Cultural Interfaces in Academic Setting and Beyond

Cultural Interfaces in Academic Setting and Beyond

Uniwersytet Śląski Katowice

2

3

Cultural Interfaces in Academic Setting and Beyond

Ed. by Krystyna Warchał and Andrzej Łyda

Uniwersytet Śląski Katowice

4

ISBN:

Druk:

5

Contents

Introduction Krystyna Warchał, Andrzej Łyda ........................................................... 9

Section I: Multilingual Setting .......................................................... 17

Multilingualism and Foreign Language Learning: Some Terminological and Methodological Issues Teresa Maria Włosowicz ...................................................................... 19

Academic Discourse and Self-efficacy in Diverse Settings Beata Webb .......................................................................................... 35

Reading to Learn at the Academic Level: A Study of EFL Readers’ Strategies Halina Chodkiewicz ............................................................................... 51

Section II: Academic Genres ............................................................. 69

A Contrastive Genre-based Analysis of Research Article Introductions and Discussions in English and Polish Languages and Its Pedagogical Implications Ewa Donesch-Jeżo ................................................................................ 71

Hedges in Undergraduate Writing: Czech and German Students Compared Martina Malášková ................................................................................ 91

6

The Way to Abstraction. The X’s Way Construction in Academic Discourse Konrad Szcześniak ................................................................................ 105

Preparing Students for the Delivery of Poster Presentations in English Aleksandra Łuczak ................................................................................ 119 Mission Statement: The Common Core of Business and Academic Corporate Culture Piotr Mamet ........................................................................................ 137

When a Linguist Dies... Academe in Obituaries Gabriela Cichy ....................................................................................... 155

The Epistemic Dimension of Attitudinal Meanings Expressed by Polish and English Writers of Letters to the Editor Tatiana Szczygłowska ............................................................................ 169

Section III: Building Up the Academic Community ............................. 191

Building up a Community of Users of English as a Lingua Franca for Academic Purposes in a Polish-Ukrainian Intercultural Project Anna Niżegorodcew ............................................................................... 193

Polish-Finnish Intercultural Academic Cooperation Liliana Szczuka-Dorna ............................................................................ 205

Raising Intercultural Awareness of Monolingual EFL Students in an International Educational Project: Challenges and Possibilities of the ABC’s Model Ewa Bandura .......................................................................................... 231

7

Section IV: Academic Peripheries ....................................................... 243

The Meaning Loss and Meaning Modification in Polish-English and EnglishPolish Translation of Official Documents Edyta Źrałka ............................................................................................ 245

No Name, No Horse. Putting a Bridle on Cultural and Linguistic Differences in Translation of the Names of Horse Breeds, Strains and Types for the EnglishPolish Language Pair Eleonora Pawłowicz ............................................................................... 257

8

9

Introduction Krystyna Warchał and Andrzej Łyda University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

1. Cultural academic interfaces: Introductory remarks This volume, entitled Cultural Interfaces in Academic Setting and Beyond, comprises fifteen articles, which share a focus on the issue of culture and culture contact in academia and in academic and professional dialogue. We take a broad view of culture as “the distinctive ways of living, thinking and behaving” of any group of people identified with reference to a geographical location, as in, e.g., Finnish culture, a selected prominent feature, as in student culture, or shared interests, values and practices, as in academic culture (Goddard, 2005:67). Viewed in this way, culture is not only a necessary element of the background against which academic communication takes place but an active component of the ongoing discourse reflected in such features as the terminology used, the repertoire of available genres and their preferred linguistic realisation, epistemic judgments, and the amount and type of evaluative language, to name but a few. A half-century of research has shown that members of different cultures may construe a communicative situation – be it an academic lecture, job interview, or student essay – in their own, culture-specific ways, set their goals differently, and apply different rhetorical strategies to achieve these goals (see, e.g., Kaplan, 1966, 1987; Clyne 1987a; Mauranen 1993a,b; Duszak 1994; Čmejrková, 1996; Čmejrková and Daneš, 1997; Vassileva, 1997; MartinMartin and Burgess, 2004; Fløttum et al., 2006; Siepmann, 2006; Vold, 2006; Mur Dueñas, 2008; and contributions to Suomela-Salmi and Dervin, 2009, Arabski and Wojtaszek, 2011, and Łyda and Warchał, 2014) and that these culture- and language-based predispositions often influence speakers’ linguistics choices in other cultural and language contexts (see, e.g., Clyne, 1987b, 1994; contributions to Connor and Kaplan, 1987 and Belcher and Braine, 1995; Connor, 1996; Ädel, 2006). The present volume continues this line of research offering some implications as to how to better understand the existing differences in the context of intercultural and cross-cultural communication — including communicating research results, teaching on academic level and translation — and, in some cases, prepare language us-

10

ers for a more effective dialogue in L2 or in an additional language and a more rewarding cooperation. The term “interfaces” used in the title is not coincidental. It draws attention to the fact that speaking of cultural contact we are not thinking of cultures as isolated, hermetic objects separated by clearly defined borders which at some points must meet but rather as interacting entities which grow and evolve in each other’s presence. It implies a certain freedom and ease in the exchange of information, a shared code in which this exchange can proceed, multidirectionality of influence, and perhaps even a common territory, a place where they interlock and merge. From our perspective of academic and academy-related settings, culture contact is thus not an episode or occurrence but a dynamic and productive process which stimulates academic dialogue.

2. Contributions to the book This volume is organised into four sections: the first devoted to the problem of multilingual setting of academic activities, the second dealing with various aspects of academic genres, the third moving the discussion to intercultural academic projects, and the fourth one sending the reader to the peripheries of academic discourse and even beyond it. The first section after this introduction, Multilingual Setting, groups three papers. In the opening paper Maria Teresa Włosowicz undertakes an analysis of the existing terminology in the fields of second language acquisition and foreign language learning as well as multilingualism. The importance of the analysis for academic discourse theoreticians and practitioners lies in the author’s attempt to clarify terminological inconsistencies that seem to have arisen with the introduction of such terms as bilingualism, multilingualism, the third language, English as an additional language, and finally English as a lingua franca. Reviewing recent innovations in this area Włosowicz does not confine herself to a critical discussion of English terms but investigates terminological resources in other languages thus pointing to conceptual differences in formally equivalent expressions. Her conclusion is that the choice of terminology and methodology should be relevant to the purpose of a particular study. In her contribution to this volume Beata Webb examines the self-efficacy of university students in Australia with the major focus of her research put on self-efficacy associated to academic discourse. Taking into account the students’ diversity resulting from the high degree of internationalisation of the Australian education, she demonstrates the impact of students’ linguistic

11

and cultural backgrounds on their self-efficacy. The investigation reveals also that that students in diverse classes exhibit significant discrepancies in selfefficacy in relation to different aspects of academic discourse, strongest factor being English as an additional language. Considering this factor a determinant of academic success Webb formulates a number of recommendations for academic teachers working with culturally diverse classes. The question of students’ success in the academic context is explored further by Halina Chodkiewicz, who analyses the role played by “reading to learn” as one of the goals in developing L2/FL reading abilities in a variety of educational levels and sociocultural contexts. In a series of tests performed by Polish university students of English involving processing relatively difficult academic texts the author examines the use of a combination of three reading strategies: highlighting, notetaking and summarizing in a sequence of content-based reading tasks. These strategies are analysed quantitatively by the author, contributing to improved understanding of the role the reading strategies play in content learning. In the following section, Academic Genres, the focus shifts to the problem of genres and their linguistic realisation by scholars coming from various cultural backgrounds. The six chapters included in this section tackle issues of not only Swales’s primary genres such as the research article and M.A. thesis but also of poster presentations and genres not specifically academic but closely related to the world of the academe: university mission statements and academic obituaries. The section opens with Ewa Donesch-Jeżo’s contrastive analysis of rhetorical organization and metadiscourse markers in Introduction and Discussion sections of English and Polish research articles in the field of medicine. A very detailed examination of a corpus of 60 RA reveals discrepancies in generic features in the two RA sections, which finds its explanation in cross-cultural differences. Especially striking is the absence of certain rhetorical moves in Polish RA, which combined with lexicogrammatical aspects of the RAs such as impersonal verb forms and agentless passive constructions, creates the impression of “concealed identity” of the RA writers. The author postulates that given the fact that the English language is the lingua franca in academic communication and academic success greatly depends on the international recognition of one’s research, it is essential that the syllabi of ESP and EAP courses in Polish academic institutions should concentrate on the development of necessary rhetorical and linguistic competence. In the following chapter, authored by Konrad Szcześniak, attention narrows down on a specific type of construction in written academic language, referred to by the author as “x’s way construction” such as in the sentence We forced our way into the meeting. A large-scale analysis of the occurrences

12

of the construction in academic journals collated in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) shows that while it is present both in general and in academic corpora of English, the relatively informal construction is used as a means of clear and brief organization of abstract content and a vehicle for the expression of the meaning of “understanding” and “knowledge acquisition”. The discussion of interactional metadiscourse with a special emphasis on hedging in cross-linguistic and cross-disciplinary perspectives continues in the next study, by Martina Malaskova. The author reports results of her analysis of certain types of hedges in Czech and German corpora of MA theses and claims that the observed differences in the use of hedges in Czech and German undergraduate writing can be assumed to be culture based. What is highly significant is that while in qualitative terms all functional types of hedges have been found in both Czech and German novice academic writing, the formal means employed differed which may be indicative of different instructional and training practices at Czech and German universities and the influence of L1. In the next chapter Piotr Mamet looks at the genre of mission statement, which, even if not a typically academic genre, has already found its way to university web pages. As a statement of purpose that distinguishes a firm from other firms, it is now a genre of predominantly promotional function. The focus of interest in the study is on differences in the way universities and profit and shareholder oriented business draft their mission statements. Mamet’s analysis of two corpora demonstrates that in most general terms the two types of mission statements have a core of features in common. The major difference lies in area-related lexical choices and a stricter adherence to Ashridge Model of mission statements visible in university statements. Poster presentations are the subject of the next chapter by Aleksandra Łuczak, who presents a case study of an English poster competition organised at Warsaw universities. The general conclusion that follows from her analysis is that since the role of poster presentations as a multimodal academic genre has been constantly growing and poster assignments have been shown to generate positive learning outcomes by reducing the stress of public speaking, there is a an urgent need of incorporating this form of academic communication into EAP syllabi In the next chapter Gabriela Cichy approaches another genre whose use goes beyond the world of the academe, namely, the obituary. The study premised on Jadwiga Puzynina’s model of values explores a corpus of 70 obituaries of linguists published on The Linguist List between 2006 and 2011. Cichy concentrates not only on purely linguistic aspects of obituaries but also on social and cultural determinants of evaluative language use and the hierarchy of values that emerges from the obituaries. The analysis shows that

13

the best represented category of values are cognitive ones, which can be indicative of the system of values adhered to in the academe. Although not frequent, letters to the editor of academic publications form a recognizable genre typical for argumentative discourse. In the chapter concluding this Tatiana Szczygłowska provides a contrastive analysis of Polish and English letters to the editor to identify the potential for expressing argumentative attitude along the epistemic dimension. In her analysis of two corpora of letters sent to the international and Polish editions of the same journal the author demonstrates the significance of three factors serving as comparison criteria: subjectivity, objectivity and the interpersonal. Although the data show a clear predominance of subjectivity in both corpora, there are marked differences between the preferred strategies in both corpor, which is considered to correlate with the general phenomena of Polish and English linguistic politeness, which in the case of Polish involves emotionality and directness. The third section of the present volume consists of three chapters grouped under the common heading Building Up the Academic Community. This section offers interesting cases of close encounters of academic communities from Poland, Europe and the U.S. and their cultures. In the opening chapter Anna Niżegorodcew reports the results of a PolishUkrainian DICE project aiming at a joint editing of a book by academics and students. Centering the discussion of the results of the project on the notion of community of users the author asks the question whether it is possible for non-native speakers from two different language and culture backgrounds to use English as a Lingua Franca for Academic Purposes to present their own cultures to each other. The conclusion that Niżegorodcew arrives at is not optimistic, because, as she argues, not enough requirements of a community of practice were met by the project participants, who were not able to distance themselves from their own cultures to assume the position of the third places. The question of the role of culture and intercultural awareness in international academic projects is addressed in the chapter by Ewa Bandura. She concentrates on the description of the implementation process of “The ABC’s of Cultural Understanding and Communication” intended to develop intercultural awareness and explores its potential in monocultural context. As the author concludes the cultural context is an important factor in the assessment of the efficiency of research tools and should be taken into account by those researchers who compare quantitative and qualitative results obtained in different cultural-educational contexts.. The first section closes with Liliana Szczuka-Dorna’s discussion of a survey describing Polish and Finnish academic teachers working in international and intercultural academic settings. It is in such academic environments that aca-

14

demics face new challenges. Developing tolerance and knowledge about different cultures and culturally-conditioned ways of communication is undoubtedly one of them. The statistically verified results of a questionnaire concerning elements of verbal and non-verbal communication in intercultural contacts developed by the author show no significant differences and confirm that elements such as language used, tone of voice and eye contact are found by representatives of both nationalities crucial for successful communication at university. The final section of this volume, Translating Cultures, offers two interesting cases of the role of culture in the process of translation. In the first chapter of this section Edyta Źrałka takes a closer look at the problem of culture-based legal terminology in translation. Taking as the starting point the assumption that target language and culture inadequacy cannot be approved of in legal translation, she analyses a number of Polish, British and American official documents in terms of overtranslation, undertranslation and loss of meaning. The conclusion that the author reaches is considering the direct influence of legal systems on the rights of individuals, “there is nothing that could be considered too much of meaning incorporation, as far as the target text remains linguistically correct and reasonably communicative”. In the final chapter Eleonora Pawłowicz tackles the problem of translation of the names of horse breeds and strains from English into Polish. The author describes the complexity of thee subject field and analyses the current approach to translating horse breed names and the most common mistakes and presents the chief translation strategies employed. Concluding she says that translation of horse breed names cannot be successful without taking into account cultural specificities, many of which remain unknown to translators. We hope that this collection of articles may prove interesting to scholars studying intercultural communication and the development of English as a Lingua Franca, to researchers concerned with the teaching of English as a Second Language and to practitioners working in multicultural contexts, who will interpret the results of the analyses and discussions included in this volume in terms relevant to their own research interests and in ways which go beyond our brief, introductory outline.

References Ädel, A. (2006). Metadiscourse in L1 and L2 English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Arabski, J., and A. Wojtaszek (eds.). 2011. Aspects of culture in second language acquisition and foreign language learning. Heidelberg: Springer.

15 Belcher, D., and G. Braine. (1995). Academic writing in a second language: Essays on research and pedagogy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Clyne, M. (1987a). Cultural differences in the organization of academic texts. Journal of Pragmatics 11: 211–247. Clyne, M. (1987b). Discourse structures and discourse expectations: Implications for AngloGerman academic communication in English. In Discourse across cultures: Strategies in World Englishes, ed. L.E. Smith, 73–83. New York: Prentice Hall. Clyne, M. (1994). Inter-cultural communication at work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Čmejrková, S. (1996). Academic writing in Czech and English. In Academic writing: Intercultural and textual issues, ed. E. Ventola and A. Mauranen, 137–152. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Čmejrková, S., and F. Daneš. (1997). Academic writing and cultural identity: The case of Czech academic writing. In Culture and styles of academic discourse, ed. A. Duszak, 41–61. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Connor, U. 1996. Contrastive rhetoric: Cross-cultural aspects of second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Connor, U., and R.B. Kaplan (eds.). (1987). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Duszak, A. (1994). Academic discourse and intellectual styles. Journal of Pragmatics 21: 291– 313 Fløttum, K., T. Dahl, and T. Kinn. (2006). Academic voices: Across languages and disciplines. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Goddard, C. (2005). The lexical semantics of culture. Language Sciences 27: 51–73. Kaplan, R.B. (1966). Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language Learning 16: 1–20. Kaplan, R.B. (1987). Cultural thought patterns revisited. In Writing across languages: Analysis of L2 text, ed. U. Connor and R.B. Kaplan, 9–21. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Łyda, A., and K. Warchał (eds.). (2014). Occupying niches: Interculturality, cross-culturality and aculturality in academic research. Cham: Springer. Martín-Martín, P., and S. Burgess. (2004). The rhetorical management of academic criticism in research article abstracts. Text 24(2): 171–195. Mauranen, A. (1993a). Contrastive ESP rhetoric: Metatext in Finnish-English economics texts. English for Specific Purposes 12: 3–22 Mauranen, A. (1993b). Cultural differences in academic rhetoric: A textlinguistic study. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Mur Dueñas, P. (2008). Analysing engagement markers cross-culturally: The case of English and Spanish business management research articles. In English as an additional language in research publication and communication, ed. S. Burgess and P. Martín-Martín, 197–213. Bern: Peter Lang. Siepmann, D. (2006). Academic writing and culture: An overview of differences between English, French and German. Meta: Translators' Journal 51(1): 131–150. Suomela-Salmi, E., and F. Dervin (eds.). 2009. Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives on academic discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Vassileva, I. (1997). Hedging in English and Bulgarian academic writing. In Culture and styles of academic discourse, ed. A. Duszak, 203–221. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Vold, E.T. (2006). Epistemic modality markers in research articles: A cross-linguistic and crossdisciplinary study. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 16 (1): 61–87.

