scholarly journals A proposal to improve narrative texts at the University using Genre Theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
María Martínez Lirola
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Genre Theory ◽  
Narrative Texts ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Language Students ◽  
The University

Academic writing is an essential skill that language students need to develop at tertiary education. This article intends to be a contribution to teaching academic writing having Genre Theory as a framework so that students are able to use different texts depending on their communicative end. Students were asked to write a narrative at the end of the semester. This article shows the main difficulties students have to write this text type in a language subject at tertiary education and the main aspects they do well following the characteristics of the genre. The analysis shows that students have difficulties with the use of transitions, verb tenses and lexical cohesion. We intend to highlight that making explicit the formal and structural characteristics of the genres contributes to facilitate that students are able to see a clear connection between the characteristics of a particular text type, in this case narrative, and its function in context.

scholarly journals STUDENTS’ TRANSLATIONS OF ADJECTIVAL COMPOUNDS: A CORPUS ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isidora M. ́Wattles ◽  
Biljana B. Radić-Bojanić ◽  
Isidora M. Wattles
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Language Students ◽  
The University

The aim of the paper is to analyze English language students’ translations of adjectival compounds and examine various linguistic choices, given the structural differences between English and Serbian. The research relies on a students’ corpus compiled at the University of East Sarajevo and observes the students’ translations of three texts from English into Serbian. A total of nine adjectival compounds with a similar morphological structure was excerpted (brick-faced, hand-carved, pint-sized, real-life, self-conscious, self-possessed, self-reliant, small-featured, tree-lined). Their translations might prove to be problematic for various reasons such as lack of translation equivalents, culture-specific lexemes, or differences in structural characteristics of the two languages. The paper thus provides the morphological and semantic analyses of the source vocabulary, lists the offered translations, and categorizes the adequacy of translation in the target language. Some pedagogical implications are offered in the conclusion.

Das (verhinderte) Potential der Mehrsprachigkeit

Fachsprache ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 175-192
Author(s):  
Eva Zernatto
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Academic Literacies ◽  
Writing Workshops ◽  
University Of Vienna ◽  
Multilingual Writing ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Per Se ◽  
The University

This paper introduces the results of a series of writing workshops about “Mehrsprachig Schreiben” [Multilingual Writing], which took place at the University of Vienna between 2015 and 2017. The article poses the question, how individual, multilingual potentials can be used productively and creatively for the development and enhancements of academic literacies in the tertiary education sector. First it focuses on the linguistic landscapes at Austrian Universities such as the handling of multilingualism in this context, as well as it concerns the framing conditions and challenges of academic writing per se, before it shows the terms of the writing workshops and the methodical and didactical approach in connection with the concept of a multilingual process orientated writing didactic. On the basis of an exercise example (“Meine Sprachen und ich” [My languages and I]) it is responding in the end to the concrete challenges of multilingual academic writing at “German speaking” universities.

scholarly journals Using Genre Theory for teaching writing at tertiary level: a practical example of teaching to write effective recounts

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Martínez-Lirola
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Genre Theory ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
English Studies ◽  
Text Types ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University

<p><span lang="EN-GB">The study reported in this paper focuses on the use of Genre Theory as an appropriate framework for English L2 writing in the subject English Language III of the degree course in English Studies. We analysed 115 recounts written by students on this course at the University of Alicante (Spain) after they had studied different text types following Genre Theory. </span><span lang="EN-GB">This Theory was applied in order to increase students’ literacy skills through the study of text types and specific grammatical characteristics that appear in these texts. This study will show that using the Theory of Genre as a framework to teach academic writing helped students to improve their writing skills.<strong> </strong>The results of the texts analysed suggest that exposing students to good models of different text types, paying special attention to recounts, and asking them to write texts based on these models, improves students’ texts from the grammatical and the textual point of view.</span></p>

