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“Think in my mind and write from my heart”:Exploring student-centered college English writing

pedagogy

“写我所思记我所感”—以学生为主体的大学英语写作教学实践探索

吉林大学战菊 张凤娟 潘海英

jzhan@jlu.edu.cn

Outline Background Purpose of the study Theoretical basis Issues being addressed Course design Findings and course features Discussion Conclusion References

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Background EFL teaching reform based on the College English

Curriculum Requirements (2004, 2007) College English courses: twice a week; 90 minutes each

time Writing is marginalized. Few writing courses available. Students experience difficulties in learning to write in

English. Their performance in the writing section of high-stakes

English tests (e.g., CET 4/6) is far from being satisfactory.

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Background Role of writing instruction - Improve writing skills - Enhance thinking capacity, including critical thinking ability - Contribute to overall language development by enhancing

accuracy, word choice, grammar, etc.

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Purpose of the study To explore ways

to integrate writing into college English curriculum

to teach writing effectively and engagingly to maximize the role of written output in

English language learning

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Theoretical basis SLA theories

- Output hypothesis (Swain, 1985) “the act of producing language (speaking or writing) constitutes, under

certain circumstances, part of the process of second language learning.”

- Output driven hypothesis ( 文秋芳 ,2008) Originally proposed for English majors, but applicable to non-English

majors too. Three sub-hypotheses:1. Output is equally, if not more effective than, input in promoting learners’ language

proficiency.2. The training of productive skills of speaking, writing and translation is more practical and

relevant than that of receptive skills of reading and listening in terms of preparing students for future profession.

3. Output driven model of integrated language teaching is more effective than teaching of isolated skills.

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Theoretical basis Social constructivism

Students: writer’s voice, experiences, interest, identity &

context Individual cognitive, social activity, enculturation Collaborative writing and learning

Teacher: facilitator and coach rather than transmitter Neo-humanistic perspective

Learner’s inner life, cultural diversity The whole person Student choice & autonomy, feelings and interests, self-

actualization, cooperation

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Issues being addressed

1. How to maximize the role of written output in English learning when integrating writing into college English curriculum?

2. How to teach writing effectively and engagingly through the English Writing Course?

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Research design Case study

Methods - Interview - Class observation - Documents: student writing, class notes and reflection pieces course feedback email and QQ correspondence instructor courseware, course books and other teaching

materials

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Participants Teacher participants

Teacher Age Year of Teaching

Education Overseas Experience

Position

T1 52 30 PhD 8 years, US Professor

T2 42 20 PhD candidate

1 year, US Professor

T3 36 7 PhD 2 years, Canada

Associate professor

T4 34 7 MA 10 months, Singapore

Instructor

T5 30 6 MA 10 months, Singapore

Instructor

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Participants Student participants

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Course description It started in 2008 as a selective course for non-English

major undergraduate students. It consists of ten sessions, each lasting 2.5 hours. It features team teaching, with five members co-

teaching and alternating. Differing from traditional product oriented writing

courses, it is designed with the assumption that writing is not a mere skill, but a complex intellectual and social process.

Students are encouraged to use writing as a powerful tool of thinking, learning, discovering and communicating; learn to “think in my mind and write from my heart” so as to “enrich life by writing”.

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How to maximize the role of written output in English learning when integrating writing into college English curriculum? Holistic instructional practices Skills integration: read to write, listen to write, talk to write ( 文秋

芳 ,2008) Multiple goals: learn to write; write to learn, to express oneself, to

socialize, to discover Multi-dimensions of learning: cognitive, metacognitive, social,

affective

Findings

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2. How to teach writing effectively and engagingly through the English Writing Course?

---Design Student centered writing pedagogy Choosing teaching materials and writing topics, designing class

activities & teaching procedure A dynamic approach: from process approach to process-genre

approach Involving students in class activities, projects, feedback, evaluation &

reflection of learning Drawing on students’ experience and interest Using technology to appeal to the “digital natives” Individualized instruction that addresses every student’s concerns Bonding between instructor & students

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Findings

Feature 1: Raising metalinguistic awareness

Explicit discussion of writing features and writing process, such as the project of using a diagram to represent the writing process

Student reflection at the end of every class

Think about the following questions and write your answers. It is not necessarily a complete essay. Two short paragraphs will do.1. What are the most important things you have learned in this

session?2. What is the one thing that you still do not understand about

writing or the writing course? Final student presentation on one’s best piece and the journey of

learning to write throughout this course

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For Example:

Project: Diagrammatic representation of the process of writing

No stupid questions or things in this class (Feel free to be as creative as you want).