16

17

Section I: Multilingual Setting

18

19

Multilingualism and Foreign Language Learning: Some Terminological and Methodological Issues Teresa Maria Włosowicz Academy of Management, School of English, Warsaw, Poland Silesian School of Economics and Languages , Katowice, Poland

Abstract The purpose of this paper is an analysis of the existing terminology in the fields of second language acquisition and foreign language learning as well as multilingualism and an attempt to clarify some inconsistencies. It is argued that certain distinctions, such as bilingualism vs. multilingualism, must be used consistently, as they refer to distinct phenomena. However, the choice of terminology and methodology should be relevant to the purpose of a particular study. At the same time, new typologies of multilinguals are proposed, based on different acquisition contexts and language biographies. Finally, as terminology in languages other than English is less developed, it is concluded that researchers should be encouraged to create and propagate terminologies in their native languages.

Keywords: multilingualism, language biographies, terminology, research methodology 1. Introduction The purpose of this paper is an analysis of the existing terminology in the fields of second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language learning as well as multilingualism and an attempt to clarify some inconsistencies. Moreover, the article deals with methodological issues, such as the selection and classification of subjects, study design and the relevance of different factors to multilingualism research. In fact, both issues are related, as the appropriate application of research methodology requires, among other things, terminological precision. In general, it is assumed here, following Hufeisen (1998, 2000), that multilingualism and bilingualism are distinct phenomena. Given the greater complexity of the process of learning multiple languages as well as that of multi-

20

lingual systems, it is questionable whether the terminology and methodology of SLA and bilingualism research can be extended to multilingualism research. Instead, multilingualism requires new terms as well as new research methods. Moreover, in contrast to a complex typology (or rather a number of typologies) of bilinguals (see Safont-Jordà, 2005), typologies of multilinguals are few and not very well known, and limited to selected aspects of multilingualism, such as acquisition contexts (e.g. Hoffmann, 2001). Here, an attempt will be made to suggest further typologies, based on such factors as individual learning history and the age of acquisition. Finally, attention will be drawn to the need for developing terminologies in languages other than English. As most publications on multilingualism are written in English, terminology in other languages is less developed and requires borrowing from English or the creation of new terms. In fact, perhaps due to differences in research traditions and approaches, different languages make different distinctions or use different terms for the same phenomena, as in the case of “représentations” in French and “attitudes and beliefs” in English (Kramsch, personal communication on September 4, 2007). Therefore, the translation of terminology requires not only precision, but sometimes also clarification and even adaptation.

2. Terminological issues 2.1. Bilingualism vs. multilingualism By and large, the study of multilingualism has evolved out of bilingualism and SLA research. Consequently, as there are similarities between bilingualism and multilingualism, some researchers use both terms interchangeably. However, there are also significant differences which have led other researchers (e.g. Hufeisen, 1998, 2000) to insist on distinguishing between them. On the one hand, some authors (e.g. Mackey, 1976, Grosjean, 1992, Mitchell and Myles, 1998, in de Angelis, 2007: 5) apply the term “bilingualism” to both phenomena, defining it as the knowledge and use of two or more languages. For example, according to Grosjean (1992: 51), bilingualism is “the regular use of two (or more) languages, and bilinguals are those people who need and use two (or more) languages in their everyday lives.” In a similar vein, Mitchell and Myles (1998: 2, in de Angelis, 2007: 5) apply the umbrella term “second language” to all foreign languages irrespective of the acquisition context: “[i]t is sensible to include ‘foreign’ languages under one more general term of ‘second’ languages, because […] the underlying learn-

21

ing processes are essentially the same for more local and for more remote target languages, despite differing learning processes and circumstances.” It might thus, theoretically, be assumed that if all foreign languages are “second” languages, then every multilingual may be described as a bilingual. However, this would be a gross oversimplification. Not only can the learning contexts be completely different for, say, L2 and L3, but the learning processes are also influenced by such factors as psychotypology, or the learner’s individual perception of language distance and, consequently, of potential transfer sources (Kellerman, 1987). Therefore, interlanguage transfer (de Angelis and Selinker, 2001), or transfer from one interlanguage (e.g. L2) to another (L3, L4, etc.), can only take place in multilingual learners, as second language learners have only two transfer sources at their disposal: the native language and the L2 interlanguage as a source of intralingual transfer (e.g. overgeneralization). The underlying processes cannot therefore be regarded as identical, despite certain similarities. A different view is adopted by Haarmann (1980: 13, in Herdina and Jessner, 2002: 4), who regards the knowledge of more than one language as multilingualism and who defines bilingualism as a variety of multilingualism in which only two languages are involved. The same stance is adopted by Herdina and Jessner (2002), who admit that bilingualism “is essentially a variant of multilingualism […] and that many of the findings – but certainly not all – can therefore be generalised to cover all variants of multilingualism.” On the other hand, many researchers (e.g. de Angelis, 2007, Hoffmann, 2001, Hufeisen, 1998, 2000) treat bilingualism and multilingualism as distinct phenomena. According to Hoffmann (2001: 13), the difference is basically quantitative, as bilingualism involves two languages and multilingualism – more than two languages. Yet, she admits that multilingualism is more complex (Hoffmann, 2001: 13) and quotes Clyne (1997: 113, in Hoffmann, 2001: 18), who has observed that “trilinguals will be trilingual in different ways.” By contrast, Hufeisen’s (1998, 2000) Factor Model shows that the difference is both qualitative and quantitative, as L3 learning is influenced by more factors than L2 learning. Whereas in the process of L2 learning one develops metalinguistic awareness and strategies specific to foreign language learning, in the process of learning L3 those factors are already in place and affect the development of L3 competence. However, the leap between L2 and L3 learning is qualitatively the greatest, as the only additional factors involved in the learning of subsequent languages (L4, L5, etc.) are the already acquired languages (L3, L4, etc.), which can constitute sources of transfer and/or interference. Similarly, according to de Angelis (2007), a distinction must be made between bilingualism as the knowledge of two languages (as the prefix bi- indicates) and multilingualism, which involves more than two languages. Prior

22

knowledge cannot be ignored and, as de Angelis (2007: 7) points out, in reference to Pennington (1999) and Wilson and Sperber (2006), “the transfer of prior linguistic knowledge and prior learning experience is a strong force in human cognition.” She assumes that in such a demanding task as foreign language learning prior linguistic knowledge and learning experience are bound to play a role (de Angelis, 2007: 7). Indeed, as Rast (2010: 159) has observed, “even minimal knowledge of a background language can be the source of cross-linguistic influence of various types.” However, further research is needed in order to establish the threshold levels of proficiency for a language to constitute a source of transfer and/or interference, as there is hardly any evidence available on proficiency threshold levels in non-native language acquisition (de Angelis, 2007: 6). Consequently, assuming that a person with a minimal knowledge of L2 can be regarded as monolingual, as did Nayak et al. (1990, in de Angelis, 2007: 6), is an example of methodological inaccuracy. After all, minimal bilinguals, or people who know only a few words or phrases in a second language, and incipient bilinguals, or learners at the early stages on L2 acquisition (SafontJordà, 2005: 26), are also regarded as types of bilinguals and not as monolinguals. Similarly, in his discussion of multicompetence, Cook (1993: 6) objects to the traditional approach requiring bilinguals to have native-like control of both languages, called by Grosjean (1992: 52) “the monolingual view of bilingualism.” According to Cook (1993: 6), even a person with 20 per cent of L2 competence is superior in language competence to a monolingual, as he or she is a multicompetent speaker functioning at 120 per cent of monolingual competence. In fact, there is considerable evidence in favour of Grosjean’s (1992: 5455) wholistic view of bilingualism, postulating that “a bilingual is NOT the sum of two complete or incomplete monolinguals; rather, he or she has a unique and specific linguistic configuration” (Grosjean, 1992: 55). Grosjean’s view has been extended o multilingualism by de Angelis and Selinker (2001: 45), who state that “a multilingual is neither the sum of three or more monolinguals, nor a bilingual with an additional language.” Instead, they define a multilingual as “a speaker of three or more languages with unique linguistic configurations, often depending on individual history” (de Angelis and Selinker, 2001: 45). On the basis of a large body of research, Cook (1992: 571) has defined multicompetence as “the compound state of a mind with two grammars”, a definition which takes into account the interdependence of a bilingual’s languages. Cook’s current definition of multicompetence includes multilingualism and can be formulated as “the compound state of a mind with two or more grammars” (Cook, personal communication on June 16, 2011).

23

Moreover, as interlanguage transfer shows, in multilinguals the native language is not the only source of cross-linguistic influence. Undoubtedly, L2 learners do not have this possibility and have to rely on L1 transfer and intralingual processes in L2, such as hypothesis testing and overgeneralization. It can therefore be concluded that bilingualism and multilingualism are indeed distinct phenomena and that the terms should not be used interchangeably. However, some distinctions within multilingualism, such as the labelling of languages, also require clarification. 2.2. Distinctions related to the learning and acquisition of multiple languages Undoubtedly, as such umbrella terms as Second Language Acquisition or Third Language Acquisition indicate, the word “acquisition” is often applied to both acquisition and learning. However, as Hufeisen (2000: 212) points out, learning is conscious, occurs in formal contexts and involves explicit instruction, whereas acquisition is informal and takes place in naturalistic settings. Consequently, the rigorous study of both processes would require a clear distinction between them, yet it begs the question to what extent they are actually separable. Unlike Krashen (1981, in Tarone, 1983: 158), who claims that only acquired knowledge can be used to initiate utterances, whereas learned knowledge can exclusively serve as a Monitor, Tarone (1983: 158) admits the possibility of internalizing and automating learned knowledge. In this way, learning can also lead to acquisition. At the same time, even in formal learning, some aspects of the target language, such as the rules of article use in English, have to be acquired from the input (Sajavaara, 1986). A reasonable solution would thus be to retain the distinction between learning and acquisition, but only to the extent to which it is relevant. While comparing, for example, the internalization of rules in formal and informal contexts, the terms “learning” and “acquisition” must be applied consistently to the appropriate processes. By contrast, if a study is carried out with learners highly advanced in both L2 and L3 and if it involves the observation of performance, it becomes less relevant whether the languages were originally learned or acquired. In fact, precise use of these terms would require applying the appropriate labels to each subject, which might be impractical, especially in the case of large groups. However, if such advanced L2 and L3 learners participated in a neurolinguistic study, their individual learning histories would have to be taken into account, as there is evidence that, apart from the main Critical Period at puberty, there are smaller critical periods at six or

24

seven, and even at three years of age (Perani et al., 2003, Fabbro, 1999, in Bickes, 2004: 37). It might also be a good idea to introduce an umbrella term, such as “appropriation”, to cover both learning and acquisition in contexts where this distinction was irrelevant (cf. “apropriação” in Portuguese, although “aquisição” is also used, probably under the influence of English). Such a general term would make it possible to avoid the connotations of a formal or naturalistic process associated with learning and acquisition respectively. Another distinction which is often blurred is that between a foreign and a second language in English as well as in German, where “Zweitsprache” may be a second language, as distinct from “Fremdsprache” (foreign language), or the first foreign language (L2), as distinct from “Drittsprache” (third language) and further languages. By contrast, the distinction is fairly well preserved in French, where the term “langue étrangère” refers to a foreign language and “langue seconde” – to a second language. It is possible that the ease or difficulty of preserving such distinctions is due to the structure of a particular language, including the position of adjectives. For example, in Polish it is easier to distinguish between “język drugi” (second language), as distinct from “język obcy” (foreign language), and “drugi język” (the second language in a chronological sense). Similarly, while enumerating languages in the order of their acquisition or learning, in French one can say “la première langue” (the first language, though “la langue maternelle”, “native language”, is normally used), “la deuxième langue” (the second language), “la troisième langue” (the third language), etc. Certainly, labelling languages also requires the use of the appropriate symbols. It begs the question of how precise the traditional labels L1, L2, L3, etc. are. For example, the symbol L2 can be applied to the first non-native language without distinguishing between a second and a foreign language. This might be misleading, therefore, Boëchat-Fernandes (2007: 94) applies the label L1 only to the native language, L2 only to the second language, whereas all foreign languages are labelled FL, with numbers indicating the order in which they were learned: FL1 (the first foreign language), FL2, FL3, etc. This nomenclature is definitely more precise than the traditional one. However, how should we label multiple second languages in the case of a person who lives in a multilingual community such as Luxembourg and has another L1, e.g. Portuguese? Should his or her second languages be labelled SL1 (the first second language, say, German in Luxembourg), SL2 (the second second language, here French) and SL3 (the third second language, here Luxembourgish)? Such situations may be rare, but labels of this kind might be useful, for instance, for sociolinguistics studies on migration. Moreover, in the case of people raised bilingually from birth, it can be difficult to determine their native language. Cenoz (2000: 40) refrains from la-

25

belling them L1 and L2, as these symbols would be arbitrary, and proposes to call them Lx and Ly (see below). By contrast, Müller-Lancé (2003a: 17) numbers such a person’s native languages in order of proficiency: M1 (the bestknown native language), M2 (the second-best-known native language), etc. As for foreign languages, his nomenclature resembles that of BoëchatFernandes (2007) in that he labels them F1, F2, F3, etc. However, these labels apply in cases when linguistic competence is more important than chronology (Müller-Lancé, 2003a: 17). Hence, F1 is the best-known foreign language, F2 is the second-best-known foreign language, etc. By contrast, if the only criterion is chronology, Müller-Lancé (2003a: 17) uses the traditional labels L1, L2, L3, L4, etc. A possibility of combining competence and chronology has been offered by Hufeisen (1998, 2000). In her approach, numbers are reserved for the chronological order, whereas proficiency levels are indicated by letters. Thus, the language combination DL1 EL2a FL3c LL4d and SLb indicates German as a native language, English as the first foreign language (near-native), French as the second foreign language (intermediate), Latin as the third foreign language (a beginner level) and Swedish as the fourth foreign language (advanced) (Hufeisen, 2000: 211). Still, precise as this classification may be, it may be difficult to apply it to a particular study, especially if there is no possibility of carrying out a placement test in each language and the subjects have to estimate their proficiency themselves. Thus, if a study aims to investigate, for example, transfer from L2 into L3, a practical, albeit slightly oversimplified assumption would be that L2 proficiency is higher than L3 proficiency. It might thus be reasonable to label the native language L1, the best-known foreign language L2 and the second-best-known foreign language L3, as has been done by Wlosowicz (2008/2009). A still further classification has been proposed by Hammarberg (2010), taking into account such factors as simultaneous acquisition, type of knowledge (e.g. only reading ability), scanty knowledge of a language, intermittent or alternating acquisition and “bonus” languages, or languages which are easy to understand if you know a related one (Hammarberg, 2010: 94). Hammarberg rejects the linear model based on a purely chronological order and defines as L1 “a language established up to a certain level in infancy”, and as L2 “any language encountered and acquired after infancy”, when L1 categories are already established (Hammarberg, 2010: 94). Consequently, one may have one or more L1s and one or more L2s. Finally, Hammarberg (2010: 97) applies the term “third language” (L3) to “a non-native language which is currently being used or acquired in a situation where the person already has knowledge of one or more L2s in addition to one or more L1s.” If,

26

in contrast to L3, all L1s and prior L2s are termed “background languages”, Hammarberg (2010: 97) assumes that such terms as L4 will not be necessary. In order to avoid the possible confusion associated with the terms “first”, “second” and “third language”, Hammarberg (2010: 99) suggests replacing them by “primary”, “secondary” and “tertiary languages” respectively. According to Hammarberg (2010: 101), this model characterizes the languages “according to the differential cognitive roles they play for their user.” However, it may sometimes be necessary to distinguish between L3 and further languages, yet introducing separate categories for “fourth language acquisition”, “fifth language acquisition”, etc. would not be reasonable either. As de Angelis (2007: 11) observes, the term “Third Language Acquisition” should be reserved for the acquisition of L3, while “Multilingual Acquisition” is too vague, because it is the learner who is multilingual and not the acquisition process. Therefore, she postulates introducing the term “Third or Additional Language Acquisition” to cover the acquisition of all languages beyond L2, without giving preference to any particular language. Moreover, as has been indicated above, classification problems are often posed by the simultaneous acquisition of two or more languages. While the acquisition of two languages can be either simultaneous or consecutive, in the case of three languages there are four possible acquisition orders: L1→L2→L3, Lx/Ly→L3, L1→Lx/Ly and Lx/Ly/Lz, and in the case of four languages, there are eight possible orders (Cenoz, 2000: 40). Undoubtedly, the great variety of acquisition orders and contexts calls for different typologies of multilinguals. On the basis of different social contexts of acquisition, Hoffmann (2001: 19) has distinguished five types of trilinguals: children from bilingual families whose home languages differ from the community language, members of bilingual communities with a different home language, bilinguals who have become trilingual by immigration, bilinguals learning a foreign language at school, and members of trilingual communities. Another typology of multilinguals, proposed by Müller-Lancé (2003a and b), is based on cognitive and affective factors such as learning and teaching styles, language anxiety and language experience, and is not limited to three languages. According to Müller-Lancé (2003: 131), the monolinguoid is multilingual only “on paper”: due to a high level of language anxiety and Monitor overuse, he or she behaves like a monolingual, avoiding all transfer, even positive. By contrast, the bilinguoid has two dominant languages, the native language and one second or foreign language, usually one connected with a longer stay abroad, and behaves like a bilingual while inferencing or associating. Finally, the multilinguoid is a real multilingual who uses all his or her languages and establishes connections between them.

