L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature
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Effects of writing instruction on adolescents\u27 knowledge of writing and text quality in history
Get PDFDeveloping adolescents\u27 writing ability is an important goal of present-day education, but hard to attain. In order to write well, writers must possess knowledge about what to write (content knowledge) and how to write well in a particular genre (metacognitive knowledge). Becoming a proficient writer across genres and disciplines requires systematic and explicit instruction We investigated the effects of domain-specific writing instruction on students\u27 knowledge of writing and text quality in the context of argumentative writing in history. Participants were three history teachers and one Dutch language teacher and their classes (Grade 8, 10 and 11). The teachers each designed a writing intervention based on design principles for effective writing instruction. A pre-posttest quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the effects of each intervention. Results showed a positive effect of instruction on writing knowledge; students in all three interventions produced more writing advice, especially more genre-specific and product-related recommendations. With respect to text quality an improvement on genre-specific aspects was found. Correlational analyses between knowledge of writing and text quality after the intervention only yielded positive effects for the intervention in Grade 8. In sum, this study shows that teacher-designed interventions in secondary education may improve adolescents\u27 knowledge of writing and quality of writing
Improving the mastery of relative clause in French L1 secondary classes: The effects of an intervention based on verbal interactions on written syntactic structures
Get PDFUsing the accurate relative pronoun (RP) in a formal writing task presents challenges for writers since they seem to be influenced by forms used in the popular oral variety of French which are far from the linguistic norm (Blanche-Benveniste, 2010). Studies describing the teaching of the relative clause (RC) in the secondary classroom have highlighted the problems encountered by students not only with handling this grammatical object, but also with using their grammatical knowledge in revising their text (Dolz & Schneuwly, 2009). However, to our knowledge, no study has yet been conducted to conceive and test an intervention for teaching RCs in French L1 classes. Based on theoretical and empirical work converging toward the fostering of sustained verbal interactions throughout grammatical and revision instruction, a series of lessons was implemented with 52 grade nine students enrolled in a French course (Montreal, Canada). Pretest and posttest texts were analysed in terms of RC frequency, usage and accuracy. While no difference was found in the general frequency of RCs, results show a significant increase in the use of complex RPs. Students, especially the weaker ones, also make significantly fewer mistakes overall on RPs and also on complex RPs. These results could indicate that certain structures associated with complexity and formal register are used more frequently and more accurately during written production after our intervention. Our results contribute to the ongoing discussion on the complementarity between direct grammar instruction and writing and revision instruction and their positive impact on students\u27 syntactic constructions in texts
Learning to write: Observation, modeling, and interaction in the classroom
Get PDFThe contribution of “learning-by-observation” to students\u27 acquisition of writing skills is a major focus of research by Rijlaarsdam and co-workers. After reviewing key findings from this research, three directions for future research on writing instruction in elementary and secondary school classrooms are discussed: the instructions given to students for observing, the use of interactive forms of modeling, and the ways of combining peer observation and peer interaction
An example of an L2-writing strategy: NOVSKEV
Get PDFIn this study the effect of a writing strategy for L2-writing is tested experimentally. 10th grade students (N = 67) took part in a writing experiment in writing German as a second language. In the experimental condition students were taught to pay attention to pre-writing activities (think and organize), find the right words in German, and post-writing activities (evaluate and revise). Students in both the experimental and control condition completed two texts as pre- and post-test. All texts were rated holistically as well as with an analytic scoring scheme. Results show that in the experimental condition students wrote (on average) better texts than in the control condition, when rated holistically. For the analytic ratings improvement was statistically significant for the categories Content, Vocabulary and Conventions. For other categories (Syntax, Grammar (Verb and Case), Spelling and Punctuation) no effect of the experimental program could be shown
Students responding to a short story: An explorative study of verbal and written responses
Get PDFThe purpose of this small-scale explorative study is to get insight into the relationship between students\u27 verbal and written responses to a literary text. Do adolescent students alter their response to a literary text in the course of reading, talking and writing about it? Do they develop new ideas or a different interpretation depending on the mode of response?
Participants were ten Dutch students (Grade 10, sixteen years old). They read a short story written by Jeanette Winterson, while thinking aloud. Subsequently, they responded verbally to the story as a whole, and then wrote a review in which they were asked to give their opinion of the story and to substantiate their opinion.
