Blog Post #7

Teacher Feedback

If you have been a regular reader of this blog, you probably will not be surprised to hear that marginal notes from instructors makes me geek out a little. And the notes at the end of the essay? Icing on the cake. Like most students, I always really appreciate a mixture of praise and constructive criticism. When I get a paper back, I honestly want to know that the instructor thinks about it. I am curious to see where I have done well and surprised him/her with my insights and where I have gotten lazy or completely missed the point. Sometimes the feedback is frustrating ("Oh man, I should have seen that when I proofread") and sometimes it is exciting ("Wow, I took a big risk there, but the professor really responded well"). But regardless, it all makes me a better writer. The frustrating bits remind me to proofread better, to revise as I go, and to continue to look back on the prompt to make sure I'm staying on task. The encouraging bits give me the motivation to continue to better myself and to remind myself of my intellectual abilities.

However, sometimes feedback feels very problematic. Rubrics without specific comments have been very frustrating. It gives me a very general sense of my strengths and weaknesses, but often times the feedback is not specific enough to revise thoroughly. The worst form of feedback, though, is the non-feedback - the letter grade at the top of the page with no comments at all. We should all just band together to do away with grading compositions so vaguely.

Appropriate Responses for L2 Writers

L2 writers have different needs than I have as an L1 English writer. However, the type of feedback that I have received in the past would also be appropriate for an L2 writer with a few tweaks. I have noticed that I occasionally get feedback that points to a sentence or paragraph and says something like,"vague," "too broad," or "sentence structure." While I could often re-read my work and figure out how to tweak it, by the time I was in high school, I'd already had years of training on the expectations of North American writing instructors. L2 students do not have that luxury, and comments need to explain the "how."

It actually reminds me of the way research tells me to parent my two toddlers when they misbehave - instead of telling them "no" (e.g. that I see a problem), I need to tell them the behavior that I want. The negative feedback I give them lets them know that I want to see a change, but it does not actually give any specific ways to change or concrete examples of what behavior I would like to see instead. So for example, as I write this, my three year old son is climbing onto the entertainment center to turn off Frozen, which my two year old daughter is watching. Better than just snapping an arbitrary "NO!" at him, I need to tell him, "You need to get down. Your feet need to stay on the floor." This gives him specific instructions on what I'd like to see. He still has choices - he can ignore me, he can choose how he gets down (jump, climb, slide), but it still offers specific feedback that lets him know where and how he can improve. In the same way, instead of pointing out mistakes and errors negatively or arbitrarily, instructors should provide specific feedback, pointing out specific issues to L2 writers while still allowing them to revise in a way that they see fit.

Concerns with Responding

As a future composition instructor, I believe that it is important to take the time to make sure that I understand the nuances of my student group - their educational and cultural background, their writing level, and the amount of time they have been in this country's educational system. My concerns would be with wanting to ensure that I provide solid feedback in a way that students understand while being sensitive to how students receive criticism. Another concern is the time it takes to provide feedback to individual students. I want to make sure that I provide solid feedback instead of lazy or rushed feedback as I try to get through my mountain of papers.

Peer Feedback

I only vaguely remember using peer feedback in school. I know that I did, but cannot remember the specifics. I imagine that that means the peer review activities were never too traumatizing to me. And since my writing was pretty strong and I was an avid reader, reading another student's paper did not give me anxiety. I knew I would be able to provide small bits of valuable feedback, helping my friends to receive better grades on their drafts. However, I remember feeling unqualified to give peer feedback in my upper-level Spanish classes when paired with students who were grammatically stronger than me, so I can also empathize with the anxiety that students may experience. Because of that, I would want to have specific classroom instructional time dedicated to teaching students how to review peers' work and, at least initially, give step by step instructions in a teacher-directed peer review session.

Blog Post #6

Scoring Procedures in Writing Classes

I loved (and, let's admit it, still love) getting papers back from my teachers and professors. All the work I put into writing pages and pages of words had finally been looked at and given a numeric or letter value. It always felt really satisfying to see the red ink with the score at the top and the teacher's comments scribbled on the sides. Except getting scores back on papers was... Confusing. Inexact. Arbitrary. 

I do not remember ever receiving a rubric or grading scale for papers I wrote in either high school or college. Projects had rubrics, but papers did not. I never knew quite what the instructors were looking for. I was a skilled enough writer that I went on the assumption that I would be able to look at the teacher's feedback and revise my draft for an A or high B as my final grade. Struggling classmates, on the other hand, did not have that luxury and many assumed that they were bad writers, or worse, not smart. 