27

Still, further differences between multilinguals require the creation of further typologies. In the case of bilingualism, twenty-five types of bilinguals have been proposed (Safont-Jordà, 2005: 26-27), based on such factors as cognitive organization (coordinate, compound and subordinate, Weinreich, 1953/1974), age of acquisition (early or late bilinguals), the mastery of both languages (balanced and dominant bilinguals), and even the status of the languages (vertical, diagonal and horizontal bilinguals). The complexity of bilingualism begs further questions. For example, would an early multilingual be a person who acquired at least three languages in early childhood, or an early bilingual who learned L3 later? A possible solution might be to distinguish between an early multilingual, or a person who acquired three or more languages in early childhood, an early-bilingual-latemultilingual, or an early bilingual who learnt L3 much later (e.g. after puberty) and a late multilingual, who learnt L2, L3, etc. at a later age, for example, at school or at university. Certainly, given the heterogeneity of multilingual competencies (Coste, Moore and Zarate, 1997), multilinguals cannot be “balanced”. In fact, as Müller-Lancé (2002: 141) remarks, multilingualism as an educational goal would require abandoning the ideals of native-like competence and of the coordinate bilingual. Taking into account multilinguals’ language biographies, including disruptions in the study or use of languages, and the different functions performed by different languages, the present author has proposed a further, more detailed typology of multilinguals (Wlosowicz, 2010: 454): 1. The additive multilingual (le plurilingue additif) has a good command of several languages and uses them regularly (e.g. an interpreter with three working languages, A, B and C). 2. The subtractive multilingual (le plurilingue soustractif) has learned several languages in his or her lifetime, but he or she has lost the ability to use one or more relatively well-known languages. 3. The complementary multilingual (le plurilingue complémentaire) knows several languages which perform different functions, for example, in a multilingual society. In fact, such a person does not have to possess a high level of proficiency in each language, but he or she may attain only the competence necessary for particular functions. Blommaert et al. (2005, in Dyers, 2008: 114) call this kind of multilingualism “truncated multilingualism”, but to the present author, this term seems quite unfair, just like calling a bilingual that is not balanced “semilingual” or “alingual” (see Grosjean, 1992: 52).

28

4. The transitory multilingual (le plurilingue transitoire) is in the process of learning one or more languages and forgetting another (or others) as a function of his or her language needs. 5. The alternative multilingual (le plurilingue alternant): his or her languages become more or less strongly activated as a result of their use; thus, he or she may regain access to a disactivated language. 6. The beginning multilingual (le plurilingue débutant) is a bilingual who starts learning a third language, or a monolingual learning two languages at school. 7. The dormant multilingual (le plurilingue dormant) only uses one or two languages (in the latter case, he or she has become bilingual again), whereas all others are disactivated (especially a person who learned his or her languages at school). Of course, this typology is still quite tentative and may be expanded on the basis of later research. Perhaps on the basis of the learning and/or acquisition context, it might be useful to divide multilinguals into natural multilinguals, who have acquired all their languages in naturalistic settings, formalcontext multilinguals, who have learned all their foreign languages in formal contexts, and mixed-context multilinguals, who have partly learned and partly acquired their languages (e.g. learners who took an immersion course after a period of formal schooling). Finally, some researchers point out the difference between societal and individual bi- and multilingualism. For example, Hamers and Blanc (2000) have proposed a distinction between bilinguality (individual) and bilingualism (societal). This distinction has been preserved by Aronin and Ó Laoire (2001), who apply the term “multilinguality” to individual multilingualism and “multilingualism” to societal multilingualism. By contrast, Riley (2003), who also makes such a distinction, calls individual multilingualism “plurilingualism” (le plurilinguisme) and reserves the term “multilingualism” (le multilinguisme) for societal multilingualism too. However, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (2000: 11) defines plurilingualism as the knowledge and use of several (interconnected) languages, including various cultural competencies, whereas multilingualism is described as the largely separate knowledge of several languages learned, for example, at school. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, a unified terminology should be adopted. Given the influence of the CEFR, it is its distinction between plurilingualism and multilingualism that should be widely adopted, whereas individual and societal multilingualism might be described as multilinguality and multilingualism respectively.

29

3. Methodological issues Just as the terminology of multilingualism has not yet been fully established and needs further development, there are also doubts concerning research methodology. First of all, the selection and classification of subjects should be as precise as possible, but at the same time, it must be realistic. Given the variety of subjects’ learning experiences and the dynamics of multilingualism (Herdina and Jessner, 2002), group homogeneity is very difficult to achieve. As Van Gelderen et al. (2003: 23) point out, “populations of L3 learners will often be more heterogeneous than experimental design demands.” Certainly, the groups should not be too heterogeneous, as mixing, for instance, beginners with advanced L3 learners might falsify the results. However, an attempt to establish homogeneous groups of multilinguals might result in individual case studies or the creation of groups too small for statistical analysis to be possible (Wlosowicz, 2008/2009). In particular, as the Critical Period makes the distinction between early and late language acquisition/learning relevant, a precise neurolinguistic study on multilingual language organization would need subjects of a specific type, e.g. early multilinguals (see above). By contrast, a large-scale study on communication strategies and errors in L3 production could be less selective. Moreover, as has been mentioned above, establishing the order of languages can be problematic and sticking strictly to the chronological order is not always a good solution. First, in the case of some early bilinguals it may be difficult to establish the L1, so levels of proficiency in each of those “native” languages can be useful (Müller-Lancé, 2003a). Second, if a subject’s language combination does not correspond exactly to the study design, should such a person be excluded, or should his or her languages be labelled differently? For example, if one needs subjects highly advanced in L2 and L3, but a subject’s language combination is L1 L2a L3d L4a (in Hufeisen’s terms), should L3 or L4 be taken into account? Arguably, one might use L4 instead of L3, but possible L3 influence should not be ruled out. Similarly, data analysis should take environmental factors and language biographies into consideration, especially in studies requiring great precision, for example, when the results are based on reaction times. As Votaw (1992: 302-303) argues, longer reaction times to Lj targets presented after Li primes may be due to the separate use of languages in the community. She thus proposes a distinction between constrained and unconstrained bilinguals, that is, bilinguals living in communities in which both languages are used separately, or in which code-mixing is frequent, respectively.

30

This distinction might also apply to multilinguals, but here the situation would be more complex. In fact, an “unconstrained” multilingual might not necessarily live in a multilingual code-mixing community, but he or she might be a multilinguoid establishing cross-linguistic connections in the learning process. Consequently, research on multilingualism should not only use a variety of methods, from lexical decision tasks, through free production tasks to questionnaires, but these methods should be combined together (as they actually sometimes are) in order to yield a coherent picture. At the same time, research design should be realistic and take into account what is relevant to a particular study. For example, if the subjects are highly advanced in L2 and L3, it may become less relevant whether they initially learned or acquired those languages. In fact, even the labelling of languages may depend on the study design. As Hammarberg (2010: 98) observes, “[i]t is no problem that multilingual language learners are sometimes viewed as ‘L2 learners’ and sometimes as ‘L3 learners’, depending on the research objective.” However, the use of terminology should generally be as precise as possible.

4. Suggestions for terminology development By and large, most influential publications on multilingualism are written in English and that is also the language in which most of the terminology is established. In fact, English is the language of most academic publications, which leads to the impoverishment or even the loss of academic registers in smaller languages (Swales, 1997: 379). This is also visible in the field of multilingualism research. While in English such terms as “bilingualism” and its different types, “cross-linguistic influence”, “fossilization” or “language attrition,” are quite well-known and consistently used, other languages often lack adequate terminology. On the one hand, they use certain terms interchangeably, for example, “Bilingualismus” and “Zweisprachigkeit” in German, or “bilingwizm” (sometimes incorrectly called ‘bilingwalizm’) and “dwujęzyczność” in Polish. Some of the terms are used quite arbitrarily in some contexts rather than others, e.g. “dwujęzyczność addytywna/ subtraktywna” (additive/ subtractive bilingualism), but “bilingwizm współrzędny/ złożony/ podrzędny” (coordinate/ compound/ subordinate bilingualism) in Polish, or “additive/ subtraktive Zweisprachigkeit” and “ausgeglichener/ dominanter Bilingualismus” (balanced/ dominant bilingualism) in German. Similarly, native terms are sometimes used interchangeably with borrowings from English, e.g. “koordinierte, kombinierte or zusammengesetzte, and subordinierte Zweisprachigkeit”, or “międzykulturowy” and “interkulturowy” (intercultural).

31

In fact, some terms may not exist in a particular language and maintaining the existing distinctions in translation would require the creation of additional terms. For instance, “wielojęzyczność” in Polish can refer to multilingualism, plurilingualism or multilinguality. Should we introduce a term like “multilingwalność” for “multilinguality”, as distinct from “wielojęzyczność” (multilingualism), or would the former term sound too artificial in Polish? Probably the most reasonable solution would be to modify them with adjectives, hence “wielojęzyczność indywidualna” (individual multilingualism) and “wielojęzyczność społeczna” (societal multilingualism). Similarly, the translation of “cross-linguistic influence” into Polish remains problematic: Should it be “wpływy międzyjęzykowe” or “wpływy innych języków”, or should it be rendered as “transfer i interferencje” (transfer and interference), although the latter does not cover all possible types of crosslinguistic influence? On the other hand, some non-English researchers supplement terms in their native languages with the original English terms in footnotes or in brackets, as Arabski (1996) has done in Polish and Müller-Lancé (2003a) in German. Others even use borrowings from English in unchanged form, as, for example, Bickes (2004: 36, italics original) writes about Weinreich: “er unterschied coordinate, compound, oder subordinate bilingualism.” Another example would be: “Andere Arbeiten näherten sich der Fragestellung mit Begriffen wie common storage – shared storage – separate storage” (Bickes, 2004: 36, italics original). This might indicate that English terminology is perceived as universal and does not necessarily require translation. However, following Swales (1997), it can be argued that the omnipresence of English blocks the creation of terminology in other languages. Certainly, an important role in creating non-English terminology is played by international documents translated into a number of languages, such as the CEFR. Moreover, the development of native terminology in every country should be encouraged. In fact, older linguistic terms, such as the names of parts of speech, often stem from each country’s research tradition (e.g. noun/ rzeczownik/ substantif/ Nomen). Similarly, some terms in psycholinguistics which come from psychology were created in each language independently (e.g. priming/torowanie/amorçage/Bahnung). It would also be a good idea to include a glossary of English terms translated into the native language (e.g. Polish) and some other international languages, such as French and German, as did, for example, Arab ski (1996) in his book Przyswajanie języka obcego i pamięć werbalna. However, given the dominant position of English in multilingualism research publications, it must be admitted that terminology in other languages will inevitably consist mostly of alternative “labels” for English words, which will often be based on borrowing from English as well.

32

5. Conclusions The rapidly developing field of Third or Additional Language Acquisition and Multilingualism poses a number of challenges to researchers, both in terminology and methodology. Undoubtedly, the development of terminology in languages other than English should be encouraged and the native terms should be propagated in parallel to their English equivalents. Efforts should also be made to develop typologies of multilinguals in order to account for different aspects of multilingualism, including different acquisition contexts and language biographies. At the same time, though as rigorous as possible, research methodology should also be reasonable. Thus, the selection and classification of subjects should be relevant to the purpose of each particular study. However, many questions still remain to be answered and, apart from being an overview of earlier studies and an attempt to propose three new typologies of multilinguals, this paper constitutes an invitation for researchers to propose new research designs and terms.

References Arabski, J. (1996). Przyswajanie języka obcego i pamięć werbalna. Katowice: Wydawnictwo Śląsk. Aronin, L. & Ó Laoire, M. (2001). Exploring multilingualism in cultural contexts: Towards a notion of multilinguality. Paper presented at the second International Conference on Third Language Acquisition and Trilingualism, Fryske Akademy, 13-15 September 2001 (CD-ROM publication). Bickes, H. (2004). Bilingualismus, Mehrsprachigkeit und mentales Lexikon – evolutionsbiologische, soziokulturelle und kognitionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven. Fremdsprachen Lehren und Lernen, 33, 27 – 51. Blommaert, J., Collins, J. & Slembrouck, S. (2005). Spaces of multilingualism. Language and Communication, 25 (3), 197-216. Boëchat-Fernandes, M.H. (2007). The CCR theory: A cognitive strategy research proposal for individual multilingualism. Revista Luminária, 8 (1), 93-98. Retrieved October 12, 2011, from http://www.ieps.org.br/luminaria.pdf. Cenoz, J. (2000). Research on multilingual acquisition. In J. Cenoz & U. Jessner, (Eds.), English in Europe: The Acquisition of a Third Language (pp. 39-53). Clevedon/ Buffalo/ Toronto/ Sydney: Multilingual Matters. Clyne, M. (1997). Some of the things trilinguals do. The International Journal of Bilingualism, 1, 95-116. Cook, V. (1992). Evidence for multicompetence. Language Learning, 42 (4), 557-591. Cook, V. (1993). Wholistic multi-competence – jeu d’esprit or paradigm shift? In B. Kettemann & W. Wieden (Eds.), Current Issues in European Second Language Acquisition Research (pp. 38). Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. Coste, D., Moore, D. & Zarate, G. (1997). Compétence plurilingue et pluriculturelle. Langues vivantes. Vers un Cadre Européen Commun de référence pour l’enseignement et

33 l’apprentissage des langues vivantes : études préparatoires. Strasbourg : Éditions du Conseil de l’Europe. De Angelis, G. (2007). Third or Additional Language Acquistion. Clevedon/Buffalo/Toronto: Multilingual Matters. De Angelis, G. & Selinker, L. (2001). Interlanguage transfer and competing linguistic systems in the multilingual mind. In J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cross-Linguistic Influence in Third Language Acquisition: Psycholinguistic Perspectives. (pp. 42-58 ). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, Ltd. Dyers, C. (2008). Truncated multilingualism or language shift? An examination of language use in intimate domains in a new non-racial working class township in South Africa. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29 (2), 110-126. Fabbro, F. (1999). The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism: An Introduction. Hove, East Sussex: Psychology. Grosjean, F. (1992). Another view of bilingualism. In R.J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals (pp. 51-62). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers. Haarmann, H. (1980). Multilingualismus (I). Probleme der Systematik und Typologie. Tübingen: Narr. Hamers, J.F.& Blanc, M.H.A. (2000). Bilinguality and Bilingualism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hammarberg, B. (2010). The languages of the multilingual: Some conceptual and terminological issues. IRAL, 48, 91-104. Herdina, P.& Jessner, U. (2002). A Dynamic Model of Multilingualism. Perspectives of Change in Psycholinguistics. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Hoffmann, C. (2001). The status of trilingualism in bilingualism studies. In J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen & U. Jessner (Eds.), Looking Beyond Second Language Acquisition: Studies in Tri- and Multilingualism (pp. 13-25 ). Tübingen: Stauffenburg. Hufeisen, B. (1998). L3 – Stand der Forschung – Was bleibt zu tun? In B. Hufeisen & B. Lindemann (Eds.), Tertiärsprachen: Theorien, Modelle, Methoden (pp. 169 – 184). Tübingen: Stauffenburg. Hufeisen, B. (2000). A European perspective – tertiary languages with a focus on German as L3. In J.W. Rosenthal (Ed.), Handbook of Undergraduate Second Language Education: English as a Second Language, Bilingual and Foreign Language Instruction for a Multilingual World (pp. 209-229 ). Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum. Kellerman, E. (1987). Aspects of Transferability in Second Language Acquisition. Nijmegen: Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen. Krashen, S. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford: New York: Pergamon Press. Le Cadre Commun de Référence pour les Langues : Apprendre, Enseigner, Évaluer. (2000). Strasbourg : Conseil de la Coopération Culturelle. Division des Langues Vivantes. Mackey, W.F. (1976). Bilinguisme et contact des langues. Paris: Klincksieck. Mitchell, R. & Myles, F. (1998). Second Language Learning Theories. London: Arnold. Müller-Lancé, J. (2002). Tertiärsprachen aus Sicht der Kognitiven Linguistik: Überlegungen zu Fremdsprachenunterricht und Fremdsprachenfolge. In J. Müller-Lancé & C.M. Riehl (Eds.), Ein Kopf – viele Sprachen: Koexistenz, Interaktion und Vermittlung (pp. 133-149). Aachen: Shaker. Müller-Lancé, J. (2003a). Der Wortschatz romanischer Sprachen im Tertiärsprachenerwerb. Lernerstrategien am Beispiel des Spanischen, Italienischen und Katalanischen. Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag. Müller-Lancé, J. (2003b). A strategy model of multilingual learning. In J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen, & U. Jessner (Eds.), The Multilingual Lexicon (pp. 117 – 132). Dordrecht/ Boston/ London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Nayak, N., Hansen, N., Krueger, N., McLaughlin, B. (1990). Language-learning strategies in monolingual and multilingual adults. Language Learning, 40 (2), 221-244.

