Culture in the Second-Language Writing Classroom

Tania Pattison, Trent University

TESL Ontario, Nov. 13, 2008

Consider…

“Except for language, learning, and teaching, there is perhaps no more important concept in the field of TESOL than culture” (Atkinson, 1999)

“Culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language” (Williams, 1976)

Outline

Culture in L2 writing discourse

Culture in anthropological thought

Culture: “a dangerous concept”

New approaches to culture

Culture in L2 Writing

Kaplan, 1966: rhetoric “varies from culture to culture”

Effects of Kaplan’s Work

Focus of research moved beyond grammar; from sentence level to discourse level

New research agenda – Contrastive Rhetoric – relates rhetorical structure to thought patterns within specific cultures

But... what is culture?

Culture and Writing Today

Culture = catch-all term

Insufficient theorization

“Cultures” = homogeneous, unchanging

Tends to focus on contrast – “them and us” Out of step with other disciplines; research

into L2 writing is “oddly insular” (Leki, 2003)

Culture in Anthropology : Early Days

Kroeber & Kluckhorn: 150+ definitions

Pre-1920s: Evolutionary approach (Tylor) Some groups have more culture than others Imperialist, colonialist mentality

1920s: Cultural relativism (Boas) CultureS, not culture Groups seen as people in their own right

Culture in Anthropology:Mid-to-late 20th Century1940s: Configurationalism (Benedict, Mead) National character studies Individual as microcosm of larger culture

1970s: Symbolic anthropology (Geertz) Culture is in the mind Concerned with symbolic meaning of actions Many different interpretations

Culture in Anthropology: Postmodernism Questions usefulness of culture concept

Culture “has served its time” (Clifford, 1988)

Should “be quietly laid to rest” (Kahn, 1989) Something anthropologists “would want to

work against” (Abu-Lughod, 1991)

Ethnographies of “the particular”

Why the Discomfort?

1) Changing Realities Variation within areas and over time Mobility, migration, mass communication Cultural “purity” is elusive

2) Ideological Concerns Dichotomy: “self” and “other” = hierarchy Potential for discrimination, marginalization

Culture in L2 Writing: Assumptions and Challenges Culture in L2 writing discourse = “a

dangerous concept” (Atkinson, 2003)

ESL writers = members of separate, identifiable cultural groups on the basis of geography (arbitrary) or race (discredited). Reduced to stereotypes

Challenges: 1) Variation, and 2) Ideology

Variation within Writing (A)

Chinese vs. English Writing

Assumptions about Chinese Writing: “awkward” and “indirect” (Kaplan, 1966) No thesis statement Reluctance to express personal opinion Reader-responsible Formulaic expressions, clichés, proverbs

Variation within Writing (B)

Recent questioning of this:

Contemporary Chinese textbooks say... First, draw attention to main point and show

object / scope of discussion to come Repeat main point at beginning and end Use transitional devices to show links

between ideas Summarize main idea in conclusion

Kirkpatrick (1997)

Variation within Writing (C)

Japanese vs. English Writing

Assumptions about Japanese Writing: Prefers “passivity, ambiguity, reserve,

indirection” (Tucker, 1995) Thought to be “indirect, implicit, inductive”

(Kubota, 1999) Reader-responsible

Variation within Writing (D)

Recent questioning of this:

Contemporary Japanese textbooks say… Choose a clear theme and state problem Show logical development of ideas Use topic sentences to begin paragraphs Show awareness of purpose and audience Don’t mix facts and opinions

Tucker (1995); Kubota (1997)

Variation within Writing (E)

Other Considerations Academia across national boundaries Generation 1.5 students Genre differences Individual idiosyncrasies Writing challenges might be developmental,

not cultural

Implications

Stereotypes = “oversimplifications of complex phenomena” (Rose, 1996)

Must consider Changes related to increased mobility Changes in education systems Genre, individual idiosyncrasies, etc.

This echoes anthropological thought

Ideological Concerns (A)

The “Othering” of NNS NNS writing described according to its

differences from English English is the benchmark by which all other

varieties are measured Difference = deficit Students seen as deficient not only in their

ability to write in a certain way, but also to formulate ideas in a certain way

Ideological Concerns (B)

Dangers of Reducing Students to their Cultures...

1) Notion that students are interchangeableAll “Asian” students = same writing issues

2) Underestimating students’ abilityJudgments about what students can and cannot do, based on their L1

Ideological Concerns (C)

3) Failure to consider other factors Writing issues may have nothing to do with

culture

4) Limited choice of methodology Writing class may be overly prescriptive

The Need for a New View of Culture“[L]et us play with the notion of culture a bit:

Let’s stretch it out, or shrink it down; let’s look at culture across a variety of cross-cutting domains, modalities, and sizes” (Atkinson, 2003)

New view of culture must be... Non-essentializing Non-marginalizing Flexible, dynamic, continuous

The Work of Marshall Singer

All individuals are “culturally unique” (1998)

Everyone is a member of a number of identity groups (demographic, occupational, etc.)

Groups share common values, perceptions

No two people share same memberships, or rank their importance in the same way

The Work of Adrian Holliday

“Large” and “small” cultures (1994, 1999)

“Large” culture = national culture; basis of stereotype, “destructive ethnocentricity”

“Small”culture = any cohesive group (workplace, neighbourhood, class)

Eliminates idea that culture = nation state

Implications for Writing

Cultures are not necessarily geographical Cultures can be as small as individual

classrooms or as large as “academic culture” Writers are individuals, not products of some

stereotypical notion of what happens in their culture

Writers are members of different groups at different times

NNS writing characterized by hybridity, variation, influences from various sources

Recommendations for the Writing Teacher

We need to reconsider… “our tendency to formulate neat and coherent

pictures of who our students are, what they are capable of, and what kinds of instruction are appropriate for them” (Zamel, 1997)

And instead… “open ourselves to understanding the complexity,

unpredictability, and multiplicity inherent in our students’ attempts to make sense through their languages” (Zamel, 1997)

Specifically...

Move beyond preconceived notions e.g., “Asian students write in circles”

Don’t use these notions to prejudge what students can and cannot do

Recognize that students have individual influences, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

Thank you!

Tania

tpattison@trentu.ca