A Need Analysis in Academic Writing by Using Integrative-Based Approach: The Perspective of University Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helaluddin Helaluddin
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
University Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Need Analysis ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Academic Genres ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Year

This article discusses the needs and interests of the university students in Banten Indonesia for learning to write with an integrative approach as an initial stage in the development of academic writing textbooks. The participants in this study were 60 students in the first semester of the 2018/2019 academic year who took an Indonesian language course. It was found that students were familiar with writing activities. But the majority were limited to non-academic genres such as writing poetry, short stories, and writing personal blogs. Also, students have almost the same problems in academic writing, both from linguistic aspects, technical aspects, to issues of developing writing ideas. Another thing that was found in this study was the participation of lecturers who they expected in guiding and providing input during academic writing learning.

Hope and Positive Development in the Third Decade of Life. A Theoretical Perspective on Tertiary Education Students in Cameroon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Azalea
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Education Students ◽  
The Third ◽  
Academic Activities ◽  
Transition Into Adulthood ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The University

University is relatively considered a stressful moment in the life of students due to numerous academic workloads and academic activities. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that some university students are in emerging adulthood, a developmental period which is psychologically fraught with uncertainty, instability and identity issues among others. Added to these, the context of most universities like Cameroon which is marred with political, economic and social turbulence common to other developing societies in the sub Saharan region makes life unbearable. Looking at the challenges that confront tertiary education students in the third decade of life, increases possibilities of fears that they will founder thus narrowing the route to a blossomed transition into adulthood and through the university from home into the world of work. However, observations reveal that some have remained hopeful as they continuously believe in themselves and their worth. As such, they have resiliently shrugged off the vast burden placed on them by the adult society as they struggle intentionally with continuous efforts to succeed. Being hopeful and self-efficacy beliefs are observed to be some of the effective drivers that pull emerging adults through the storms of university transition thus facilitating positive development into subsequent life stages. Unfortunately just a paucity of literature albeit theoretically actually narrates via scholarly corridors the monumental successes recorded by students as they sail flourishingly through university in the midst of storms an in the third decade of life. This paper examines and addresses the foregoing through the lenses of some theories.

scholarly journals A Systemic-Functional Analysis of English Language Learners' Writing

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana C. DE OLIVEIRA
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistic ◽  
Clause Combining ◽  
The University ◽  
Passing Score

This article presents a systemic-functional linguistic analysis of two writing samples of the University of California Analytical Writing Placement (AWP) Examination written by English language learners (ELLs). The analysis shows the linguistic features utilized in the two writing samples, one that received a passing score and one that received a failing score. The article describes some of the grammatical resources which are functional for expository writing, which are divided under three main categories: textual, interpersonal, and ideational resources. Following this brief description is the analysis of both essays in terms of these resources.. The configuration of grammatical features used in the essays make up the detached style of essay 1 and the more personal style of essay 2. These grammatical features include the textual resources of thematic choices and development, clause-combining strategies (connectors), and lexical cohesion; interpersonal resources of interpersonal metaphors of modality; and ideational resources of nominalization and abstractions as ideational metaphors. Implications for educational practice and recommendations for educators based on the analysis are provided.

Sprachgeschichte als Textsortengeschichte. Zur Linguistik der Beschwerde am Beispiel der "cahiers de doléances"

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Issel-Dombert
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Social History ◽  
Actual State ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Grassroots Movements ◽  
Social Interests ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Language And Law

To this day, French politicians and grassroots movements refer to the cahiers de doléances of the Ancien Régime as a primordial democratic legitimation tool for self-expression, for the pooling of opinions and the negotiation of social interests. The precursor of the petition, it has entered collective memory as the "French recipe" of political participation from below. As a mouthpiece for democratic articulation, this text type not only documents the actual state of a society described by its authors, but also far-reaching visions of the future. It can thus be read equally as an indicator of the disposition prevalent in a society at a given time, but as a social history of France as well. Based on culture-oriented linguistics, this study traces the evolution of the cahiers de doléances from the beginning of their lore to its end. This study work was awarded the "Prix Germaine de Staël" as well as the advancement award "Language and Law" of the University of Regensburg.

