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U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
B E R G E N
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Teaching towards academic
language proficiency
Else Berit Molde and Aasne Vikøy
ALTE 46th Meeting and Conference,
Bergen, 8th May 2015
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
The L2 classroom
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
The advanced level language course
- Objectives and content
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Who can attend the language courses?
•  NOR-U3 (level 3) is an advanced course in Norwegian
language and culture for foreign language students.
1a. Employees of the University of Bergen and spouses
1b. University of Bergen degree students
and agreement and programme students
2. Refugees and immigrants
with a permanent residence permit
•  About 60 different nationalities
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Who can attend the language courses?
•  NOR-U3 (level 3) is an advanced course in Norwegian
language and culture for foreign language students.
1a. Employees of the University of Bergen and spouses
1b. University of Bergen degree students
and agreement and programme students
2. Refugees and immigrants
with a permanent residence permit
•  About 60 different nationalities
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Who can attend the language courses?
•  NOR-U3 (level 3) is an advanced course in Norwegian
language and culture for foreign language students.
1a. Employees of the University of Bergen and spouses
1b. University of Bergen degree students
and agreement and programme students
2. Refugees and immigrants
with a permanent residence permit
•  About 60 different nationalities
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Objectives and learning outcomes
“Course participants will learn to use oral and written
Norwegian with reasonably good precision, both receptive
and productive, in general and academic contexts.”
Writing competence:
•  “They will be able to express themselves in writing about
general and academic topics without distorting the
content.”
•  “They will master the main rules of Norwegian grammar”
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
The step before academic writing
Level 3 Exam/
Bergenstesten
Norwegian Exam
High School
•  Qualifying for higher education
•  Argumentative essay
•  Preparing for a general
academic writing level
•  Qualifying for higher education
•  Argumentative essay
•  Preparing for a general
academic writing level
•  Writing as a basic competence
– practiced in all subjects
•  Explicit focus on writing
argumentative essays starts
from 4th grade
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Objectives and learning outcomes
“After the course, students will have sufficient skills and
knowledge to meet the Norwegian language requirement
for study at universities and colleges in Norway.”
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
A final written and oral exam - grades from A - F
Advanced language level (estimated B2-level)
Students with university degrees from home country
Highly motivated students
High stake test
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Teacher and student views on academic writing
- Various expectations and beliefs
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Our expectations - the academic proficiency level
•  What do students need to learn to become effective L2
writers at the advanced level?
–  Orthografy, morfology, lexicon, syntax of the L2
–  Appropriate metadiscourse features
–  Different patterns for text organization
–  Discourse and rethorical convention of the L2
(Barkaoui 2007: 35)
–  Critical thinking, argumentation and also to
incorporate others’s ideas in their own writing.
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Dysthe, Hertzberg og Hoel 2000 (our translation)
uib.no
Description of grades – assessment criteria
C Good
• 
The student shows a good understanding of spoken and written Norwegian.
• 
Some mistakes can appear in syntax, morphology and ortography, but the
mistakes are not disturbing the readers comprehension.
• 
The vocabulary is varied and sophisticated.
• 
The lexical choices might differ a bit from the L2, but the main impression is
still good.
• 
The text organization is well-planned and varied.i
• 
The text follows the conventions of genre and the norms of text
organization.
• 
• 
The discussion and the line of argumentation in the text are good.og argumenterer
godt
Tekstbindingen er god og variert
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Argumentative texts as an ideal
«The giving of reasons is a universal feature of schooled
knowledge and a reflection of literate, bureaucratic culture
generally. Explicit reasons are so central to
institutionalized knowledge that schools sometimes
make a fetish of it. «Give reasons for your answers»
appears at the top of many examinations sheets»
(Olson 2003: 241)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Different cultures – different writing traditions
«This type of writing [argumentation] presents considerable
problems for many L2-writers. Because we are used to this
genre, we do not always reflect upon that the
argumentative essay has its roots in European philosophy.
[…] Other cultures have other writing traditions. To
express ourself objectively and to the point are factors
highly valued in our culture. We want arguments based on
facts.» (Metodisk veiledning 1995: 47, our translation)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Constrastive rethorics
(Kaplan 1966)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Different cultures – different writing traditions
«Jeg tror at engelske lærere setter enda høyere pris på en logisk
sekvens av ideer.» (Storbritannia)
«I think that English teachers have an even stronger
appreciation of logical sequences of ideas.» (Student from
Great Britain, our translation)
«Det er nesten samme rammet. Men på den norske akademiske
teksten må man ofte argumenterer og den er ikke så viktig på den
akademiske teksten i mitt land.» (Syria).
