Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Perspectives on Good Writing in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, Christine Pearson Casanave,Robert Kohls, Editör, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor (MI), USA , Michigan, ss.167-182, 2023
Focusing primarily on the use of English in communicative settings where
the majority involved are second language users of English from different
linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)
research has long advocated for the need to move away from monolingual native
speaker norms that do not suffice to explain the complexities of how English is
used internationally (Hynninen & Solin, 2017; Jenkins, 2017; Seidlhofer,
2021). Whereas the early ELF literature tackled predominantly issues regarding
spoken language, the relatively recent expansion into the inquiry of writing
has led to a proliferation of research efforts at the intersection of the two
areas of research. Mauranen (2018), for instance, argues that “[i]t is the wish to communicate across boundaries that
drives the use of lingua francas. For this we need to understand what good
texts are like in a global context”
(p. 5). Mauranen’s call for such a global awareness acknowledges the reality of
today’s written scientific communication, which, as Turner (2018) observes, despite
the myriad of regulating mechanisms in place, is constantly evolving to
accommodate the diversity of global academic communities. The accumulating
evidence from the analyses of English texts written by multilingual scholars is
also in line with these claims as the findings point to a rather complex and
varied discursive phenomenon influenced by numerous individual, social, and
contextual factors (e.g., Carey, 2013; Lorés-Sanz, 2016; Martinez, 2018;
Mauranen, 2012, 2018).
More recently, a globally
informed ELF view of written academic communication is also echoed in
discussions of pedagogy for second language learners and their teachers.
Proponents of this perspective have increasingly promoted pedagogical practices
that equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to examine their
views, appreciate the dynamism inherent in written academic English, and
develop a critical understanding of the “good” textual practices for their own purposes
and contexts (Horner, 2011, 2018; Jenkins, 2011; Solin & Hynninen, 2018;
Yilmaz, 2021). These principles, of course, apply to all novice writers, no
matter what their first language, who are in the process of learning to write
academically. It is plausible to suggest, however, that those writing in an
additional language face added challenges due to the multi-layered process of
learning, evaluating, and appropriating local and global discursive practices
to arrive at their own hybrid voice/s (Canagarajah, 2013; Mauranen, Perez-Llantada,
& Swales, 2010). In support of such efforts, writing instructors play a
crucial role in encouraging and facilitating students’ investigations into
their linguistic repertoires, literacy practices, and academic English in use.
In
this chapter, we discuss the ELF perspective through email exchanges in which
Diane, the second author, interviews Selahattin, the first author, in order to
identify the dynamics that have contributed to the evolution of his views on
“good” writing throughout his years of education and professional practice in
two countries. To conduct the interview, Diane first sent a list of guiding
questions to Selahattin, whose responses led Diane to ask several follow-up
questions. After several more rounds of email exchanges, we decided the
interview reached a natural end.
We
consider our decision to do the interview via email rather than in person to have
benefitted us in several ways. The asynchronous email interview, as Hawkins
(2018) argues, affords the participants “more control over their level of participation”
(p. 494), which was also the case for this study. The flexibility to revisit
and reflect on both the questions and answers helped us in constructing the
narrative we wanted to present in this chapter “in [our] own space, at [our]
own pace and at the time of [our] choosing” (James, 2016, p. 159).
Through
Selahattin’s reflections on the guiding questions, prepared by Diane in light
of her own years of experiences as a teacher, researcher, and editor of L2 (and
L1) writing, complex insights are brought to light into the dynamics that shape
a second language user’s views on “good” writing, and the role ELF can play in conceptualizing
English academic writing in a truly global context. The interview and chapter itself
conclude by considering some implications of adopting an ELF perspective on providing
support for, and continually rethinking, L2 academic writing, especially
outside the so-called, and indeed still privileged, English-language “center,” or
“inner circle” (Kachru, 1985).