Scores Effects on Improving Quality

I always took the time to look at my grades, read teacher and peer feedback and revise accordingly, so my grades helped me know where to improve. If I received a grade I deemed low, I would use it to motivate myself to do better next time or on the next draft. I took feedback seriously in my writing. Scores enhanced my writing because they always felt encouraging to me. Because I felt like I had a good foundation and was a solid writer, I was comfortable enough to take risks. However, I understand that this is not everyone's experience. For some, grades would have the opposite effect and feel very discouraging. Having clearer expectations for what the teacher was looking for would have helped many a struggling student instead of the frustration of seeing a low grade written on the top of their papers with little understanding as to why that was the grade they received.

Experiences as a Composition Instructor 

I have no experience teaching composition, but I do have some apprehension. Some of my concerns include wanting to make sure that my expectations are clear; I want to present a fair, valid and appropriate way to score all written work that does not hold bias in any direction. I want to assign work in a way that helps students believe that they can complete the work and excel. My hope is that I do not bring discouragement or unrealistic expectations, causing students to feel hopeless.

The Roles of Formal Assessment 

To be perfectly honest, as an educator, I struggle with formal assessment. My curriculum (for Spanish I and II) uses a test generator with questions that do not line up with the textbook's style of teaching. So my first thought is that the assessment needs to be double checked for validity and reliability. Obviously a writing class will have a different type of assessment, and I (hopefully) will not have to worry about poorly constructed multiple choice exams when I teach my own composition course, but my current experience will remind me to consider my assessments carefully. 

Assessments should motivate students to put their best efforts forth in their writing and encourage them to think critically and carefully as they revise and edit their work. Assessments should not be given just for the sake of giving them. They should have a clear purpose with clear guidelines and expectations.

Alternative Assessment Options

I am not very familiar with alternative assessment options like portfolios except as an assessment for an art class. However, I think a portfolio is a wonderful way for a student to show what he or she has learned over the duration of the course. It showcases a student's mastery of different genres and writing styles, giving a clearer and broader picture of what a student can accomplish with his or her words. 

In all, I believe that assessments are good ways to help students understand which areas they need to improve upon, but they only work well if the grading criteria are clear and easy to understand. 

Blog Post #5

Course Syllabi and Outlines

I began receiving course syllabi and class calendars beginning sometime in high school. I do not remember specifics in any of my classes except in my upper level Spanish classes. I had the same teacher my junior and senior years, and she provided a calendar detailing what we would cover in class that day, what homework was due that day, and the homework assigned for that evening. I loved it. I always knew exactly what was due when. I also knew what I should work on if I missed class or needed to work ahead for some reason. I imagine that we would have had to adjust the schedule on occasion, but honestly, I cannot remember how she dealt with that. I suppose that she must have built in makeup and review days that allowed for some flexibility should we have gotten off course. College courses were generally the same - a syllabus outlining class expectations, a course description and contact information along with a calendar of learning objectives and due dates. I really appreciate knowing what is coming up so I do not feel caught off guard.

Reflecting an Institution's Philosophy

While a writing course should reflect an institution's requirements and philosophy, this should just be a starting point for the instructor. When it comes down to it, a student's writing ability will have a huge impact on other courses he or she takes. If the student's composition skills are lacking, it could impact the quality of the work produced in other classes or, worse, in his or her career. Therefore, a student's self-identified needs should be an area of focus. After all, the whole objective is to improve the student's writing. If we do not take time to improve it in the areas the student knows is in need of improvement, we are not leaving the student much better off than they were before taking the course.

Ideally an instructor would be able to meld student needs and wants with the requirements set by the institution. Perhaps the instructor could incorporate new vocabulary by choosing particular texts that would meet that goal. Or an instructor may focus on a particular grammar concept during a peer editing exercise. Whatever means of incorporation, instructors should find areas in the institution-mandated curriculum that they are able to add to or expound upon.

Planning Strategies for a Composition Course

Planning for a content course in an academic discipline such as chemistry or algebra is considerably more straightforward than planning for an L2 literacy or composition course. In such classes, an instructor presents material and students practice, either with study problems or by answering questions about the content. It does not take student needs or wishes into consideration. The purpose of the course is to present information related to the specific field.

