Connecting Speaking and Writing in Second Language Writing Instruction.

Connecting Speaking and Writing in Second LanguageWriting Instruction.. 䡲 “The most effective writing classrooms are not always quiet places.” With the beautiful clarity of this opening

Connecting Speaking and Writing in Second Language

Writing Instruction.

Robert Weissberg Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006

Pp xiii + 171

䡲 “The most effective writing classrooms are not always quiet places.” With the beautiful clarity of this opening sentence, Robert Weissberg begins his book, which explores the idea that classroom discussions should inform and shape students’ writing He argues that writing is a social activity, not an “isolated set of artificial exercises cordoned off from the rest of [the students’] lives” (p 55)

In chapter 1, “An Introduction to Dialogue and Second Language Writing,” Weissberg provides a brief theoretical perspective on the im-portance of oral dialogue in developing second language (L2) writing Chapter 2, “From Talking to Writing,” outlines a rationale for the use of oral dialogue in classes with L2 writers In the third chapter, “ESL Writers and Speakers: A World of Individual Differences,” the author uses three case studies to exemplify the ways in which talk is used differently by ESL students in the process of becoming proficient L2 writers Chapters 4 and 5, “Beyond Teacher-Talk: Instructional Conversations in the Writing Classroom” and “Conversations in the Writing Tutorial,” look in detail at

the functions of discussion in writing classes and provide a number of practical ideas for using dialogue as a way to develop skill in writing Chapter 6, “Written Response as Dialogue,” explores how the teacher’s written responses to students’ writing can serve as part of an ongoing dialogue and identifies a number of principles for teachers to follow, such as personalizing the feedback, asking questions, and avoiding hedg-ing In the final chapter, “Critiquing the Dialogue Approach,” Weissberg discusses potential problems with his approach, for example, question-ing the effectiveness of peer writquestion-ing groups

The theoretical parts of the book are thorough, covering a range of work including older traditions in the profession such as Vygotsky’s (1986) zone of proximal development as well as more recent concepts such as Tharp and Gallimore’s (1991) instructional conversations The book also includes numerous interesting writing activities from various sources, for example, a project in which tourism students write a guide-book about their country; a “knowledge wall” on which ideas are posted

by students for writing assignments; and a collaborative summary involv-ing the students dictatinvolv-ing to the teacher who acts as scribe

A lucid and accessible text, the book particularly comes to life when the author shows us L2 writing students in action Their stories illustrate how different learners use speaking differently to develop writing One student learns English informally by chatting, and his writing assign-ments are full of friendly banter, fluent and communicative but in a style

as informal as street talk (he ends one academic essay with “See you later”) Another student, whose classroom behavior borders on the surly,

is silent every time he is asked to speak, but his writing proves to be fluent, organized, and evocative Weissberg observes that “some of his journal entries are so well—even poetically—written that as the instruc-tor reads them, he feels sometimes that he is party to Oscar’s innermost thoughts” (p 36)

In an outstanding section in the final chapter, “Dialogue and Respon-sibility,” Weissberg describes some of the pitfalls of inviting students to share very personal issues He is taken aback when one student com-plains in her journal about the rudeness of North Americans; when Weissberg suggests to her (in writing) that she might profit from looking

at her own behavior and attitudes, he finds the dialogue curtailed as the student counters with a furious response On another occasion, during

an election year, a Mexican student writes in his journal that no Mexican would be stupid enough to fall for a political candidate’s appeal to

“family values.” Weissberg finds himself privately dismayed at this slight

on North American voters and admits that it takes him a while to “regain

a sympathetic attitude toward our journaling” (p 140)

Rather appropriately, in the spirit of connecting speaking and writing, Weissberg employs an axiom beloved of conference speakers: Say what

you are going to say, say it, then say what you have said In each chapter, the author writes what he is going to write, writes it, then writes what he has written This lends the book clarity and coherence, although occa-sionally it leads to repetition; the somewhat redundant observations that students need to have an opportunity to respond for real dialogue to take place and that some students resist egalitarian relationships with tutors are aired several times These repetitions and occasional typos—in

the index Jean Baca has become Baco and Ramanathan has lost an a;

“reading speech” should be “reading speed” on page 121—are minor quibbles in a book that is both faultless in style and utterly convincing in its argument

Where does the book stand in the light of current theory? Unques-tionably at the heart of it The profile of integrated learning has never been higher as educators see the links between the skills: reading and listening; reading and writing; speaking and listening; and, as demon-strated here, speaking and writing The author’s inclusion of activities and ideas that use all four of the skills through content-based courses and project work reflects the current interest in a more holistic approach toward language learning

The strength of Weissberg’s book is that it will give experienced as well

as novice teachers—whether in ESL, foreign languages, general compo-sition, or teacher training—the impetus, methods, and step-by-step guid-ance (through discussion questions and tasks at the end of each chapter)

to reflect on their practice The book points to the need for a plan of action In Weissberg’s own words, “a high-quality tutorial dialogue doesn’t happen simply by virtue of putting a tutor, a willing student, and the student’s text together in the same room” (p 93) The implication is that developing a dialogic approach to writing instruction requires con-siderable investment, but for educators and students alike, as the author persuades us, it pays wonderful dividends

REFERENCES

Vygotsky, L (1986) Thought and language Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Tharp, R., & Gallimore, R (1991) The instructional conversation: Teaching and learning

in social activity (Research Report No 2) Santa Cruz, CA: National Center for

Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning.

J J WILSON

Las Cruces, New Mexico