«The writing conditions are almost the same. But in the
Norwegian academic texts we are obliged to discuss which
is not so important in the academic texts in my home
country.» (Student from Syria, our translation)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Different cultures – different writing traditions
•  Orthography and punctuation
•  Degree of subjectivity
–  «Differences: the structure, conclusions are allowed
to be more personal in Russian, it is okey to write
about personal experiences» (Russia, our translation)
•  Memorizing text
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Similarities in L2-writing
•  Crossley and McNamara (2011:281) compared 904
argumentative essays written by L2-writers with 211
texts written by L1-writers of English:
–  L2-writers had less sofisticated vocabulary
–  Higher lexical variation in L1-texts
–  L2-writers use more hyperonym words, i.e. words with
less specific meaning (Ex. animal instead of horse)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Similarities in L2-writing
•  Reynolds (2005):
–  Language development means increasing capacity to
make a difference between genres
–  L2-writers use more often an informal or direct style
–  L2-writers lack «rhetorical flexibility»:
«to use Ravid and Tolchinsky`s (2002) term. […] They
are constrained in their ability to create language that
achieves functions such as support through anecdote or
incorporation of the reader into the writer`s
perspective.» (Reynolds 2005: 41)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Students` beliefs about academic writing
•  Informal survey in two different classes:
–  Group 1: Employees and students
–  Group 2: Refugees and immigrants
•  Additional writing course 2 hours a week
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Students` beliefs about academic writing
Group 1 (N = 19)
- How important do you think these variables are?
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Students beliefs about academic writing – group 1
- What is most challenging writing an argumentative essay?
“Grammar is most important. Without correct grammar you
can’t make logical sentences.”
“Norwegian grammar is a bit different from Russian. My
biggest problem is to express myself correctly.”
“When I focus on grammar, I’m not able to think about the
content of the text at the same time.”
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Dysthe, Hertzberg og Hoel 2000 (our translation)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Students` beliefs about writing – group 2 (N = 15)
- How important do you think these variables are?
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Students beliefs about academic writing – group 2
- What is most challenging writing an argumentative essay?
•  «The most challenging part for me is to organize the text
(sentences and paragraphs) and to discuss both positive
and negative aspects of the given topic.»
•  «To find good arguments and establish a coherence
between the sentences are most challenging to me.»
•  «To become a competent writer, students need to work
with different texts and writing styles. The students need
to read a variety of texts, in order to recognize good text
organization and Norwegian expressions.»
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Teaching practices
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Awareness raising
«Teachers need to raise learners` awareness about
successful writing processes, L2 reader expectations, and
L2 linguistic and textual conventions.» (Barkaoui 2007: 44)
«A very important task in the instruction of Norwegian as a
second language is to provide concrete examples of our
writing tradition and norms, so that the students become
aware of our expectations.» (Palm 1998: 49 - our translation)
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Teaching writing to advanced L2 learners
•  Explicit instruction of how to use a formal language
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
From informal to formal language
Informal language !
•  The presence of the
writer is clear in the text
•  The use of 1.person
pronouns (I/we)
•  Subjective language
Formal language
•  Example:
I think the government
should increase the refugee
quota in Norway.
•  Example:
There is no doubt that the
government should increase
the refugee quota in
Norway.
uib.no
•  Use of other peoples
perspectives
•  Less use of personal pronouns
•  Objective language
•  Nominalizations
•  Use of quotations
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Teaching writing to advanced L2 learners
•  Explicit instruction of how to use a formal language
•  Explicit instruction of genres and rhetorical conventions
–  Additional writing course?
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Explicit instruction of genres - models
Hertzberg 2014 (our translation) :
•  Models can be used both at local and global level, to
illustrate both form and content
•  Models can be constructed or authentic (also including
students own written essays)
•  Models can be analyzed or just read superficially
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Teaching writing to advanced L2 learners
•  Explicit instruction of how to use a formal language
•  Explicit instruction of genres and rhetorical conventions
–  Content based teaching
–  Adapted text material
–  Clear progression
–  Associate words together for each topic
•  Important not to underestimate the students
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Developing genres and registers
•  Identify text structure in a model
text
•  Deconstruct and focus on the
different parts of the text
•  Brainstorming and discussion of the
theme in focus
•  Find relevant vocabulary
•  Find pro- and contra arguments
•  Organize the argument
•  The student work
alone planning, writing
and revising their own
text
Setting the
context
Deconstructions
of models
Independent
constructions
Joint
constructions
•  Writing together two and two
•  Discuss in class how to write
introductions and conclusions
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/literacy/files/links/teaching_and_learning_cycl.pdf
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Example A: Process-oriented writing in the classroom
•  Joint construction (sociocultural view of learning):
Argumentation: Pro et contra
Topic: «Positive and negative aspects
regarding Norwegian oil production»
Student 1: Positive aspects
Student 2: Negative aspects
Objective: Awareness raising and motivation
uib.no
Example B: Contrastive rhetorics in the classroom
FORSIKRING MOT HELSEKØ
Stadig flere bedrifter forsikrer sine ansatte mot
helsekø. Det er flere grunner til at bedriftene tegner
helseforsikring.
