Winters College
October 14, 2009
Effective Academic Strategies for Students from ESL Backgrounds
Professor Nick Elson
Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
nelson@yorku.ca
1. ESL Students as Language Learners
2. Language Learning (or language use) Strategies
Asking questions
1. Asking for clarification or verification
2. Asking for correction
Co-operating with others
1. Co-operating with peers
2. Co-operating with proficient users of the new language
Empathising with others
1. Developing cultural understanding
2. Becoming aware of others' thoughts and feelings (Oxford, 1990, p. 21)
Using the language as much as you can
1. Don’t worry so much about mistakes as getting your ideas
across.
2. Improvement in any aspect of language use improves others.
Metacognitive Strategy
Learner Reflection:
Where did I use English this week?
What worked well?
What was a problem?
What did I learn about my language use this week?
What would I like help with?
What should I pay particular attention to: in speaking?
in reading?
in writing?
in listening?
3. Planning for the class or tutorial
Classes
It is important to remember that much of what you experience as a student has little to
do with the fact that you are not a native speaker of English. Almost all students will
be making very similar adjustments.
Be prepared: The better prepared you are for the class, the more you will
understand. If there are readings assigned for that class, do your best to read them
2
beforehand. This will familiarize you with vocabulary and concepts that will come up
in the lecture.
Don’t panic: If the lectures seem to move very quickly and your ability to follow
what’s going on seems low, this will change as you get used to the speaking style of
the lecturer, the subject matter, and the lecture format. As you accumulate more
understanding about the subject matter of the course, more of what you hear and read
will make sense to you. This is true of understanding your classmates as well.
If you have questions, see the instructor after the class, or ask your TA about it.
While your friends can be helpful, and it can be useful to study with them, they are
not experts in the subject matter, and they may be more confusing than helpful.
One the other hand . . . forming study groups with other members of the class can
be a very effective way of sharing different understandings about what is going on in
the course and in course materials.
What is a Tutorial?
The main purpose of tutorials is to encourage the sharing of ideas, information and
opinion related to the course material. These discussions can be lively and exciting.
You should try to prepare questions and comments beforehand so that you can raise
them in the discussion. Active participation will improve your grade in the course.
4. Lectures
1. Listen for verbal clues and signals that what’s coming is important:
“So, it’s important to realize that . . .”
“You should know this. . .
“One of the main points here is that . . .
“There are three issues here . . .
“What are the causes of this?” [The lecturer knows the answer, so she’s signaling
something important]
2. Attend every class: knowledge and understanding are cumulative.
3. Focus on the content, not the delivery
4. Tune out distractions in the room.
5. Use a sense of structure: if a point is made, listen for supporting arguments or points.
6. Listen for an outline: those are the points you want
7. Attitude: Be positive. Don’t say, this is dull and boring, even if it is.
Note-taking
Note-taking is important because you have to concentrate on the lecture more. It can help
confine your wandering thoughts. It gives you a record of points to review.
Focus on relevant material:
Don’t get side-tracked, trying to get everything down
Listen, then paraphrase, then record (LPR)
3
Start with a review of the previous lecture.
Anticipate a certain structure to the lecture. Think of it as a sort of spoken essay,
with a thesis, a series of supporting arguments, and a conclusion.
Be neat.
Use abbreviations, if that helps.
If it’s on the board or overhead, write it down
Try to avoid translation.
Look over notes immediately after class: reorganize, copy, fill in missing
information, formulate questions, write in details and examples. This also
prepares you for the next lecture.
Review your notes before the next lecture. Without review you forget 80%.
If the lecturer talks too fast, use the two-page system: left side, only main ideas
Immediately after and during lecture, as many details as possible on right hand
side.
The “Broken-Arm” Theory of Lecture Listening: Note-taking can be a substitute
for understanding, and excessive note-taking can postpone understanding. Practice
listening before putting down notes.
5. Essay Writing
How to start: What am I being asked to do?
Getting help – and what kind of help.
