Chapter 9 - Developing Language Skills in the Writing Classroom

1 - I was aware of vocabulary at a young age. My mother forced me to watch an off brand of Hooked on Phonics every weekend (maybe not every weekend, but it felt like it). Coming from a southern family means I encountered the southern drawl and subsequent slang on a regular basis. My mom didn't want that linguistic distinction for me. She was my first English teacher and still corrects me to this day.

2 - I've always enjoyed English classes and knowledge in general. I developed my academic skills because my interests are vast. For example, I can watch Sumo wrestling, Rugby, and an international independent movie all in one day! Because I haven't pigeoned holed myself into one "interest box," I have been able to accelerate my learning connections. My professional reading and writing skills developed with the EXTENSIVE amount of meetings/trainings teachers are required to attend.

3 - L2 students need to read more in the language that they want to learn or become more proficient in. L2 students should also challenge themselves to learn how to constantly manipulate their knowledge of the non-native language. As an L1 student, I'm doing this by attending graduate school. L2 students can do the same if they challenge themselves to become fully immersed in the language on a higher academic level (i.e., coming to America for college). Immersion into a language requires on to have some level of comfort in the culture of that language. For example, my brother-in-law lived in Costa Rica to expand his knowledge of Spanish. He's now fluent!

4 - I feel confident in providing linguistic knowledge of writing to my students. Although I've only taught for three years, I've had a number of experiences with students from all over the world. For example, I had a class of twelve where three of the students were first generation Pakistani-American. Three doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a fourth of my class! Altogether they had some level of understanding in Urdu (mother tongue), but none of them were fluent. This brings me to my biggest concern and a topic one of my Vietnamese students brought to my attention. What does a teacher do when the student is not fluent in their mother tongue (in her case Vietnamese) or the targeted new language (in her case English and Spanish)?

Chapter 8 - Improving Accuracy in Student Writing

1 - Linguistic accuracy comes into play as I'm typing a written piece. I have to write my responses on paper first before I type anything. It takes A LOT of time, but is the only way I know how to function. I write all over the place, so I can let the creativity flow. If I'm unable to write first, I'll still spend the bulk of my writing time drafting only to erase it and start over just before the assignment is due. My grammatical knowledge was developed in middle school and high school. I thought I had a good handle on it until my composition professor told me otherwise - I was a senior at UNT. I've been self-conscience about it ever since.

2 - I am a procrastinator. My brain and ideas just flow better with a true deadline looming. With that being said, I'm not sure if my approach to editing is at all effective. I have to edit as I'm going. If I'm really distracted, I will read it aloud to see if everything makes sense. It doesn't always catch the grammar mistakes though (see answer from #1).

3 - Word choice is the easiest to explain to students. One's vocabulary can never be too big, so there's always room for growth. I like words, so it's also fun for me to explain this part! Spelling can be improved, but there are times when it's just not going to be that much better. Mechanics like capitalization and simplistic formatting are easier to model and talk through. Capitalization can be tricky. Some rules seem a bit obscure like capitalizing only important words in a title, except for the prepositions - well, some of the prepositions. It seems this rule is based on aesthetic pleasure rather than logic. Grammar is just all around difficult. For every definite rule, there's at least two other rules that have exceptions or contradictions. I've had in depth conversations about where commas go in a sentence. I don't want to spend fifteen minutes on that!

4 - I think the editing process for L2 students is developed through modeling. The students will have to start by reading proficient writing out loud then doing the same with their own writing. I think there's something cognitively beneficial or stimulating when someone reads their work aloud. Perhaps, in an ideal world, I could provide my students with models every time they are to write a major essay.