34 Pennington, M. (1999). Equivalence classification in language transfer. Paper presented at TESOL 1999, New York. Perani, D., Abutalebi, J., Paulesu, E., Bramati, S., Scifo, P., Cappa, S.F. & Fazio, F. (2003). The role of age of acquisition and language usage in early, high-proficient bilinguals: An fMRI study during verbal fluency. Human Brain Mapping, 19, 170-182. Rast, R. (2010). The use of prior linguistic knowledge in the early stages of L3 acquisition. IRAL, 48, 159-183. Riley, P. (2003). Le «linguisme» - multi – poly- pluri? Points de repère terminologiques et sociolinguistiques. In F. Carton & P. Riley (Eds.), Vers une compétence plurilingue (pp. 8 – 17). Sèvres: Le français dans le monde. Safont-Jordà, M.P. (2005). Third Language Learners. Pragmatic Production and Awareness. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, Ltd. Sajavaara, K. (1986). Transfer and second language speech processing. In E. Kellerman & M. Sharwood-Smith (Eds.), Crosslinguistic Influence in Second Language Acquistion (pp. 66 - 79). Oxford/ Toronto/ Sydney/ Frankfurt: Pergamon Press. Swales, J.M. (1997). English as Tyrannosaurus rex. World Englishes, 16 (3), 373-382. Tarone, E. (1983). On the variability of interlanguage systems. Applied Linguistics, 4, 143-163. Van Gelderen, A., Schoonen, R., de Glopper, K., Hulstijn, J., Snellings, P., Simis, A., Stevenson, M. (2003). Roles of linguistic knowledge, metacognitive knowledge and processing speed in L3, L2 and L1 Reading comprehension. A structural equation modeling approach. International Journal of Bilingualism, 7 (1), 7-25. Votaw, M.C. (1992). A Functional View of Bilingual Lexicosemantic Organization. In R.J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals (pp. 299-321). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers. Weinreich, U. (1953, 8th edition 1974). Languages in Contact. Findings and Problems. The Hague/ Paris: Mouton. Wilson, D. & Sperber D. (2006) Relevance theory. In G. Ward & L Horn (Eds.), Handbook of Pragmatics (pp.607-632). Oxford: Blackwell. Włosowicz, T.M. (2010). Le déséquilibre naturel de la compétence plurilingue : enjeux théoriques et méthodologiques. In Dutka-Mańkowska, A. & Giermak-Zielińska, T. (Eds.), Des mots et du texte aux conceptions de la description linguistique (pp. 449-456). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Wlosowicz, T.M. (2008/2009, published 2011). Les Influences Interlinguales sur la Compréhension des Textes dans la Troisième Langue : Une Approche Cognitivo-Pragmatique. Villeneuve d’Ascq : Atelier National de Reproduction des Thèses.

35

Academic Discourse and Self-efficacy in Diverse Settings Beata Webb Bond University, Australia

Abstract This paper examines the students’ studying at an Australian university and their self-efficacy associated to academic discourse. Further, it investigates the relationship between self-efficacy and students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The paper introduces the background concepts of self-efficacy and of the internationalisation of the Australian education. Next, the paper describes the research project, presents and discusses the results. The paper ends with conclusions and recommendations for teachers working with diverse classes.

Keywords: multilingualism, language biographies, terminology, research methodology 1. Theoretical background: self-efficacy and internationalisation of the Australian education The number of the studies examining the concept of self-efficacy introduced by Bandura (1977, 1986, 1994, 1997, 1999) as part of the social cognitive theory has burgeoned with a remarkable speed over the last two decades (Bandura, 1986; Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Gerbino and Pastorelli, 2003; Bandura and Locke, 2003; Carroll, Houghton, Wood, Unsworth, Hattie, Gordon and Bower, 2009; Piechurska-Kuciel, in press; Zimmerman, 1995; Jang, 2006). The examined contexts include the role of self-efficacy in education and educational internationalisation (Lancaster 2005, Piechurska-Kuciel, in press; Lane and Lane, 2001; Gaffney 2011; Graham 2011; Ferrara 2005; Wong 2005). Self-efficacy is defined as a person’s belief in their ability to produce the desired outcomes (Bandura 1997). Following Bandura (1986, p. 391), it is “people’s judgement of their own capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances.” As

36

Bandura states (1986, 1997), self-efficacy is concerned not with the skills one has but with the judgment about what one can do. This judgment of one’s own abilities is created through the process of engaging in activities, evaluating and interpreting own success, and on the basis of that evaluation, developing self-beliefs about own abilities to engage in such activities in the future (Bandura, 1986; Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Gerbino and Pastorelli, 2003; Bandura, and Locke, 2003; Piechurska-Kuciel, in press). People’s self-efficacy, based on the evaluation of previous experience, will influence their ability to complete these tasks in future (Bandura, 1986; Piechurska-Kuciel in press). Bandura (1994) proposed the following four sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, social modelling, social persuasion and reducing people’s stress reactions. He (Bandura, 1994) viewed mastery experiences as the most effective way of influencing self-efficacy. In short, success increases self-efficacy while failure undermines it, particularly if self-efficacy has not been strongly established yet. The sustained effort over time plays a very important role, as persevering and overcoming difficulties over a longer time builds resistance and creates a stronger sense of self-efficacy. Social modelling is the second source of self-efficacy influence and it refers to vicarious experiences provided by people who, in similar circumstances, have been able to persevere and succeed. The third source of influence involves social persuasion whereby people are simply convinced by others that they possess the skills necessary for accomplishing the task. The fourth source of modifying self-beliefs is through reducing stress and negative emotional reactions. It is not the stress itself that is debilitating to self-efficacy but the way the individual reacts to it. The knowledge of the sources of influence over self-efficacy is crucial as all of these sources can be manipulated in attempts to increase the students’ self-efficacy in relation to academic discourse. Research into the self-referent thought over the past forty years has supported the key principle of the social cognitive theory that people’s sense of self-efficacy determines control over events in their lives (Bandura 1986, 1997). Therefore, the role of self-efficacy in learning is central as studies indicate that learners with similar skills deal differently with difficult tasks. Learners with high self-efficacy pursue the course of discovery and trial-anderror in achieving success. In contrast, learners with low(er) self-efficacy are “self-doubters” who are more likely to abandon the complicated process leading to success which requires applying alternative forms of behaviour and strategies (Bandura 1986, p. 391). As a result, learners with high selfefficacy understood as one’s judgment of own abilities are potentially more successful learners. Consequently, students engaging in university learning

37

should show a high level of self-efficacy in their application of the academic discourse which is instrumental for academic achievement. However, many students commencing their university studies struggle with following the academic discourse paradigm adopted by a particular educational institution. One of the ways to maximise the effectiveness of teaching is to learn about the students’ self-efficacy as this is a powerful indicator of the students’ future success (Piechurska-Kuciel, in press; Lane & Lane 2001; Graham, 2011; Jang, 2006; Ferrara, 2005; Carroll, Houghton, Wood, Unsworth, Hattie, Gordon & Bower, 2009; Bandura, 1994, 1997). This knowledge can help the lecturers and designers of curricula evaluate students’ needs and enhance students’ academic success by modifying their self-efficacy. At an Australian university, the examination of the students’ self-efficacy must take into consideration students’ diversity. Australian education system has undergone a dramatic process of internationalisation in the last twenty years, and that process has had a profound impact on all aspects of education. To illustrate the speed of change, in 1990, there were only 47 000 international students in Australia. In 2009, international education was Australia’s third biggest export sector, providing the country with 18.6 billion dollar income and supporting 125 thousand jobs. At the time of writing this paper, in May 2011, there were nearly 700,000 international students from over 190 countries enrolled in Australian educational institutions. Chinese and Indian students formed the largest groups of international students and the United States of America and Brazil were the only two countries out of the top ten which were not from the Asian continent. More and more studies are undertaken to shed the light on how diverse classes work and to what extent the diversity of student population should influence the organisation of teaching and learning processes (Gearon, Miller & Kostogriz 2009; Lo Bianco 2009; Kostogriz 2009; Ryan & Carroll 2006; Ryan & Helmundt 2006; Dunn & Carroll 2006; Webb 2009; Malczewska-Webb 2011; Webb, in press). Consequently, the issue of self-efficacy in relation to academic discourse will be examined within the context of students’ cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds.

2. Description of the research project: background, research tool and research sample The aim of the project was to examine the university students’ level of selfefficacy in relation to academic discourse from the cross-cultural perspective. The analysis was undertaken in 2010 and 2011 and it involved 108 students

38

from the following countries: Australia (36), the United States of America (36) and China (36). Students were asked to answer the survey concerning their perceived difficulties with different forms and categories of academic discourse. The survey consisted of ten closed and one open question. The following five questions concerned difficulties with spoken academic discourse: 1. “spoken academic English,” 2. “giving oral seminar presentations,” 3. “expressing own opinions in class,” 4. “understanding lecturer’s different accents” and 5. “following lectures.” The following four questions asked about the difficulties with written academic discourse: 6. “written academic English,” 7. “the quantity of reading that is required,” 8. “writing critical research papers” and 9. “referencing and sourcing materials.” The last closed question investigated difficulties with “vocabulary specific to their subject area.” The final, open question, enquired about “the most difficult aspects of the study at the university.” The answers to questions about difficulty with various forms of academic discourse were evaluated on a four-point scale. The responses “agree” and “strongly agree” formed categories perceived as areas of difficulty. These categories identified low self-efficacy categories as self-efficacy is “impacted in a negative way” if learners struggle to complete the task (Ferrara, 2005, p.36). Accordingly, the negative responses “disagree” and “strongly disagree” indicated the perceived areas as non-problematic, showing the students’ selfbelief in accomplishing a given task successfully. First, the results of each of the three groups were analysed separately, then the Australian results were compared to the results of the American students. Finally, the first comparison was juxtaposed with the results of the Chinese students.

3. Australian and American students: results and interpretation The amount of reported difficulties by both groups was very similar, with the Australian students reporting 5.9% more difficulties with academic discourse (19.2%: 69) than the Americans (13.3% :48). This was surprising as one would expect the domestic group to demonstrate the highest overall self-efficacy with “domestic” forms of academic discourse. Next, the details of difficulties identified by over 20% of the students were examined. Over 20% of the American group found the following three categories the most difficult: “referencing and sourcing materials” (27.8%), “quantity of required reading” (25%) and “writing critical research papers” (25%). The American students demonstrated lower self-efficacy in relation to the written form of academic discourse. In fact, two clear clusters were

39

observed and the cluster of the most problematic categories consisted of the academic writing categories. The categories perceived as the least problematic by the American students were the most broadly defined “spoken academic English,” (0%) and “written academic English” (2.8%). Next, the results of the survey undertaken by the Australian students were examined. The area of difficulty reported by almost half of the group (44%) was “the quantity of required reading.” Over a third (30.6%) of the students reported difficulty with “giving oral presentations” and almost a third found the writing of the “critical research papers” difficult. “Referencing and sourcing materials” and “expressing own opinions in class” were viewed by almost 20% (19.4%) of students as problematic. Similarly to the American students, the Australians declared the highest level of self-efficacy in the most generalised areas of “written academic English” and “spoken academic English”, with only 2.8% of the students perceiving it as problematic. As far as the differences between the two groups are concerned, the Australians reported more of a “mixed bag” of difficulties with academic discourse, showing lower self-efficacy than their American classmates mainly in the areas of “oral seminar presentations” (19.5% difference), “the quantity of required reading” (19.4%) and “expressing own opinion in class” (13.8%). Overall, American students exhibited higher level of self-efficacy, particularly in the area of academic spoken discourse. Similarities of the responses to the closed questions between the two groups exceeded the differences, with the majority of the examined areas (70%) showing almost identical results. Both groups identified “writing critical research papers” as a high-difficulty category and overall spoken discourse was perceived as easier than written. Self-efficacy of both groups was very high in relation to the most generalised and therefore most subjective categories of “spoken academic English” and “written academic English.” In half of the categories, the differences are either non-existent or are minimal (up to 2.8%). Overall, the levels of difficulty reported by both groups were similarly low, below 20%, with both groups stating the highest self-efficacy in the same areas. As the next step, the Australian and American students’ responses to the open question concerning the most difficult aspects of their studies were compared. A similar amount of responses was collected, with 36 difficulties reported by the Australian and 40 by American students, which made the comparison more valid. Only 25% of the Australian responses attributed academic difficulties to academic discourse and the majority of 75% to other aspects of study such as group work (22.2%), time-management or workload. The majority of 19.4% out of 25% of the discourse-related difficulties were related to the written academic discourse and included the following: reading (all the reading!), referencing style (getting used to different referencing

40

styles) and research papers. Only 5.6% of the Australian students identified giving presentations and speaking academically as the problematic aspects of spoken discourse. Similarly to the Australian students, the majority (67.5%) of the American responses to the open question were associated with aspects of their study unrelated to the academic discourse. Other aspects of their studies such as the grading system, assessment in general, workload and class size (smaller than used to) posed a challenge. The third of the American students (32.5%) identified discourse-related issues and most of them (27.5%) were related to the written domain and comprised research papers, referencing, reading, and linguistic differences (spelling, lexical differences). The detailed reported difficulties differed between the two groups as the Americans specified categories caused by different requirements of the Australian system. Consequently, when pointing to the difficulties with research papers, students stated that the assessment was too heavily weighted on research papers, learning new type of papers was difficult and in fact, not just the format was different but overall, papers are slightly different. As for referencing, some American students found referencing in all assignments, learning new citation and differences in citation (APA not MLA) different and difficult. Similarly to the Australians, some American students found the amount of required reading overwhelming (the amount is too much). Linguistic differences with changing the spelling and some lexical differences were also noted. Some American students found communicating/understanding/discussion with tutors whose English is not their first language very difficult. American students identified several areas of difficulties stemming from the differences between the educational systems in Australia and the USA. These areas consisted of different assessment and different papers, new learning approaches (Adjusting to the new learning approaches. Different from home.). They also found the examination system different from home and trying to balance exams in all subjects problematic. The grading system was identified as a cultural difference, difficult due to differences with the grading scale causing confusion/stress to US students. To sum up, the open question confirmed some differences between the Australian and American students arising from different educational systems. Similarities, however, outweighed the differences, even with patterns of distribution of particular difficulties. Both groups found the written discourse more problematic, with American students identifying more difficulties associated with the differences in requirements between the Australian educational demands and the system they are used to. Both cohorts identified the amount of reading as difficult and the Australian students showed more difficulties with specific aspects of spoken academic discourse.

41

Both groups showed high level of self-efficacy in the domain of the spoken discourse, with Americans demonstrating more confidence in their abilities. Overall, both groups exhibited the highest efficacy in the most subjectively defined areas of “spoken academic English” and “written academic English.”

4. Chinese students: results and interpretation After examining the results of the two groups of students from Australia and the USA, the results of the students from China were added for further analysis and comparison. It aimed at examining the self-efficacy in academic discourse of students whose English was not their first language. It is important to note that in order to study at this Australian university, the students with English as their Additional Language must achieve the minimum entry IELTS score of 6.0-7.0, depending on the program. This level of English proficiency should enable the students to function linguistically and academically within the domain of academic English at a university. Overall difficulties reported by the Chinese group on working with academic discourse provided more initial contrast that was expected. With 63.6% of the students reporting the difficulty in academic discourse, the amount of difficulties identified by the Chinese group was 44.4% larger than the American and 50.3% larger than the Australian result. In fact, the criterion of examining difficulties only reported by the minimum of 20% of the students which was applied to the previous two cohorts, could not be applied as all categories of the academic discourse were declared as causing difficulty by over 41.7% of the students. The top four most problematic aspects of the academic discourse were declared problematic by over 70% of the students. Three out of four most difficult categories were associated with the written academic discourse. “Writing critical research papers” was identified as difficult by 83.3% of the Chinese students. “Spoken academic discourse” and “written academic discourse,” the most subjective of the discourse aspects, were viewed as problematic by 77.8% and 77.2% respectively. The third place was shared also with “the quantity of the required reading” (77.2%). The written discourse was perceived as more difficult than the spoken discourse, although all categories were viewed as difficult by over 40% of the students. The examination of the Chinese students’ responses to closed questions indicated that their self-efficacy in relation to academic discourse was overwhelmingly lower than that of their Australian or American colleagues.

