Negotiation of Pedagogies in English as a Foriegn Language Writing Instruction
Open Access
- Author:
- Schreiber, Brooke Ricker
- Graduate Program:
- Applied Linguistics
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- August 12, 2016
- Committee Members:
- A. Suresh Canagarajah, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
A. Suresh Canagarajah, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Karen E Johnson, Committee Member
Deryn Phillips Verity, Committee Member
Xiaoye You, Outside Member - Keywords:
- second language writing
English as A Foreign Language
English as a Second Language
Language Pedagogy
Activity theory - Abstract:
- The growing field of second language writing has been primarily focused on the study of English as a second language (ESL) pedagogy, particularly in the United States, leaving writing pedagogy in other countries, where English is taught as a foreign language (EFL), largely ignored. This has happened both because writing pedagogy in EFL settings is often seen as no more than a imported ESL teaching methods which have been adapted to local practical limitations, such as a lack of textbooks and other resources, and ideological constraints, such as exam-driven cultures and a perception that writing is secondary to the teaching of other language skills (Leki, 2001). Yet research in international writing instruction can bring scholarly attention to important factors in writing pedagogy which might otherwise be overlooked, in particular the influence of institutional practices and regulations (Cimasko & Reichelt, 2011), and in so doing, can help scholars question their assumptions about writing instruction (Donahue & Anson, 2015). This study examines in depth two contexts of EFL writing instruction, the English departments of two universities in Serbia, with a focus on how teachers negotiate between multiple rhetorical and education traditions based on their own conceptions of writing, the needs and expectations of the students, and the positioning of English language writing within the educational institution and the community. Employing ethnographic data collection methods and using cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1987) as an analytical framework, this one-semester case study draws on classroom observations, interviews, and textual artifacts. This study first examines three factors which shape EFL writing instruction in these contexts: the overall curricular objectives, a contrastive rhetoric ideology, and the role of foreign lectors, tracing how each factor is a reflection of multiple scale-levels (Blommaert, 2010) from local to global. This study then examines several pedagogical innovations as resolutions of tensions between elements of the activity system, concluding that locally appropriate pedagogy (Kramsch & Sullivan, 1996) emerges from these negotiations, as teachers exercise agency in implementing their goals. Ultimately this project suggests that EFL writing instruction must be understood through examination of local and global levels of context.