were not clear, that my assignments could have been improved (with better scaffolding!), and that I can adjust the values in my classroom through the priorities I set — is a key to improvement. And, so I can make these changes before it is too late, I hope to have a sense of presence — even as the semester pushes on.

What is the connection between students’ oral articulation of ideas and the improvement of their writing skills? Is it plausible to assume that there is any?

As an adjunct instructor, I have consistently assigned group presentations. Typically, I ask students to do two things: 1) provide a summary of the readings and 2) to critically engage the summary, pointing out an omission, an unconvincing aspect of the argument or a way the author ought to develop it further. I also ask my students to create a handout for their peers to follow as they present. So, some writing is required for the group presentations; often it becomes a reference point during the question and answer period after the presentation.

As a philosophy teacher, I have found that it is critical for students to have multiple opportunities to assume some kind of public authority over the material in order to engage it in a more intimate and rigorous way that facilitates their comprehension. Plus, having an audience for one’s ideas encourages students to use simple, unpretentious language to describe philosophical concepts. Presumably, this ought to impact their presentation of their ideas in papers. But I have no sense of how to correlate presentation assignments and its impact on writing.

As I develop the WI syllabus workshop, it dawned on me whether or group presentations and informal writing assignments designed to facilitate group discussion should perhaps be incorporated in WI syllabi as a good option for improving students writing. Thoughts?

As CUNY schools shut down across the city, many professors are left to re-organize “tentative” syllabi schedules. But instead of letting snow days wreak havoc on your reading schedule as well as the roads, use them to practice WAC principles, encouraging learning and understanding of the course material assigned for that day through low-stakes writing.

Here’s one of my favorite writing assignments to give on snow days that occur early in the semester:

Original Assignment:

• reading due (quiz): J. Allan Hobson, from Dreaming, Chapter 7

Snow Day Assignment:

• NO IN-CLASS MEETING: Professional e-mail assignment. By the end of our scheduled class period, send me a professional e-mail reflecting on one aspect of the reading for today, quoting with an in-text citation at least once (needs to be no more than 4-5 sentences).

Early in the semester, I explain to my students that professional emails include a thoughtful subject line, address to the recipient, organization, and sign offs. They are concise, to the point, and read over more than once. Professors often complain about student e-mails, so give students a chance to practice this crucial professional skill while also having them respond to course material in writing!

For those of you who don’t use online platforms in your classroom, a snow day might be a good day to require students to watch any video clips you planned to show in class, or even movie or film versions of a text you’re reading (depending on how long the class session runs—a good rule of thumb is to not give students more work than they could realistically complete during the class period). From the warmth and safety of their home, students can watch and respond to material that would otherwise take up valuable class time—or even read and respond to some material you had to cut in constructing your syllabus. Their written responses can be turned in and / or discussed during the next class, depending on how much time you want to take to read and respond to additional writing. Here’s an example from one of my literature classes that could be adapted for any relevant media:

Original Assignment:

• reading due (quiz): Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus (to end) (on the reading quiz you will be asked what word you looked up in the OED and what denotations and connotations you discovered)

Snow Day Assignment:

• CLASS HELD ONLINE: During class time, please watch the following clips from Julie Taymor’s Titus (Youtube links uploaded under “reading questions and responses”). Write a response to the film in which you discuss the OED word you looked up and one aspect of the film adaptation that is different from what you imagined (about two paragraphs).

Finally, in my classes, my favorite way to use snow days is to teach students how to respond to each other in writing. If you use a class blog or other online platform in a web-enhanced classroom, facilitating class discussion online becomes an opportunity for students to respond to one another in writing—practice for future writing groups, editing, and other forms of professional feedback in academia. Here is an example from my literature course, but, again, it can be adapted for any reading material across disciplines:

• CLASS HELD ONLINE: read one story from Dubliners not assigned yesterday and write a “new post” (top right corner) about the kinds of violence represented in the story, as well as the stories assigned on Wednesday: how is paralysis represented in Dubliners and how do these representations depart from the more obvious violences we’ve encountered thus far? Make sure to quote specifically from story, as well as incorporate a close-reading using the OED in order to answer this question. Post and respond to at least two of your peers’ posts by 11:59PM.

