Fall 2015 WIC Brown Bag Series

Second Language Development through Writing: Considerations for the WIC Classroom

October 19, 2015Melanie Gonzalez, English/Secondary and Higher Education, mgonzalez@salemstate.edu

Considerations for Multilingual Reading and Writing Language: vocabulary, grammar, rhetoric Classroom culture: population, interaction patterns

Developing Multilingual Reading and Writing Strategies Conduct a needs analysis – initial, accessible writing task to stimulate thinking and content focus Text analysis and discovery mini-lessons – select and “exploit” model texts to look for useful examples of

vocabulary, grammar, or style Instructions: Examine the text except below. In this paragraph, the author shifts from past tense to present tense. Examine the paragraph and describe (a) when the shift happens; (b) why is happens; and (c) whether your think the shift was effective.

Broaden the definition of vocabulary and what it means to know a wordVocabulary item Example(s)single words proximity; genre; marketingset phrases in other words; back and forth; time and time againvariable phrases it has come to ___ attention that + subj. + v.; to become routinephrasal verbs come up with; take awayidioms case of the Mondays

Direct attention to grammatical/structural choices – Are sentences long/short/simple/complex? Do authors use rhetorical questions? Passive voice? First-person? Hedging structures?Beyond this limited audience, however, my point should speak to anyone who cares about the larger issue of gun control.______ ___ ______ _______, ______, __ ____ _____ _____ __ ______ __ ____ _____ __ __________ __ ___ ______.

Consider the language required for written assignmentsCommon academic writing features based on corpora:

noun-heavy passive voice persuasive devices lexical varietyreporting verbs hedging verb tenses sentence length variety

Options for Feedback and Assessment Global vs. local errors Direct vs. indirect Explicit vs. implicit Assignment self-reflection: self-editing strategy chart; “Dear reader” memos (Sommers, 2012)

“With [multilingual] writers, the ‘eradication of errors’ should not be instructors’ only concern” (Ferris, 2009, p. 95)

Directions: For this exercise, read this excerpt from President Obama’s recent speech. Examine the excerpt for: (a) persuasive words and phrases; (b) simple, compound, and complex sentences; (c) use of hyphens; and (d) how you think his words and sentences construct his argument.

Statement by the President on the Shootings at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, OregonJames S. Brady Press Briefing Room6:22 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: There’s been another mass shooting in America -- this time, in a community college in Oregon.

That means there are more American families -- moms, dads, children -- whose lives have been changed forever. That means there’s another community stunned with grief, and communities across the country forced to relieve their own anguish, and parents across the country who are scared because they know it might have been their families or their children.

I’ve been to Roseburg, Oregon. There are really good people there. I want to thank all the first responders whose bravery likely saved some lives today. Federal law enforcement has been on the scene in a supporting role, and we’ve offered to stay and help as much as Roseburg needs, for as long as they need.

In the coming days, we’ll learn about the victims -- young men and women who were studying and learning and working hard, their eyes set on the future, their dreams on what they could make of their lives. And America will wrap everyone who’s grieving with our prayers and our love.

But as I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It’s not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel. And it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America -- next week, or a couple of months from now.

Further resources:

Ferris, D.R. (2009). Teaching college writing to diverse student populations. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., & Durst, R. (2015). They say, I say with Readings (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Norton &

Company.Reid, J. (2008). Writing myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching. Ann Arbor, MI: University of

Michigan Press.Sommers, N. (2012). Responding to student writing.