A conundrum in L2 writing classes is how to make classroom writing assignments more meaningful and extend the readership of such assignments beyond that of instructors while also expanding the range and depth to which learners write. This presentation discusses how these disparate issues may be resolved by contextualizing simple writing assignments that allow learners maximized play of imagination and expression and that can extend what I call expository reach - the breakthrough to levels of writing that may go beyond where learners had previously written. Adding further to such a dynamic is the role blogs may play in widening such writing assignments into publishable projects. Such incentives for publication may motivate learner writers towards expository reach while creating a community of readership both of learners' peers and near-peers.
How to Add Existing Field in One2Many Tree View in Odoo 17
Creating context and fostering expository reach in L2 writing: approaches and implications
1. Creating context
and fostering
expository reach
in L2 writing:
approaches and
implications
Lee Arnold
Seigakuin University
JALT LD SIG 2014
conference
Creating Community:
Learning Together
2. Introduction
Two issues among a number in writing pedagogy include creation of
meaningfulness in writing assignments and extension of writing ability
• Meaningfulness in such assignments may start by re-imagining
for what and to whom learners write
• Such re-imagination may include positioning learner writing
beyond learner-teacher nexus
• Such positioning may be facilitated by way of creating contexts
learners can write to
• Such contextualization may expand range and depth of learner
writing
4. Creating context
Presentation by Matsuda (2013) showed unique approach in creating
context for a typical classroom writing assignment
• Learners were given task to write about people they admired
such as family members or friends
• Learners were told their writing would be gathered into a book
that each would contribute a chapter to
• Such approach merges autonomy with collaboration
5. Creating context
• Adapted approach to assignment by telling learners their work
would be selected for collection The Small Book of Big People
• Such collection would be uploaded to teacher-learner blog page
for learners and others to read
• Asked learners to write to best effort they could for purpose of
publication
• Would show samples of work to be published on blog posts in
advance of page creation
6. Samples: The Small Book of Big People
I respect my friend of my high school days.
He was greatly honored by the many
people. He always was serious for
everything. He belonged to soccer club
and practiced very hard. For instance he
got up at 5:00, arrived at our school and
ran around our school every morning in
spite of he have practice after school. He
had never missed his morning training. If
I am he, probably I’m tired of morning
training because I have to practice after
school. Then he usually prepared for class
after finish his training. So I think his
schedule was very busy. I couldn’t imitate
his daily routine.
Then he has a lot of friends because he
was very friendly and gentle. So I respect
him and want to model my life after him.
My exceptional person is an office worker in cram
school of my working place. The place name is
Rinkai seminar. Everyone called her “Chansan,”
but she is Japanese. She looks madam and brown.
She was used to secretary. So she is very steady and
everyone relies her on. Of course me too. Many
students and teachers love her. Though she does
not get money, she still works overtime because
she always thinks about students. If I am same her
situation, I never do it. And she supports me for
my dream. For example, she negotiated to get to
know to work part-time in my place where I
wanted to work in the future. After all, I can’t work
there, but I deeply appreciated to her.
She has four people in her family with her
husband, daughter, and son. She is housewife. Her
daughter was good basketball manager. She guided
an interscholastic athletic meet for basketball
player. Therefore many offers came to her from the
company. Chansan’s son is good basketball player.
He participated in an international athletic meet. I
think that after all it is her power that was brought
up by such children. I want to become a wonderful
person being like her sometime.
7. Samples: The Small Book of Big People
I esteem Haruki Murakami for his writing ability.
For example, he writes the books that are composed
of a unique statement and metaphor. They attract
readers. When I read his books for the first time, I
was also attracted to them. Norwegian Wood was
especially attracted me in the book written by him.
This book made me a little sad and caused a strange
feeling. I want to be a novelist. I want to imitate his
writing ability and be a novelist like him.
I do not have a person now that I respect,
but in the future I want to be be a person
that many people respect.
I have a dream that nobody has. My
dream is to be someone that can change
something in this world, this world with
many problems and many dirty things,
and many selfish people, but with many
more things that are very beautiful.
