A critique: Academic Writing – A Handbook for International Students

Academic Writing – A Handbook for International Students (Bailey, 2006) is a book specially designed for foreign students taking courses in English-speaking countries. It is intended to enhance writing skills in the academic world through a clear layout, consisting of four parts, in turn divided into units. Each part broaches different aspects of the writing process.

In Part 1, the author explores topics related to the process of writing, namely producing an introduction, the main body and a conclusion, together with rewriting and proof-reading. Particularly important is this section as it also analyses the necessary steps to be taken before writing, such as selecting keypoints, collecting information, note making and combining and acknowledging sources.

Parts 2 and 3 provide students with elements for writing – argument, cohesion, cause and effect, among others – and examine accuracy through the correct use of grammar, vocabulary and punctuation. Especially noteworthy is the fact that these items have been listed alphabetically so that students can work on the points they are weak at, which caters for individual learning styles.

Part 4 consists of models of texts students may be asked to write since the book aims at developing students’ skills for written assessment. As it is claimed in the introduction, “Writing essays and dissertations can be a major concern for overseas students studying at English-medium colleges and universities” (Bailey, 2006, p.i), thus English for Academic Purposes material represent valuable guidance for them.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that this book has certain drawbacks. The units related to letters and CVs in Part 4 could have been omitted as these types of text do not represent a major concern for students expected to write dissertations or argumentative essays at university. Despite the usefulness of the units mentioned, students will not put them into practice within the context under discussion.

Furthermore, Bailey (2006) offers students the chance of doing some activities to practise the different items developed, and he includes a key to these activities at the end of the book. Notwithstanding, this section features mostly suggested answers, which might not be conclusive enough and, as a consequence, it renders the material unsuitable for self-study.

To conclude, through his work, Bailey (2006) provides students with significant background for writing. Nonetheless, non-native English-speaking university undergraduates might find themselves overwhelmed when dealing with the production of written assignments, together with the analysis of academic writing. Therefore, it is advisable that they are aided by a teacher who can guide them in the scrutiny of the contents. 

References

Bailey, Stephen (2006). Academic Writing: A handbook for international students (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis e-library. Retrieved October 2012 from http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/iif_kgpm_t27.pdf .

 

The influence of technology on instructed language learning: A summary

“Emerging Technologies. Challenging hegemonies in online learning” is an article written by Godwin-Jones (2012). In his work, the author analyses the use of the web in higher education settings for instructed language learning. He also examines the characteristics of different learning management systems (LMS), the underlying pedagogy, the cultural dimensions, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

            The main LMS explored by Godwin-Jones (2012) are Blackboard Learn, Moodle and Sakai. By comparing these three systems according to their technical requirements, his conclusion is that Moodle is the most widely used, due to its adaptability to a great variety of platforms. Furthermore, Moodle is available at no cost. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that despite students’ contributions to the learning environment, the structure of the coursein LMS “still comes from the teacher alone” (Godwin-Jones, 2012, para. 5).

            As regards the underlying pedagogy of each LMS, Blackboard Learn is considered to be “a closed, self-contained system using cognitive-behavioral learning, with emphasis on information presentation and measurable performance assessment” (Godwin-Jones, 2012, para. 3). On the other hand, Moodle and Sakai are effective tools for collaborative work. In fact, Moodle was developed by taking into consideration a social constructivist learning model.

            With relation to the cultural dimensions, the author claims that the fact that these LMS came to existence in Anglophone countries may make these tools culturally biased. Owing to the fact that the orientation of the design of the LMS suggests an individualistic view in which reasoning is linear and rationalist and the communication is open and frank. However, this is also considered an ethnocentric view since young people generally portray various online roles and identities.

            Godwin-Jones (2012) also considers benefits and drawbacks of the use of LMS. On the one hand, instructors train their students to be “informed consumers of technology (Godwin-Jones, para. 11), to acquire technology know-how techniques and to become aware of their own language learning styles. Nonetheless, delivery of content in these settings is considered to be spoon-fed and the characteristics of the limited environment marks a difference with the constanlty-changing world of the net.

             As a conclusion, the author refers to numerous institutions which offer different courses that resort to LMS and to the current need of catering for logistic, pedagogical, and professional issues. Godwin-Jones (2012) considers that providing language courses that involve the participation of external students is interesting from a cultural perspective, which is the reason why the LMS is a helpful tool.

References

Godwin-Jones, R. (2012). Emerging techonologies. Challenging hegemonies in online learning. Teaching & Technology, 16. Retrieved October 2012 from

http://llt.msu.edu/issues/june2012/emerging.pdf 

Mobile language learning: More than just “the platform.” – An outline

Purpose: To summarize Ballance’s (2012) view on the use of the new platform Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in Computer assisted language learning.

 

Thesis: It is important to assess the technological developments to be exploited, in this case the use of the new platform MALL.

Audience: Language teachers

1.0       Computer assisted language learning (CALL)

1.1. Origins and development

1.2. Characteristics

2.00     Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) as a new tool  

2.1       Empirical evidence of the effects of the mobile phone platform on vocabulary acquisition.

            2.2       The way to approach the design of learning software.

2.3       Suggestions to design MALL activities and some possible effect these activities may have

2.4       Potential of MALL to turn “dead time” into useful study time.

3.00     Conclusion: “does MALL have the potential to supplement our existing language learning resources with something else?”

References

Ballance, O.J. (2012). Mobile language learning: More than just “the platform.” Language Teaching & Technology, 16. Retrieved October 2012 from

http://llt.msu.edu/issues/october2012/ballance.pdf