An L2 composition course, on the other hand, requires language support beginning with the very basics. As students master the basics they can begin to build upon their knowledge, moving into more complex ideas and tasks. An instructor cannot present an on-level text in L2 that is meant for L1 students without added support and expect positive results. L2 students have special needs and requirements to ensure that they are learning material that is challenging but not overwhelming. Courses should take student needs into consideration by doing a Needs Analysis, determining what a student already knows, where the student struggles, and what he or she wants to know (p. 151). Based on this knowledge, instructors can modify or adapt their class calendars to suit the needs of their students.

Successful Lesson Components

From the perspective of a student, courses should be designed to have interesting but varied material. I remember the horror of finding out that I was expected to read Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in my tenth grade English class. The thought of reading nerdy sci fi was horrifying to my fifteen-year-old self. Turns out, I loved it. Turns out, I also loved mythology-based American Gods (Neil Gaiman), which I had to read in college. Looking back, I am glad that my instructors stretched me and helped me to realize that I had cut an entire genre out due to my juvenile perceptions about being "geeky." (Full disclosure: I've now embraced the geeky part of me that was always buried under there). But just like in my examples, instructors should plan on pulling a variety of materials that have the potential to pique the interest of a wide range of students. This will hopefully help students to find reading material that interests them so that they continue to read for pleasure outside of class. It also increases their exposure to a huge amount of vocabulary that pulls from so many different genres and themes.

Tasks should be based around a text, so that reading, speaking and writing can all be touched upon at some point during the lesson. Tasks should also contain similarities for continuity but be different enough to maintain student interest without feeling monotonous. As a student, I always appreciated a level of creativity. Lessons should be sequenced in a way that builds knowledge. For example, after an instructor selects a text, he or she should begin with an activity that activates prior knowledge and introduces concepts from the text that may be new to the readers. After that, students can read through the text. Following the reading, instructors should assign activities that pertain to the reading selection that also promote literacy - categorizing words, brainstorming, response paragraphs, formulating questions about the text, partner discussion, etc. Finally, students should receive explicit instruction on the genre and writing task, including formatting instructions and examples of similar texts. With this sequencing students are able to build on their knowledge while they build their literacy skills.

Hallmarks of Productive Classroom Instruction

Productive classroom instruction is based on the instructor's planning. As a teacher, I know that if I have planned the lesson well, even if students are not receptive to the specific activities that I have assigned in class, I have an arsenal of alternate activities that help teach the same topic that I can pull out and use instead. The delivery has to be enthusiastic but genuine. False excitement is met with eye rolls and suspicion, but if the instructor sounds like he or she is bored, the students will definitely be bored and believe that the lesson is not important.

Effective classroom management happens when an instructor actively engages the students and moves around the classroom instead of staying in one spot. Proximity to students helps them focus on the lesson and makes them less likely to misbehave.

Maintaining a classroom with good classroom management, clear class guidelines and learning objectives, and interesting material will do wonders for L2 composition instructors and students alike, allowing for maximized time for classroom tasks that build up student literacy and composition skills.

Ferris, D., & Hedgcock, J. (2014). Teaching L2 composition: Purpose, process, and practice (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Blog Post #4

Writing and the Influence of Reading

I was an avid reader as a child and into my teens. My tiny school was directly beside the public library, and I'd find myself there on a weekly, if not daily, basis while I waited for my mom (the sole kindergarten teacher) to finish grading and planning. As young as age eight, I would walk across the parking lot and down a set of worn wooden plank stairs to my safe haven. Each visit I would find myself carrying out a stack of books as tall as I was, only to return within days to drop them off for another set.

One summer, my parents had the brilliant idea to pay my brother, sister and I two dollars for each book we read with an added dollar if we included a book report. By the end of the summer my parents owed me several hundred dollars (and consequently never paid me to read again).

All that to say, reading heavily influenced my L1 writing. By the time I hit middle school I had read hundreds of books covering a wide variety of genres, themes and writing styles. I understood how to string words together in a beautiful and meaningful way. I had stored away a large vocabulary database in my head. And most importantly, I understood that writing was the gateway to sharing important messages with the world. For L2 writers, reading allows them to explore new ideas and vocabulary that they may not come across in their day to day lives. It shows them how to construct sentences, both short, simple sentences and lengthy, complex ones.

Genres in Reading

These days I find that I am usually too busy to read long novels and fiction, though I still do on occasion when I get a good recommendation (so if you have one, comment away! I'd love to hear the titles of some good books). I do, however, often read nonfiction books about mothering, spirituality, and social justice. I also read a lot of blogs, cookbooks, op ed articles, and the news on various websites.