When you first begin asking students to respond to each other in writing, it’s important to provide example responses to comments for students so they know that one or two lines isn’t sufficient. I try to pick example comments to show students that are written in simple language, as to not discourage writers who feel they don’t have strong skills. An example from one of my students:

• I have to agree with what you said about Eveline justifying her father’s actions. She’s well aware that her father has had violent tendencies in the past, and as she’s gotten older, it has not improved. Yet, she mentions that there are times where perhaps he isn’t so bad, and weighs this rather heavily when deciding whether to leave with Frank or not. Many of the characters in Dubliners are creatures of habit, and when their habits are disturbed, paralysis sets in. Eveline has been no exception.

This comment is a gorgeous example of “Agreeing and Disagreeing,” a skill Gerald Graff encourages students to master in They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. In a short paragraph, the student agrees and disagrees with his peers’ post and draws larger conclusions about the text. Even if the grammar and mechanics were less polished, I would use this response as an “A+ example” of what I expect from students.

If you’re just beginning to try out online discussions, you might not have examples. Sometimes, I’ll respond to superb comments or posts to let students know I, too, am reading and engaging with their writing and that this snow day assignment isn’t just busy work. For example:

• Prof. A says:
• January 13, 2017 at 12:52 pm (Edit)
• I really love how you chose to also focus on “how they handle” their paralysis–I think Lauren Berlant’s concept of “lateral agency” comes into play, but at the same time characters like Mr. Duffy and Eveline have been taught the “best” or “right” way to handle themselves, and it doesn’t always work out for them. “Handle” is also a great OED word because it suggests control and the ability to grasp–feelings / abilities Joyce doesn’t necessarily give his narrators. Well done!

Here, I incorporate key terms, databases, and how to quote from source material (it’s powerful for students to have their thoughts respected in this way—they often deserve this level of engagement, too!). Remember, though, it’s always more powerful when students see excellent examples of other students’ writing.

Finally, and I believe most importantly, I never grade my students’ participation in these assignments on low-order writing concerns such as grammar and mechanics. These assignments are a space to give introverts a chance to join the conversation, as well as students who struggle with writing a safe place to practice their skills. Emphasize to your students that their participation for the day is being graded on how well they engage with their peers’ ideas—do they ask questions, quote from the original post, make connections to other course materials, disagree respectfully? All these skills are far more important to good writing than grammar and mechanics and take practice, as well.

Hopefully this post inspires you to get your students writing tomorrow or on future snow days!

Stay warm,

Alicia

Despite the availability of valuable alternatives, PowerPoint is still the most used technological platform in college classrooms. However, its actual pedagogical potential is rarely achieved and most of the time instructors employ it as a simple visual transposition for their lectures. In order to tackle this issue, Professor Ronald A. Berk wrote an article that summarizes most of the research conducted to identify the best strategies to express the educational potential of PowerPoint, which is, in my opinion, worth learning from.

Berk makes a distinction between “basic features and uses” and “rich media,” where the former indicates those features all the instructors are more familiar with, while the latter designates instructional tools like videos, music, movement.

In reviewing the academic research on the basic features, Berk outlines a series of directions to optimize the learning process and improve the way in which instructors build their slides, which can be recapped in few useful points: 1) minimize the background since it should not distract the students from the content. 2) The length of the text and bullet points should be reduced as much as possible, at the same time it is important to create a conceptual hierarchy using the given visual options (upper lower cases, bold, italics etc.) 3) headlines should be a full sentence as opposed to a single word or a phrase. 4) The best way to make the text readable is to pick up high-contrast color using a cool background and warm text.

According to Berk, those expedients alone can only slightly improve the retention of information by the students. Because without using any multimedia tool, instructors are left with what he defines as “dead words,” which do not evidently improve the effectiveness of the lecture. What instead can surely enhance one’s slides are the multimedia tools that too often are overlooked by instructors, which, for Berk, mostly consist of three elements: movement, music, and videos.

PowerPoint offers a lot of different options when it comes to movement but, as Berk underlines, transitions of slides and animation of letters, words, and graphics, can be counterproductive if not use systematically. The research mentioned in the article shows how animated graphic can increase students concentration, but if it is overdo or not consistent it usually distracts them.

Music can also be a very valuable device since, as many studies have shown, it creates emotional connections. Implementing music in or between slides can activate students attention and, consequently, allow the move of the content into long-term memory. Berk suggests also that the students should be somehow familiar with the music in order to facilitate the processes explained above.

On the last multimedia tool, video, there has been a more extensive research, and Berk notes how, overall, all the investigations agree in underline the positive effects on the learning process of video clips embedded in PowerPoint. The same research stresses the effectiveness of a verbal and visual presentation on low-knowledge and high-spatial learners.

