Strangers Here Ourselves: How NNESTs Work with Multilingual WritersStrangers Here Ourselves: How NNESTs Work with Multilingual WritersNNEST/SLW IntersectionNNEST/SLW IntersectionTESOL 2009, Denver, COTESOL 2009, Denver, CO

Ryuko KubotaRyuko KubotaUniversity of British ColumbiaUniversity of British Columbia

IntroductionIntroduction

My roles: Author Work with academic writers (mentor for

undergraduate and graduate students, reviewer of manuscripts for publication)

Language instructorHauntedness: Appearing and disappearing of nonnativeness in

writing

Appearing (Observing self)Appearing (Observing self)

Processing time Composing and editing Reading

Product Voice

Discoursal self (Ivanič, 1998) Uncertainty of how my writer identity is

perceived

Disappearing (Observing self)Disappearing (Observing self)

Planning and brainstorming for composition Finished product in print

Appearing (working with Appearing (working with academic writers)academic writers)

Inappropriate or unclear surface features of texts could negatively affect comprehensibility.

Disappearing (working with Disappearing (working with academic writers)academic writers)

NS writers struggle too in aligning themselves with the expectations of the academic community.Excerpt from NS MA student’s thesis proposal: “This can present a challenge to a language minority child who starts school with a different family language background that their peers because they have experienced the world a differently and may not interpret social interactions in the classroom that same as their English-speaking peers.”

Competent NNS academic writers stand comparison with competent NS academic writers.

Appearing (working with Appearing (working with language learners)language learners)

Depending on the proficiency level Surface features of the text (lexical choice,

syntactic control, rhetorical strategies)

Disappearing (working with Disappearing (working with language learners)language learners)

Compelling content, clarity, approach Heritage speakers with near-native oral

proficiency struggle with writing.

Negotiating hauntedness: Negotiating hauntedness: Implications for NNS writersImplications for NNS writers

Capitalize on your strengths by making your content and ideas original and compelling.

Make use of L1 wherever applicable multi-competence (Cook, 2005)

Work with a competent copyeditor to polish the final product.

Be confident; you are much more competent than many NS writers.

ReferenceReference

Casanave, C. P., & Vancrick, S. (Eds.) (2003). Writing for scholarly publication: Behind and scenes in language education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Cook, V. (2005). Basing teaching on the L2 user. In Llurda, E. (Ed.), Non-native language teachers: Perceptions, challenges and contribution to the profession (pp. 47-61). New York: Springer.

Hinkel, E. (2002). Second language writers’ text: Linguistic and rhetorical features. Mahwah: NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Ivanič, R. (1998). Writing and identity: The discoursal construction of identity in academic writing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.