42

The Chinese students’ responses to the open question were examined next. The students made 36 comments, which was closely comparable to the quantity of the comments made by the Australian and American students (36 and 40 comments respectively). Content wise, however, the responses were almost opposite. The majority of the comments (83.3%) attributed problems with their studies to inability to use academic discourse properly, and only 16.7% attributed problems with their studies to other factors. The majority of the Chinese group identified spoken discourse as the most problematic (52.8%), followed by the difficulties related to the written discourse (22.2%) while some students declared the problems with both (8.3%). Only 16.7% of the responses to the open question recognized other factors than academic discourse as impacting their studies. These factors included research, assessment and social problems. It seems that while answering the closed questions the Chinese students chose the written discourse as the most problematic domain, in the open question it was the spoken discourse they focused on. The study of the responses to the open question revealed a high level of linguistic and cultural awareness of the Chinese students. Students showed knowledge of the precise aspects of spoken discourse, of the role of listening in academic discourse discourse, as well as the micro-skills of particular language skills which were causing them a problem. While defining difficulties with the spoken discourse, they differentiated between a wide variety of contexts such as speaking in general (speaking), speaking in academic contexts (academic speaking), speaking academic English (speak academic English), communicating with native-speakers (speaking with a native-speaker), and communicating with people from a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds (communicate with so many different people from totally different cultures). The Chinese students also identified difficulties in specific different genres of academic speaking such as public speaking (still can’t overcome the nerves when speaking in public), expressing own opinions in front of others (express my opinion in class), giving oral seminar presentations (seminar presentations! Oral presentations) and participating in class discussion (class discussion). The ability to determine such a detailed variety of difficulties with specific micro-skills as well as different genres of academic speaking indicates a very high level of linguistic and cultural awareness of the processes of learning and using academic discourse. The Chinese students identified problems with particular aspects of academic listening and writing. While reporting the listening difficulties, they distinguished specific aspects such as listening to lectures (lecture! Understand the lecture), understanding lecturers’ different accents (understanding the accent of the teachers) or the speed of lecturer’s speech (sometime it is the speed of the lecture). Through reporting the problematic

43

areas of writing they differentiated between the different procedures and aspects involved in the writing of the university level critical research paper such as research and writing in general (preparation and research paper writing), writing critical papers (research and critical essay), the length of papers (write long-length essay) or simply everything about it (paper: do not know how to write it). Academic English and reading were identified by some as was listening. Overall, the Chinese students demonstrated a very high level of awareness of academic English micro-skills and their views concerned difficulties with particular strategies and aspects of academic English skills.

5. Australian, American and Chinese students: comparison of the results Next, the comparison of the three groups’ results was undertaken to examine similarities and differences and the possible relationship between selfefficacy in academic discourse and the students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The comparison of the perceived difficulties with the academic discourse reported by the American and the Chinese students showed striking differences, ranging from 25% to 77.8%. The largest discrepancies in reported difficulties were found in the categories of “spoken academic discourse” (77.8%) and “written academic discourse” (69.4%). Furthermore, the differences of more than 50% were reported in the following four categories: “writing critical research papers” (58.3% difference), “vocabulary specific to subject area” (55.5%) and “giving oral seminar presentations” (50%). Accordingly, when compared to the American students’ views, 50% more students from China perceived 50% more categories as problematic. The results indicate that the levels of the perceived self-efficacy in academic discourse between the American and Chinese students vary significantly, with the American students showing significantly higher belief in their own abilities in every examined area. Next, the similarities and differences between the perceptions of the Chinese and Australian students were examined. The results of this comparison were almost identical to the results of the comparison between the Chinese and the American groups. The two most extreme differences referred to the two most general categories, with overwhelmingly more Chinese students finding “spoken academic English” (75% difference) and “written academic English” (69.4%) difficult than Australian students. Additionally, “writing critical research paper” and “vocabulary specific to subject area” were perceived as problematic by 55.5% more Chinese than Australian students and 40% more Chinese viewed “understanding lecturers’ accents” as difficult. Similarly to the previously observed comparison with the Australian group, Chinese students perceive significantly more difficulties in

44

more areas than Australian students. The differences in all examined areas and specifically in the case of the most subjective categories also indicate a significantly lower level of self-efficacy of the Chinese students in relation to working with academic discourse when compared to the Australian students.

6. Australian, American and Chinese students: discussion Overall, the comparison of the three groups of students revealed significant similarities and differences in their self-efficacy in relation to working with academic discourse. These similarities and differences appear closely related to students’ background. As previously stated, self-efficacy concerns the beliefs in own abilities rather than the ability to perform certain tasks (Bandura 1989, Piechurska-Kuciel 2011) and the most transparent similarity in self-efficacy in using academic discourse was found between of the Australian and American cohorts. Interestingly, the Australian exhibited a marginally lower level of belief in own abilities in their domestic environment than their American classmates studying away from home. The overall selfefficacy of these two groups showed overwhelmingly higher self-perception of abilities than that of their Chinese classmates. All three groups demonstrated lower self-efficacy in academic writing than in other aspects of academic discourse. The American students’ evaluation of their own abilities in academic writing was lower than their Australian classmates. Although they also reported more categories as problematic, these differences were again marginal when compared to the Chinese students’ beliefs of own abilities. The Chinese students’ self-efficacy in writing was dramatically lower, despite the fact that they demonstrated a high level of linguistic awareness of micro-skills associated with linguistic and academic performance. While the Australian and American students exhibited high level of selfefficacy in using spoken academic discourse, the Australians indicated more self-doubt about their abilities. Similarly to the pattern emerging above, while the differences between these groups existed, they were marginal, whereas the discrepancy between these two and the Chinese cohort was considerable. Interestingly, the Chinese students reported more difficulties with writing while answering the closed questions but focused on speaking when responding to the open question. On the whole, the Chinese students rated their abilities in spoken discourse very low and were precise about the specific areas of weakness. The majority of the Australian and American students attributed the sources of their academic problems to factors unrelated to their abilities in the use of academic discourse. By contrast, the Chinese students perceived

45

their inability to use the academic discourse efficiently as the main source of difficulties with their academic performance. Ironically, while the level of the self-efficacy beliefs of the Australian and American groups were high, the level indicated by the Chinese students was notebly lower. The largest discrepancies between the three groups are related to the most generally formulated categories of “spoken academic English” and “written academic English.” Although self-efficacy encodes the subjective view of own abilities, studies showed that the relationship between selfefficacy and its predictive power is stronger in the case of simpler tasks. If tasks are formulated in general terms and consist of complex sub-tasks and heavy demands, the self-evaluation is very difficult (Lane and Lane, 2001; Multon, Brown and Lent 1991). These studies suggest that the most generalised categories will be the least reliably correlated with the actual task performance. This also may suggest that the native speaking students over-estimate their abilities, while the Chinese students underestimate them. Most categories examined in the project were simple categories, known to the students who have performed them before. These factors suggest that students’ self-efficacy has predictive power of the classroom being both very diverse and potentially very difficult to organise effectively due to the low level of self-efficacy in the Chinese students. The data provide valuable insight into the reasons for similarities and differences. The similarities occur between the students whose first language is English. This suggests that using the first language gives students confidence, even though some aspects of academic discourse are problematic. There were only a few cultural differences between the two groups, while the linguistic differences were marginal. The lowest self-efficacy is reported by the Chinese students who experience both, the difference in the language they use for study and cultural differences, including different academic conventions, different educational systems and different life outside the university. Although it is impossible to separate completely between the linguistic and cultural factors, language seems to be the most important factor contributing to their selfefficacy. Although the self-efficacy in academic performance is also a result of other factors, such as acculturative stress (Smart and Smart 1995, Constantine, Okazaki and Utsey 2004), or social self-efficacy (Lin 2006), many emphasize the importance of language-related factors. Accordingly, Wong (2005) and Poyrazli, Arbona, Nora, McPherson and Pisecco (2002), propose that English proficiency plays a crucial role in international students’ adjustment level and the resulting academic self-efficacy. Consequently, studies of other groups also view the linguistic factors as one of the strongest contributors to the students’ self-efficacy.

46

7. Self-efficacy in class: teacher’s perspective According to Bandura (1994), the lower the self-efficacy of the students, the greater the challenge for them to be successful and for the teachers to be effective. The students exhibiting low self-efficacy are more likely to experience failure because they lack perseverance over time, are more susceptible to external negative influence, and view failure not as a shortterm reduction of own power which needs to be repaired with more effort but the result of a permanent lack of abilities. Further, such behaviour creates its own patterns, leading to further loss of self-efficacy and possibly depression. In stress reactions, affective arousal caused by stress cannot be seen any more as “energizing” but is viewed by an individual as debilitating (Bandura 1994, p.3). These are only some of the stress reactions and behaviours caused by negative sources of self-efficacy. Such students’ reactions and behaviours have a detrimental effect on all participants of the teaching and learning processes and therefore should be circumvented. Teachers or lecturers awareness of the potential of selfefficacy is the first step. Second, teachers should develop strategies to increase and maintain positive affective states. On the one hand, this may be particularly difficult in diverse classrooms as the data suggest, with wide discrepancies between the students. On the other hand, the teacher’s job may be made easier through the very process of social modelling which will be inherent in the diverse classes; such classes will also have students with high self-efficacy wanting to succeed. Nevertheless, the challenge of working with such groups need to be addressed through systematic planning of strategies increasing self-efficacy. Many researchers (Graham, 2011; Piechurska-Kuciel, in press; Lane and Lane, 2001; Bandura, 1977, 1994) propose strategies for modifying self-efficacy in order to increase the students’ potential academic success. The sources for the modification of self-efficacy included strategies which can be applied to the classroom including mastery experiences, social modelling, social persuasion and reducing students’ stress reactions. All efficacy-activated processes including cognitive, motivational, affective and selection processes are modifiable (Bandura 1994). Apart from the broad aspects of self-efficacy which can be positively influenced, different studies have proposed strategies improving specific areas of low self-efficacy. Piechurska-Kuciel (in press) recommends an extensive range of such strategies including keeping diaries to record new things students have learned and to record what they can study on their own. This is related to another strategy which she (Piechurska-Kuciel, in press) proposes, devising ways where students can be in charge of their

47

learning. Cooperative learning and long-term study plans are suggested as strategies leading to stress-free environment. According to Piechurska-Kuciel (in press), teachers can influence the students’ self-efficacy in several ways, by providing detailed and positive feedback, by showing interest in students’ progress, or by organising multi-sensory instruction. Other researchers focus on modifying students’ self-efficacy in specific areas such as reading and listening. Ferrara (2005) proposes practical advice on how to improve self-efficacy in students with reading difficulties. Her suggestions (Ferrara, 2005) contain strategies such as providing appropriate level reading materials, giving students a choice in reading, encouraging students to set purposes for reading or to use prior knowledge, to name just a few. Graham (2011), who focuses on improving self-efficacy of the listening skills, suggests that the notion of control is a key concept. Students gain control and as a result increase self-efficacy through tasks such as reflecting on the link between strategies used and how well the students listened, verbalisation of listening strategies after the teacher or paired listening tasks which increase listeners’ metacognitive awareness. The need and ways to improve students’ self-efficacy in specific areas are supported by both theoretical assumptions and practical recommendations.

8. Conclusions and recommendations Several conclusions can be drawn about diverse students’ self-efficacy in relation to their use of academic discourse. Based on the analysis of the data and the literature available on the subject it has been found that     

Culturally and linguistically diverse groups of students demonstrate significant discrepancies between their level of self-efficacy both overall and in specific areas; Consistent similarities in self-efficacy levels have been revealed between students from the same linguistic background, with English as their first language: the Australians and Americans; Both groups show lowest self-efficacy in the area of academic writing; Both groups attribute their study difficulties to factors other than linguistic; The differences between these two groups are minor and are related to different academic conventions and differences in educational systems of the two counties;

48

    

Greatest discrepancies in self-efficacy occur between the group of users of English as their first language and the Chinese group; The Chinese group shows a significantly lower level of self-efficacy in all categories; The Chinese group attributes their study difficulties to linguistic factors; Self-efficacy in academic discourse is related to the students’ linguistic and cultural background; Teachers need to have awareness of the theories of self-efficacy as a principal factor in education and have the practical knowledge of how to improve it.

To sum up, this paper demonstrated that students in diverse classes exhibit significant discrepancies in self-efficacy in relation to different aspects of academic discourse. Through examining three groups of students, it was showed that their self-efficacy levels are significantly influenced by their cultural and linguistic background, with the apparent strongest factor being English as an additional language. Particularly in diverse classes, teachers should modify students’ self-efficacy in academic discourse through increasing own awareness of its significance in teaching as an important determinant in academic success and the application of the practical strategies.

References Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V.S. Ramachaudran (Ed), Encyclopedia of human behaviour, 4, 71-81. New York: Academic Press. Bandura, A. (1995). Exercise of personal and collective efficacy in changing societies. In A. Bandura (Ed.), Self-efficacy in changing societies (pp. 1-45). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman. Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory: an agentic perspective. Asian Journal of Social Psychology 2 (1), 21-41. Bandura, A., Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Gerbino, M. and Pastorelli, C. (2003) Role of affective self-regulatory efficacy in diverse spheres of psychosocial functioning. Child Development 74 (3), 769-782. Bandura, A. & Locke, E. A. (2003). Negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88 (1), 87-99. Carroll, A., Houghton, S., Wood, R., Unsworth, K., Hattie, J., Gordon, L. & Bower, J. (2009) Selfefficacy and academic achievement in Australian high school students: The mediating effects of academic aspirations and delinquency. Journal of Adolescence 32 (4), 797-817.

49 Constantine, M., Okazaki, S., & Utsey, S. (2004). Self-Concealment, social self-efficacy, acculturative stress, and depression in African, Asian, and Latin American international college students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74 ( 3), 230–41. Dunn, L. and Carroll, J. (2005) Collaborating and co-learning: sharing the message on teaching international students within institutions. In J. Carroll and J. Ryan (Eds), Teaching international students (pp. 136-147). London and New York: Routledge. Ferrara, S. L. (2005). Promote reader-self-efficacy. Intervention in School and Clinic 41, 36-38. Gajdzik, P. (2006). Relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and socio-cultural adjustment of international graduate students and American graduate students. Waco: Baylor University: Dissertation. Gearon, M., Miller, J. and Kostogriz, A. (2009) The Challenges of diversity in language education. In J. Miller, A. Kostogriz, and M. Gearon (eds) Culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms (pp. 36-56). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Graham, S. (2011). Self-efficacy and academic listening. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10, 113-117. Housley Gaffner, A.L. (2011). Measuring students’ self-efficacy for communication. iJADE, 30 (2), 211-213. Jang, Y. (2006). Adult language learners’ self-concepts in second language academic contexts. The Journal of Linguistic Science 37, 139-160. Kostogriz, A. (2009) Professional Ethics in Multicultural Classrooms: English, Hospitality and the Other. In J. Miller, A. Kostogriz, and M. Gearon (Eds), Culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms (pp 132-151). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Lancaster, J. (2005). Is it really possible? Can students with learning difficulties ever achieve higher levels of self-efficacy? Special Education Perspectives, 14 (2), 46-61. Lane, J & Lane A. (2001). Self-efficacy and academic performance. Social Behavior and Personality, 29 (7), 687-693. Lin, S-P. (2006). An exploration of the Chinese students’ social-self-efficacies. Ohio: Ohio State University: Dissertation. Lo Bianco, J. (2009). Dilemmas of efficiency identity and worldmindedness. In J. Miller, A. Kostogriz, and M.Gearon (Eds), Culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms (pp 113–132). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Malczewska-Webb, B. (2011) Australian Experience of Culturally Diverse University Classrooms. In J. Arabski and A. Wojtaszek (Eds), Aspects of Culture in Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Learning, (pp.121-137). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. Piechurska-Kuciel, E. (in press). Self-efficacy beliefs and FL achievement in the context of the Polish secondary grammar school. In D. Gabryś-Barker (Ed), Affective dimension in SLA. Buffalo, NY : Multilingual Matters. Poyrazli, S., Arbona, C., Nora, A., McPherson, R., & Pisecco, S. (2002). Relation between assertiveness, academic self-efficacy and psychosocial adjustment among international graduate students. Journal of College Student Development, 09/10, 632-640. Ryan J., & Carroll, J. (2005) ’Canaries in the coal-mine’ international students in Western universities’. In J. Carroll and J. Ryan (Eds), Teaching international students (pp. 3–13). London and New York: Routledge. Ryan J, & Hellmund, S. (2005). Maximising international students’ ‘cultural capital’. In J. Carroll and J. Ryan (Eds), Teaching international students (pp. 13–17). London and New York: Routledge. Webb, B. (in press). Attitudes and perceptions of international students towards their life in Australia. In D. Gabryś-Barker (Ed), Affective dimension in SLA. Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters. Webb, B. & Smith, D. (2009). ‘Indonesian students and their Australian experience.’ Paper presented to TEFLIN conference. Malang: December 2009.

50 Wong, S-L. (2005). Language learning strategies and language self-efficacy: investigating the relationship in Malaysia. RELC Journal, 36, 245-269. Zimmerman, B. J. (1995). Self-efficacy and educational development. In A. Bandura (Ed.), Selfefficacy in changing societies (pp. 202-231). New York: Cambridge University Press.

