The Role of L1 in L2 Writing
Second Language Writing has historically been a topic of concern for second language learners and teachers. The writing skill is known as a very complex one, since apart from being a skill by itself, it is a set of different skills and steps that we have to work on ir order to achieve the desired product. In addition, it must be taken into account the fact that in Second Language Writing, the writers carry a big bag full of knowledge about rhetorical structures, punctuation norms and linguistic patterns, that are used when writing in their L1 and may not be useful for the L2 writing. The L1 influence in the L2 writing is one of several fields of inquiry in Second Language Writing. Thus, I will refer to this concept,
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For instance, Kaplan in Fujeda in the text “A Brief Historical Sketch of Second Language Writing Studies: A Retrospective” (2006) points out that rhetorical patterns are transferred from the writer’s native language to the L2. Kaplan also mentions that native speakers of English, usually write using a linear way of writing, going from a general to more specific ideas. As opposed to other rhetorical patterns implemented by other cultures, such as Japanese, which goes from details to the more general statements. At the same time, in the text “A Comprehensive Review of Studies on Second Language Writing” Carson et al. in Jun (2008) agrees with Kaplan’s idea of L1 abilities to be transferable into the L2, but in this particular case, Carson et al. claims that “literacy skills” are transferable from one language to another, as it is not only the rhetorical patterns the ones that influence the L2 writing, but also the skills and how proficient are the writers in their first language. For instance, if a native speaker of Spanish is a proficient reader and writer, it’s highly probable that this learner will be a higher- proficiency writer in …show more content…
In the text “A Comprehensive Review of Studies on Second Language Writing”, Jun display some other ideas concerning the effect that mother tongue has on L2 writing. Firstly, Lay in Jun (2008) suggests that using L1 in the thinking and writing process of composing a written text can facilitate their learning in the L2. However, another study, carried out by Jones & Tetroe in 1987, tried to measure the relationship between the L1 usage and the level of proficiency of the writers, resulting in highly proficient L2 learners, using more L2 in the composing process, whereas lower L2 proficient learners, using more L1. As a conclusion, we could say that higher- proficiency learner in L2, doesn’t use their L1, since they have achieved the necessary level of proficiency to be comfortable writing in a language that is not their mother
My next paragraph will be about theory #2.
Additionally, it was noted by Mendez et al (2015) that many students, specifically Latino English language learner students’ were able to learn through various modalities such as visual cues, answering questions, writing, and drawing as it was related to activities done in the classroom, that would allow them to reinforce their understanding of the meaning of new words. Indeed, most students learn vocabulary indirectly when they hear and see words used in many different contexts, for the Latino Dual language learner students, they had prior knowledge during their early years in school. In short, the researchers did not find any discrepancy between Latino English language learner students when compared to their peers in terms of vocabulary
These concepts mentioned rely on the previous concept and if used correctly
In summary, as Latino’s English language learner students lag in communication skills and in science vocabulary, it is vital that educators are knowledgeable on how to prepare the students to compete in the 21st century economy. Poplin and Phillips (1993) argued that often students are wrongfully labeled as “learning disabled” due to what some educators thought as a language difference in Latino English language learners, and inadequately recognizing the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and comprehension of text. On the contrary, Campos, Delgado and Huerta (2013) suggested that educators need to recognize the misconception about English language learners and provide accommodations to support their teaching and learning in the classroom,
“Amy Tan: Mother Tongue” In Amy Tan’s essay ¨Mother Tongue¨(1990), Amy Tan, a Chinese American Author, asserts that all languages are very significant. Ms. Tan explains her idea by praising her mother´s broken English, and sharing personal stories and conversation between her Mother and her husband The purpose of of praising the broken English is make her book easier to read and have the people who have mixed Englishes understand her life story. Her audience is the many people who speak broken English and people that understand her writing. The tone of the story was very solemn and hopeful because of the mixed Englishes to tell her story.
