The style dossier: strategic schemes for EAP curriculum

1. September 11-12, 2006 The style dossier:strategic schemes for EAP curriculum Lawrie Hunter Kochi University of Technology http://www.core.kochi-tech.ac.jp/hunter

2. Hunterthe style dossier approach Style dossier approach* Background Rationale Structure Methodology *developed at Kochi University of Technology

3. Hunterthe style dossier approach Background 1982, 1987 Technical rewriter, Techwrite, Tokyo 1990- Freelance academic rewriter, Japan 1996- Super translation team member -Japanese construction ministry -World Water Forum Kyoto 1998- Referee, CATaC conferences 1999- Editorial team, JALTCALL conferences 2004- Editorial board, Web Based Communities Instructor Mathematics EFL Assoc. Professor EFL Intercultural Comm. Professor EFL CALL EFL Critical thinking ESP technical writing EAP for engineers

4. Hunterthe style dossier approach Background Academic rewrite client attributes: Makes few grammar errors. Can identify native-like rhetorical flow. Can identify perfectly unambiguous text. Consistently learns from error correction (coded/uncoded). Wants to learn from error correction. Writes well by mimicry. Does not decay with time away from English. Has a sense of argument. Writes unambiguous text by logic/puzzle-solving. Can identify meaning damage in rewrites. NB: the converse of the above positive attributes exists in large(r) numbers.

5. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE Style dossier approach* Rationale 1. KUT scenario 2. EAP best practice 3. The dossier and other approaches Structure Methodology

6. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE KUT scenario • Since 2002: Japanese government scholarships • for foreign students in technical doctoral programmes. • ! the foreign students are required to publish • 2+ refereed papers and a dissertation in English demand for new technical academic writing courses

7. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE KUT scenario Applicants are screened for academic English knowledge and skill, BUT 1. There are no extensions in the 3 year programme 2. Research topics are highly granular. 3. Technical RP writing genres are highly granular. further L2 acquisition to the point of near-independence during the study period is NOT a realistic strategy. Need for a pragmatic approach.

8. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE KUT scenario: RP editing • In years 2 and 3 of the 3-year programme, • the students are writing refereed papers. -demand for editing/rewriting service -only 2 native speaker faculty members

9. Hunterthe style dossier approach KUT scenario learner profile learner L2 objectives degree programme demands

10. Hunterthe style dossier approach KUT scenario learner profile learner L2 objectives RP how-to RP support Skill to independence degree programme demands 3-year limit 2 refereed papers in English Dissertation in English

11. Hunterthe style dossier approach KUT scenario learner profile learner L2 objectives Variable English skill/knowledge Variable intrinsic motivation Uniform high extrinsic motivation High anxiety about research/completion High anxiety about conference presentation Communicative competence Writing support Conference presentation support degree programme demands

12. Hunterthe style dossier approach KUT scenario learner profile learner L2 objectives Variable English skill/knowledge Variable intrinsic motivation Uniform high extrinsic motivation High anxiety about research/completion High anxiety about conference presentation Communicative competence Writing support Conference presentation support RP how-to RP support L2 skill to independence degree programme demands 3-year limit 2 refereed papers in English Dissertation in English

13. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE EAP best practice Key factors in successful academic performance Taken from Ginther, A. and Grant, L. (1996) A review of the academic needs of native English-speaking college students in the United States. Research monograph series MS-1. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service Banerjee, D. and Wall, D. (2006) Assessing and reporting performances on pre-sessional EAP courses: Developing a final assessment checklist and investigating its validity. Journal of English for academic purposes 5(2006) 50-69.

14. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE EAP best practice: strategies Language acquisition to near-independence.

15. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE EAP best practice: KUT design I. Acquire knowledge -registers -rhetorical moves framing relationships cohesion -readability (stress position / topic position) -language structures vs. information structures II. Learn skills -data commentary -summarizing -using text structures: G-S, P-P-S, .... -framing -using lexical units to show relationships -creating/maintaining cohesion -avoiding ambiguity -use/application of register knowledge -model mimicry -optimizing readability -editing through a checklist Sources Swales & Feak Gopen & Swan Ferris Halliday & Hasan Hunter

16. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE KUT scenario 2003 Swales & Feak + grammar TW2→RW (2 semesters) Strategy: Work towards writer autonomy Observation: Need for rewrites persists → Strategy 2: incorporate rewriting in task flow

17. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Reframing: learner:instructor becomes client:advisor

18. < big Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Hunter’s information maps Classification Description Degree comparison Attribute comparison Contrast ! Sequence Cause-effect

19. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Candidate screening Writing from Hunter's information maps

20. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Candidate screening Writing from Hunter's information maps

21. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Candidate screening Writing from Hunter's information maps

22. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Candidate screening Writing from Hunter's information maps

23. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Candidate screening Reading for meaning (but writing is main evaluation)

24. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE KUT scenario 2003 Swales & Feak + grammar TW2→RW (2 semesters) Strategy: Work towards writer autonomy Observation: Need for rewrites persists → Strategy 2: incorporate rewriting in task flow 2004 Feedback: early start preferred: TW2→RW or RW→TW2 New: topic position stress position Strategy 3: Rewriting as a major task

25. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE EAP best practice: strategies Training for researcher- native rewriter collaboration. Language acquisition to near-independence.

26. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE KUT scenario 2003 Swales & Feak + grammar TW2→RW (2 semesters) Strategy: Work towards writer autonomy Observation: Need for rewrites persists → Strategy 2: incorporate rewriting in task flow 2004 Feedback: early start preferred: TW2→RW or RW→TW2 New: topic position stress position Strategy 2: Rewriting as a major task 2005 Observations: 1. Autonomy often unrealistic; 2. Rewriting unsuitable for some Ss. 3. RW→TW2 not a good idea. 4. Native-written RPs often badly flawed. Strategy 4: Incorporate models, mimicry in task flow

27. Hunterthe style dossier approachRATIONALE EAP best practice: strategies Training for researcher- native rewriter collaboration. Language acquisition to near-independence. Emphasis on use of language models: the style dossier

28. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Style dossier approach Rationale Structure 1. Curriculum content 2. Constraints Methodology

29. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Curriculum content I. Receptive/productive KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

30. Hunterthe style dossier approachSTRUCTURE Curriculum content I. DOSSIER SKILLS (receptive/productive) II. DOSSIER PROCESS

31. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Reframing: learner:instructor becomes client:advisor

32. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Reframing: client:advisor becomes user:consultant Claim: when we add dossier work, no additional knowledge or skills are required

33. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Style dossier approach Rationale Structure Methodology 1. Dossier collection tasks 2. Dossier-related writing tasks 3. Dossier usage/manipulation tasks 4. Scenario constraints

34. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Methodology frame Class orientation handout SSP students have three years to publish two academic research papers and write a PhD dissertation. (Please note that a paper and a dissertation require different kinds of writing.) There are several strategies for EAP students to produce acceptable research papers: 1. Become a very good writer of academic English and write your own very good papers without help. 2. Become a pretty good writer of academic English, and get a native speaker to check your grammar. 3. Become a better, but still weak writer of academic English, and get a native speaker to do a complete rewrite for you. 4. Do not learn to write academic English well, and find a native speaker to 'ghost-write' your paper for you. 5. Steal parts of other researchers' papers and combine them to make your own paper. Which strategies will work for you?

35. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Methodology frame Self-assess strategy tool

36. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Methodology frame 1. In this kind of work, first the 'user' must know -the tools and objects involved -how to talk about them. • .

37. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Methodology frame 1. In this kind of work, first the 'user' must know -the tools and objects involved -how to talk about them. • 2. Second, time and again • the user must articulate anew his/her course • through the strategy network • from entry to final user success.

38. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Methodology frame 1. In this kind of work, first the 'user' must know -the tools and objects involved -how to talk about them. • 2. Second, time and again • the user must articulate anew his/her course • through the strategy network • from entry to final user success. • 3. This ongoing rearticulation consists of • -self observation of success and time constraints • -calculation of learning objective achievement probability*. • *Not everyone will learn to write 'from scratch' well • and even those who could learn to do so • may not have sufficient short-term (or even long-term) time.

39. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Methodology frame 1. In this kind of work, first the 'user' must know -the tools and objects involved -how to talk about them. • 2. Second, time and again • the user must articulate anew his/her course • through the strategy network • from entry to final user success. • 3. This ongoing rearticulation consists of • -self observation of success and time constraints • -calculation of learning objective achievement probability*. • 4. Native rewriter resource availability/affordability are also key factors in deciding strategy.

40. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Dossier collection tasks A. Research writing register models B. Informal discussion register models C. Glossary

41. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Dossier collection tasks • Research writing register models • -3 or more research papers on topics very close to • the learner’s research topic. • How to tell if a research paper is written in good English: • 1: judge for oneself if the English is good; • 2: consult with research supervisor about English quality • 3: consult with a native speaker of English • who has some experience with technical writing. • B. Informal discussion register models • C. Glossary

42. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Dossier collection tasks A. Research writing register models B. Informal discussion register models A collection of articles from science magazines or web sites -topics loosely related to one’s research. These materials provide models for presentation language. C. Glossary

43. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Dossier collection tasks A. Research writing register models B. Informal discussion register models C. Glossary A collection of vocabulary, model phrases and model sentences which are gradually collected while reading English research reports and technical articles. Glossary construction is appealing only to some learning styles.

44. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Dossier-related writing tasks Paraphrasing Quotation

45. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Dossier usage / manipulation tasks Extracting register appropriate language models (RAMs) Adapting RAMs to own need: -application of model sentence structures to given content -application of model linking devices to given content

46. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Summary Scenario constraints Learner time Learner variability Research topic granularity RP genre granularity Quality of available models Native rewriter availability/affordability

47. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Summary Scenario constraints Learner time Learner variability Research topic granularity RP genre granularity Quality of available models Native rewriter availability/affordability Compromises Pragmatic strategies Learner revisioned as client, then as user Instructor revisioned as advisor, then as consultant

48. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Summary Scenario constraints Learner time Learner variability Research topic granularity RP genre granularity Quality of available models Native rewriter availability/affordability Compromises Pragmatic strategies Learner revisioned as client, then as user Instructor revisioned as advisor, then as consultant Task array Grammar work Information structure mapping Register work RP lexis work Write-rewrite Dossier work

49. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Practical point: RP editing • In years 2 and 3 of the 3-year doctoral programme, • the students are writing refereed papers • Hunter’s policy on edit/rewrite/consult services: • 1. Maximum 2 pages at a time, intro first and last • 2. One week notice • 3. Only ‘graduates’ of English writing programme • 4. Exceptions to 1, 2 or 3 will be referred to ‘pro’ editors. • Hunter’s policy on presentation consult services: • 1. Learner must do 3 cycles of video, critique, repair. • 2. Consultant will watch only video 3. • 3. Only ‘graduates’ of English writing programme

50. Hunterthe style dossier approachMETHODOLOGY Reframing: client:advisor becomes user:consultant Claim: when we add dossier work, no additional knowledge or skills are required