SETTING THE TABLE: COMPOSITION IN THE LAST HALF OF THE 20TH C.
One of the issues brought up in the Introduction, was that of multiple Englishes due to “migration, multiculturalism, and global economic integration” (xxiii). This is especially pertinent for English teachers -- considering the multicultural nature of your classroom can help students feel more comfortable expressing their ideals. However, especially in essays, it seems there is a very strict expectation of ‘academic’ style writing, which they don’t seem to discuss. Would it be viable to include multiple English styles in that kind of academic writing, or are we limited to the one style of formal academic writing?
The piece also discusses multimodal communication, which is more inclusive to those coming from oral-based cultures, or those who don’t communicate as well in the aforementioned formal academic style of writing. While flexibility in the classroom is important, I have a hard time thinking of ways to allow all students the ability to communicate effectively in their chosen modality, outside of allowing them to choose the vehicle through which they create their work. For example, would it be reasonable to allow some students to present a speech instead of a paper? Balance between the current university teaching system and allowing the kind of flexibility necessary to create that kind of open environment is one that I’d be interested to read more about, especially as an inexperienced teacher. While learning academic paper-writing is important, I think I’d like to include at least one instance of letting the student choose their own method of expressing their ideas, whether that’s through an academic paper, a speech, or an art project . Of course, it would have to show thought and knowledge of the source material, but I also think it could help the student really connect to and absorb the source material, which is the point of learning.
One of the issues brought up in the Introduction, was that of multiple Englishes due to “migration, multiculturalism, and global economic integration” (xxiii). This is especially pertinent for English teachers -- considering the multicultural nature of your classroom can help students feel more comfortable expressing their ideals. However, especially in essays, it seems there is a very strict expectation of ‘academic’ style writing, which they don’t seem to discuss. Would it be viable to include multiple English styles in that kind of academic writing, or are we limited to the one style of formal academic writing?
The piece also discusses multimodal communication, which is more inclusive to those coming from oral-based cultures, or those who don’t communicate as well in the aforementioned formal academic style of writing. While flexibility in the classroom is important, I have a hard time thinking of ways to allow all students the ability to communicate effectively in their chosen modality, outside of allowing them to choose the vehicle through which they create their work. For example, would it be reasonable to allow some students to present a speech instead of a paper? Balance between the current university teaching system and allowing the kind of flexibility necessary to create that kind of open environment is one that I’d be interested to read more about, especially as an inexperienced teacher. While learning academic paper-writing is important, I think I’d like to include at least one instance of letting the student choose their own method of expressing their ideas, whether that’s through an academic paper, a speech, or an art project . Of course, it would have to show thought and knowledge of the source material, but I also think it could help the student really connect to and absorb the source material, which is the point of learning.