Først og fremst ser vi at bedriftene ønsker å
redusere sykefraværet. De ønsker å redusere
ventetiden for ansatte som står i helsekø, og tar
vare på ansatte som blir syke.
Dette er spesielt verdifullt i små bedrifter. Der er
man gjerne ekstra sårbare ved langvarig
sykefravær. Helseforsikring koster normalt mellom
2-3000 kroner per ansatt. Ifølge Sintef koster én
enkelt sykefraværsdag bedriften 2 600 kroner.
Dette regnestykket viser at helseforsikring er en
god investering for bedrifter.
Sånn ser vi at flere og flere bedrifter velger å ta vare på
Privat og offentlig helseforsikring gir til sammen et
sine
når det gjelder
for å sikre
godtansatte
norsk helsevesen,
derhelsespørsmål,
både arbeidsgiveres
og
deres
aktivitet
på
jobben,
akkurat
som
mor
og
far
arbeidstakeres interesser er ivaretatt.
omfavner sine barn slik at de kan vokse opp friske og
arbeidsomme.(Russia)
Introduction
Paragraph 1:
Benefits for
the
employees
Paragraph 2:
Economical
benefits for
the company
Conclusion
uib.no
Example B: Contrastive rhetorics in the classroom
FORSIKRING MOT HELSEKØ
Stadig flere bedrifter forsikrer sine ansatte mot
helsekø. Det er flere grunner til at bedriftene tegner
helseforsikring.
Først og fremst ser vi at bedriftene ønsker å
redusere sykefraværet. De ønsker å redusere
ventetiden for ansatte som står i helsekø, og tar
vare på ansatte som blir syke.
Dette er spesielt verdifullt i små bedrifter. Der er
man gjerne ekstra sårbare ved langvarig
sykefravær. Helseforsikring koster normalt mellom
2-3000 kroner per ansatt. Ifølge Sintef koster én
enkelt sykefraværsdag bedriften 2 600 kroner.
Dette regnestykket viser at helseforsikring er en
god investering for bedrifter.
Privat og offentlig helseforsikring gir til sammen et
godt norsk helsevesen, der både arbeidsgiveres og
arbeidstakeres interesser er ivaretatt.
Introduction
Paragraph 1:
Benefits for the
employees
Paragraph 2:
Economical
benefits for the
company
Conclusion
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Example C: Use of authentic student texts as models
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
The questions of the task given
1. Explain the figure
2. What are the most important reasons for becoming a
criminal? Discuss
3. Who is responsable – the society or the individuals?
The questions of discussion in class
1. How would you assess the following text?
2. Is it an adequate answer?
3. What could the student have done differently?
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Example C: Use of authentic student texts as models
«Grade B – The grammar is correct, but the text organization
could have been better.»
«C – The student does not comment the figur at all, but the
grammar is very good, and he has an impressing vocabulary».
«I would give the student D on this essay. It looks like the text
is memorized, and it is not a relevant answer.»
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
«Practice, practice, practice!!»
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
Literature
• 
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Barkaoui, K. 2007. Teaching writing to second language learners: Some
insights from theory and research. TESL Reporter 40, 35-48
Crossley, Scott A. & Danielle S. McNamara 2011: Shared features of L2
writing: Intergroup homogenity and text classification. Journal of Second
Language Writing 20, s.271-241
Dysthe, Hertzberg og Hoel 2000: Å skrive for å lære. Skriving i høyere
utdanning. Abstrakt forlag.
Hertzberg, Frøydis 2013: Modelltekster – en bro mellom lesing og skriving?
Ppt-presentasjon på Schæffergården, april 2013
Metodisk veiledning. Språklige minoriteter på alle studieretninger. 1995
Nasjonalt læremiddelsenter. Oslo
Olson, David R. 2003: Psycological theory and educational reform: how
school remakes mind and society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Palm, Kirsten 1998: Argumenterende skriving på norsk som andrespråk.
NOA. Norsk som andrespråk
Reynolds, Dudley W. 2005: Linguistic correlates of second language literacy
development: Evidence from middle-grade learner essays. Journal of
Second Language Writing 14, s.19-45
uib.no
Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies
uib.no