My academic and professional reading includes textbooks, articles (usually online but also in a quarterly magazine I am subscribed to), and blogs. Occasionally I will attend a presentation and my reading extends to digital presentations or PDF printouts of the presentation slides. Though blogs have to be taken with a grain of salt due to the nature of them (usually) not being scientifically researched (or at least being the application of someone else's research), I often find them immensely helpful and full of practical advice and application.

Instructional Materials in Teaching

As a teacher, I often look for authentic materials that are appropriate for lower level Spanish classes. This includes printed reading passages from the district-appointed textbook, video clips of native speakers in a more authentic setting (e.g. conducting interviews with random passersby on the streets in L2, which in my case is Spanish), curriculum-based video clips that target specific unit vocabulary and grammar, and reading and writing activities that I deem more interesting or relevant to the students' lives.

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of the textbook we use. It is heavy on fill-in-the-blank instead of the production of meaningful spoken and written work, so I like to supplement with other activities. Though I am not teaching L2 English, I believe that the same concepts apply - textbooks and other materials should be authentic and have the goal of producing meaningful output instead of just correct answers in a series of blanks.

L2 Textbooks 

While other textbooks can contain primarily information needed for course knowledge, L2 textbooks also need to have information and activities that support L2 schematic awareness. This would include information about how L1 writers in the specific culture are expected to organize compositions, cultural knowledge related to prompts and reading passages, and definitions for difficult or new vocabulary (e.g. numbered superscript beside words with short definitions or synonyms at the bottom of the page or passage). It should also provide scaffolded instruction to help students build on what they already know rather than introducing new material without context or prior knowledge, which would be incredibly overwhelming to L2 writers.

Augmenting a Textbook

In my very limited experience, it seems as if instructors will always need to augment their textbooks with supplemental materials. Textbooks do not know the students and class dynamics, so they are really only the guide and starting point for a course. As instructors gauge the prior knowledge and interests of the students, she or he can choose materials that complement the course goals. It also allows the instructor to differentiate instruction with different groups of students who need intervention in particular areas.

Activities Inside and Outside of Class

Activities outside of class are difficult for me to find in my current field of teaching Spanish due to Google Translate and "sharing" answers with classmates via text messages and photo-sharing. That is to say, I do not have real world experience in this, only ideas that I may one day try. Outside of class, I think that small assignments on social media would be fun and pertinent to the students' real lives. Posting messages onto a class Facebook group or tagging an Instagram post with a class hashtag in L2 would be simple and fast. Having students look for specific things in their everyday lives to use as a prompt or as part of brainstorming would also be pertinent to their real world experiences (e.g. look for the characteristics of a menu the next time you eat out and have a class discussion about its format, or how does the structure of a magazine advertisement differ from that of the passage we are reading). When we are able to link academics back to real life experiences, connections are made and interest is piqued.

Inside of class the instructor could conduct activities using a variety of media including websites, blogs, magazines, video clips, GIFs, and literary passages. Activities could be made up of compare/contrast, examining specific features (color, font, mood being conveyed, message being given), or discussing genre. These activities would expose L2 students to a wide array of vocabulary, genres and writing styles.

When it comes down to it, exposure to L2 in many forms seems to be the common denominator. Helping students explore the world around them will bring them into contact with a wide variety of material that will, with the help of the instructor, guide them towards L2 literacy and composition skills.

Blog Post #3

Early Writing Experiences

My first memory of learning to write is not until seventh grade (ages 12-13). I went to a tiny, church-based school that used a homeschooling curriculum that heavily emphasized grammar, spelling, and mechanics. We had spent the previous two school years breaking down sentence parts and diagramming them in ways that would make linguistics professors shudder, but it still did not prepare me for the daunting task of writing a paper. The teachers at this particular school were not required to have a college degree or a teaching certificate, so I honestly am not sure if this particular teacher was even qualified to teach writing. However, trudge through, we did, learning about the thesis sentence, topic sentences, and five paragraph essays. We focused on persuasive essays and comparing/contrasting. We were taught about the basics of "good" writing: transitions, staying on topic, and restating the thesis in the conclusion. Luckily, I took to writing pretty naturally, so despite the under-qualification of the instructor, it did not negatively impact me in (public) high school or college.

