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    Aiding Language Acquisition in ESL Students through Recursive Writing

    Lemuel Gary IV

    B.A. English; B.S. Biology

    Linguistics 237

    Dr. Ellen Lipp

    December 10th, 2010

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    Aiding Language Acquisition in ESL Students through Recursive Writing

    Abstract

    As a key component to ESL course curriculum and pedagogy at the university level, there needs

    be an increased and strengthened emphasis upon specifically recursive writing strategies, where the

    object and primary goal of designated lesson plans and activities are individual discovery and meaning

    making, primarily facilitated through engaging in the revision and reflective aspects of the writing

    process. Focusing upon a recursive approach in teaching ESL writing-- meaning teaching academic

    writing as a cyclical process of continuous development, as opposed to traditional linear, solution-

    driven structure, will, ultimately, prove more conducive to the ultimate pedagogical goals of language

    acquisition and proficiency of university ESL programs, provide better preparation for future academic

    pursuit and course-work of students outside of ESL courses, and improve the future writing self-

    efficacy of ESL learners.

    Introduction

    Recursive writing can be a benefit to ESL learners for many reasons. But centrally, the biggest

    benefit comes from the nature of the writing itself. Writing tasks which are recursive may make better

    use of beginning university writers already present cognitive abilities associated with the process of

    writing, helping to integrate skills already possessed in L1, drawing upon previous experience in

    writing, whether academic based or otherwise. Recursiveness, when discussing writing strategy, refers

    only to an approach to writing, not a subcategory or genre of it. When proposing that recursive writing

    become more of the focal point of the academic writing required of a student rather than traditional

    models, I am really advocating a shift beyond traditional linear approaches to written assignments

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    given in ESL courses. Linear approaches to writing, as I am referencing it, refers to academic models

    of instruction whose primary goal in writing is the implementation of structure through linguistic rules:

    grammar, etc. In the end, essentially, what I seek to address in this paper is the classic conflict between

    product-based pedagogy of writing and the process-based pedagogy of writing, whereas my argument

    is that ESL writing pedagogy can be improved by introducing a more process-based approach, which

    includes promoting the sometimes complex, recursive, and creative set of behaviors associated with the

    writing process.

    There is much research which indicates that many of these traditional methods alone, without

    supplementation with other approaches, can hamper a students learning and grasp of the language.

    Given the central nature of many of the difficulties endemic to the ESL students experience it

    would seem necessary to employ teaching approaches and pedagogy which strengthen and improve the

    already present critical thinking skills, to lessen the burdensome nature of transitioning from one

    language to another. The importance of understanding critical thinking, the role it plays in the

    acquisition of language, and how it relates to recursive writing shall be relayed below.

    ESL & The cultural tradition of critical thinking

    For university ESL students, the process of becoming proficient and fluent in the English

    language is an arduous journey that is as much about embracing and adopting the culture of English

    language as it is about linguistic study. There is an obvious and significant cultural component to

    learning any language (need quote); in courses teaching language, a discussion of culture is nearly

    simultaneous to engaging in language study. Whether the transition proves large or small, difficult or

    easy, achieving cultural literacy is the first step in the process of acquiring language. Central to

    American academic culture, as reflected in the traditions of language and rhetorical discourse, is the

    concept of critical thinking. It can be seen as early as high school with advanced placement courses,

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    and evolves into institutions of higher learning. For example, in California, before any student can

    earn wan Associates or Bachelor degree, he or she must complete both a lower and upper division

    specifically designated critical thinking course as an undergraduate, no matter what the degree pathway

    or major; or, in the absence of official course, pass with satisfactory score a competency test pertaining

    to some aspect of critical response. Therefore, it can be gleamed that one's success in American

    education system lies in the ability to critically respond to academic discourse.

    Critical thinking assignments in traditional American discourse operates on at least one of the

    following assumptions, all of which appear to be foundational in middle class/mainstream U.S. culture:

    (1) that the survival of a democracy depends partly on raising critical questions about social issues

    (Cederblom & Paulsen, 1987); (2) that the U.S. public should be prepared to take decisions on such

    issues; and (3) that these are areas around which honest disagreement is possible (Ramanathan &

    Atkinson, 1999). Essential to the idea of critical thinking in academia is individualism, defined as the

    idea that an identity is developed or forged during the process of engaging discourse of academic study.

