awej 5 no.4 full issue 2014

More documents

Recommendations

Info

AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp. 99-110Perceptions of American Academic Discourse: Cases of Three Saudi UndergraduateStudentsRimma MaddoxLiteracy and Second Language StudiesUniversity of Cincinnati, OhioUSAAbstractA qualitative study conducted with three Saudi Arabian undergraduate students over the courseof summer semester 2013, explored their perceptions of American academic discourse. Thefocus was on the spoken discourse. The study was informed by the theory of Second LanguageAcquisition and considered activity and interaction with American faculty and classroom as thespace for socialization into the new academic discourse. Students reflected on various activitiesin and out of classrooms that enhanced their English language learning. Implications for facultyare drawn.Keywords: second language socialization, academic discourse, Saudi Students in the US.Arab World English JournalISSN: 2229-9327www.awej.org99
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Perceptions of American Academic Discourse: Cases of Three SaudiMaddoxIntroductionIn order to succeed in the American academia, international students must understand and adjustto its discourse. Academic discourse is “not just an entity but a social, cognitive, and rhetoricalprocess and an accomplishment, a form of enculturation, social practice, positioning,representation, and stance-taking” (Duff, 2010, p. 170) and it varies greatly from othervernacular variations of language. To partake in the academic discourse students coming fromabroad need to learn the academic language and the rules and norms of the new academicculture, which often drastically differ from their native countries. For instance, in the USparticipating in class discussions or debates, giving presentations, leading small groupdiscussions are common ways of learning. Speaking up and voicing ones true opinion in front ofeveryone in class can be an insurmountable task for students, who come from teacher-centeredcultures. For instance, Alhmadi (2014) claimed that speaking (compared to reading, writing,listening in English) is the hardest skill to master for Saudi Arabian students.This article reports on a qualitative study that was conducted with Saudi Arabian studentsto examine their perceptions of participating in the oral academic discourse in the US. SaudiArabian students are the second fastest growing student population in the US (Open Doors,2013). With each academic year their number in the US increases. It is vital to understand Saudistudents perceptions on the academic discourse, of which they are becoming a part of, tofacilitate their learning, and prepare the incoming students to better adjust to their new academiclife. The study revolved around the following question:What are Saudi-Arabian students’ perceptions about tasks in the oral academic discourse?This research was informed by the theory of Second Language Acquisition (SLS). In thesection to follow I briefly dwell on the tenets of the theory and report on research relevant to theproblem of interest.Theoretical FrameworkSLS stems from the language socialization theory associated with Schieflin and Ochs (1986).The essence of both language socialization and SLS is in “socialization through language andsocialization to use the language” (Scheiflin &Ochs, 1986, p.163). The main difference betweenthe theories of first language socialization and SLS lies in SLS’s “added complexity of dealingwith children or adults who already possess a repertoire of linguistic, discursive, and culturaltraditions and community affiliations when encountering new ones” (Duff, 2007).SLS is a lifelong process, through which individuals gain communicative competence,legitimacy, and membership into a new culture or group (Duff, 2007). The most important tenetof the theory of SLS is that new language is acquired through interaction and communicationwith members of a certain group, society, or discourse (Duff, 2007, 2010). Secondly, SLS issituated within the context of particular meaningful activities and tasks (Duff, 2007, 2010). Duff(2007a, 2010) described the process of language socialization as bidirectional ormultidirectional. According to Duff (2007, 2010), institutions or communities into which novicesare being socialized strongly influence intellect, emotions, and social positioning of thenewcomers (Duff, 2007, 2010). However, while experts introduce newcomers to the norms andrules of the society, novices respond by conveying, “to their more proficient interlocutors whattheir communicative needs are” (Duff, 2007, p. 311).Finally, SLS into a new community does not entail absolute appropriation of all theconventions and norms of the new culture (Duff, 2007). In some cases newcomers might evenreject practices and norms of the new culture (Duff, 2007, 2010). Often, the process of SLSArab World English JournalISSN: 2229-9327www.awej.org100
Page 3 and 4:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Dr. El-
Page 5 and 6:
AWEJ Volume.3 Number.4, 2012Content
Page 7 and 8:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Ideolog