University Writing Experiences

Once I got to college, the expectation was that we already knew how to write. I took freshman English, analyzing texts about nature and the environment. I took children's literature and British literature. Each professor wrote his or her comments in the margins of a submitted paper, but no one focused on the process. Eventually I took a technical writing class, but it was very specific to documents that would be needed in my professional life - memos, cover letters, emails, etc. Despite being helpful, it certainly did not develop me as a writer.

On Being a Student of Writing

In middle school and high school, we were taught and required to provide brainstorms, outlines and rough drafts. There was a very specific formula. Straying from the formula was frowned upon. For some students, this formula worked. It helped them to put their ideas together in a cohesive way. But this method was not how my brain worked at all, so it was always really frustrating for me. Even today I generally brainstorm in my mind and not on paper, I rarely use an outline for shorter papers, and I repeatedly edit and revise as I go. I really disliked the clinical methods I was taught. In my mind, it took the heart and soul out of the writing process.

Foreign Language Learning

To me, language and writing were supposed to be works of beauty, not plugging information into a formula, which is probably why high school writing courses frustrated me so much. High school foreign language classes, on the other hand, invigorated and excited me. I began  taking Spanish as a high school freshman and went on to major in it in college (and eventually became a Spanish teacher). In the 8+ years I studied Spanish, I did not once learn how to write in the language. Sure, we had to compose essays and research papers in the target language, but we never touched on the mechanics of writing in L2. I would notice different punctuation rules when reading, but it was never explicitly taught or even pointed out in the assignments I got back from my instructors. In this way, it is similar to university level writing in that the content was always more important that mechanics.

Classroom Writing Instruction

Though I'm a Spanish teacher, in the lower levels we do not focus on writing. We are focused on helping students put together sentences that communicate information. I'm always shocked that they find it so troublesome to look through a few chapters of vocabulary and come up with a single thought or sentence that makes sense. Because of this, any writing we do is very short, paying no mind to flow, punctuation or capitalization. I am even very lenient on grammar in the writing we do because my aim is to make them feel comfortable using words and phrases in the target language.

Cultivating Diverse Methods

Going back  to my previous thoughts about the writing process taking out the "heart and soul" of writing, I believe that cultivating an understanding of diverse models of writing and instructional methods could help writing to appeal to students with various academic and cultural backgrounds. If a student struggles with writing, a formulaic approach would work to improve their basic writing ability. Once they master that, they could be set free to experiment with methods that express their creativity or that come more naturally to them based on their cultural background. For students who already have basic writing skills, an instructor would still point out flaws and errors, but the students could have more freedom right off the bat. Although as an instructor I am aware of the necessity of practicing, I hope to provide an array of tools to students as they engage in the writing process instead of specific items to check off of the to-do list.

In all, we can see that diversity in instructional methods is important to the writing process, especially in teaching students with diverse backgrounds that do not mirror the writing style that is practiced here in the US. If we can find ways to engage the learners and pique their interest, it may go far in teasing out better writing quality in our students.

Blog Post #2

The Biggest Challenges in L2 Writing

When an L2 writer begins to write, she or he faces many challenges. On a very basic level, L2 students must learn spelling in the new language. I remember elementary school phonics with lessons differentiating the [o] sound - the o in go, the ow in throw, the ough in though. It was confusing enough for a child who grew up speaking English as a first language, but for a student who is also navigating a language with which they are unfamiliar, English spelling becomes a nightmare. It would be easy for an L2 student to get so caught up in the small details, such as spelling and punctuation, they they cannot see the forest for the tress. That is, the student has a difficult time looking at the big picture of what they are trying to communicate in their written work and spend too much time with the minute details.

L2 Course Planning

One way to ease the frustration of writing and spelling in an L2 composition class would be to know the writing system of the students. With this information an instructor may be able to find texts that have common features (perhaps particular sounds or patterns that appear throughout). Instructors can also use texts with words that have common spelling features, highlighting the similarities and differences between words with particular letter blends, such as the y in my, fly and by or the differences between the y in cry versus the y in many. By pointing out these spelling patterns in slow, steady increments, students will not feel as overwhelmed with English's opacity when it comes to spelling.

Educational Context

Many of the selections that an instructor will make will be based off of the educational institution and type of class they are teaching. Selections for a 4th grade ESL classroom will be much different than the selections made for an English business course at an intensive language program meant for men and women who are already literate in L1 and have a specific set of vocabulary that they need to master for their job field. However, that does not remove the barrier created by the issues with English's varied spelling rules for the same sounds. While younger learners will primarily use children's books and texts, older learners can still benefit from these sorts of reading materials. However, older students, especially those with a specific learning goal in mind, will need material with more complex thoughts and ideas to help challenge them and assist them in reaching their literacy goals.

