The document discusses the history and evolution of teaching reading and writing in academic English as a second language (ESL) classes. It traces the approaches from an initial focus on oral language in the 1950s, to English for Specific Purposes in the 1960s-70s, to incorporating more literature and viewing reading and writing as connected meaning-making processes in the 1980s. While results were still disappointing at times, the document suggests things have started to improve as approaches emphasize teaching students to think critically by analyzing texts and synthesizing knowledge from multiple sources.

1. Reading and Writing in Academic ESL How it got to be such a drag…

2. …and what to do about it now.

3. In the beginning (about 1955, to be exact)

4. There was the audiolingual approach: “… I plan to to study geography… (want) “…I want to study geography…” (math) “… I want to study math…” (we) “… We want to study math…” (?) “ Do we want to study math?”

5. Oral language was the important thing. Reading and writing in the new language would just fall into place somehow.

6. But often they didn’t.

7. By the time people noticed the problem, a new approach was in vogue…

8. E nglish for S pecial P urposes ESP

9. Waiters need ESL for waiters.

10. Office workers need ESL for office workers

11. Students need ESL for students.

12. What do students need to do? *Read textbooks. *Write papers.

13. So in ESL classes we will *Read passages from textbooks. *Write expository essays.

14. And since ESL students don’t usually become English majors, forget about fiction and poetry.

15. The ESL students worked very hard.

16. But the results were still disappointing.

17. But about 1985, some new ideas began to filter through from L1 pedagogy…

18. Literature teaches students to “formulate their own ideas, and to look closely at a text for evidence to support generalizations—teaches them to think critically.” Ruth Spack, 1986

19. Tierney and Pearson (1983), quoted in Hirvela(1998) “ At the heart of understanding reading and writing connections one must begin to view reading and writing as essentially similar processes of meaning construction. Both are acts of composing.”

20. “ Because reading to write requires reader/writers to product a text of their own, they must a) transform information to their own purposes in reading and b) synthesize their own knowledge with that of another text in writing. This transformation and synthesis of knowledge is the ultimate goal of critical literacy.” Carson 1998

21. So with ups and downs, things are starting to look a bit better.