    There are primarily four main pedagogical principles and practices taught in Ll oriented composition

    which appear to incorporate a U.S. mainstream ideology of individualism: voice, peer review, critical

    thinking, and textual ownership (Ramanathan & Atkinson, 1999). The ideas of critical thinking and

    individualism share a direct, cognitive relationship in American education, with common ground in the

    core pedagogy of progressivism, which relays that the all-important principle and purpose of education

    to be the development of autonomous, self-actualized individuals (Pennycook, 1997). Cope and

    Kalantzis (1993) see an intimate connection between educational progressivism and the metaphor of

    personal voice: The motivation in progressivism...is based entirely on the individuals voice, the

    individuals sense of destiny. A crucial goal, in the end, of education is to somehow develop,

    manufacture, an academic voice and identity.

    However, these very pedagogical concepts and the academic practices created from them

    assume culturally specific norms of thought and expression which university ESL writers may have

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    little social training in and difficulty accessing. Specifically, critical thinking, process writing, and the

    academic voice may provide conflicts for ESL students because of their very focus upon individualism,

    as it relates to the development of independent versus interdependent constructs of self when engaged

    in critical thinking about academic discourse. What constitutes successful learning in traditional L1

    cultures of university students in California will more often than not likely to differ from its counterpart

    in L2. Specifically in regards to writing, ESL students socialized to the requirements of their L1

    educational systems tend to write not so much to present an original, strong, individual self, to display

    critical thinking, but to show how much they have internalized the traditions of their cultures

    (Ramanathan & Atkinson, 1999). Piaget asserts that individual independence is a social fact, a

    product of civilization". What this boils down to is that beginning university ESL writers must

    effectively learn how to create written academic discourse reflective of their own independent

    evaluation of particular discourse: essentially, create an individualized academic persona. This post-

    structuralist thought assumes that people have, by their very nature, multiple instead of unitary

    personalities. This is accomplished in academic writing through the manifestation of voice.

    Defining Voice

    Each student is assumed, though, (almost required) to possess some sort of internal,

    independent, unique voice. This underscores a particular ideological worldview where the individual

    is foregrounded and valorized. Voice in this sense, can be seen to represent linguistic behavior

    (Ramanathan & Atkinson, 1999).

    Traditionally, Ll acompositionists have used the construct of voice in a variety of ways.

    Historically, the genesis of the notion of written voice arrives as part of the larger 1960s and 1970s

    reaction to social and educational systems that were emphasizing the impersonal over the personal, the

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    technological over the natural. The most common use of this metaphorical notion appears to involve

    linguistic (or near-linguistic) communication. Today, the most common and longest-standing usage is

    the more active vehicle of personal style, presence on the page, which individuates a writer from all

    other writers-- evidenced primarily through that writers texts (Ramanathan, Atkinsion pg 49).

    Bowden (1995) attributes three fundamental characteristics to the original personal or authentic

    view of written voice. First, it is (almost by definition) inward-centered-- it is fundamentally about

    having contact with ones essential inner self. Second, it assumes the primacy of oral over written

    communication. That is, like the related metaphorical notion, tone, voice suggests that writing is in

    some sense displaced or deficient speech. Third and finally, Bowden points out that the notion of

    personal written voice is distinct and literary.

    Luckily, the most compelling evidence of these widely differing notions of individuality across

    cultures and their implications for written voice, comes from the personal stories of those who have

    attempted to transplant themselves and become literate from one culture to another (Ramanathan &

    Atkinson, 1999). This, quite literally, is what university ESL students are doing in the process of

    gaining language acquisition and proficiency. Therein, the strategies undertaken to attain desirable

    levels of proficiency cannot be underestimated.

    The following excerpt from the Ramanthan & Atkinson (1999) relates clearly what rigorous

    academic discourse truly requires of university ESL students:

    In order to write good English, I knew that I had to be myself, which actually meant

    not to be my Chinese self. It meant that I had to create an English self and be that self.

    And to be that English self. . . I had to accept the way a Westerner accepts himself in

    relation to the universe and society(pg 55/56).

    It is important to examine identity again here, for it pertains directly to the relationship of

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    individualism and voice. An undervalued aspect of ESL instruction is guarding against the potential

    marginalization of one's students occurring in the process of language acquisition. The ESL students

    struggle acquiring language, as aforementioned, mirrors the greater socio-political adjustments they

    must undergo. In this respect, ESL students reflect better than others the ideological

    conflict, struggle, and tensions of writing differences that dominate the

    institutional bounds of school in the United States (Fernsten, 2008). Post-

    structuralists view language as the site of both social and political struggle (Shor, 1992), but many

    students lack the awareness that it is necessary and valuable to contest the voices of authority.