Differences between students\u27 verbal and written responses were mapped out. Contrary to our expectations, students did not respond more evaluatively and interpretatively in their written reviews compared to their verbal responses. However, their judgment of the story was more differentiated in their written review, and they noticed more often literary aspects of the story than during reading and thinking aloud. The mode of response (verbal or written, online or offline) apparently may influence the way in which students respond to a story
Under the teacher\u27s radar: Literacy practices in task-related smartphone use in the connected classroom
Get PDFIn this article, we explore the role of smartphones in the classroom and how they interact with teaching. Drawing on examples of literacy events, we show how the students use the smartphone as a resource to exercise power and influence in the literacy practices in which they participate in the classroom, in relation to a teaching content. These actions take place without the teachers being aware of them, and thus these processes dismantle the teacher\u27s authority in terms of access to, and overview of, the diversity of texts that are managed by the students in the classroom. The article concludes that it is evident that digital tools in general, and smartphones in particular, change the role of the teacher and the school, and that the students\u27 design of texts places new or altered demands on students as well as teachers
Texts that teach: Examining the efficacy of using texts as models
Get PDFThe classical rhetorical tradition advocated imitation as a tool for learning to be an effective orator, and thus foregrounded the pedagogical importance of using texts as models. More recent contemporary research has also flagged the value of using texts as models, enabling explicit attention to how texts work, and scaffolding students\u27 learning about writing. Despite some empirical evidence which points to the efficacy of this approach there is little detailed evidence of how the use of texts as models plays out in classrooms or what pedagogical practices are most supportive of student learning. Drawing on a funded four-year study, including a qualitative longitudinal project following four cohorts of students over three school years, this paper attempts to redress this gap. Through a detailed analysis of episodes of teachers using texts as models, it argues that it is critical to understand the pedagogical actions of teachers using texts as models to avoid text models being a straitjacket, constraining learning about writing, rather than possibilities for creative emulation. We highlight the fundamental importance of establishing a link between linguistic choice and rhetorical purpose so that young writers are inducted into the craft of writing, and empowered to make their own authorial choices
English-medium instruction in Dutch higher education: A policy reconstruction and impact study
Get PDFEnglish has been introduced as the medium of instruction in three-quarters of Master\u27s-degree programs in the Netherlands and one-quarter of Bachelor\u27s degree programs. The principal driving force behind this trend is internationalization, with the harmonization and Anglicization of higher education applied as means to that end. There is increasing criticism of this development within educational institutions and the Dutch House of Representatives. The main criterion is that the use of English should not undermine the quality of the education provided. The required level of proficiency in English for teaching and receiving academic education is C1 of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). For native speakers of Dutch (L1), both verbal information processing and text production in English (L2) burden the working memory more than their own language would Relatively little research has been conducted into the impact of English-medium instruction on the academic performance of Dutch students, and many of those studies that do exist are based on self-reporting rather than objective measurements. Semi-experimental research indicates that lecturers using L2 English are less clear, precise, redundant, and expressive, and also improvise less. Findings in respect of academic performance are inconsistent: some studies point to a decline, others find no effect on students\u27 performance. Research into the impact of L2 as a medium of instruction is generally hindered by the non-random allocation of students to the language in which they are taught and a lack of objective measurements
The place of culture in the Amazigh language textbooks in Morocco
Get PDFThis paper investigates the model of Amazigh language teaching in Morocco, which has been declared to be based on the communicative approach. So the objective of the present study is to explore the cultural content of the Amazigh textbooks using content analysis as the main method to process the data drawn from the first, third, and fifth level textbooks. The analysis reveals an over-representation of mainly two aspects of the Amazigh culture, namely the articulation of the value system and the language of social interaction. The presentation of the cultural information is done through drawings and narratives at the expense of photos and dialogues. The drawings do not illustrate the Amazigh native culture but rather report a type of global culture. Therefore, the presentation of culture in the Amazigh textbooks is more geared toward transmitting knowledge about cultural themes, patterns, and behavior than the practical application of that knowledge and the cultivation of the learners\u27 aptitude for their appropriate use, which is one of the aims of the teaching of Amazigh