Finding and using information
Becoming your own editor
The final review: making it look good
Study models of academic writing
Plagiarism: If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed with the language demands placed
upon you, you may be inclined to get some help other than that provided by the
university. Be very careful about the kind of help you get or you may be accused of
plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a concept that you need to understand and avoid. Put simply, it is
handing in written work which contains information from a source not clearly
indicated in footnotes, citations, or the bibliography. Using someone else’s words or
ideas, without indicating where they came from, is plagiarism. Having a friend or
tutor write part of the essay for you is academic dishonesty. Plagiarism and academic
dishonesty are easy to avoid, but the consequences are very serious
Sample uses of information
Short quotation (three lines or fewer – APA format)
Bonvillain (1993) points out that “Words can also be used to convey culturally shared
symbolic meanings. Such usages are based on contextual associations of language
with cultural values and orientations” (p. 71). We see from this that words can often
4
be used as powerful expressions of social and cultural beliefs, and people who
understand these associations can use language to manipulate public opinion.
Extended quotation (block quotation format):
The use of language to influence people’s reactions and perceptions has a long
history. In discussing language in its social context, Bonvillain (1993) writes:
Words can be also used to convey culturally shared symbolic meanings. Such
usages are based on contextual associations of language with cultural values
and orientations. For example, describing a group of people as “terrorists”
expresses a strongly negative judgment against them. The power of language
is not only that values attached to words reveal attitudes of speakers but also
that words are used to create compatible attitudes in hearers. Labeling
someone a “terrorist” is, in part, an attempt to influence hearer’s opinions
about this person, since “terrorism” is an act that is socially condemned. In
contrast, describing a person as a “freedom fighter” attempts to create a
positive response (p. 71).
It is clear from Bonvillain’s observations that in time of war, for example, language
could be used in this way to persuade people that the people the government is
opposed to are “evil” and “the enemy.”
Note: Notice that in the block quotation format, there are no quotation marks and the
passage is single spaced and indented from the left margin.
Paraphrase:
Note: Avoid if possible! Direct quotations are considered to be more effective. But for
times when you have a lot of information you want to bring into the essay in an effective
way, read on . . .
Example of paraphrase:
There are many examples in history of skilled users of language being able to persuade
people to a certain point of view, whether for right or wrong. Bonvillain (1993) explains
how words carry powerfully symbolic meanings for people who share the same culture,
and can be used to manipulate how they perceive other people. Sometimes describing an
individual or a group of people with a term that has negative implications in that culture
can make it easier for those in control to create negative views of others. The ideas
expressed by Bonvillain help us to understand why soldiers will often create negative
slang terms for the enemy, making it easier to see them as “the enemy.”
Sources for guidance on reference and quotations formats.
o http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
o http://www.arts.yorku.ca/caw/resources.html
o http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
5
Critical Reading
Critical Reading starts with basic reading. At the initial level, reading tends to be
information related, giving the reader a sense of the context, the mood, the intent, the
subject matter, the argument. Often this is an active, problem-solving approach to
reading and writing, i.e. “I need this information, where is it?”
The critical reader asks:
What constitutes evidence for the position being put forward ?
Is the evidence suitable?
Are the terms used in the argument clearly defined? [Undefined terms can mislead, or
lull the reader into non-critical assumptions.]
Do conclusions follow from the arguments which precede them, or has a “leap of
logic” taken place?
Critical reading does not just look for information but rather looks for how the text
works. How is it argued? What evidence is used? Is it supported?
The critical reader asks what elements go to make up tone, and means of persuasion,
and how those contribute to the writer’s efforts to present a compelling argument.
The basic reading skills include the following:
Skimming and scanning
Setting a purpose for reading
Vocabulary development
Evaluating those ideas encountered
Distinguishing fact from opinion
Developing a sense of the author’s voice: mood, tone, bias, techniques
Text and Context
Title: What does it suggest the text is dealing with. What assumptions can be
made?
Author: Do we have a sense of the author’s goal or purpose?
Skimming and scanning, looking for headings, subheadings, specific information
Reading the introduction and conclusion first as a means of getting a sense of
what is intended.
Anticipating: What does the author appear to be arguing?
Drawing on background knowledge for interpretation of text . What background
knowledge do you have or is required?
What appears to be the issue – or issues – of the piece?