By combining different genres and skill levels while keeping the main goal in mind, an instructor can keep the attention of the students, reduce frustration stemming from feeling overwhelmed, and still help students reach their goals in whatever academic setting they are in. They can guide students towards seeing the big picture details that will help their written work sound cohesive and concise instead of getting caught in the smaller details in their writing.

Blog Post #1

As a student writer and future teacher of writing, I want my students to learn to write in a way that allows them to communicate effectively. Although the spoken English language is full of slang and regional dialects, it is important that my students have the ability to differentiate between the less formal spoken language and the more formal written language so that they can use academic writing to sound polished and professional as they enter the workforce. One of the reasons that I am drawn towards teaching English to English Language Learners (ELLs) is because I see the disadvantage that they oftentimes start off with, despite their intelligence and abilities. Some ELLs immigrate without an extensive formal education while others were formerly doctors, lawyers and professionals in their country of origin. Regardless of background or past academic opportunities, each ELL deserves a chance to learn to be an effective communicator in the L2, which in this case is English. If they are able to develop effective communication skills, they will have a much better chance at excelling and succeeding in their endeavors.

When it comes to writing, I believe that it originates from the human desire to leave a legacy. People want to be known and understood. Writing allows people to write histories, genealogies, and inventories. As history progressed, writing became better adept at chronicling detailed information. Instead of ambiguous protowriting, writing developed into different forms that made the content and purpose clear. As we have progressed to modern times, writing remains one of the most important pieces of our formal education. It opens up the world to the reader and gives a platform to the writer. It is a way to document history and current events, scientific discoveries, natural disasters, transcription of spoken language, literature and entertainment, and academic works. It creates a way for the reader to understand the world around them and make contributions to society.

Having absolutely no teaching experience in the area of writing, I would like to develop skills in teaching effective writing, troubleshooting, and understanding the difference between L1 and L2 composition. In my mind I have always believed that effective writing meant good grammar, perfect spelling and smooth transitions. However, the more I learn, the more I realize that these things can be tricky and somewhat subjective, highly dependent on audience and purpose. In an effort to give ELLs the skills they need to succeed, I want to have a clear understanding of different theories and writing styles so that I can hone in on where each student excels (and give strong encouragement in that area) and where each student needs work (and give guidance in that area). Once I learn these skills, I will be able to troubleshoot to see why individual students have difficulty in particular areas and how to assist them in their L2 writing journeys.

Writing systems are diverse, and because of that, each system is unique and full of its own complexities. Since different writing systems developed independently from one another, it is fair to assume that each was developed using the mental creativity of its creator within each unique culture, depending on what the original purpose of the writing system entailed. As the systems changed and evolved, they evolved separately from each other. Some writing systems ended up having similar features (i.e. symbols that correlate with specific sounds), but due to the nature of isolated evolutions, some turned out vastly different from others. These differences, however, are all able to be learned and understood by anyone who takes the time to study and learn them. That is, their purpose is to be a functional way for people who understand the writing system to communicate. Learning a writing system, even in L1, takes time, practice and dedication on the part of the learner. The learner has to use the writing system (and take time to understand errors and edit the piece) to acquire and perfect it.

Though we all must practice and perfect L1 writing, L2 writing takes on some additional challenges. If the writing system is the same or similar in L1 and L2, it is easier to pick up. However, just because the symbols are the same (or mostly the same) does not mean that the pronunciation, word structure and grammar rules are the same. If the writing systems are different (i.e. one is an alphabet and one is an abugida), it takes additional time to learn the symbols that make up the sounds, syllables and words. Being literate in one language is helpful because it allows the L2 learner to look back on prior knowledge. For example, the student would understand that symbols make up sounds and words, that writing goes in a specific pattern (such as left to right) and is not written haphazardly across the page, and that sentences and paragraphs need structure. On the other hand, literacy in L1 could also cause some hindrances in L2 writing. For instance, if L1 goes from left to right but L2 does not, it could prove very difficult to adjust muscle memory, or if L2 is a logography, students who are accustomed to symbols that correspond with sounds may try to transfer that knowledge when it is not how L2 works.

In all, it is important that we strive to help L2 writers overcome all of the hurdles that prevent them from achieving full literacy in L2.