In others' words : learner practices and perspectives of textual borrowing in the foreign language classroom

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Goodspeed, Lauren, author

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Online

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Summary

Dominant approaches to writing instruction in collegiate foreign language classrooms tend to emphasize the linguistic and cognitive aspects of writing through product and process approaches but neg...

Dominant approaches to writing instruction in collegiate foreign language classrooms tend to emphasize the linguistic and cognitive aspects of writing through product and process approaches but neglect writing's sociocultural dimension (Kern, 2000). One way to unite these three elements is through genre pedagogy, wherein instructors guide learners through analysis of textual models that serve as examples of the text types learners are asked to create. The focus of this dissertation is on how collegiate learners of elementary-level French appropriate features of model texts (e.g., vocabulary, stylistic elements, organizational structures), or engage in textual borrowing. This study explores learners' practices and perspectives related to textual borrowing and genre pedagogy to understand how they draw on model texts to design meaning (New London Group, 1996) as well as the approach's affordances and constraints. Although genre pedagogy has been explored in the collegiate FL context, existing research has focused on the linguistic development of advanced FL learners and few studies have examined textual borrowing in an elementary-level context along with learners' reactions to pedagogy. Interview data and written drafts collected from 25 elementary-level French learners over the course of a semester were analyzed using a qualitative approach. Analysis revealed that learners drew on a variety of features including language, organizational patterns, formatting, and syntax. Although learners most commonly borrowed vocabulary and expressions, their reasons for borrowing revealed that it not only helped them express themselves but also generate ideas for content, develop their voice in French, and create appropriate reader-writer relationships in their writing. In terms of learners' perspectives, analysis showed that learners more commonly associated affordances with the pedagogy than constraints. Although some learners' negative perceptions appeared to constrain their development of genre awareness, most learners showed evidence of having developed textual analysis skills and a multidimensional view of FL writing through participation in genre pedagogy. These findings demonstrate not only the viability of adopting a genre approach to FL writing instruction at the elementary-level but also how such an approach can be leveraged to build learner awareness of the multidimensional nature of successful FL writing.

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