I don’t know how to be a great person
that is capable of changing the world, but
I came to this university to search that, to
search how to evolve.
So now, I am not a person that can be in
this book, but in ten or twenty years I
hope to be one of the “big people.”
I respect Taylor Swift who is singer in America. She has blond
hair, blue eyes, red rouge lip, and cute. Her songs are pop, ballad,
and they cheer up me when I felt down. She writes songs herself
and based on her experience. For example, “We Are Never
Getting Back Together” is one of her big songs. It has a bright
and poppy melody! The song is popular with young people. When
I listen to this song, it gives me energy. Another one is “I Knew
You Were Trouble.” The song is gloomy and with painful lyrics.
There is a meaning that unexpected things happened and
heartbreaking. When I feel down and listen to these songs, I am
encouraged. Especially, these songs are my favorite songs! I want
her to be known by a lot of people, because she isn’t well known
by older. So I hope that every generation loves her.
8. Expository reach
Area of capability learners extend their writing into beyond where they
may previously have written
Teachers can help learners toward such reach by:
• Devising simple but engaging writing activities
• Making contextualization central to assignments
• Encouraging creativity with learner latent vocabulary and
emotional response at center
9. Expository reach and context
Conference presentation by Milne (2012) on learner writer exploration
of feeling and vocabulary from ambient music inspired contextualized
writing project titled Words on Music
Created similar activity with photography contextualized into separate
project collection called Places & Traces
• assigned learners to write stories for each project from four
pieces of instrumental music and four photographs
• told learners both projects would be published as blog page
collections
10. Samples: Words on Music
In a certain house, thief comes up. The
thief gets closer to the room on his
tiptoes. When he goes into the room,
there is a girl. She is a cute and beautiful
girl, and fall asleep. The man falls in
love with her at first sight. For a while,
she wakes up and surprises him. And he
forgets an original purpose and kidnaps
her.
There is a girl who goes on an
adventure. She is going to be in
a very good mood, but she heard
a strange noise. She was lonely.
Just then, the figure of
grandfather emerged in front of
a girl, and he introduced his
house near here. This house
were five dwarfs, they welcome
to her. For example, they played
the music, and cooking. But,
after a short time, she missed
his mother, and she was cried. It
can’t be helped, they gave her a
night, and she was escaped by
them next day.
An explorer searches for a treasure. A treasure
sleeps in the grave. He devotes his life to it. He
fined a clue of treasure. He went to Egypt. Then
he solves cipher of treasure. He fined treasure at
last. It is beautiful nature. There are many
animal and fruit. And many animals are an
endangered species. Though the treasure was
not treasures, he feels very much.
11. Samples: Words on Music
This song is like a feeling of a young mother
going somewhere to abandon her children, she
does not have money to feed her children, so
she will abandon her children in front of a
house that looks like with a rich family inside,
with a family richer than her, so probably the
children will have a better life. For me this song
demonstrate the unstable feelings and thoughts
that she had when she go to abandon her
children. At the beginning she feel that she is
doing the right thing, with her act her children
will be more happier in other family maybe her
children can achieve something great! But in
the way to the place she get regretful, she think
about her living with her children, with many
problems that her children causes but which
makes her happy.
Once upon a time, there was the princess. The
princess learned piano for a long time. So she
practiced it. But one time, she was interested
in one person. She saw him through the
window. But she didn’t meet him and talk with
him. So she did not know him very well. And
he did not know her at all. But she fell in love.
After a while, her dad introduced her to the
person who dad wants her to marry with. She
did not decide to her destiny. Because her
parent’s right was strong. And she has ever
stood. But this time is special for her. So she
decided to run away from her house in her
mind. She played the piano in her house at
last. She remembered her life. Sometimes, she
did not want leave with her parents. But she
ran away from her house.