To conclude, I think it can be worthwhile to follow Berk’s suggestions and spend more time on designing effective PowerPoint. But on the other hand, instructors should also be careful not to embellish their slides excessively, if they do not want their students to focus too much on the visual devices and not paying enough attention to the content.

References:

Berk, R. A. (2011). Research on PowerPoint®: From basic features to multimedia. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 24-35.

æt ði ɛnd ʌv iʧ səˈmɛstər, aɪ səˈlɪsɪt ˈfidˌbæk frʌm maɪ ˈstudənts əˈbaʊt ðɛr laɪks ænd dɪˈslaɪks əˈbaʊt ðə kɔrs. ɪn ðiz ˌkɑnvərˈseɪʃənz, wʌn ʌv ðə moʊst ˈfrikwənt kəmˈpleɪnts ɪz ðæt “ðɛr wʌz tu mʌʧ ˈraɪtɪŋ.” ɪt ɪz tru, ðɛr ɪz ə lɑt ʌv ˈraɪtɪŋ ɪn maɪ ˈkɔrsəz-aɪ juz ˈoʊnli ɪnˈfɔrməl ænd ˈfɔrməl ˈraɪtɪŋ əˈsaɪnmənts fɔr ˈstudənt ɪˌvæljuˈeɪʃən. bʌt, æz maɪ poʊst-səˈmɛstər ˌkɑnvərˈseɪʃənz wɪð ˈstudənts kənˈtɪnju, aɪ ˈriəˌlaɪz ðə pleɪs frʌm wɪʧ ðɛr kəmˈpleɪnt stɛmz: “aɪm nɑt ə gʊd ˈraɪtər.”

fɔr ˈmɛni ʌv maɪ ˈstudənts, ðə ˈprɑbləm ðeɪ hæv ɪz nɑt ði əˈmaʊnt ʌv ˈraɪtɪŋ aɪ æsk ʌv ðɛm, ɪts ˈrɪli ðæt ðeɪ drɛd ˈraɪtɪŋ əˈsaɪnmənts. ˈraɪtfəli ɔr nɑt, ðeɪ bɪˈliv ðeɪ ɑr pur ˈraɪtərz ænd ðʌs wʊd ˈræðər əˈvɔɪd ˈraɪtɪŋ ˈɛksərˌsaɪzəz kəmˈplitli. ðeɪ ˈwɜri ðæt ðeɪ “sʌk æt ˈspɛlɪŋ,” hæv ˈtrʌbəl aɪˈdɛntəˌfaɪɪŋ ə ˈsɛntənsɪz naʊn ænd vɜrb, hæv pur ˈgræmər skɪlz ɔr fɪr ðə ˈdɪfərəns ɪn ˈraɪtɪŋ əˈbɪləti bɪˈtwin ðɛm ænd ðə prəˈfɛsər wɪl ˈoʊpən ðɛm ʌp tu ɪmˈbɛrəsmənt. ɔl ðɪs ˈmɪsəz ðə pɔɪnt ʌv waɪ aɪ tæsk ðɛm tu raɪt ɪn ðə fɜrst pleɪs.

aɪ du nɑt praɪˈmɛrəli ˈɪmpləmənt ˈraɪtɪŋ əˈkrɔs maɪ kəˈrɪkjələ bɪˈkɔz aɪ wɑnt tu ˈkʌltəˌveɪt gʊd ˈraɪtɪŋ (ən əˈʧivmənt ðæt əˈkɜrz ˈsloʊli ænd θruˈaʊt ə ˈstudənts ˌækəˈdɛmɪk ˈtɛnjər). ˈækʧuəli, aɪ ˈɪmpləmənt ˈraɪtɪŋ bɪˈkɔz aɪ wɑnt tu ˈkʌltəˌveɪt gʊd ˈθɪŋkɪŋ. aɪ juz ˈraɪtɪŋ æz ə tul fɔr ˈlɜrnɪŋ. aɪ doʊnt wɑnt ˈstudənts tu frɛt əˈbaʊt ˈwɛðər ɔr nɑt ðɛr ˈraɪtɪŋ ɪz gʊd. aɪ wɑnt ðɛm tu kənˈsɜrn ðɛmˈsɛlvz praɪˈmɛrəli wɪð ˈwɛðər ɔr nɑt ðɛr ˈθɪŋkɪŋ ɪz gʊd. aɪ wɑnt maɪ ˈstudənts tu trit ˈraɪtɪŋ æz ə weɪ tu ɒbˈʤɛktɪfaɪ θɔts soʊ ðæt ðeɪ kæn məˈnɪpjəˌleɪt ðɛm. ˈraɪtɪŋ skɪlz ɑr ʤʌst weɪz tu ˈmænəˌfɛst ˈkrɪtɪkəl ˈθɪŋkɪŋ skɪlz. bʌt haʊ maɪt aɪ prəˈvoʊk ðɪs ˈkɑgnɪtɪv ʃɪft? haʊ kæn aɪ gɛt maɪ ˈstudənts tu ˈriəˌlaɪz ðæt aɪ kɛr mɔr əˈbaʊt ðɛr ˈθɪŋkɪŋ ðæn aɪ du əˈbaʊt ðɛr ˈraɪtɪŋ?