51

Reading to Learn at the Academic Level: A Study of EFL Readers' Strategies Halina Chodkiewicz Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland

Abstract The recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the enquiry into the role played by “reading to learn” as one of the goals in developing L2/FL reading abilities. A more conscious treatment of the issue has been possible thanks to changes in the conceptualization of the reading comprehension process, extensive theoretical and empirical research into the use of reading strategies, and the introduction of some innovative approaches that have attempted to gear instructional goals to current needs of L2/FL learners and users. The study reported in this article aimed to investigate the use of a combination of three reading strategies: highlighting, notetaking and summarizing in a sequence of content-based reading tasks. They were performed by a group of Polish students of English who read five expository texts in order to expand their domain knowledge. The quantitative analysis of the data collected for the study revealed how they processed the selected reading material providing the required output in each task they performed and what their individual preferences for exploiting the target strategies were. Some implications of the findings of the study for developing efficient support reading comprehension strategies for performing content-based reading tasks in L2/FL academic settings have been suggested.

Keywords: content-reading, skills, strategy, academic text 1. Introduction Many years of research into developing L2/FL reading skills have made it clear that pedagogical frameworks recommended for classroom teachers must have their theoretical underpinnings in the conceptualization of the role of the reader whose primary goal is to improve the effectiveness of text processing. Thus reading specialists have explored a multitude of models in

52

order to explain how the text comprehension process operates and how reading skills can be enhanced in formal educational conditions. In a recent publication, Fox & Alexander (2009) analyse the development of text comprehension models since the 1960s/70s defining three basic model types differing as to the way in which they view text types, readers’ activities and reading products, which has significant pedagogical implications. Taking a fairly synthetic view of the issue, Fox & Alexander (2009) claim that the main changes in conceptualizing text comprehension significant for literacy instruction can be explained by considering Extraction-Assembly, Constructive-Integrative, and Transitional Extensions models. First of all, an approach to the text itself has changed: treated first as a static container of a coded message it has started to be perceived also as a fluid presentation of some propositional network either through single or multiple modalities (electronic texts). What is more, formerly used unambiguous texts with clearly expressed ideas were first replaced by narrative or informational texts, still products of authoritative and invisible authors, and then by multiple informational or argumentative texts, non-static and non-linear, in need of the evaluation for credibility or accuracy (hypermedia, blogs, text messages). As for defining readers’ activity while comprehending a text and its final product, it has also been a vital issue for instructional practice. While in the 1960s and 1970s researchers took it for granted that reading is simply a process of extracting information from the text and matching it to the reader’s mental schemas, the concept of background knowledge introduced by the schema theory and the readers’ role were put into a new perspective: arriving at the text meaning meant integrating a mental representation of the propositional level of the text and the readers’ background knowledge. Nowadays reading comprehension activities and products are associated with reading multiple texts and getting involved in creating meaning across texts. Readers can develop topic knowledge while following their individual navigational paths or responding to the texts read in a collaborative way (Fox & Alexander 2009). As for the rendering of reading comprehension instruction in L2/FL contexts Constructive-Integrative models have greatly influenced the general view of reading. They made it possible to reject the schema-theoretic view of background knowledge as static, pre-existing extratextual knowledge stored in the reader’s long term memory and opreating in a top-down way in favour of recognizing it as a valid factor in the hierarchical organization of information processed while reading (Kintsch 2005). Kintsch (1998, 2005) broadly describes this process as activating the reader’s knowledge from long-term memory and integrating all the ideas in working memory by constant modification carried out at the levels of the surface code, the propositional textbase, the situation model and text genres (spreading activation), and the use of strategic problem solving if comprehension breaks down. A

53

strong relationship between each reader’s background knowledge and the purpose of reading has been confirmed to be the main reason for the existence of multiple text interpretations – fluctuating individually varied text comprehension (e.g. Linderholm et al. 2004). For better rendering of reading comprehension issues within L2/FL teaching practice, where enhancing language proficiency is also a vital goal to achieve, the distinction between two closely related components labeled lower- vs. higher-level processes, or text-driven vs. knowledge-driven operations has been generally accepted (e.g. Bernhardt 1991, Goldman & Rakestraw 2000, Graesser 2007, Grabe & Stoller 2002, Grabe 2009). In order to present the way reading comprehension functions more vividly, Grabe & Stoller (2002:20) differentiated between lexical, syntactic text properties and semantic formation of propositions as processed in working memory at the lower level, and the text model of comprehension, situation model of text interpretation and background knowledge being taken care of by the higherorder executive control processes. In fact, some more sound arguments have been provided for separating the two components. Nassaji (2007) advocates the view that L2/FL contexts require that linguistic knowledge be separated from background/domain-specific knowledge as they contribute differently to reading comprehension. Whereas the former affects the lower text based level of lexical and syntactic processing, the latter functions at a higher level processing of semantic and conceptual information. Thus the acquisition of knowledge as a product of a reading act is understood as the integration of content at a higher level processing of a particular text and the reader’s conceptual/prior knowledge. Similar views are held by researchers claimimg that dual relevance theory of language acquisition should constitute the basis for developing L2 reading skills. This means that reading for comprehension (semantic processing) and reading for syntactic processing are to be kept apart. After focusing on the interpretation of the meaning of a text which involves reading efficiency, some grammatical features of the text, emphasizing meaning-form connections are to be dealt with (Han & d’Angelo 2010).

2. Reading to learn and content-based instruction in academic settings The issue of learning from the written text, or reading to learn, associated with one of the most important purposes in reading in a variety of educational levels and sociocultural contexts, has been in the centre of interest of both L1 and L2/FL researchers. “Reading to learn”, “functional reading” and “learning from text”, terms which became increasingly popular in the 1980s, were juxtaposed against “developmental reading”, that is, “learning to read”

54

(eg. Mohan 1986, Grabe & Stoller 2002). The need for a deeper and more adequate treatment of “reading to learn” in L2/FL instruction has led to a reconsideration of reading purposes and, as a consequence, reducing the role of the omnipresent practice in general reading comprehension carried out just for interest or pleasure and accompanied by some language work. While reading for pleasure has been recognized as a satisfactory source of fluency development, readers’ aim to enrich general world knowledge, learn new facts, as well as verify their present knowledge has also been given due status (Wallace 1992). It is worth noting that theoretical foundations for a better understanding of the process of learning from text were formulated by Kintsch (1986), the author of the already mentioned Construction-Integration model of reading comprehension, who coined the notion of a situation model of a text representing the outcome of the reading act. He discarded the view of reading comprehension as a kind of memorization of a text claiming that the reader uses the available information for some further action, such as learning some subject matter, and this constitutes a core of the reading process. In academic tasks readers play an active role in text processing, understanding and interpretation, which finally adds to knowledge expansion. One cannot ignore the fact, however, that in the case of L2 and FL classrooms, while involved in reading performance learners are further exposed to the target language and participate in the continuous process of noticing their deficiencies. Much value has been placed on the development of reading to learn in L1, L2 and FL settings by researchers involved in launching a multitude of forms of the immersion-type or content-based programmes all over the world. The main objective to find efficient ways for integrating language and content instruction has led to an emphasis on the ability of efficient reading as a natural way of knowledge expansion. An array of different labels to address the type of instruction aimed to integrate language and content have been put forward, such as content-based instruction, content-based language teaching/learning and content-based second language instruction/ ESL instruction. In addition, bilingual education, Languages across the Curriculum and Language for Specific Purposes, as well as CLIL (content and language integrated learning as introduced in Europe) are to be associated with the goal of designing pedagogical frameworks for combining language and content instruction goals (Coyle 2007, Komorowska 2010). Content-based instruction has drawn attention to the need of exploiting expository texts and discourse processing through which subject matter is to be taught, while simultaneously helping L2 learners in maximizing their exposure to the target language (Wesche & Skehan 2002). Balancing of language and content instruction can go in both directions, hence either content or language-driven programmes

55

with the possibility of combining the two can be developed (Lyster & Ballinger 2011). Despite the fact that the significance of reading to learn at the academic level has frequently been debated on with reference to L2/FL practice, no clear definition of it has been arrived at. Grabe (2009 :8), for example, distinguishes between (1) reading to learn – relatively slow processing of the contents important for some future reference, integrating main and supporting ideas with background knowledge into a coherent frame; (2) reading to integrate information – synthesizing it from different parts of a long text or multiple sources in one’s own frame for information; (3) reading to evaluate, critique and use information adds readers’ control in terms of attitudes, interests, preferences while interpreting a text or texts for further purposes. When looked upon from the point of view of assessment reading to learn poses some problem. What is most challenging in the case of reading to learn tasks is to determine one acceptable interpretation of a text, when constructivist reading theories make it clear that it is not how reading functions. It is also doubtful if reading to learn/study (or academic reading) is a valid counterpart of general reading comprehension (Alderson 2000). Nonetheless, some solutions to be applied on a more practical ground have been worked out, which has also been taken advantage of by the author of the present article. An enlightening discussion on the implementation of authentic reading and testing tasks has been proposed by Enright et al. (2000) who recommend that three perspectives be considered: the task perspective, the processing perspective and the reader purpose perspective. The task perspective is naturally related to text properties that are a key factor in the individualization of reading performance. The effectiveness of task performance is influenced by such factors as the knowledge of the task itself, the frequency of the use of key lexical items in the text, its genre, syntactic complexity, the length of the reading passage and many others. In performing a reading task a combination of skills and strategies are used so as to process the text beyond comprehending main ideas and integrate the relevant information across a number of texts. Enright et al (2000: 33) recommend that two alternative tasks be used to measure learning from text: (1) instructing learners to read a text, then taking it away from them and asking them to summarize it; (2) allowing learners to take notes while reading so that they can be drawn upon while writing a summary, with the text also available. Trites & McGroarty (2005) remark that in assessing reading to learn tasks both recall and reproduction of the information, as well as its relationship to the original text have to be taken into consideration.

56

3. The strategic reader It is generally accepted that a strategic reader is one who takes goal-directed deliberate actions, which are flexibly used locally or globally so as to promote comprehension and achieve the expected outcomes (e.g. Chodkiewicz 2009, Janzen 2001, Koda 2005, Grabe 2009). L2/FL learners-readers are able to develop a repertoire of strategies which they can choose from and use either individual strategies or their combinations. As interestingly accounted for by Grabe (2009), this is possible due to the so-called of routinization of strategies which function naturally together, and only when they do not suffice in reaching reading goals metacognitive awareness gets triggered. Their efficiency is determined by such factors as individual reader differences, text properties and task characteristics. So far numerous researchers have attempted to identify and classify reading strategies starting with Olshavsky (1977) who differentiated between word-, clause- and story-related strategies. Almost 20 years later, McDonough (1995), drawing on the previous research, provided a general taxonomy of reading strategies enumerating as many as 44 of them, classified into 4 major categories: technical aids, clarification and simplification, coherence detection and monitoring. Hudson (2007), however, recommends a quite simple classification of text processing strategies into pre-, while- and post-reading strategies, each of them, however, subsuming 11 strategies representing quite a spectrum of reading strategies generally accepted in relevant literature. As for reading to learn, two taxonomies of reading strategies with special reference to academic instruction have been proposed by Mokhtari & Reichard (2002) and Ediger (2006). In the light of the present discussion they are worth having a closer look at. A standardised inventory measuring students’ metacognitive awareness and perceived use of strategies while reading for academic purposes (MARSI) has already been used to investigate the influence of strategy training on students’ reading comprehension in situations characterized by different purposes, text features, difficulty, topic familiarity, etc. (Mokhtari & Reichard 2002). MARSI has categorised reading strategies into 3 basic types: global (managing learning), problem-solving (dealing with comprehension problems) and support strategies. It is the strategies belonging to last category that have been defined as the ones enhancing learning from text. They are: underlining text information, taking notes, writing summaries, paraphrasing, revisiting previously read information, asking self-questions, using reference materials and discussing reading with others (Mokhtari & Reichard 2002). Ediger (2006: 305-306) mentions 5 strategies particularly beneficial for learning to read tasks: reflecting on what has been learned from the text, underlining or

57

marking the text, thinking how to use the text in the future, making notes about what one has read and paraphrasing what the author said in order to remember it; as seen, she skips summarization. As already mentioned, another important aspect of strategy use and training for improving reading performance, also from the point of view of the present discussion, is combining strategies for classroom practice. So far there have been a number of attempts to do so. The following kinds of multiple strategy instruction can serve as good examples: KWL (know-want to know-learned) – activating prior knowledge, planning, monitoring and evaluating, QAR (question-answer-response) – generating one’s own questions, comprehension monitoring, inferring and drawing on background knowledge or CSR (collaborative strategic reading) – making predictions, monitoring difficulties, clarifying information, restating idea s and summarizing (Grabe 2009). Yet, Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) has to be specifically singled out as it ensures conducive conditions for content learning from text. For a period of six weeks readers participate in the four main stages that assist them in personally engaging in the topic, information search and retrieval, reading strategy instruction and project work. Strategy training done according to the principles of modeling, scaffolding and practice gives learners an opportunity to develop many basic reading strategies including activating background knowledge, taking notes, paraphrasing, summarizing and monitoring comprehension (Grabe 2009:238). With the purpose of the present study in mind, it is worth analyzing the properties of the three strategies highlighting, notetaking and summarizing so as to gain more insight into how they can enhance the process of learning while reading. Similarity between them is recognized by Oxford (1990: 86-90) who puts them under one category of creating structure for input and output. Highlighting serves emphasizing or drawing attention to significant points of a text (e.g. by using capital letters, bold writing, underlining, circles), which is a method of monitoring text comprehension and self-evaluation of task performance (Oxford 1990). For Hudson (2007) highlighting as a simple way of marking important parts of a text to memorize them better. The value of notetaking lies in producing some abbreviated personal form of external storage of the information the reader finds representative of the original text which draws on appropriate reformulation and organization of main ideas in a shorter and a more concise form (O’Malley & Chamot 1990). What helps learners to reorganize the information for the notes is efficient text comprehension, which further triggers learning and retention (Kiewra,1989, quoted by Faber at al., 2002). Similarly to notetaking, summarizing demands editing a condensed version of the original text, thus deciding on eliminating some ideas while transforming others, even with the possibility of structure reorganization. According to Kintsch (1998), three macrorules

58

for summarizing entailing the processes of selection (of main propositions), generalization and construction are to be followed. What is more, the paramount importance of summarization for efficient comprehension of a reading passage has generally been emphasized (Hidi & Anderson 1986, Hudson 2007, Yu 2008). One can observe, then, that the strategies of highlighting, notetaking and summarizing used in performing tasks on the basis of the same text – the procedure followed in the present study – will intensify the subjects’ processing of the selected portions of the texts found important for text comprehension and performing the target tasks efficiently.

4. The study As mentioned above, an exploratory study was designed to contribute to a better understanding of how EFL learners are able to cope with a sequence of content-based reading tasks involving a set of five academic texts whose aim was to help expand their domain knowledge in the target area. The tasks accomplished by the subjects required the consistent application of the strategies of highlighting, notetaking and summarizing in order to achieve the goals which had been set.

4.1. The purpose of the study While the general interest of the study was to explore aspects of processing expository texts by EFL advanced learners while performing a sequence of reading-oriented tasks, two specific objectives were set out. First, the study aimed to establish if there were any correlations between the length of the texts, the time of reading them and the number of words that the subjects used in highlighting, notetaking and summarizing tasks. Then the study was to identify any patterns in the way language input coming from particular texts was processed by the subjects by analyzing the numbers of words used in the output provided in the three tasks and relationships between them (descriptive data). 4.2. Subjects, design and procedure The study involved 20 participants of a master’s seminar in EFL didactics held at the English Department at Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Poland. The students were assumed to have reached a fairly satisfactory level of

59

language proficiency in order to accomplish the target tasks as they had already studied literature, culture and linguistics and had an experience in performing a range of academic reading assignments. The five texts studied by the subjects were chapters from three books on developing L2 reading abilities by three different authors (Chapters 1,2,3 from Wallace 1992, Chapter 1 from Bernhardt 1991, Chapter 1 from Grabe and Stoller 2002). They were respectively 2,050, 4,765, 2,000, 5,540 and 10,090 words long, which gave 65 pages in total. The texts were well-organized into subchapters, contained subheadings and were illustrated with some pictures, tables, etc. During one term the subjects went through the same routine to work on subsequent texts: working in classroom conditions only (none of the materials used were available to them at home) the students read the selected text highlighting the most important portions in them and taking down notes. On completion of the notes the text was withdrawn from the students so that they could write a summary on the basis of their notes. They were expected to demonstrate that they had comprehended and interpreted the material they read correctly, whereas the amount of learning knowledge in the area chosen for the study was checked by two knowledge quizzes given at the end of the study. The students worked individually at their own pace as no limitations as to time or length of their responses were set. They could also use any dictionary of their preference at any time. The time of performing the textbased tasks, that is highlighting and notetaking was measured. Before the study the students were provided with some guidelines for summary writing and notetaking. The features of an effective summary were defined as: completeness, conciseness, coherence and independence (writing in one’s own words). The students were also advised to concentrate on authors’ prominent statements, argumentation, try and ignore any unnecessary information, and take advantage of writing notes in bullet points paying attention to keywords. The summaries, which were the final task in each sequence of tasks to be done on the basis of the same text, were self- and peer-evaluated before the students decided that they were ready to submit them. On completing all the reading-based assignments, at the end of the term, the students were asked to fill in a questionnaire evaluating the study. Finally, they wrote two knowledge quizzes that covered the contents of all of the texts they read, which they did not expect.