    Awareness can be developed by writing. Much of this can be attributed to the traditions students carry

    from their L1 ideologies. A writers opportunities, experiences, and encounters are shaped, enabled,

    and constrained by the social, economic, and cultural factors that reflect different access to discourses

    and identification with particular social groups (Fernsten, 2008). Language proficiency & development

    clearly requires good critical thinking strategy. Although some educators would argue that attaining

    proficiency in discourse is all that is important, part of learning for ESL speakers is understanding why

    academic discourse is prompting them to think and write about complex ideas. Responses and

    corrections that center only on grammatical differences, therefore, too often prove unproductive

    (Fernsten, 2008).

    As educators, we must consider when creating lesson plans how realistic it is to regularly expect

    or demand our university ESL students to basically become someone else in their writing. The notions

    of individualism and critical thinking, at least, for some students, may require this. And if we are to

    require this of our students, what is the best way to aid them in the process of development? What can

    we do to ease and enhance the transition? Considering the employment of basic and formal recursive

    writing strategies may prove to be helpful in this respect.

    Meta-cognition

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    Writing isn't a neat linear set of steps one follows but a complex organic act of creation.

    Specifically, the ability to critically think and then respond to academic discourse, in the way real

    academic writing suggests, requires the development of sophisticated meta-cognitive skills-- skills

    which, like the writing process itself, do not subscribe to clean, linear processing. Meta-cognitive

    strategy refers to the abilities and skills that are used by learners as the means to manage, monitor and

    evaluate their learning activities-- i.e critical thinking. To put it simply, meta-cognitive strategies are

    skills, approaches, thinking and actions learners use to control and facilitate their own individual

    cognition and learning process (Lu & Chen, 2010). Basically, they refer directly to how an individual

    structures his or her critically thinking. According to O'Malley and Chamot (1990; 2001) meta-

    cognitive critical thinking strategies are higher order executive skills which can be further classified

    into three categories: (1) planning, (2) monitoring, (3) evaluation. Again, each of these categories is

    central to critical thinking. Planning is a procedure for conflict resolution among competing action

    statements that applies to the conditional clause in the production system. In other words, planning

    involves in directing the course of language reception and production. Discovering what you will or

    are interested in working towards writing. Monitoring is a response to ambiguity in comprehending

    language where an individual selects a best guess of the message's meaning based on available

    meaning. Monitoring can also be described as being aware of what one is doing. Evaluation is the

    mental process of consciously inspecting learning outcomes, or arriving at an understanding of the

    relevance of the ones discourse engaged in.

    The relevance of discussing meta-cognitive strategy is that it remains the bedrock of how we

    teach and approach, and understand critical thinking in both L1 and L2 writing pedagogy. It is here

    that educators can diagnose and potentially rectify difficulties arising in language development-- for

    how one thinks about, approaches writing directly affects how one ultimately performs and writes.

    Helping university ESL students understand and discover how critical thinking skills are constructed in

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    English language composition, and characteristics of these skills, will make them better writers.

    Characteristics of both successful and unsuccessful university writers are common among LI

    and L2 learners. According to Baroudy (2008), the positive traits of both L1/L2 learners intersect

    favorably, with writing behaviors between them almost identical, globally universal and moreover,

    interdependent. Therefore, methods used to teach writing and reading strategies in L1 can be applied

    directly to L2. Successful language learners possess a great deal of awareness and are highly cognizant

    of their learning strategies and learning styles, developing a dynamic, reflective approach to learning

    tasks, while showing willingness to take risks, guess most appropriately and attend to form as well as

    content (Baroudy, 2008). Furthermore, successful language learning, Rubin (1975) asserts, is

    dependent primarily upon three fundamental variables: aptitude, motivation, and opportunity. Goal

    setting is a behavior present in most effective student writers, as most effective student-writers are

    motivated by goals beyond the actual text; ineffective student-writers are directed by the writing topic,

    the lesson plan, and not guided by higher level goals (Baroudy, 2008). As one might expect,

    unsuccessful student writers may be unaware of their unsuccessful traits, and, perhaps more

    importantly, lack adequate exposure to positive writing behaviors. As university educators, this is

    where we can potentially make our biggest impact.