No framework (You can conceive of the whole writing process in any way you like, using any image, drawing, or metaphor)

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Writing: many different processes & components

Clark & Ivanič (1999)17

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Feature 2:Writing on topics of interest

Some topics chosen by students1. How to maintain good relationship with roommates2. How to date a girl friend in college3. Associations in the university4. The importance of managing time in university5. How to deal with the problem about Internet addiction6. From sub-healthy to healthy

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Based on the characteristics of the post-90s generation who are skilled in using new media and technology (“digital natives”, Prensky, 2001), encourage students to use writing software, online dictionaries and writing

websites practise skills for searching evidence on the Internet use class email account to share each other’s writing communicate with the instructor through QQ

Feature 3:Use technology to appeal to the “digital natives”

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Feature 4: multiple feedback and individualized instruction

Multiple sources of feedback: teacher, student, self Multiple form of feedback and individualized instruction - Not just feedback on students’ writing products - But feedback on the writing problems and concerns of

the students from the instructor, who summarizes students’ problems in the reflection pieces and addresses them next class. E.g.,1. How can I write creatively about some topics I am not familiar with?2. The expressions looked up in the dictionary sometimes seem strange

when I put them together.3. How to write better with limited vocabulary size?

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Feature 5: bonding between the instructor and students

Appeal to emotion, establish bond with students

Email message 1:

Hello, everyone! Attached are the ppt slides for the previous session. It is so nice to

spend the last week with you and I hope you can enjoy the class. See you on Friday! Chris

Email message 2:

Dear everyone, Attached are the ppt slides we need today, the last genre you are

going to learn and have a writing practice on, I promise. Hang on there!

See you tonight! Chris

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Discussion: holistic, dynamic input

Knowledge of genre, features of good writing, writing strategies, etc. Writing samples from students and other sources Reading and listening materials for writing Idea generation by brainstorming, outlining through student discussion

and other activities Involving students emotionally, cognitively and socially through in

class and out of class interaction

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Discussion: diverse, optimal output

Output - Five writing projects, 3 drafts for each - Journal writing - Presentation on best piece and journey of learning to write

throughout the course - Oral discussion of writing

Maximize the quality of output - Use technology and other learning resources for writing - Feedback from teacher, students and self - Feedback on both students’ writing products and writing

concerns and problems from teacher - Reflection

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Discussion: writing as part of students’ learning & life

1. Learn to write: better awareness of good writing, writing strategies and conventions, more evidence-based (use references more often than before)

2. Write to learn: realizing the value of writing in English learning

3. Write to enrich life: developing personal bond with writing, using it as a means to socialize, to communicate, to express oneself, to discover

4. Technology in writing and English learning5. Affective development: more confident and passionate

about writing and language learning, from passive to active learning, more inquisitive, taking more initiative in learning

6. Think critically, questioning

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Feedback from students

我觉得我们这门课真的很好，特别是老师的精彩授课和同学们的积极参与，这样的课程是我以前从未参加过的。毕竟我的英语不是很好，显得不能完全接受课程内容，但总体上还是学到很多东西，认识很多别的学院的同学，特别是课程上讲的英语写作技巧和你的对我的作文批语，都使我受益匪浅。真的很感谢老师！感谢老师的精彩授课！感谢老师对我的帮助！你的敬业让给我们佩服！

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Feedback from students Dear Ms. Ding: These are the whole assignments of the English writing

course. Although these assignments drive me a little crazy sometimes ， I appreciate the process of writing. It is a pity that we did not take a photo for all of the students and you, since we have learnt, discussed and shared for more than a month.

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Conclusion: CHED

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CHED : Curriculum, Holistic, Engaging, Dynamic More importance attached to written output and

more EFL writing courses Further research on the role of writing in English and

curriculum development Proficiency & humanism (self, emotional & social

development) Motivation & engagement from both teachers and

learners Dynamic and open, student-centered in course

design and implementation

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References1. Arnold, J. 1998. Towards more humanistic English teaching. ELT

Journal, 52(3), 235-242.2. Badger, R., & White, G. 2000. A process genre approach to

teaching writing. ELT Journal,54(2): 153- 60.3. Hyland, K. 2003. Genre-based pedagogies: A social response to

process. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12: 17-29.4. Prensky, M. 2001. Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the

Horizon, 9(5):1-6. 5. Swain, M. 1985. Communicative competence: Some roles of

comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In Gass, S. and Madden, C. (Eds.), Input in Second Language Acquisition, pp. 235-256. New York: Newbury House.

6. Williams, M. & Burden, R. L. 1997. Psychology for Language Teachers: A Social Constructivist Approach. New York: Cambridge University Press.

7. 文秋芳 . 输出驱动假设与英语专业技能课程改革 . 外语界 , 2008(2):2-9.

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