scholarly journals Error Analysis of Students Essays: A Case of First Year Students of the University of Health and Allied Sciences

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Benjamin Amoakohene
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Error Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
The University

Writing is considered as a daunting task in second language learning. It is argued by most scholars that this challenge is not only limited to second language speakers of English but even to those who speak English as their first language. Thus, the ability to communicate effectively in English by both native and non-native speakers requires intensive and specialized instruction. Due to the integral role that writing plays in students’ academic life, academic literacy has garnered considerable attention in several English-medium universities in which Ghanaian universities are no exception. It is therefore surprising that prominence is not given to Academic Writing and Communicative Skills at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In this paper, I argue for much time and space to be given to Academic Writing and Communicative Skills, a programme that seeks to train students to acquire the needed skills and competence in English for their academic and professional development. This argument is based on the findings that came out after I explored the errors in a corpus of 50 essays written by first year students of  UHAS. The findings revealed that after going through the Communicative Skills programme for two semesters, students still have serious challenges of writing error-free texts. Out of the 50 scripts that were analyzed, 1,050 errors were detected. The study further revealed that 584 (55.6%) of these errors were related to grammatical errors, 442 (42.1%) were mechanical errors and 24 (2.3%) of the errors detected were linked to the poor structuring of  sentences. Based on these findings, recommendations and implications which are significant to educators, policy makers and curriculum developers are provided. This study has implications for pedagogy and further research in error analysis. 

scholarly journals The Role of Learning Resource Centers at the Northern Border University in Increasing the Academic Achievement in English Language Courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Yaser Mohammad Al Sawy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Strategic Resources ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Language Students ◽  
Faculty Of Education ◽  
Constitutive Factor ◽  
The University

The study aims at understanding the relationship between the use of IT applications in the Learning Resources Centers (henceforth, LRCs) at the university and increasing the academic achievement of the English language students at the Faculty of Education and Literature at the Northern Border University? The researcher relied on the research methodology of the field study, which allowed him to collect the views of a random sample of the English language learners at the university to measure and analyze the effectiveness of the use of IT within the LRCs. The study showed that the IT within the LRCs is one of the most important strategic resources at the level of educational institutions and the main factor in the development of its sectors. There is an interest from the Northern Border University on upgrading and supporting the IT infrastructure, especially in education for it is the basis for community development. A high proportion of English Language students at the university are keen on using and applying many of the technological learning media within the LRCs as a constitutive factor in understanding mental processes such as visualization, thinking, learning and creativity which is the first step towards knowledge and innovation.

scholarly journals Get a Room! How Writing Groups Aid the Development of Junior Academics’ Writing Practice and Writer Identity

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Jenny Mattsson ◽  
Emma-Karin Brandin ◽  
Ann-Kristin Hult
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Writing Groups ◽  
Writer Identity ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Writing Group ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
The University ◽  
Writing Practice

The present study revisits writing retreat participants who have spontaneously formed writing groups before or after attending a retreat hosted by the Unit for Academic Language at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. All in all, 11 doctoral students and 1 post doc were interviewed using a semi-structured interview model. The answers were thematically analysed based on Murray’s (2014) concept of coherence in writing groups as well as parts of Aitchison and Lee’s (2006) key characteristics of writing groups. The two main research questions posed concern (i) whether the informants have changed their writing practice and/or the way they think and feel about writing since joining a writing group, and (ii) whether possible changes have aided the development of their identity as academic writers. Results show that the informants have indeed changed central aspects of their writing practice and that this in turn has positively influenced how they now think and feel about writing. This has to some extent contributed to the informants’ development of their writer identity; however, the present study also sheds light on the fact that more needs to be done at departmental levels across the university to make academic writing visible.

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