Mahvesh

On Thursday, October 31, 2019, helen.kotthoff <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I think you're right Natasha. I hope they enjoy lots of English language media as well as plenty of academic texts.

For me your question, Mahvesh, is about understanding the impact of inappropriacy on our language and also how to deal with the challenges it raises as a life long learner.

Firstly, research suggests that both E1L and E2Lers approach the acquisition of academic writing skills in very similar ways.
Here is a link to a compelling study in this
area:

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/English-in-Academia%3A-Does-Nativeness-Matter-Roemer-Arbor/002c8091ec09c78738f10a4316abd244334a6302?utm_source=email

If the conclusions of the study in the link above are to be taken seriously, which I believe they are, your question is not restricted to your own specific E2L learners. To reach a meaningful answer, the question needs to be posed in a more generalised way and also broken down. I have tried to do that here:

1. How can we raise awareness of the impact of inappropriate language in academic, scientific texts? ( The impact of inapproprate language choices on our reader is huge. As academic writers we lose scientific credibility and our reader loses trust in our research, never unlocking the cognitive meaning, the scientific value of our message).
In a practical, personal response to this part of your question, for me as a teacher it has been fun to share inappropriate language with students; a grandmother using youth street language, a 2 year old speaking like a 40 year old or the instructions for the use of a medicine written with emotion.
This tends to make the impact of inappropriate language choices painfully clear.
Another idea, in our digital age, just off the top of my head, cat fishing requires the mastery of appropriate language choices. It might also provide a fun learning experience.

2. How can the challenges of inappropriacy be addressed a.) by teachers and b.) by life long learners.
a. Teachers can equip their students with a systematic approach to improving their own academic (genre) literacy skills. Identifying strategies to use as independent life long learners.
b. Students apply these literacy strategies to the wide range of genre they meet in their daily lives, academic writing being one of them.

Hope this is helpful. I'd be very happy to be more specific or suggest authors if anyone's interested.

Thanks for asking the question.
Helen Wishart-Kotthoff

Former Academic Writing Support Office
English Department
Freiburg University
Germany

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-------- Original Message --------
On 31 Oct 2019, 13:01, Natasha Artemeva < [log in to unmask]CARLETON.CA> wrote:

Grammatically, all these expressions are proper. I do not think this is the issue of grammar. It sounds like your students watch a lot of television and movies in English. The issue is genre appropriateness. In what context and for what purpose do your students write?

Natasha

- -

Professor Natasha Artemeva, PhD

School of Linguistics and Language Studies

Chair, Carleton University Research Ethics Board

Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, K1S5B6

From: European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing - discussions <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Mahvesh Khan <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2019 4:29:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Grammatically confused

[External Email]

Hi,

I'm a Pakistani lecturer teaching Academic and Technical Writing to Pakistani students. English is a second, third or fourth language for Pakistanis but is widely spoken here.

My problem is that students write certain commonly spoken words and phrases and I become confused about their acceptability. Online grammar checkers don't help - they simply state, "no problems were found."

Examples are:

I "got to know" (this/that or the other). I'm substituting "learnt".

Life was easier "back then". I'm removing the word "back".

Here's a tough one: my father "saw the stern side of his parents". His early life was "dominated by restrictions".

I have more but these will do at the moment.

I would be grateful for suggestions of softwares or books that might help tackle phrases like these?

Best regards,

Mahvesh
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