Teaching reading and writing through genres in lowerlevel

Teaching reading and writing through genres in lower-level language classes September 20, 2017 1 -2 pm Charlene Polio polio@msu. edu

Genre-based instruction Use of authentic Materials

Blanton, L. (1979). Elementary Composition.

http: //www. collegehumor. co m/post/6941975/if-everyone -still-wrote-like-they-did-incollege New York Times https: //www. nytimes. com/spotlight/weddin gannouncements? mc ubz=1 Traverse City Record Eagle http: //www. recordeagle. com/communit y/weddings/

The five-paragraph essay is a genre. If genre is a social action, what is the action of the fiveparagraph essay? It is used in writing assessment. It will not help students learn to write other genres. It is often taught when students have no writing needs. Introductions do not always go from general to specific.

• Weddings are frequently compelling. • Many things have causes. • Reading is a neglected skill. • Nassaji (2003) found that students need to know 93% of the words in a text to understand it well. • John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Relationship of genre analysis and teaching Genre (may be broad or narrow) Example: A literature review OR an abstract from JAMA How are they organized? (what moves are used) What does the text look like? Teacher breaks down the genre through comparison across subgenres, comparison to L 1 genres, graphic organizations. Analysis Possible reading lesson Possible writing lesson What language is common in the genre? (grammar, register, vocabulary, cohesive devices, pragmatics, formulas) Teacher focuses on form: An attention to form within the context of meaning

Restaurant reviews What differences are there between the professional review and the Trip Advisor reviews? What commonalities do you see among the Trip Advisor reviews? Consider: What information is provided or not provided? What type of language is used?

Restaurant assignment Have the students read some restaurant reviews in the target language written by professional writers. Compare them to online reviews written by customers. Give the students a professional review, and using that review have them write a typical online review.

17 Email to a professor You are an undergraduate taking second-year calculus. You are a student in a class of 25 taught by Professor David Miller. It is the fifth week of the semester, and there is a quiz scheduled for your class at 2 pm. It is 9 am and you are really sick with the flu. You were up all night with a high fever and you still don’t feel better, so you will have to miss class and the quiz. There is nothing on the syllabus about a make-up policy for quizzes, only exams. Write an email to your professor asking about the possibility of making up the quiz.

Analysis Required moves Optional moves Order of moves Formulaic language for the moves Grammatical structures Vocabulary

Sample genre-based assignment for beginners Original Write assignment an essay describing your family. Genre-based Imagine that your family is hosting an exchange student from the target culture. Write an email to that student describing your family and their routines so that he or she knows what to expect upon arrival. Why is the second assignment better?

Advantages to email assignment Specific parameters, so specific expectations. Opportunity to discuss the target culture and teach pragmatics. Meaning for a specific context and imagined audience.

Write about your living quarters and likes and dislikes Original German Translated into English Ich wohne in Champaign, im Studentenheim. Ich teile mein Zimmer mit einer Person und er ist nett. Mein Zimmer ist klein und hell. Ich habe ein Bett, einen Computer, einen CD-Spieler und einen Teppich. Ich brauche ein Auto. Ich koche gern Hamburgers und ich wandern gern. Ich laufe und schwimme nicht gern. I live in Champaign, in a dorm. I share a room with a person and he is nice. My room is small and bright. I have a bed, a computer, a CD player and a rug. I need a car. I like to cook hamburgers and I like to hike. I don‘t like to run or swim. German examples from a talk by Cori Crane, UT Austin

Revised task with genre focus Liebe Christina, Hallo! Wie gehts? Ich kann dir helfen. Ich wohne in eine gross Wohnung, aber meine Mitebewohnerin macht ein Praktikum in Chicago naechstes Jahr. Meine Wohnung zwei Schlafzimmer, ein Bad, ein Wohn-zimmer und eine Kueche. Sie ist moebliert mit unbequem Betten, nur ein Schreibtisch und vier Stuehle. Wir brauchen ein Sofa, einen Tisch, einen Teppich und einen Fernseher. Ich habe einen Kuehlschfrank. Hast du einen Computer? Meine Adresse ist einhundertdreiundzwanzig Lincoln Straße, neben dem Tennisplatz und dem Schwimmbad. Ich schwimme gern. Schwimmst du gern? Ich studiere Physik. Ach ja! Einen anderen Mitbewohner haben wir auch, meinen Goldfisch. Tschuess! [Name] Dear Christina, Hi! How are you? I can help you. I live in a big apartment, but my roommate is doing an internship in Chicago next year. My apartment two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. It is furnished with uncomfortable beds, only a desk and four chairs. We need a sofa, a table, a rug and a TV. I have a refrigerator. Do you have a computer? My address is one hundred twenty-three Lincoln Street, next to the tennis court and the swimming pool. I like to swim. Do you like to swim? I study physics. Oh, yeah! We have another roommate: my goldfish. Bye! [Name]

Original assignment: Write an essay on the struggle between rationalism and naturalism in Der Erlkönig. 1. Ein Zeitungsbericht: Sie sind Journalist und schreiben über den seltsamen Vorfall in dem Wald. 2. Ein Tagebucheintrag: Sie sind der Junge und Sie sind dem Erlkönig entkommen. Schreiben Sie einen Eintrag in Ihrem Tagebuch über Ihre Erlebnisse im Wald. 3. Ein Brief: Sie sind der Vater und schreiben einen Brief an einem Freund indem Sie beschreiben, was in dem Wald passiert ist. 4. Eine Ballade: Schreiben Sie das Gedicht weiter. Wie geht es weiter mit dem Vater? Was passiert dem Jungen - ist er tot oder mit dem Erlkönig und deren Töchter? Versuchen Sie die Form der Ballade einzuhalten (Mehrstimmigkeit, Strophen, Reimschema, usw. ) Benutzen Sie mindestens 10 der folgenden Wörter: Substantive: der Erlkönig, der Nebelstreif, die Weide, der Kampf, der Wald, die Gestalt Verben: reizen, grausen, leiden, reiten, begegnen, fürchten, begreifen, erschrecken, wagen, umfallen, verlieren, verschwinden Adjektive: rätselhaft, bang, leise, ruhig, düster, geschwind Adverbien: einmal, auf einmal Example from Lynn Wolff