Composition: History & Theory: 1960 - 1969
Foreign Students
Description
The emphasis on linguistics and literature did not only influence native speakers in freshman composition courses, but also foreign students. Many scholars called for a linguist to teach foreign students. Journal contributors in the 1960s were concerned with the process of writing (the use of detailed composition checklists), relating composition to thought (teaching composition in relation to its cultural system), focusing on writing about literature (reading and writing about fiction in composition classes), and borrowing ideas from linguistics (the cross-cultural communication approach and the linguistic research became part of TEFL pedagogical materials).
In the1960s, scholars suggested a variety of courses and diagnostic tests and interviews to meet the needs of foreign students. They believed that sectioning foreign students into appropriate proficiency levels was best done by using these diagnostic tests and interviews (Workshop Report 187). The most common diagnostic tests in the 1960s were the Lado English Comprehensive Tests (Workshop Report 187). Due to language difficulties, many foreign students dropped out of college which led to the development of a screening test that could be administered on a worldwide basis.
The general trend was teaching language in relation to its cultural system. Scholars believed that students needed indoctrination in “the American way of life” and “in the fundamental procedures of the American academic and social system” (Workshop Report 191). The texts that foreign students read in class were “organized around basic issues that have occupied American thought and shaped the American character” (Marquardt 32). By reading these texts, students were exposed to models of form and language to fit their writing and came to understand the values and thought of the American culture. Miss Rivers believes that “if the student is to be taught … the foreign language in a way which will communicate his own meaning to the native speaker of that language, he must learn more than structures and vocabulary. He must learn to share in the experience which native speakers associate with vocabulary and expression. Ideally, this would involve plunging each student for a certain period into the active life for the community which speaks the language” (Marquardt 30). Among the useful texts are Language and Life in the U.S.A, The U.S. of America, Writing American English, and A book of Reading for Foreign students.
Just like the 1950s, scholars in the 1960s urged teachers to use audio visual aids in their classes. For example, the use of tapes enabled students to hear themselves and check their pronunciation of sounds. Also, the use of language laboratory to teach foreign students proper pronunciation was common at that time. The composition course provided a preparatory orientation, actual college work, and concentrated work on a research paper (Workshop Report 191). Some teachers believed that errors should always be marked while others argued that “many errors should be overlooked in student themes in order to keep the focus on the intended problem” (191). Foreign students were advised to read plays, short stories, science fiction, novels, and comic books (187). There was a call for using linguistic research to solve the problems that faced foreign students at that time. In addition, linguistic training was required for the preparation of TEFL since literature teachers were often the ones to teach English courses for foreign students (Davis 174). Cooperation between linguists and teachers was recommended to devise new effective methods for teaching.
Because of the limited time foreign students had in the U.S., teachers wanted to get them through English as quickly as possible which created great pressure on both teachers and students (Work shop Report 191). One of the writing problems that foreign students faced was paragraph structure. The structure of a paragraph –a thesis statement with supporting details- is not the native pattern for all foreign students. Another problem was the problematic use of articles in English. Teachers wanted to train foreign students to compete with native speakers without a linguistic handicap which was hard to accomplish (191).
Pulled Quotes - Workshop Report
- “Except in language laboratories, classes should be small, with an outside limit of twenty” (187).
- “We are concerned not just with opening skulls and pouring information. Motivation often needs to be provided” (192).
- “Each of us involved in this difficult, frustrating task can have the consolation that everyone else involved in it has just as many problems as he does” (192).
Works Cited:
- Davis, A. L. “English for Foreigner and Native.” College English. 26.4 (1965): 273-76.
- Marquardt, William F. “Composition in English as a Second Language: Cross Cultural Communication.” College Composition and Communication. 17.1 (1966): 29-33.
- Workshop Report. “Composition for Foreign Students.” College Composition and Communication. 15.3 (1964): 191-92.
- Workshop Report. “English for Foreign Students.” College Composition and Communication. 14.3 (1963): 187-88.
Date of Upload
3/14/09