12. Samples: Places & Traces
The sea water is the bright incomparable sky-blue. It’s a
beautiful day for the beach. Crowds are heading to the ocean
shore. Beach towel dot the sand with color. Plastic buckets
and balls roll round in the breeze. You can swim, you can
wade or just rest. There are lots of things to do. It seems that
people bring all the activities to the beach. But the sandy
shore is a busy place even without tourists.
Look! There is an abandoned pirate ship on the sandy shore.
Do you want to know more about the abandoned ship? Let
me tell you.
Long long ago, a young man became a pirate after he ran
away from home and joined the crew on a privateering ship.
One day, he dreamt there be treasure on the sandy shore. So
the next day he began to dig. He dug until the hole was deep
and the dirt pile was high. He kept digging and sighed “I’m
tired, I can’t dig anymore.” Then he spied something. But he
only found a pirate ship. He was quite disappointed. When
he wanted to give up his friend told him “let’s get in the ship,
maybe the treasure is buried in it.” Finally, they got a small
box and a little treasure. They took the treasure away but left
the abandoned pirate ship on the sandy shore. Now, we can
see it on picture.
13. Samples: Places & Traces
In the ancient age, there was a man who worked in the sea and he
brought his passengers from Italy to Israel. His name was Michael.
He looked so tough but he had great kindness in his heart. His
brown eyes were full of love and many people liked his gentle
smile. He was poor but he was happy because all the man around
him loved him and God he believed so much loved him, too.
One day, when he was waiting for his passenger in Italy, a beautiful
woman came and asked, “Would you bring me to Israel? I have to
go.” She had long blond hair with a glossy sheen, her blue eyes
were so fascinating and her thick lips were attractive. She was well
dresses in red and it made her more and more wonderful. As soon
as Michael looked at the woman, he fell in love with her. Then, he
said to God, “I love you and my heart must not be changed in the
future, but I come to love another now. Do not get angry and let me
marry to her with your power.”
Eight months later, there was Michael with the smiling woman
dressed in pure white in the restaurant near the sea. Michael’s
father got drunk because of red wine and his wife enjoyed talking
with the mother of Michael’s new wife. Michael’s wish came true
because of the special power and love of God. He and his new wife
were happier. God was also happier and thought how nice this
moment was.
But the happiest time for the two and God was not long. It was four
years later that his wife came down with an illness. She had a fever
and she felt thirsty all the time. As time passed, her condition was
paler and paler. Her beautiful face was full of pain and with tears in
her big blue eyes. Michael did not sleep well at night because he
thought that his wife might die during his sleeping. He has lost his
weight and become thinner and thinner and his eyes lost vitality.
Everyone around him could not see his gentle smile they loved
anymore. (…)
14. Analysis
• Contextualization of writing assignments may have increased
learner expository reach
• Music and imagery may also have opened up greater descriptive
and imaginative area for learners
• Role of blog supports Dieu’s (2004) work on blogs to promote
learner ability to evaluate and reflect on writing assignments
• Blog publication may also endorse Sollar’s (2007) assertion that
blogs can serve as platforms for creating writer community
15. Conclusion
• Simple yet contextualized activities can bring forth imaginative
and expressive learner writing
• Learner expository reach may be enhanced through such
activities
• Incentives for publication may also play role in bolstering such
reach
• Blog-publishing writing may be inexpensive way to create sense
of peer writer readership
17. References
Dieu, B. (2004). Blogs for language learning. Essential Teacher, 1(4), 26-30.
Matsuda, P. (2013). Teaching writing in context. Paper presented at Tokyo
JALT, Tokyo, Japan.
Milne, A. (2012). Music as a means of building vocabulary and composition
skills. Paper presented at JALT 2012, Fukuoka, Japan.
Sollars, V. (2007). Writing experiences in a second/foreign language classroom:
from theory to practice. In M. Camilleri, P. Ford,, H. Leja & V. Sollars (Eds.),
Blogs: web journal in language education, 15-24. Strasbourg: Council of
Europe.
18. Disclaimer
I do not own the rights
to the samples of music
or images uploaded in
this presentation. They
have been included
solely for educational
purposes.