60

4.3. Results and discussion First of all, in order to analyze the data collected for the study the numbers of words used by all the subjects in highlighting the texts, making notes and writing summaries were calculated. In search for any systematic relationship between the number of words employed by the students in highlighting the texts, making notes, writing summaries, the time spent on reading and the length of the texts Spearman Rho correlation was calculated. While no significant correlation was found for the number of words highlighted in the texts read and any other variable (hence not covered in Table 1 below), a high correlation proved to hold between the time of reading, the length of texts and the number of words employed by the students both in their notes and summaries which is displayed in the table below. Table 1. Spearman Rho correlation for the time of reading, the numbers of words in notes and summaries and the length of texts for all the data

Time of reading

Number of words in notes

Number of words in summaries

Length of texts

.680

.525

.760

.735

.560

Number of words in notes Number of words in summaries

.552

Correlation significance at 0.01 level (2-tailed)

In order to examine the relationship between the mean numbers of words employed by the subjects throughout the three subsequently performed tasks differences between the mean numbers of words used in highlighting and in notes (Table 2), then in notes and in summaries across the five texts were compared (Table 3).

61 Table 2. Mean number of words highlighted and their relationship to mean number of words in notes across texts Mean number of words highlighted

SD

Mean number of words in notes

SD

Difference %

Text 1

177

116.9

255

84.5

24.2

Text 2

297

272.5

337

97.9

33.1

Text 3

160

187.9

230

88.3

30.1

Text 4

322

441.1

425

111.5

12.1

Text 5

327

582.2

489

253.7

30.6

Table 3 Mean number of words in notes and their relationship to mean number of words in summaries across texts Mean number of words in notes

SD

Mean number of words in summaries

SD

Difference %

Text 1

255

84.5

289

112

11.7

Text 2

337

97.9

334

92.4

- 1.0

Text 3

230

88.3

244

67.8

5.8

Text 4

425

111.5

425

84.6

0.1

Text 5

489

253.7

417

159

-17.3

The two tables above clearly show that there were considerable individual differences in the number of words the subjects used while performing the three types of tasks as all the values for standard deviation are high, in particular those for highlighting. As shown in Table 2, the average number of words used for the purpose of taking down notes increased considerably for particular texts, respectively by: 24.2%, 33.1%, 30.1%, 12.1% and 30.6% as compared to the number of words used for highlighting. On the other hand,

62

the differences in the number of words used in notes and in summaries displayed in Table 3 were rather slight: there was some increase in the case of Text 1 and 3 (the two shortest texts), almost a balance in the case of Texts 2 and 4, and a decrease in the use of the number of words used in the summary of Text 5. It follows that since the last text was particularly lengthy the students shortened the summary and make it more concise. It is also worth analyzing some individual cases of the subjects who tended to use many more words for their summaries than the number of words they put into their notes and did it fairly consistently throughout all the tasks – as if they tended to develop a more elaborate version of the ideas they chose to put down in the notes (Table 4). Table 5 provides examples of the output of 4 students who decided that the amount of the material their notes contained required further reduction and a more concise summary. Some other students did not follow any specific pattern of behavior performing the assigned tasks and worked out different solutions depending on the text (Table 6). All the tables above additionally display the number of words that appeared in highlighting in all the cases in order to show the lack of their systematic relation to the data for notes and summaries. As already mentioned the number of words used by the subjects for the purpose of highlighting did not correlate with any variable considered in the study. Table 4 Examples of cases when subjects’ summaries systematically contained more words than notes in all the tasks (no systematic relationship to highlighting) Ss

Text 1

Text 2

Text 3

Text 4

Text 5

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

1.

157

234

364

57

226

254

43

158

198

38

317

344

104

220

255

2.

256

291

293

312

249

373

19

120

274

98

311

359

16

299

303

6.

244

87

209

99

113

252

215

120

203

49

217

347

0

210

302

7.

73

289

409

206

459

540

90

395

407

53

434

549

28

639

689

8.

299

252

302

594

300

314

325

147

213

782

353

501

630

497

541

10.

133

300

583

300

307

342

124

119

162

400

266

403

140

301

323

11.

130

205

256

347

419

426

108

204

219

154

396

532

0

287

388

H= highlighting; N = notetaking, S = a summary

63 Table 5 Examples of cases when students’ summaries contained less words than notes in all the tasks (no systematic relationship to highlighting) Ss

Text 1

Text 2

Text 3

Text 4

Text 5

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

13.

308

290

222

382

434

323

529

329

286

852

639

429

1503

756

331

14.

115

246

222

304

346

281

28

236

172

176

545

422

28

1036

654

18

0

212

169

0

283

244

0

157

231

0

283

436

0

372

454

19

96

246

197

173

340

261

62

180

231

0

550

522

59

992

712

H= highlighting; N = notetaking, S = a summary Table 6 Examples of cases when no systematic pattern in students’ use of highlighting, notes and summaries (no systematic relationship to highlighting) Ss

Text 1

Text 2

Text 3

Text 4

Text 5

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

H

N

S

2.

256

291

293

312

249

373

19

120

274

98

311

359

16

299

303

12.

52

330

415

35

418

455

2

282

313

45

579

559

0

433

360

15.

188

222

284

331

498

383

197

184

250

225

392

403

315

450

571

17.

146

112

152

107

269

429

18

250

293

0

430

438

40

620

547

19.

96

246

197

173

340

261

62

180

231

0

550

522

59

992

712

20

316

97

165

596

270

243

429

238

191

1582

453

314

2136

755

471

H= highlighting; N = notetaking, S = a summary

To complete the study the subjects were asked to fill in a short questionnaire to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy-oriented tasks they used to work on the seminar reading materials. Generally, the students appreciated the value of the strategies they employed for comprehending and retaining the contents of the academic texts they read. They noticed an improvement in

64

the practice of notetaking, as well as in summary writing (5 students opted for further training of this kind). They thought that the strategies they implemented helped them to learn how to select most important information, integrate it and organize it for further use. They found Texts 4 and 5 to be the most difficult, yet at the same time they concluded that the longest of them Text 5 proved to be most helpful in expanding their topic knowledge. The few students who either skipped highlighting (2 throughout all the texts and 2 other students in reading Text 4 and 5) or used it scarcely declared that they found it more economical to simply draw on notetaking. The assessment of the amount of the subjects’ learning showed that they were able to provide quite a high number of correct answers (88%) in a receptive part of the knowledge quiz in which they were to decide whether the statements provided were true or false. They scored lower in the productive part when answering 15 open-ended questions – 40% of correct answers.

5. Conclusions and suggestions for further study The subjects involved in the study clearly felt they had been successful in performing the target tasks in the conditions of the study although they wished they had had the opportunity to rehearse the material at home. Yet, this was the only way for the researcher to make sure that the amount of time individual students spent performing their tasks could be controlled. The major conclusions reached can be summarized as follows: 

while performing the three content-reading tasks based on the combination of the strategies of highlighting, notetaking and summarising the subjects tended to adjust the number of words involved in their responses, as well as the time spent on their processing to the length of the target texts (high correlation between the variables);



while reading the original texts the subjects attempted to select the most important portions of it to understand the main ideas/argumentation which they highlighted in the text or put straight into their notes (apart from the ones who decided to skip or reduce the amount of highlighting done);



the highlighted elements of the texts encompassed content words (topic-important concepts), phrases, clauses or complete sentences found most significant for understanding and remembering the domain knowledge the subjects focused upon while reading;

65



individual differences in the strategy use could be observed in the number of words in the subjects’ notes and summaries (high standard deviation values);



in working out their reading notes the subjects employed a range of strategies and as advised most of them attempted to put them into bullet points (see Chodkiewicz 2007);



despite being fairly successful in identifying the right issues to focus in their summaries, the subjects had serious problems with editing them; they approached them as a reading-generated writing practice; whereas most students took a chance at rethinking and rewording the key content information to produce the text that would be formally correct (considerable reductions and elaborations when passing on from notes to summarizing), some students seemed to adhere too closely to the original texts as a result of their language deficiencies;



despite multiple processing of the contents of each text owing to the sequence of the tasks performed the students’ the results in productive acquisition of the knowledge worked upon were rather low.

The study, despite its limited scope, has provided some interesting insights into processing relatively difficult academic texts by showing quantitative differences in responses provided by the subjects while performing tasks based on a combination of the strategies of highlighting, notetaking and summarizing. Considering some tendencies in the behaviour of different groups of learners, which has contributed to better understanding of how selected reading strategies can help in content learning, one can also think of some further developments desirable in this area of study, such as: 

carrying out a qualitative analysis of the portions of texts processed by readers in search for information they find important to select, understand and retain for the purpose of recording it in notes and summaries;



investigating the influence of global language competence on the effectiveness of performing academic content-based reading tasks;



examining the effectiveness of content-based reading tasks performed under time constraints;

66



investigating the function of text summarising with a recommended word count.

In conclusion, the subjects involved in the study seemed to be fairly successful in achieving their task-oriented goals while working on long academic texts in the selected content area. They clearly attempted to notice difficult, yet important for the field, terms and concepts, and gain new domain-related knowledge organizing it into some framework through their notes and summaries. Generally, editing a summary proved to be a difficult task for them as they not only had to make sure that it would contain the most significant information depicting the basic argumentation of the original text but also be written in good English. Even advanced EFL learners seem to take advantge of strategy training and valuable practice involving a variety of reading-orinted tasks, including a summary that additionally needs some effective writing practice.

References Alderson, J. C. (2000). Assessing Reading. Cambridge: CUP. Bernhardt, E. B. (1991). Reading Development in a Second Language: Theoretical, Empirical, and Classroom Perspectives. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex. Chodkiewicz. H. (2009). Reading to learn and notetaking at academic level: students’ perceptions of strategies used. In M. Wysocka (Ed.), On language structure, acquisition and teaching. Part 2 (pp. 114-127). Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Coyle, D. (2007). Content and language integrated learning: towards a connected research agenda for CLIL pedagogies. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 10, 5, 543-62. Ediger, A. M. (2006). Developing strategic L2 readers …. by reading for authentic purposes. In Uso-Juan E. & A. Martinez-Flor (Eds.), Current Trends in the Development and Teaching the Four Language Skills (Studies on Language Acquisition) (pp. 303-328). Berlin & New York: Mouton De Gruyter. Enright, M., Grabe,W., Koda, K., Mosenthal, P., Mulcany-Ernt, P. & Schedl M. (2000). TOEFL 2000 reading framework: a reading paper. TOEFL Monograph Series 17 ETS. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Fox, E. & Alexander P. A. (2009). Text comprehension: a retrospective, perspective , and prospective. In Israel, S.E.& , G.G Duffy, Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension (pp. 227-239), New York: Routlege. Goldman, S.R. & Rakestraw, J.A. Jr (2000). Structural aspects of constructing meaning from text. In W. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, D. Pearson & R. Barr (Eds.) Handbook of Reading Research. Volume III (pp. 311-335). Mahwah , NJ: Erlbaum. Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a Second Language: Moving from Theory to Practice. Cambridge: CUP Grabe, W.& Stoller, F. L. (2002). Teaching and Researching Reading. Harlow: Pearson Education. Graesser A. C. (2007). An introduction to strategic reading comprehension. In: D. S. McNamara (Ed.) Reading Comprehension Strategies: Theories, Interventions and Technologies (pp. 3-26). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

67 Han, Z. H..& A. D’Angelo (2010). Balancing between comprehension and acquisition: proposing a dual approach. In Z. H. Han & N. J. Anderson (Eds.) Second Language Reading Research and Instruction: Crossing the Boundaries (pp. 173-191). Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Hudson, T. (2007). Teaching Second Language Reading. Oxford: OUP. Hidi, S. & Anderson V. (1986). Producing written summaries: Task demands, cognitive operations, and implications for instruction. Review of Educational Research, 56, 4, 473-493. Janzen, J. (2001). Strategic reading on a sustained content theme. In: J. Murphy & P. Byrd (Eds.) Understanding the Courses we Teach (pp. 369-389), Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Kiewra, K. A. (1989). A review of note taking: The encoding – storage paradigm and beyond. Educational Psychology Review 1, 2, 147-172. Kintsch, W. (1986). Learning from text. Cognition and Instruction, 3,2, 87-108. Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension. New York: CUP. Kintsch, W. (2005). An overview of top-down and bottom-up effects in comprehension. The CI perspective. Discourse Processes 39, 2, 125-128. Koda, K. (2005). Insights into Second Language Reading. A Cross-linguistic Approach. Cambridge: CUP. Komorowska, H. (2010), Content and language integrated learning. In H. Komorowska & L. Aleksandrowicz-Pędich (Eds.), Coping with Diversity: Language and Culture Education. (pp. 5477). Warszawa: Academica Wydawnictwo SWPS. Linderholm, T., Virtue, S., Tzeng, Y. & van den Broek P. (2004). Fluctuations in the availability of information during reading: Capturing cognitive processes using the Landscape Model. Discourse Processes 37 (2), 165-186. Lyster, R & S. Ballinger 2011. Content- based language teaching: Convergent concerns across divergent contexts. Language Teaching Research 15,3, 279-288 McDonough, S.H. (1995). Strategy and Skill in Learning a Foreign Language. London: Edward Arnold. Mohan, B.A. (1986). Language and Content. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Mokhtari, K. & Shorey, R. (2002). Measuring ESL students’ awareness of reading strategies. Journal of Developmental Education 25, 2-10. Nassaji, H. (2007). Schema theory and knowledge-based processes in second language reading comprehension: A need for alternative perspectives. Language Learning 57, Suppl.1: 79-113. Olshavsky, J. E. (1977). Reading as a problem solving: an investigation of strategies. Reading Research Quarterly 12, 654-74. O’Malley J. M. & Chamot, A.U. (1990). Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: CUP. Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies. What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston: Heinle and Heinle. Trites, L. & McGroarty M. (2005). Reading to learn and reading to integrate: New tasks for reading comprehension tests? Language Testing, 22, 2, 174-210. Wallace, C. (1992). Reading. Oxford: OUP. Wesche, M.B. & Skehan, P. (2002). Communicative, task-based, and content-based instruction. In Kaplan, R.B. (Ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics (pp. 207-228). Oxford: OUP. Yu, G. (2008). Reading to summarize in English and in Chinese. Language Testing, 25,4, 521-551.

68

69

Section II: Academic Genres

70

71

A Contrastive Genre-based Analysis of Research Article Introductions and Discussions in English and Polish Languages and Its Pedagogical Implications Ewa Donesch-Jeżo Jagiellonian University in Kraków

Abstract This paper presents a contrastive analysis of rhetorical organization and metadiscourse markers in Introduction and Discussion sections of RAs written in English and Polish languages within the field of medicine. Using models of the rhetorical structure of the research article and a model of metadiscourse as analytical tools, I investigated a corpus of 60 RA Introductions and Discussions written by researchers, native speakers of English and by non-native speakers, that is, by Polish researchers. The outcomes of this investigation indicate some discrepancies in certain generic features between these sections as written by the above-mentioned researchers, which could be explained by cross-cultural differences.

Keywords: genre-based analysis, research article, rhetorical structure, metadiscourse 1. Introduction In the last thirty years the concept of academic genre and the acquiring of the ability of its formation by university students has focused the interest of applied linguists and language teachers, especially those concerned with ESP and EAP. It is directly related to the increasing demand for writing and publishing research articles by academics, as well as those students who wish to pursue a future academic career and all students of doctoral studies. Dissemination of scientific achievements is required from them as a documentation of their scientific work, and one which is bound to their future career as members of a discourse community.

72

In such a case the knowledge of the rhetorical structure, lexicogrammatical features, including metadiscourse items, of the research article (RA) related to the student’s discipline is indispensable for his or her future career in academia. These demands imposed on the academic community have generated an interest in the methods and techniques that are used in ESP (EAP) classes to facilitate the development of academic-genre competence. This competence would allow the students to produce a research paper according to accepted disciplinary conventional standards. Students commonly lack the knowledge of the conventions of written academic discourse, and it is the role of ESP (EAP) teachers to provide their students with the knowledge of the disciplinary-specific conventions necessary for writing academic discourse. A genre-based approach to text analysis and to genre acquisition, by providing insights into the rhetorical organization, conventional character and communicative functions of various genres was recommended for the developing of generic competence in non-native speaker students by Swales (1990, 1994), Holmes (1997), Williams (1999), Lim (2006), Ozturk (2007). To teach the rhetorical organization and linguistic features of a research article effectively, teachers themselves have to make insights into these features of a particular genre. Since the research article is generally considered a genre which is primarily used for scholarly communication, and is a genre which incorporates rigorous academic conventions in terms of both rhetorical organization and linguistic features, I have compared the rhetorical and linguistic features of research articles written by native speakers of English and published in international scientific journals, and research articles written by non-native speakers, that is, by Polish researchers, and published in established domestic scientific journals. I had assumed that such an analysis would: 1) facilitate the understanding of the communicative functions and linguistic features of the RA rhetorical sections, which is necessary for gaining RA competence; 2) help to point out differences in the linguistic and rhetorical features of the RAs as written by native English speakers and by native Polish speakers; 3) indicate to the teachers which rhetorical aspects of the RA should receive a special attention when teaching RA competence; 4) be useful in the preparation of activities for use in the classroom, which would raise the students’ awareness about the characteristic features of the RA, and also direct the students’ attention to any deviations from the model; 5) be a source of valuable data for the preparation of teaching materials.

