One of the questions from our class handout asks, "How realistic is it to expect (and demand) from our NNEST students to develop an English self?" (I think that "NNES" might be meant instead of "NNEST"--non-native-English-speaking-teachers, but I think my answer addresses both anyway.)
The best advice I gathered from these readings, the documentary "Writing Across Borders," and our in-class discussion is that voice can be best viewed (or, though I hate to say it, graded) if the instructor has some awareness of the student's background. That is, the "voice" that we're looking for (an abstract concept defined and discovered differently by each teacher, in my opinion) is only going to make sense if we can contextualize it. These readings appropriately came right after our discussions on contrastive rhetoric, as CR can be applied to this search/demand for voice in L2 writing.
Hirvela and Belcher's case studies were particularly good in proving this. In the study of Jacinta, for example, we are told that "one of her coadvisors stated that 'she was an established professional writer in a Marxist paradigm,'" and encouraged her that she needed to shift that paradigm in her doctoral work (95). However, later in the case study they mention her fear in publishing that might appear to either support or oppose the Shining Path, a guerrilla group with strong and frightening influence through the 1980s and early 1990s. The coadvisor probably did not realize the sociocultural influence behind Jacinta's voice, but this must have been a huge force in both her L1 and her L2 writing. (I used to teach a Peruvian student who told me stories of his MBA studies and work in agribusiness during this time, and how he changed his route to work and school every day for fear of kidnapping by the Shining Path--and knowing this, I was more sympathetic to Jacinta's confusion on voice).
Shen's article provided a similar story; he opened with a strong story giving context on why he could not capture the sense of English-language (specifically, American) individualism and the sense of "I"--again, a cultural context that Western/native English-speaking/American readers might not be aware of or comprehend. He discusses his struggle and claims that it's ongoing, though it's apparent through reading his article that he has pretty good grasp on "I"-focused writing now!
These case studies reminded me of the literacy narratives that we opened the semester with. Using these in class--in L1 or L2 writing classes--would allow instructors to develop some knowledge about the influences on a student's voice. (It is important to note here that when I use "voice" I'm not talking about a representation of some pure or true self, but the actual voice/tone/style that comes out on paper--the rhetorical structure--looking just at the text that is produced, and understanding the situation of that rhetoric.)
Overall, to give a more specific answer to the question, I think that the level of demand for an English voice should be in proportion to the student's situation and motivations. For example, with students who want to get admitted into ISU after they finish their English programs, I encourage more uniformity from their writing, more adherence to certain conventions--because, in the academic world of the university, the reality is that they will need to adopt a voice from a limited set of options deemed 'appropriate' by every professor who grades their papers. On the other hand, with students who definitely plan to return to their home countries and do not intend to pursue and future of writing in English, I am more lenient in regards to their rhetorical structures.
Sources:
Hirvela, Alan, and Diane Belcher. "Coming Back to Voice: the Multiple Voices and Identities of Mature Multilingual Writers." Journal of Second Language Writing 10 (2001): 83-106. Web.
Shen, Fan. "The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as a Key to Learning English Composition." College Composition and Communication (1989): 123-33. Web.
No comments:
Post a Comment