ɪn ðə pæst, aɪ hæv traɪd ˈvɛriəs ˈɛksərˌsaɪzəz. ðɪs səˈmɛstər, aɪ wɪl ˈmɑdəˌfaɪ ən oʊld əˈsaɪnmənt ɪn ˈɔrdər tu meɪk ɪt ˈsʌmθɪŋ nu. aɪ ˈrɛgjələrli əˈsaɪn ə ʃɔrt ˈstɔri, wɪʧ wi ˈleɪtər ˌdikənˈstrʌkt. ðɪs səˈmɛstər, wɪð ði ɪnˈtɛnʧən ʌv ˈprɛsɪŋ əˈpɑn ˈstudənts ðæt ˈminɪŋ kæn bi kəmˈjunəˌkeɪtɪd θru wɜrdz ɪn ði ˈæbsəns ʌv “gʊd ˈraɪtɪŋ,” aɪ wɪl prəˈvaɪd ðɛm ə trænˈzleɪtəd ˈvɜrʒən ʌv ðə ˈstɔri ˈjuzɪŋ ði ˌɪntərˈnæʃənəl fəˈnɛtɪk ˈælfəˌbɛt (aɪ-pi-eɪ). ˈmɑdəˌfaɪɪŋ ðɪs (ˈstændərd hjuˈmænɪtiz) əˈsaɪnmənt ɪn sʌʧ ə weɪ wɪl əˈlaʊ mi tu ˈæˌdrɛs tu ˈkɑmən ˈɑbstəkəlz wi feɪs wɛn ˈɪmpləˌmɛntɪŋ ˈraɪtɪŋ ˈɪntu ˈaʊər ˈkɔrsəz.

ˈstudənts wɪl ˈlaɪkli ˈstrʌgəl æt fɜrst tu dɪˈsaɪfər ðə tɛkst. bʌt-ʤʌst æz ju hæv bɪˈkʌm ˈkʌmfərtəbəl wɪð aɪ-pi-eɪ hir-ˈstudənts wɪl kʌm tu ˌʌndərˈstænd ðə ˈfɔrən ˈraɪtɪŋ ˈsɪstəm ðeɪ ɑr ɛnˈkaʊntərɪŋ ænd faɪnd ðɛmˈsɛlvz ˈrɛdɪŋ ðə tɛkst wɪð ɪnˈkrist fəˈsɪlɪti. ðɛr maɪndz wɪl ʃɪft əˈweɪ frʌm ðə ˈspɛlɪŋ kənˈvɛnʃənz ðeɪ ɑr juzd tu, ænd muv θru ðə tɛkst wɪð ði əˈbɪləti tu rɪˈtriv ɪts ˈminɪŋ. boʊθ ˈlɛsənz ɑr ˈloʊˌkeɪtəd hir.

fɜrst, ən ˈɔθərz θɔts kæn bi ɪmˈbɑdid θru tɛkst wɪˈθaʊt “gʊd ˈraɪtɪŋ.” soʊ, ðeɪ tu kæn ˈproʊdus ˈminɪŋfəl ænd proʊˈfaʊnd ˈrɪtən tɛksts wɪˈθaʊt “gʊd ˈraɪtɪŋ.” ˈsɛkənd, ði ˈɛksərˌsaɪz ʌv riˈtrivɪŋ ˈminɪŋ-æz əˈpoʊzd tu ɪˈvæljuˌeɪtɪŋ ˈraɪtɪŋ-ˈpɛrəˌlɛlz ðə ˈprɑˌsɛs ʌv ˈgreɪdɪŋ ˌʌndərˈgræʤəwət ˈraɪtɪŋ. soʊ, ˈhævɪŋ lɜrnd ðɪs, ðeɪ wɪl trit ðɛr oʊn ˈraɪtɪŋ əˈsaɪnmənts wɪð lɛs strɛs ˈnoʊɪŋ ˈraɪtɪŋ kənˈvɛnʃənz ɑr ʌv lɛs əˈtɛnʃən ðæn ˈminɪŋfəl ˈraɪtɪŋ.