    The Recursive Writing Process & ESL

    Writing is a recursive process that should be instructed in the same way. In academia, it is one

    primary method by which an individual engages discourse, and the primary vehicle for the

    development of individual voice so crucial to critical thinking. When defining the writing process as

    recursive, I am referencing specifically pedagogical practices which focus on writing as a cyclical,

    revolving structure, rather than a product-driven linear process. Recursive writing is defined, for the

    purpose of this paper, as writing that is revisited over the course of a unit or lesson plan. Recursive

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    writing, as a core component of any unit or curriculum, has the potential to promote, and likely will

    lead to, improvement and development of proficiency and fluency in this primary way: it will make

    students more prolific writers. The term "recursive" denotes writing practices and activities that are

    deliberately revisited as a part of lesson plan and curriculum. The work of Vivian Zamel provides a

    good base point to examine the process from both a student and teacher perspective. From an

    instruction standpoint, teaching composition in a way which recognizes the importance of generating,

    formulating, and refining one's ideas-- recursiveness-- is a great way of facilitating growth of your

    students as a writer, because it emphasizes the need for writers to go back in order to move forward.

    This implies that revision and reflection should become the main component of this instruction, that

    writing teachers should intervene throughout the process, and that students should learn to view their

    writing as someone else's reading-- components which go hand in hand with the aforementioned

    concepts of critical thinking.

    ESL teachers are generally concerned with language acquisition, error analysis emphasize, and

    correctness and form, more than other writing teachers, for obvious reasons. Widdowson (1978) is

    particularly critical of ESL teaching practices because they focus upon usage rather than real

    communication. A cursory look at ESL composition texts indicates that, for the most part, writing

    assignments are made for the sole purpose of testing the mastery of specific grammatical structures and

    that few involve invention techniques or pre- writing strategies (Zamel, 1982). This seems to be in

    conflict with the goals of critical thinking and the fundamental process of writing, which views

    composition process as an extremely complex undertaking, the nature of which itself "militate[s]

    against prescriptive approaches to the teaching of writing" (Witte &Faigley 1981: 202); (pg 196).

    While composing, both L1/L2 students seem to exhibit a variety of behaviors, all of which indicate the

    non-linear basis of learning to writing. Again, the writing process entails several recursive stages, such

    as "rehearsing," "drafting" and "revising", which interact in a recursive cyclical fashion together and

    repeatedly, in order to physically produce work, and explore/discover meaning. Writing when taught

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    from this perspective, as the process of exploring one's thoughts and learning from the act of writing

    itself what these thoughts are-- aids in enhancing critical thinking skills and improves actual writing

    performance (Zamel, 1982).

    Recursive Writing and Self-Efficacy

    Teaching writing from a recursive perspective may lead students to physically compose more.

    Writing, more than reading and speech, is affected by the mode of specified discourse. This means that

    students tend to write more and with greater fluency and satisfaction when their writing involves them

    personally, while writing with less facility when the writing was more objectified. Writing has no

    subject matter of its own, and so taught as a recursive process implies discovery through revision.

    Through revising a work, not only are critical thinking skills engaged and possibly enhanced, but

    personal investment naturally facilitated, which may lead to increased motivation and improved

    confidence.

    Academic writing requires special attention to motivational conditions. According to Bruning

    & Horn (2008), four clusters of conditions are proposed as keys to developing motivation: nurturing

    functional beliefs about writing, fostering engagement using authentic writing tasks, and providing a

    supportive context for writing, and creating a positive emotional environment. In addition, it is vital to

    note that the teachers own conceptions of writing are seen as crucial to establishing these conditions in

    most writing contexts. The development of self-efficacy for writing is closely linked to whether

    students have adequate strategies for writing and to the kinds of feedback they receive when employing

    them. Skilled writing is a tremendously complex problem-solving act involving memory, planning,

    text generation, and revision (Flower et al., 1990,1994). When attempting to write, writers must juggle

    multiple goals (Hayes, 1996) and satisfy many constraints of topic, audience, purpose, and of

    physically creating the text itself, often switching back and forth among a variety of frames of

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    reference, including critical thinking (e.g., perspective, logic), rhetorical stances (e.g., description,

    persuasion), and writing conventions. It is obvious therein that writers must and need to develop strong

    beliefs in the relevance and importance of writing as they engage with the writing processess many

    complexities and frustrations. Writing self-efficacy appears to follow a developmental course, at least

    in children, that is most likely linked to growth in writing competence (Bruning & Horn, 2008)

