Overcoming the Gap in Exposure to Text: Using a reading corpus in an academic writing class Diane Schmitt Nottingham Trent University Norbert Schmitt Nottingham.

Overcoming the Gap in Exposure to Text:

Using a reading corpus in an academic writing class

Diane SchmittNottingham Trent University

Norbert SchmittNottingham University

The EAP Course Context

MA Journalism No credits awarded, but pass required for

progression onto MA program

MA Media and Globalisation 20-credits on a 180-credit course This course was designed specifically to attract

international students. However, most of the classes are already existing modules from other existing MAs.

Identifying a sub-set of issues for teaching academic writing

Student Voices I can read all of the words, but I don’t

understand the sentence. I wrote every thought I had in everyday

language, because I haven’t had any academic vocabulary at that stage.

When I heard about the plagiarism software, I freaked out. How do I express the specialized language? I spent 12 hours a day for two weeks and I got a 7% match.

Writing from sources begins with readingReading Constructs Reading for basic comprehension

recall summarization text-based multiple choice questions

Reading to learn – connecting new information with background knowledge recognition of text structure create a representation of content knowledge

Reading to integrate link texts with regard to their individual text structure link content knowledge from a single text with that from one or

more texts (Trites and McGroarty, Language Testing, 2005)

Reading to Learn

Learning content When the linguistic load rises, can students

still learn new content from what they are reading?

Learning language When the content requirements increase (or

kick in for the first time), can students still acquire language?

Consider…

A study by Van Patten (1990) demonstrates that learners cannot pay attention to form without a loss of attention to content, and that when confronted with the choice between attention to content or form, they prioritize content.

So….

We need to consider how the increased cognitive load of writing from source texts impacts on students’ ability to control other aspects of the writing task, e.g:

organizational structure, vocabulary choice, grammatical choice and accuracy.

Creating a mini-corpus from topic-based readings

How does the media influence the migration debate?

(asylum, refugees, migrant workers)

Types of Reading Texts

Newspapers On-line news Textbooks Journal Articles Government and NGO reports

Creating a mini-corpus:Sample Academic Texts Allan, S. (1999). Making news: Truth, ideology and newswork, News

Culture. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press (pp. 48-82) Colville, R. (2006). Words and images. Refugees, 142, 1, 14-19. Coole, C. (2002). A warm welcome? Scottish and UK media reporting of an

asylum seeker murder. Media Culture Society, 24 839. van Ginnekin, Jaap, (1998). Introduction. Understanding Global News.

London: Sage. (pp. 1-21) Guedes Bailey, O. and Harindranath, R. (2005). Radicalized ‘othering’: The

representation of asylum seekers in the news media. In S. Allan, Journalism: Critical Issues. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press (pp. 274-286)

McNair, B. (1999). News and Journalism in the UK. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. (pp. 19-27)

Mollard, C. (2001). Asylum: The truth behind the headlines, UK Poverty Programme of Oxfam GB. Oxford: Oxfam.

ter Wal, J. (ed.) (2002). Racism and Cultural Diversity in the Mass Media. Vienna: European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations.

van Dijk, T. (2000). New(s) racism: A discourse analyltic approach. In S. Cottle (ed). Ethnic Minorities and the Media. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

Text Size – Word Counts 11510 2867 5257 7943 5248 12028 2500 8004

Don’t be afraid of dealing with the real reading requirements of university life.

Ensure massive exposure!

Allan, S. (1999). News Culture. Open University Press.

FrequencyList

Families

Types Tokens Percent

1-1000 489 758 455169.38%

1001-2000 127 167 281 4.28%

Sub-total 73.66%

AWL 262 400 834 12.71%

Off-List ? 574 894 13.63%

Total 878+ 1890 6560 100%

Nature of Texts Chosen

Directly and indirectly related to the essay topic More general readings on the role of journalism More specific readings on representations of

asylum seekers in the media or media bias. Readings should include references to

external sources Linked articles

The articles cite each other.

Reading Sequence for Migration Essay Task Read and Discuss and Apply Intro to Journalism

News Values – Identify news values used in today’s papers.

Apply, Read, Discuss and Apply - Vocabulary Focus Understanding Global News

Identify own cultural bias through map drawing exercise. Identify cultural orientation or bias in sample news stories. Focus on word meanings, word associations, connotations and

collocations.

Read, Discuss and Consider Notemaking Techniques Journalism’s Social Role

Read, Discuss and Analyse Language Making News (1)

Sentence study - unpack the grammar of sentences. Recognize the use of nominalization in academic texts.

Reading Sequence for Migration Essay TaskRead, Discuss and Formulate a Viewpoint to take into an Essay on aSpecific Topic Making News (2)

How does the media influence your viewpoint? Jigsaw Reading of Newspaper Articles on Migration, Asylum and

Refugees

Read a non-academic report. Refugee Magazine – Words and Images Compare claims in the magazine report with your own views and with

the newspaper articles you read.

Reading Sequence for Migration Essay TaskRead, Discuss – Raise Awareness of Cultural References and ClaimsAnd Support A Warm Welcome? Scottish and UK media reporting of an asylum-seeker

murder Provide political background to help students understand the

uniqueness of the Scottish situation. Review organisational structure – how does this structure strengthen

the claims being made by the author?

Read a full journal article New(s) Racism: A discourse analysis approach, van Dijk (2000)

Focus on vocabulary use – subtle meanings, connotation, collocation Focus on sentence structure – topicalization, use of passive Focus on use of punctuation and fonts Apply this type of analysis to some sample news stories.

Reading Sequence for Migration Essay TaskNoticing how writers use sources Radicalized ‘othering’: The representation of asylum seekers in the news

media. Mark up a text to show how the author refers to sources. Highlight use of reporting verbs in this and previous texts. Focus on van Dijk (2000) citations. How did the authors of this paper

incorporate information from van Dijk into their paper

A Warm Welcome:Scottish and UK media reporting of an asylum-seeker murder

Raising awareness of how summary is used as one type of citation.

Reading the actual references.docasylum_truth.pdf

Other ways to optimise use of the corpus

Vocabulary learning Word lists, frequency and recycling Words AWL OUTPUT.htm Words (BNC) OUTPUT.htm Global word list.doc Global-SocialCOMPARE output.htm Global-SocialVOCABPROFILE.htm

Other ways to optimise use of the corpus

Grammar and collocation focus Concordance lines for reporting verbs Exemplify and teach grammar points, eg. Use

of passive voice, relative clauses Search for formulaic sequences

e.g. transition phrases

Argue

Summary points for improving the quality of materials for teaching writing from sources Integrate reading and writing – develop materials

in tandem. Use texts for both reading to learn content and

reading to learn language. Increase the reading load in writing classes.

Acknowledge that proficiency in reading to integrate is fundamental to the creation of good quality written texts.

Contextualize quoting, paraphrasing and summary writing practice; work with multiple sources.

Remember that citing sources involves much more than simply learning the mechanical conventions of a specific referencing system.

Compleat Lexical Tutor The Compleat Lexical Tutorhttp://www.lextutor.ca/ or http:/132.208.224.131/ Vocabulary Profile

Useful Resources from UNHCR