Critical readers must recognize that writers make choices: those choices mean some
things are not said, at least obviously, by the writer. What is not said can often be as
important as what is said. This word, rather than that word, is chosen by the writer
because it better conveys the message that the writer is attempting to convey. So the
use of “crisis” rather than the more neutral “situation” might move the non-critical
6
reader to accept a state or condition that the writer wishes to imply is the reality, when
this might not be the case
The critical reader recognizes logical fallacies:
Unqualified generalization: Politicians never tell the truth.
Hasty generalization: Given the number of smokers I’ve seen at this school, I
believe most students smoke.
Appeal to pity (ad misericordiam): “The seal hunt should be banned. Just look at
those cute, fluffy white seal pups with their beautiful round eyes!”
Ad populem: Canadians will accept these changes because they are open, tolerant
and generous people.
Bandwagon appeal: 87% of Canadians believe that marijuana should be legalized.
Testimonial: David Suzuki believes that global warming is the biggest environmental
threat we face today. [Because he says it, it must be true.]
Faulty cause and effect: “It never fails, if I leave my gloves at home it snows.”
Either-or: Either you agree with us, or you are against us.
Words
It is often said there are no exact synonyms in English The choice of a particular word can
often carry a great deal of meaning by the choice alone. Each of the words below is a
“synonym” for “thin” but each conveys a very different meaning. Your writing can
become more effective by carefully choosing words the convey your meaning but also
words that also support the tone of your paper.
attenuated, bean pole, beanstalk, bony, cadaverous, delicate, emaciated, ethereal,
featherweight, fine, fragile, gangling, gangly, gaunt, haggard, lank, lanky, lean,
lightweight, meager, narrow, peaked, pinched, pole, puny, rangy, rarefied,
rawboned, reedy, rickety, scraggy, scrawny, shadow, shriveled, skeletal, skinny,
slender, slight, slim, slinky, small, spare, spindly, stalky, starved, stick, stilt,
subtle, threadlike, twiggy, twiglike, undernourished, underweight, wan, wasted,
wizened Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (2004)
Critical Reading
RE: “’Guns’ cut from Spelling Tests after Pacifist Parents Protest, Feb 11”
What a tragedy for all that these parents successfully shielded their seven-year-old from the word “gun’ by
having it removed from a spelling test.
The child loses because rather than explain the meaning of the word and utilize the chance to educate their
daughter on the dangers associated with guns, her parents pretend the word does not exist, thereby leaving
that part of her education to chance, perhaps disastrously. She will learn about guns. They ought to seize the
teachable moment rather than leave it to unknown circumstances.
The parents lose because a spineless schoolboard let them sanitize one little aspect of the curriculum.
They must not believe they can raise their child in a protective bubble away from the real world. It only robs
her of knowledge and coping skills.
7
The school board loses because it sets a dangerous precedent. Which words shall we ignore next? “War,”
“death,” “blood,” “torture”?
And, lastly, the poor teacher who was forced to apologize for teaching the curriculum loses dignity, pride,
and faith in her employer’s willingness to protect her from the absurd. Parents have a duty to teach their
children about the real world, not a sanitized version of it. Teachers have a right to believe in their
professionalism and the support of their employers. In cases like this, we must ask ourselves who we want
running our schools – those trained to do so, or every parent who raises an objection, no matter how
absurd. (National Post, Toronto, February 13, 2003)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Analyze this passage, not for only basic aspects of grammar and vocabulary, but to
determine the nature and validity of the argument, to discuss the use and effect of words
and phrases such as “perhaps disastrously,” “spineless,” “sanitize,” (used twice) “poor
teacher,” and “absurd” (used twice).
Consider:
How do these choices and devices contribute to the effectiveness of the argument?
Do they in fact contribute?
What would be the effect if these words were removed? What other words could
be used and what would be the effect?
What do you think of the supposed choice presented at the end of the letter – is
this really a realistic either–or situation, as the letter writer presents it? Do you
find the argument compelling? Why? Why not?
Could the writer’s arguments be structured differently?
Conclusion
If you question the assumptions, propositions, and suggestions put forward in this
article, and are formulating a response, we have established a discourse based on
critical reading. Broken down into its component parts, reading is one of the most
sophisticated and complex forms of communication that humans acquire. The concept
of critical reading adds an additional layer of complexity, but it also adds depth and
meaning, not only to reading but to writing and the learner’s interaction with the
target language, and, where possible, interaction with the target language community.