    Writing efficacy also increases as a result of interventions that provide students with tools for

    improving their writing skills (Bruning & Horn, 2008). This would seem to argue for, again, paying

    close attention to writing as a cyclical process, rather than a clear linear pathway. Developing writers

    are challenged to do far more than simply set down a sequence of words. They must learn a new

    communicational infra-structure involving an intricate set of formal language conventions and ideas

    (grammar, syntax rules), all the while trying to spell out what their topics are about, organize

    information, and provide explanations. The challenge is to help students see that writings benefits

    outweigh its considerable effort and risks (Bruning & Horn, 2008). Clearly, their development is in the

    hands of those who set the writing tasks and react to what has been written.

    Bruning and Horn (2008) describe well several keys to understanding motivation when it

    concerns writing. The list of motivation-enhancing conditions can be divided into three clusters,

    beginning with (1) nurturing functional beliefs about the nature of writing and its outcomes. These

    beliefs have multiple dimensions, starting with a realistic appraisal of the difficulties and challenges of

    writing. They also include beliefs in writings potential, in ones capabilities as a writer, and in having

    control over writing tasks. A second cluster is designed to foster student engagement through authentic

    goals and contexts in other words, writing that students will see as meaningful, purposeful, and

    allowing them to express their own voice. A third group of conditions involves providing a supportive

    context to develop requisite writing skills. They include task framing, practice, and feedback conditions

    likely to build skills and motivation. The final cluster of conditions focuses on creating a positive

    emotional environment, where ideas and feelings can be expressed safely.

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    In reference to self-efficacy, for the purposes of this paper's argument, it should be defined as an

    individual's self-judgment or belief (or lack thereof) in their capabilities and the corresponding

    motivation to perform academic tasks. Self-efficacy is most often associated with Bandura and

    emerges from his social cognitive theory (Gorsuch 2009), in which people are viewed as self-

    organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating (Pajares, 2008, p. 112). Self-efficacy is a

    judgment on the part of a person of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action

    required to attain designated performances (Snow et al., 1995, p. 277)(pg 5 ). Graham & Weiner

    (1995) defines self-efficacy as ..an ability construct that refers to individuals beliefs about their

    capabilities to perform well. In education, self-efficacy has to do with learners beliefs about their

    own academic capabilities. Students self efficacy is influenced by their learning performance and their

    academic achievements are influenced by self-efficacy beliefs-- so one can see there is a direct

    relationship between the two. One can imagine how much heightened all the variables involved

    become when language acquisition and proficiency becomes a factor.

    Self-efficacy leads to constructive traits that can be further utilized throughout one's educational

    career. In specific regards to ESL learners and self-efficacy, Gorsuch (2009) asserts several important

    links between it, meta-cognitive development, writing, and language development. According to

    Gorsuch, the construction of confidence (self-efficacy) implicates many traits that on some level many

    have assumed are needed for successful L2 learning: these include learner strategy use (e.g., Breen,

    2001; Graham, 2006), use of meta-cognition (Gorsuch & Taguchi, in press), opportunities for

    development of learner agency and identity (Lantolf & Pavlenko, 2001), development of motivation

    (Dornyei, 2001; Dornyei & Skehan, 2003), and controlling debilitating language learning anxiety

    (Mills, Pajares, & Herron, 2006).

    Good language learners usually prefer to take charge of their own learning rather than to rely

    upon the teacher. Additionally, higher self-perceived efficacy in language skills is associated with use

    of learning strategies. Though teaching students different cognitive and self-regulatory strategies is

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    important for improving their actual performance on classroom academic tasks, ultimately, improving

    students self-efficacy beliefs may lead to more use of those cognitive strategies. It is also important to

    note that students self-efficacy is not fixed but task-specific-- meaning helpful strategies learned tend to

    stretch across disciplines. So one can see improving the way one thinks about writing and it's tasks

    directly influences performance, both positively and negatively, in not only ESL learning, but after it

    In reference to self-efficacy and identity, Gorsuch argues that self-efficacy seems implicated in

    identity formation for learners at early stages in their lives, and that the college classroom is an

    important site for development, learning, and instruction (Wigfield et al., 1995, p. 167). In this way,

    self-efficacy can be seen as a worthwhile lens through which to view ways to help young adults

    develop their identities as lifelong and successful language learners-- something ESL teachers should

    consider very important and a core value of their ultimate goal in pedagogy.

