The document discusses writing initiatives and practices in Brazilian higher education contexts. It includes: 1. Two abstracts about the teaching of writing in Portuguese and English in Brazilian universities, highlighting emerging discussions around English as a lingua franca and writing pedagogy. 2. An activity asking readers to comment on the literacy practices inferred from one abstract and reflect on possibilities for curriculum implementations in Brazilian writing courses based on experiences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 3. Contextual information on the number of universities, students, courses, and teachers in Brazilian higher education, noting the lack of general education requirements.

1. Localizing
writing initiatives
Charlyne Sarmiento
Vera Lúcia Cristovão
Elizabeth Narváez-Cardona

2. Goal:
Reflecting upon different institutional contexts and
highlighting opportunities for WAC/WID movements.
Activities:
1. Demystifying situated genres by localizing
assessment criteria.
2. Finding opportunities to mobilize emerging
Colombian writing centers.
3. Identifying possibilities for curriculum
implementations in writing courses in Brazilian Higher
Education contexts

3. Contextual Background
California Institute of Technology
Hixon Writing Center
• History of Writing Center
• History of First Year Composition at Caltech
• Culture of Writing

4. Writing in Core Curriculum
The singular use of "Ability" reduces student development of writing to one
generalized skill that can be transferred to multiple disciplines or settings.

5. “Writing Effectively”

6. Developing a Writing Culture

14. Context of the teaching of writing in first language and foreign language
(English) in Brazil

15. Figures on Higher Education in Brazil
Number of universities in Brazil: …………………………..2,365
in the public sector…………. 284
in the private sector……….. 2,081
Number of students at Higher Education: …………..6,739,689
in the public sector………….1,773,315
in the private sector………..4,966,374
Number of courses………………………………………….......30,420
Number of teachers………………………………………………378,257
in the public sector…………. 150,815
in the private sector………….227,442
There are no general education requirements in Brazilian Higher
Education.
.. http://portal.inep.gov.br/superior-censosuperior-sinopse

16. ESP PROJECT AT UNIVERSITIES IN
BRAZIL:
in the 1970s and 1980s
http://www4.pucsp.br/pos/lael/cepri
l/workingpapers/BrazilianESP.pdf
The emerging status of English as a Lingua Franca in Brazil has fostered discussions
and new proposals regarding the teaching of writing. This is what has happened at
my university.

17. Activity
We have reproduced two abstracts of papers referring
to the teaching of writing both in the first language
(Portuguese) and in a foreign language (English, in this
case).
A. Choose one of them and make comments on the
literacy practices that you can infer that are being
offered in Brazilian Higher Education.
B. Reflect upon the experience about the University of
Wisconsin – Madison, and identify possibilities for
curriculum implementations in writing courses in
Brazilian Higher Education contexts.

18. Camargo, Márcio José Pereira de, & Britto, Luiz Percival Leme. (2011). Vertentes do
ensino de português em cursos superiores. Avaliação: Revista da Avaliação da
Educação Superior (Campinas), 16(2), 345-353. Retrieved January 22, 2013,
from http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1414-
40772011000200006&lng=en&tlng=pt. 10.1590/S1414-40772011000200006.

19. … CHAPTER 9.
ACADEMIC LITERACIES IN THE SOUTH: WRITING PRACTICES IN A BRAZILIAN UNIVERSITY
By Désirée Motta-Roth
Federal University of Santa Maria (Brazil)
Abstract: Paulo Freire (2000, p. 46), the renowned Brazilian educator, once stated that “one
learns to read by reading.” To understand what writing does, we need to experience interaction
mediated by writing. In this essay I focus on the importance of learners’ participation in
academic activities for the development of academic literacies: the material and symbolic acts
that (re)produce verified knowledge, associated with higher education. I will give an overview
of the writing practices at the Federal University of Santa Maria (Universidade Federal de
Santa Maria or UFSM), where I have been investigating and teaching academic writing since
1994. The essay starts with a brief history and mission statement about the university. The
second section brings a general description of writing at UFSM in relation to why and in relation
to what goals this writing occurs. In the third section, I analyze English undergraduate and
Applied Linguistics graduate students’ answers to a questionnaire about their literacy practices.
The essay closes with a description of the principles for a writing program and a note on
ambitions and frustrations regarding writing pedagogy in my local context.
Chris Thaiss, Gerd Bräuer, Paula Carlino, Lisa Ganobcsik-Williams, and Aparna Sinha.
2012. Writing Programs Worldwide: Profiles of Academic Writing in Many Places.
Perspectives on Writing. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor Press.
Available at http://wac.colostate.edu/books/wrab2011/