aɪ wɪl kənˈtɪnju tu plæn ðɪs əˈsaɪnmənt ˈoʊvər ðə nɛkst fju wiks ænd ˈɪmpləmənt ɪt bɪˈfɔr ðə ˈmɪdˌtɜrm ˈsizən. ɪn maɪ nɛkst poʊst, aɪ wɪl rəˈflɛkt ɑn ænd ɪˈvæljuˌeɪt haʊ ɪt wɛnt.

–ˈælbərt

One of the key principles of Writing Across the Curriculum is the use of writing as a learning tool, or “writing to learn” as opposed to simply “learning to write.” It is our belief that the use of writing in the classroom can extend critical thinking and deepen learning (see Bean, part 1). Our goal is to assist in integrating more writing into the curriculum, even where it hasn’t traditionally been present or where it doesn’t seem to fit.

There is at times a natural resistance to adding further writing components to some classrooms; after all, not every course or department is a humanities course, and many don’t seem to be an obvious fit. As writing fellows, it is our goal to think creatively and to help faculty search for ways to incorporate more writing into their courses, but I’ll be the first to admit that the “how” isn’t always obvious.

The particular domain I’ve decided to turn my attention to came up in one of our weekly meetings, where it was suggested that I might be assigned to work with a language instructor who teaches introductory language courses within the City Tech system. This didn’t end up happening, but the problem interested me from the outset, as I often find myself in a similar position as a French instructor. Anecdotal resistance on the part of similar faculty members brought with it what I feel to be a very interesting line of inquiry, which can be summed up with a single question: How are we to integrate writing into a course in which the students are just learning the language?

These language instructors have a point. At first blush, it appears that the current trend in language acquisition courses is in some ways at odds with our goals. In the end, that might prove to be the case, but it certainly won’t prevent me from trying my best to determine some practical methods that can be complimentary to both approaches.

How are these intro language courses at odds with the writing-to-learn approach? The most evident reason is that in many cases, the students in these courses simply do not have a strong enough grasp of their new language to write anything more than the most rudimentary sentences at first, later very short paragraphs. Their vocabulary is naturally quite limited at first, their comprehension of the foreign syntax is still deeply overshadowed by that of English, and often their access to the variety of verbal tenses needed for self-expression is being introduced to them one piece at a time, a process than can go on for months. As instructors, how are we to expect students to use writing to learn when they are not yet equipped with the tools?

A second difficulty that will arise in many language departments is pedagogical in its origin. Many language programs currently bring to bear a pronounced emphasis on oral over written. For example, while French instruction is historically built on grammatical models such as conjugation drills and workbook exercises, there is a strong current these days that shies away from the grammatical and linguistic model, looking to reach the student in a more conversational environment. Some departments will go as far as to minimize purely grammatical instruction. Coupled with this, there is also a strong push for faculty to use and permit as little English as possible during classroom time, which further minimizes the time students spend writing. While this is in keeping with Bean’s stance against over-grammaticizing the writing program, we must of course be conscious of the difference between helping students learn to write in a language the linguistic foundations of which were laid in early childhood, and the different necessities of second-language acquisition as an adult.

How then are we to implement additional writing into an instruction model that at least on a superficial level tends to avoid it? While I have a few ideas that I’ve been considering, I’ll readily admit that this is a complex question. Further reading and research will be required before I’m comfortable putting my own ideas forward, as I would prefer to bring some supporting research into the argument. As such, I’m not quite ready to offer any suggestions at this time.

If this line of inquiry is of interest to you, please check back later this semester and again in the spring, as I will do my best to offer some practical compromises in my follow-up posts. And of course, if you have considered this before, have any ideas or suggestions, or have come across any literature on the topic, please post below or contact me directly via the Writing Across the Curriculum team.

Chris Clarke
WAC Fellow, City Tech