[Teaching_Composition] New Module
Chris Anson
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:43:42 -0400
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I'm fascinated by contrastive rhetoric (which actually pushes us a =20
little away from, or higher up than, surface features and focuses us =20
on matters of discursive structure, genre conventions, various =20
culturally inscribed patterns, etc.). If anyone on the list hasn't =20
seen the DVD "Writing Across Borders," a production of Oregon State's =20=
Center for Writing and Learning and its Writing Intensive Curriculum =20
Program, I highly recommend it. You can get the DVD at the following =20
Web site (and download a transcript, or get questions for discussion, =20=
etc.): http://cwl.oregonstate.edu/wab/ It's got a lot of interview =20
clips with non-native speakers (this was the term that ESL experts =20
told me to use instead of ESL!) who narrate their experiences trying =20
to adjust to American academic discourse conventions--and it provides =20=
excellent advice for teachers in all disciplines who have NNS =20
students in their classes and assign writing. Here's an excerpt =20
showing (dramatically) how much more we need to know about students' =20
struggles and backgrounds than just that they get their verb endings =20
wrong:
One of my first essays in one of my nutritional class was to write this
critical essay about the school lunch program in one of the middle =20
schools
here in Corvallis. For me it was hard because we were suppose to =20
write, to
criticize, the way they serve the foods to the children, whether it=92s
nutritionally balanced, whether they follow the federal regulations. =20
So, for
me, it was so hard to criticize, to write everything: they don=92t =20
follow this,
they are not supposed to do this, they don=92t do this, because if I go =20=
back to
my country, where I come from, Malawi, before 1994, it was so hard =20
for us to
criticize anything related to the government. It was so hard because =20
if we do
that, most of the time, people are arrested or something was done to =20
them by
the government. So, I didn=92t write it as critical as my professor =20
wanted it
to be so I got a bad grade on that one because I think it wasn=92t deep =20=
enough
critically.
--=20
Chris M. Anson [Web site]
Professor of English
Director, Campus Writing and Speaking Program
Box 8105, North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8105
(919) 513-4080
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<HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">I'm =
fascinated by contrastive rhetoric (which actually pushes us a little =
away from, or higher up than, surface features and focuses us on matters =
of discursive structure, genre conventions, various culturally inscribed =
patterns, etc.). If anyone on the list hasn't seen the DVD "Writing =
Across Borders," a production of Oregon State's Center for Writing and =
Learning and its Writing Intensive Curriculum Program, I highly =
recommend it. You can get the DVD at the following Web site (and =
download a transcript, or get questions for discussion, etc.):=A0<A =
href=3D"http://cwl.oregonstate.edu/wab/"><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
color=3D"#0011ED">http://cwl.oregonstate.edu/wab/</FONT></A>=A0 =A0It's =
got a lot of interview clips with non-native speakers (this was the term =
that ESL experts told me to use instead of ESL!) who narrate their =
experiences trying to adjust to American academic discourse =
conventions--and it provides excellent advice for teachers in all =
disciplines who have NNS students in their classes and assign writing. =
Here's an excerpt showing (dramatically) how much more we need to know =
about students' struggles and backgrounds than just that they get their =
verb endings wrong:</DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: =
0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal =
12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier =
New">One of my first essays in one of my nutritional class was to write =
this=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
face=3D"Courier New">critical essay about the school lunch program in =
one of the middle schools=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier New">here in Corvallis. For =
me it was hard because we were suppose to write, to=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier =
New">criticize, the way they serve the foods to the children, whether =
it=92s=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
face=3D"Courier New">nutritionally balanced, whether they follow the =
federal regulations. So, for=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: =
0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier New">me, it was so hard to =
criticize, to write everything: they don=92t follow =
this,=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
face=3D"Courier New">they are not supposed to do this, they don=92t do =
this, because if I go back to=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: =
0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier New">my country, where I come =
from, Malawi, before 1994, it was so hard for us to=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier =
New">criticize anything related to the government. It was so hard =
because if we do=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier New">that, most of the time, =
people are arrested or something was done to them by=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier =
New">the government. So, I didn=92t write it as critical as my professor =
wanted it=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: =
0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" face=3D"Courier New">to be so I got a bad =
grade on that one because I think it wasn=92t deep =
enough=A0</FONT></DIV><DIV style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
face=3D"Courier New">critically.=A0</FONT></DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
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class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>--=A0<BR>Chris =
M. Anson=A0<A =
href=3D"http://www.home.earthlink.net/~theansons/Portcover.html"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">[Web =
site]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A></DIV><DIV>Professor of English=A0<BR><A =
href=3D"www2.chass.ncsu.edu/cwsp"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: =
underline; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, =
238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Director, Campus Writing =
and Speaking Program=A0</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><BR>Box =
8105,=A0North Carolina State University=A0<BR>Raleigh, NC=A0 =
27695-8105=A0<BR>(919) 513-4080=A0<BR></DIV><BR =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></S=
PAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>=
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