In this essay, “Mother Tongue” is referring to how Tan’s mother’s unique way of speaking English has influenced Tan’s English. So much so, that Tan’s English is usually similar as her mother’s and has become a form of speaking she has become accustomed to. 5. For Tan, it is a terrible line because it is creating a facade of being literary superior by using extravagant words. In reality, however, her writing is easy for non fluent English speakers to understand.
Young cites a 2004 survey conducted by the National Writing Commission, which found one-third of employees at the nation’s blue-chip companies wrote poorly, and companies have to spend as much as $3.1 billion a year on entertainment training (Young). This suggests that even those who follow standard grammar rules are not necessarily proficient in writing or speaking. I consider that rather than enforcing these prescriptive rules, we should teach language descriptively by studying how it is used in various cultural contexts. Young also suggested that writers should learn to understand and write in multiple dialects at the same time, making the dialects blend. Young cited the example of former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers, which is regarding his criticism of a professor who wrote a passable academic text.
When I was five years of age, I demonstrated to myself industry standards to scrutinize and write in Spanish. Regardless of the way that I live in a Hispanic family I did not ponder concerning how to scrutinize and write in Spanish. My mother's side of the family is from Puerto Rico, and my father’s side of the family is from Ecuador. I was continually tended to in Spanish by my family except for my mother, sister, and companions. As English is my essential dialect, I never made sense of how to peruse or write in Spanish.
The population of ELLs is rapidly expanding across the United States; it is projected that one in every four students in the U.S. will speak English as a second language by 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). For at least 30 years, ELLs’ achievement in science, language, and literacy has lagged behind that of native English speakers. They are also less likely to pursue advanced degrees in science. (Shaw, 2014, p. 622) According to the U.S. Department of Education (2010), when looking specifically at Latino English language learners, it is found that they are less likely to complete high school and attend college compared to their White non-Latino peers.
Mother Tongue was written by Amy Tan who is famous for her writings of her experiences as a Chinese immigrant growing up and living in American culture. Her primary purpose is to explain to the reader her interpretation of standard English and broken. In her essay Tan shares stories of her mother's broken English and her it affected her life and how people took advantage of her mother's broken English. Tan's intended audience are people who are unaware of people like her mother's limited English who are taken advantage of in everyday life. The experiences Tan shares with reader is an emotion inducing strategy which Tan uses throughout her writing and it is proved to be very effective.
Rhetorical Precis #4: “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan Amy Tan’s purpose in her article “Mother Tongue” is to show the influence of her mother’s style of english. She also relates this to a more broad topic of the idea that there are many different types of english that people speak that are tailored to whoever they are speaking to. She begins this piece by stating plainly that she is not an english scholar. Instead of decreasing her credibility it actually increases it and paints this piece as a more personal set of observations rather than a bland overview of the entire language.
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American. The author is very fascinated by the language and she believes that the language has the power of emotions, a visual image, a complex idea, and a simple truth. She also believes that there are many different types of “Englishes”.
The article 'Mother Tongue ' by author Amy Tan is about the variations in the English language the author uses in her life. She describes her English when giving a speech to a other people, English she uses when speaking to her mother, and English she uses in her writing. She tells of difficulties faced by both her mother and herself from these many differences. Amy 's goal in this article is to show that a person does not have to speak proper English to be seen as smart or intelligent.
A person who speaks more than one language is described as being bilingual. According to the United States Department of Education, “about 21% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home,” (Lowry, 2011). As Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier describe in, “Two Languages are Better Than One,” children who come into school having a first language besides English, tend to struggle. Usually when a child struggles with a particular subject, they are taken out of the main classroom and brought somewhere for a remedial class. But according to Thomas and Collier, in order to help narrow the gap in comprehension, English learners and English speakers need to be kept together in order to be fully enriched in a successful learning
I’d be asked a question in Spanish and I’d have to answer in English, knowing this raised a mountain of questions. I wanted to call myself Latina, to finally take pride, but it felt like a lie. So I set out to learn the language that people assumed I already knew” (631). I can easily connect with Barrientos here because I also felt awkward not being able to speak the language my friends had been speaking. However, this was not a language you are taught when you are born, it is the language of the book you have read.