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp. 14-
Page 19 and 20:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Motivat
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014The Nul
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014The Nul
Page 58 and 59: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp.55-6
Page 60 and 61: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Using P
Page 68 and 69: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Explici
Page 76: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Explici
Page 87 and 88: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp. 84-
Page 89 and 90: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Errors
Page 101: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Errors
Page 105 and 106: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Percept
Page 115 and 116: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Explica
Page 135 and 136: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014The Eff
Page 149 and 150: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp. 146
Page 151 and 152: AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Dialogi
Page 153 and 154:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Dialogi
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp. 172
Page 177 and 178:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Global
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Metacog
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
CSUMSUAWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014M
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Fair, R
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Pp.226-
Page 231 and 232:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Correla
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014The Ara
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014An Inve
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
Page 273 and 274:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
AlwaysUsuallySometimesrarelyNeverAW
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Problem
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014The Tra
Page 295 and 296:
Page 297 and 298:
Page 299 and 300:
Page 301 and 302:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Student
Page 303 and 304:
Page 305 and 306:
Page 307 and 308:
Page 309 and 310:
Page 311 and 312:
Page 313 and 314:
Page 315 and 316:
Page 317 and 318:
Page 319 and 320:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014Effecti
Page 321 and 322:
Page 323 and 324:
Page 325 and 326:
Page 327 and 328:
Page 329 and 330:
Page 331 and 332:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.3, 2014The Eff
Page 333 and 334:
Page 335 and 336:
Page 337 and 338:
Page 339 and 340:
Page 341 and 342:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Explori
Page 343 and 344:
Page 345 and 346:
Page 347 and 348:
Page 349 and 350:
Page 351 and 352:
Page 353 and 354:
Page 355 and 356:
Page 357 and 358:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Rites o
Page 359 and 360:
Page 361 and 362:
Page 363 and 364:
Page 365 and 366:
Page 367 and 368:
Page 369 and 370:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Towards
Page 371 and 372:
Page 373 and 374:
Page 375 and 376:
Page 377 and 378:
Page 379 and 380:
Page 381 and 382:
Page 383 and 384:
Page 385 and 386:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Saadall
Page 387 and 388:
Page 389 and 390:
Page 391 and 392:
Page 393 and 394:
Page 395 and 396:
Page 397 and 398:
Page 399 and 400:
Page 401 and 402:
Page 403 and 404:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Teacher
Page 405 and 406:
Page 407 and 408:
Page 409 and 410:
Page 411 and 412:
Page 413 and 414:
Page 415 and 416:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014A Socio
Page 417 and 418:
Page 419 and 420:
Page 421 and 422:
Page 423 and 424:
Page 425 and 426:
Page 427 and 428:
Page 429 and 430:
Page 431 and 432:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014The Int
Page 433 and 434:
Page 435 and 436:
Page 437 and 438:
Page 439 and 440:
Page 441 and 442:
Page 443 and 444:
Page 445 and 446:
Page 447 and 448:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Reading
Page 449 and 450:
Page 451 and 452:
Page 453 and 454:
Page 455 and 456:
Page 457 and 458:
Page 459 and 460:
Page 461 and 462:
Page 463 and 464:
Page 465 and 466:
Page 467 and 468:
Page 469 and 470:
Page 471 and 472:
Page 473 and 474:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Group W
Page 475 and 476:
Page 477 and 478:
Page 479 and 480:
Page 481 and 482:
Page 483 and 484:
Page 485 and 486:
Page 487 and 488:
Page 489 and 490:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Reflect
Page 491 and 492:
Page 493 and 494:
Page 495 and 496:
Page 497 and 498:
Page 499 and 500:
Page 501 and 502:
Page 503 and 504:
Page 505 and 506:
Page 507 and 508:
AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Guessin
Page 509 and 510:
Page 511 and 512:
Page 513 and 514:
Page 515 and 516:
Page 517 and 518:
Page 519 and 520:
Page 521 and 522:
Page 523:
show all

awej 5 no.4 full issue 2014

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?