Dear
All
I
heard from Prof. Pich earlier this week that a number of students in her class
had expressed certain concerns about their writing assignments. I wish these complaints
had been voiced directly to me so that I could give a proper reply in person. Unfortunately,
I am forced to deal with them by this means, since in my lectures and workshops
I see only about one third of the students on the roll.
The
complaints reported are as follows:
- that students do not have enough
practice.
- that one week between receipt of
a failed paper and the next assignment is not enough time to permit any
noticeable improvement on performance.
- that students have no access to
samples of successful essays.
I
am afraid I must take issue with those who claim so.
- In the first place, you should
know that since 2010 in particular, and especially this year, there has
been a major joint effort by the School, the Department and us English Language
4 tutors to ensure that all students have enough opportunities for writing
essays and practising the language without having to resort to external coaching.
Today, in addition to the practice available through tutorials, students are
offered writing options through eight (8) weekly hours of practice in writing
workshops. This means that those willing to have enough practice in essay
writing could have written about twenty (20) essays so far, at a rate of two
essays a week on average, and could continue to do so if only their
commitment allowed it. Regrettably, though, as far as the workshop in my
charge goes, only about one fourth of the students enrolled in 2014 attend,
and only a tiny few of them write regularly. As a matter of fact, the mock
essays are aimed at forcing additional writing practice now within time and
topic constraints and in preparation for the midterm test. They are meant
to be diagnostic tools rather than evaluative instances, and whether they
are passed or failed has no bearing on coursework result at all.
- As determined by regulation, essays
and other papers should be handed out up to one week before the date of
the next assessment, and we will endeavour to continue to meet this rule accordingly.
On the other hand, we are perfectly aware that practising for one week cannot
bring about any dramatic changes in performance, and it would be naive, to
say the least, for any student -let alone one who has had their paper
failed- to wait for their marks before settling down to study, practise
and write. Precisely it is because writing is a process, and because students
need various kinds of feedback, and because we have noticed that a large number
of them this year are still struggling with both oral and written English
or are in bad need of upgrading their expression that we must insist that
you take every option available to help your chances. Writing regularly is
the best way to pull your linguistic resources and set them to work to
create meaning. It’s also the best way to come face to face with your linguistic
strengths and weaknesses.
- As for samples of passed essays,
these could be helpful, if there weren’t so many different kinds of passes
that it renders the pass confusing. Attendants to my workshops were given performance
descriptors so as to let them know what to aim at when writing and what to
expect when it comes to language assessment. These, in turn, have been uploaded
for everyone to profit from. And then again, each essay marked is returned to its owner, so it seems fairly easy to be able to share students' compositions among the group.
While
I can understand that evaluations tend to be a sensitive issue with students
and are therefore a source of conflict more often than not, I feel I need to draw
your attention to one or two things at this point: Language 4 is no subject to
be sitting through and just juggling a few deadlines. If you are to acquire a professional’s
discourse management you must remember that upgrading your performance levels
and enhancing your linguistic competence are complex matters that require exposure,
focus and commitment.
Finally,
the fact that attendance to lectures and to workshops is not compulsory doesn’t
make these classes redundant any more than it does make everyone fit to go
without them. Students can skip classes in the understanding that they can thoroughly
cope with their contents, skills and standards effectively on their own and by
no means should they expect to see those contents, skills or standards trimmed
down to suit their needs.
With
best wishes,
Prof.
Ana Moldero