    Graham (2006) approached self-efficacy directly through meta-cognition, which, as

    aforementioned, the ability of learners to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning. Graham

    asserts that learners with high levels of self-efficacy also have more articulated meta-cognition. In

    other words, learners with positive self beliefs seem to have better control over and knowledge of

    effective learner strategies.

    Recursive writing provides ESL learners with much needed opportunities to display L2

    acquisition, and thus, has potential to increase physical production of writing by providing a means of

    motivation. According to Gorsuch (2008), there is some discussion regarding whether adequate

    practice opportunities for skills development and language use are being provided within current ESL

    programs The logic here is that for learners to become confident in using an L2 for specific tasks, they

    must have sufficient opportunities to do those tasks in order to even develop an initial, realistic sense of

    what knowledge and skills must be invoked to complete those tasks or activities. If such language

    practice or use opportunities do not exist, learners cannot be realistically expected to develop self-

    efficacy.

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    Lesson Plan: Focused Journal Writing-- What does it mean to be an ESL student?

    To make use of the more naturally recursive forms of the writing process, journal writing, as a

    form of academic discourse, can help university ESL students improve the language acquisition and

    proficiency goals of traditional curriculum while developing many of the critical thinking tools

    necessary for academic achievement outside of ESL courses, employing a strategy that is more fluid

    and less obtrusive than tradition compositional models. In traditional linear models of the writing

    process, controlled composition is likely to discourage creative thinking and writing, and does not

    engage the dynamic and recursive nature of writing as it naturally occurs (Yu, 2009). Journal writing is

    a way teach recursive writing strategies, specifically because it employs reflection as the central vehicle

    for examining, engaging ideas, texts and academic material. Reflection is important because it is a

    self-affirming tool which can facilitate individual meaning making, both in the expository sense and in

    the sense of composition. Reflection also supports non-linear models of thinking and learning. Journal

    writing also supports the generative aspects of the recursive writing process, because through it, ESL

    learners can come to utilize English as vehicle of personal expression, promoting the relationships

    between language, personal expression, and proficiency.

    Journal writing can easily be implemented into a normal university ESL course curriculum.

    Seedhouse (2005) studied the inter-actional framework in language learning classroom, by analyzing

    goals, pedagogical foci, and turn sequences. He claims the following basic inter-actional sequence

    organization is common to all second language classrooms:

    1. A pedagogical focus is introduced. Overwhelmingly in the data this focus is

    introduced by the teacher, but it may be nominated by learners.

    2. At least two persons speak in the L2 in normative orientation to thepedagogical focus.

    3. In all instances, the interaction involves participants' analyzing the pedagogical focus and

    performing turns in the L2 which display their analyses of and normative orientation to

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    this focus in relation to the interaction. Therefore, participants constantly display to each

    other their analyses of the evolving relationship between pedagogy and interaction.

    Organizational sequence does not dictate the content of what teachers say, but only suggests a

    way of formatting how they say it (Yu, 2009).

    6 Week Mini Unit (two class sessions a month devoted to discussing):

    Focused Journal writing

    What does it mean to be a L2 learner?

    Students will compose/create a 6-8 page paper, based upon or taken directly from about what it

    means to them, to be an L2 student; what it means to learn another language, and from that, explore

    what it means to learn another culture, or way of life. The paper is designed completed in independent

    stages, and can function as singular work or a collection of individual ones. The student will be given

    the opportunity to develop his/her own idea's (this is strongly encouraged), and/or expound upon ideas

    raised in class discussions regarding similar themes. Student instructor conferences will be conducted

    at the end of the third week of the unit. Assignment due dates and discussions will be broken down

    into six separate class meetings. Two class meetings will be devoted to the project each month before

    finals. Students, can, if so desired, compose a portion or section of the assignment in first language.

    Revision

    Each student's writing or work must be revised after the third week required conference with the

    instructor. In addition, students will be required to workshop their papers in small groups on the

    assigned due days.

    First month

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    Writing Assignment #1

    Why are you learning English? What reasons are you involved in ESL-- what are your goals-- besides

    obvious gaining increased proficiency in English?

    Second Month

    Writing Assignment #2

    How would you describe your relationship with your native language?

    Third Month

    Writing Assignment #3

    What do you see as the relationship between language and culture?

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