73

In my analysis I focused on the two most important sections of the research article, and usually the most difficult and laborious sections for the authors of RAs to produce - the Introduction, which introduces the research topic, outlines its importance, justifies the conducting of the research, provides objectives or hypotheses, and reviews relevant previous research, and the Discussion, which discusses the findings and suggests practical applications of the results together with the directions for further research (Bowker and Pearson, 2002: 178). The RA Introductions have been extensively investigated by a number of researchers, for example, Swales (1990, 2004), Gledhill (2000), Lewin et al. (2001), Samraj (2002, 2005), Ozturk (2007), to name but a few. Swales’ (1990) full scale study of RA Introductions, which resulted in the generation of the CARS model, has been particularly influential. The RA Discussion section has also attracted the attention of some researchers, for example, Hopkins and Dudley-Evans (1988), Nwogu (1990, 1997), Dubois (1997). Most of these studies have concentrated on depicting the textual and rhetorical organization of these RA sections, and describing the lexico-grammatical features that characterize the RA’s functional units (moves) in one language, usually English. Comparatively less attention has been given to a comparison of these sections, especially the Discussion section, in RAs written in English and in other languages. Taylor and Chen (1991), for example, compared English and Chinese RA Introductions; Ahmad (1997) compared this section in English and Malay; Àrvay & Tankó (2004) - in English and Hungarian, and Hirano (2009) - in English and Brazilian. These studies have shown that disciplinary conventions in academic writing are manifested not only in terms of the genres important to that discipline and not – as Samraj (2005: 142) points – in the variation in generic structure between disciplines, but also in the culture-related variation of discourse structure that is available in different languages. The possibility that cultural background may influence the generic structure of the RA when produced in culturally different academic settings was discussed by, for example, Mauranen (1993), Siepmann (2006) and Yakhontova (2006). Taking into account the lack of research contrasting the rhetorical structure and linguistic features of the Introduction and Discussion sections in medical research articles written in English and Polish languages, I assumed that it would be worthwhile to explore and compare these features of these two sections in these two languages in order to utilize the obtained results in the classroom settings. In view of what was said above, the specific objectives of the present study are:

74

1) to identify the communicative functions of the Introduction and Discussion sections in RAs in two languages, manifested in rhetorical moves and constituent steps; 2) to compare the occurrence of these moves in these RA’s sections in two languages; 3) to compare the realization of individual moves by lexical, syntactic and metadiscoursal choices. The models of reference employed in my analysis were: Swales’ (2004) modified version of CARS model for the Introduction section, Nwogu’s (1997) model for the Discussion section, and Hyland’s (2005) interpersonal model of metadiscourse. The first part of this paper provides theoretical information related to the compilation of language corpora and also outlines the characteristics of the above-mentioned models. This will form the basis for my contrastive analysis presented in the second part of this work, heavily determined by pedagogical implications. Cross-cultural differences will be pointed out, and a reference model for use in ESP classes will be presented in one of the conclusions.

2. Data and method of analysis 2.1. Data collection procedure This exploratory study was carried out on two corpora: 1. Corpus A comprising 30 Introduction sections and 30 Discussion sections from 30 RAs written in the English language by Anglo-American researchers, with a total length of 26,148 words. The articles for this corpus were randomly selected from five scientific journals in the field of medicine: The British Medical Journal (BMJ), The CHEST, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and The Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2. Corpus B containing 30 Introduction sections and 30 Discussion sections from 30 RAs written in the Polish language by Polish researchers, with a total length of 27,239 words. The articles were randomly selected from four domestic scientific medical journals: Przegląd Lekarski, Nefrologia i Dializoterapia Polska, Alergologia i Immunologia, i Alergologia Info. All these journals are prestigious science journals in the field of medicine. The selected articles were all experimental research articles, categorized by journal publishers as “Research articles” or “Prace oryginalne” [Original research]. All these articles had the conventional IMRD macrostructure, refer-

75

ring, respectively to the four sections, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion, and were published between 2008-2010. After compiling the corpora, I proceeded to an identification and analysis of the moves in each research article. The moves in the texts of RAs were identified with regard to lexemes which explicitly signal the information in each move, preparatory expressions or statements which indicate the subsequent content in the text (e.g. The aim of this study was ...; To summarize, ...), and metadiscourse markers which relate linguistic items and indicate their sequence in the text (e.g. firstly, secondly, furthermore, on the contrary).

2.2. Method of analysis For the analysis of the rhetorical organization of the RA Introductions, I used Swales’ (2004) revised CARS model (see appendix A), which is a modified version of this author’s original CARS model (Swales, 1990), and for the analysis of the rhetorical organization of RA Discussion sections, Nwogu’s (1997) model (see Appendix B) was employed. Swales’ (2004) model for research article Introductions includes three rhetorical moves (i.e. semantic units having specific content and fulfilling the specific communicative purposes). These moves are: (1) establishing a territory; (2) creating a niche and (3) occupying a niche. Each of them is realized by a number of obligatory and optional steps. According to this model, the research article Introduction usually begins with a move that establishes the research field and the relevance of the topic of the research being described. The authors then create a niche within this territory for their research in various ways. The most common way is by indicating a gap in previous research, or by the need to provide new knowledge on the topic. This offers a justification for the research about to be reported. Finally, the authors offer the way of fulfilling the gap by stating the aims of their study and/or its features. The Discussion section, according to Nwogu’s (1997) model, consists of three moves: (1) highlighting overall research outcome, (2) explaining specific research outcomes, and (3) stating research conclusions. The function of the first move is to confirm or refute the achievements of the main research purpose. It usually consists of one complex sentence containing the main research result. The next move, which is the most elaborate of all the moves in this section, fulfills numerous functions: it repeats the main outcomes of the research, points to their significance, interprets them via a reference to procedures used in this study and in related studies, indicates strengths and limitations of the study, and contrasts present and previous outcomes. Swales and Feak (1994: 270) view the moves of the Discussion as a series of points presented by the authors, which are shown in Figure 1.

76 Move 1 Points to consolidate your research space (obligatory) Move 2 Points to indicate the limitations of the study (optional but common) Move 3 Points to recommend a course of action and/or to identify useful areas of further research (optional and only common in some areas) Figure 1 Discussion moves (Swales and Feak, 1994)

Swales and Feak (1994: 268) state that it is not easy to provide useful guidelines for writing the Discussion and Conclusion sections since their structure depends on the kind of research aims or research questions that were raised in the Introduction section. RA authors have therefore greater freedom in writing this section and this leads to a greater variation in their structure. For the analysis of the metadiscourse markers used by RA authors, I employed Hyland’s (2005: 49) interpersonal model of metadiscourse (see Appendix C). Metadiscourse has been defined by this author as the cover term for the self-reflective expressions used to negotiate interactional meanings in a text, assisting the writer or speaker to express a viewpoint and engage with readers as members of a particular community (Hyland, 2005: 37).

In other words metadiscourse are various ways in which writers refer to the text, to the proposition being presented, and to the reader. These functions of metadiscourse allow for a comparison of the strategies which members of different discourse communities employ in the texts generated by them.

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Rhetorical and linguistic contrastive analysis of RA Introductions Motivated by a concern for the pedagogical applicability of genre-based analysis in the ESP classroom and the wish to assess to what extent cultural background influences the generic features of RAs written by members of the same type of discourse community in two different countries, I investigated and contrasted the rhetorical structure, linguistic features and use of metadiscourse markers in RAs contained in two corpora: corpus A comprising RAs in English, and corpus B comprising RAs in Polish. The results of this qualitative and quantitative analysis of rhetorical moves and linguistic features of the Introduction sections in corpora A and B are shown in Table 1.

77 Table 1 The number of RAs containing rhetorical moves and their rhetorical and linguistic features in two corpora A and B Introduction Number of RA Introductions in corpus A containing particular moves

Number of RA Introductions in corpus B containing particular moves

Move 1

Move 2

Move 3

Move 1

Move 2

Move 3

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

12 (40%)

25 (83%)

Providing the context of the research by claiming its relevance or (rarely) by providing background knowledge;

Indicating a gap in previous studies, or a need of new knowledge; Past tense; active and passive voice

Introducing present research by providing the features of the research;

Providing the context of the research by background knowledge (definition) and (rarely) importance of research topic;

Indicating a need of new knowledge, or a gap in previous studies (extremely rare);

Introducing present research by providing its aims ;

non-integral citations; Present and past tenses; Active voice

Past tense; ‘we’-subject active voice dominates

Past tense; Passive voice

Past tense; Passive voice

non-integral citations; Present and past tenses; Agentless passive voice

The analysis has shown that, in general, the rhetorical structure of the Moves and Steps is similar in the RAs of these two corpora, however, there are some differences. The macrostructure of the Introductions, in both corpora A and B, are not divided into subsections. The Introductions in corpus A follow strictly the CARS model in terms of the number of moves, their structure and functions. In contrast, the RA Introductions in corpus B show some deviations from the model, expressed by: (a) Absence of Move 2 in 18/30 RA Introductions (60%), which means that over a half of Polish writers do not provide justification for their research to be presented. (b) Absence of Move 3 in 5/30 in 5 RA Introductions (17%), indicating that some percentage of Polish writers do not introduce their research either by providing its aims nor by providing its characteristic features.

78

In the moves which are present in both corpora some discrepancies have been noted:  In Move 1 the outlining of the context of the research is realized in the Anglo-American RA Introductions predominantly by claiming importance of the research field, combined with providing background information. On the contrary, Polish RA Introductions usually start by rendering quite profuse background knowledge in the form of a definition, after which the importance of the field is claimed. This strategy of introducing the main subject late in Move 1, called by Mauranen (1993: 164) “final focus strategy”, is according to this author, a culture-specific strategy preference, which is typical also of Finnish authors. Anglo-American writers show a strong preponderance for “initial focus strategy”, that is, for placing the most important information at the beginning of the text section.  In Move 2 the type of motivation of the research provided by the authors differs between languages, and seems also to be culture-specific. In 13/30 (43%) Anglo-American RA Introductions, the authors justify their research by indicating a gap in previous research, the rest 17/30 (57%) – by stating the necessity for adding new knowledge. This proportion is reverse in the texts of their Polish counterparts where in 11 (37%) RAs the authors justify the research by claiming the need for investigation of a certain problem in order to find the solution to it, and in only one out of 30 Introductions (3%) was a statement about the shortcomings of the previous research observed. Polish writers apparently tend to avoid criticism of the research of other scholars. In establishing the research space they choose a non-conflicting manner by stating the necessity of investigating into a problem which has not been hitherto explored. A similar finding of the avoidance of confrontation with other members of discourse community was reported by Taylor and Chen (1991) and Ahmad (1997).  Move 2 in the Introductions by Polish authors has no well-defined textual boundary, such as a new paragraph, separating it from Move 1, while in their Anglo-American counterparts Move 2 usually begins with a new paragraph, distinctly distinguishing it from Move 1.  In Anglo-American RA Introductions there is a high occurrence of ‘we’subject active sentences, while in Polish RA Introductions there is significant prevalence of agentless passive sentences and active sentences with an inanimate subject (see Table 2). Native English writers, contrary to Polish ones, mark their presence in the text by the use of the pronoun “we” when writing about their own decisions and activities. These sentences are especially numerous in corpus A in Move 3 where the authors present their research (e.g. We designed this case-control study ...; We

79

examined whether ...). Polish texts show a strong tendency for using a neutral style. The comparison of the use of passive voice sentences and active ‘we’-subject sentences by Anglo-American writers and Polish writers is presented in Table 2. The table shows a significantly higher frequency of ‘we’-subject sentences in corpus A than in corpus B. Table 2 Comparison of frequency of passive voice and ‘we’-subject active voice in Introduction sections of corpora A and B Type of sentences Passive sentences and active ‘we’-subject sentences

Corpus A Total amount

%

Corpus B Total amount

%

passive voice

120

36,2

140

31

active voice – we-subject sentences

49

14,8

1

0,2

To illustrate how the metadiscourse items are used to ensure coherence of the text and effective writer-reader interactions in it, I searched the texts of the research articles with the use of a concordancer MonoConc Pro 2.2. I also analyzed the texts manually to check whether the key words or key expressions function as metadiscourse. The importance of metadiscourse in RA writing is expressed by their occurrence in these texts – there were 2314 cases in corpus A, and 1914 in corpus B, which gives a frequency of one every 11 words and one every 14 words, respectively. Table 3, which illustrates the use of metadiscourse markers in RA Introductions, shows that in both corpora there is almost a balance between interactive and interactional markers. It means that Anglo-American writers and Polish writers assign the same importance to guiding the readers in the text and to facilitating their interpretation of the text by inviting the readers to interact with the text by “allowing them to respond to the unfolding text” (Hyland, 2005: 145). In both corpora the most frequent sub-categories are transition markers, hedges and boosters. Next in frequency are self-mentions (in corpus A) and code glosses (in corpus B).

80 Table 3. Metadiscourse in RA Introduction sections in corpora A and B Metadiscourse Metadiscourse category Interactive Transition markers Evidentials Code glosses Frame markers Endophoric markers Interactional Hedges Boosters Attitude markers Self-mentions Engagement markers Total

Introduction Corpus A % of total metadiscourse metadiscourse per 10000 words 49.6 41.4 36 30 0.2 0.2 9.6 8 3.6 3 0.2 0.2 50.4 42.0 19.2 16 13.2 11 6.0 5 12.0 10 0 0 100.0 83.4

Corpus B % of total metadiscourse metadiscourse per 10000 words 48.6 68.0 27.9 39 1.4 2 10.0 14 7.2 10 2.1 3 51.4 72.0 27.9 39 11.4 16 8.6 12 1.4 2 2.1 3 100.0 140.0

The high use of transition markers is an important feature of academic argumentation by which writers ensure an understanding of their line of reasoning by the readers by leading them in the text. The next most frequent subcategories are hedges, and their high occurrence indicates the importance of toning down the writer’s assertiveness in expressing his or her opinions in ways which take into account the potential alternative responses of the readers. The most frequent hedges in corpus A are the modals may, might, could, and the verb suggest; in corpus B the modal verb może [may], and adverbs ogólnie [generally], około [about]. Interestingly, hedges are slightly more frequent in corpus B, which indicates that the Polish authors are more cautious in verbalizing their statements, while the slightly higher frequency of boosters in the RA Introductions in corpus A signals that the native English speakers are more confident in formulating their claims and opinions. The most commonly used boosters are the verbs show and demonstrate in corpus A and their equivalents in corpus B. There is a significantly higher number of self-mentions in corpus A (‘we’-subject sentences are eight times more frequent) as compared to corpus B. It indicates that the Polish writers, adversely to the Anglo-American ones, do not promote their identity in their research claims, and they prefer to hide their personal contribution to the research by the use of impersonal forms of verbs and an agentless passive voice, which give an impression of an objective scientific style. Unlike the Polish authors, the native English speakers willingly introduce their identity in the text, marking, in this way, the choices and activities that were solely carried out by them. It is worth noting that there are a number of metadiscourse markers

81

which are more numerous in the Polish RAs than in the Anglo-American ones. For example, frame markers (which sequence the information in the text) are twice as frequent in the Polish RAs as in the English ones. Polish writers also use more evidentials, code glosses and endophoric markers than do their Anglo-American counterparts. This phenomenon seems to indicate that Polish writers, by making their texts more reader-oriented, care more about the reader’s ability to restore appropriately the writer’s intended meaning. 3.2. Rhetorical and linguistic contrastive analysis of RA Discussion sections The RA Discussion sections were analyzed with reference to the model proposed by Nwogu (1997) (see Appendix C). In this model, which adopted Swales’ move framework, the main result of the research is provided in the first Move. The next Move, which is the most elaborate one in this section, discusses more fully the specific outcomes of the research. “It restates the main observations made in the study, indicates their significance, interprets and justifies them by reference to procedures adopted in the study” (Nwogu, 1997: 132). The last Move is the stating of research conclusions, where the authors summarize the research, indicate research implications and promote further research. The qualitative and quantitative contrastive analysis of the Discussion sections in the two corpora investigated, like in the Introduction section, disclosed both similarities and differences, which are presented in Table 4.

82 Table 4 The number of RAs containing rhetorical moves and their characteristics in corpora A and B Discussion Corpus A (Anglo-American NSs)

Corpus B (NNSs – Polish writers)

Move 1

Move 2

Move 3

Move 1

Move 2

Move 3

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

30 (100%)

26 (87%)

Providing the most important result; general information on the research;

Interpretation of specific results; Providing strengths and limitations of the research; mainly nonintegral citations

Repetition of specific results;

Providing theoretical information; the most important results;

Interpretation of specific results;

Repetition of specific results;

Lack of strengths of the research, weaknesses and limitations (rare);

implications for practical use (rare); recommendations of further research

Present tense

(extremely rare);

Present tenses

Stating conclusions; implications for practical use; recommendation of further research (rare)

Present tense;

Present tenses;

Present tense

Present tenses

Table 5 compares the occurrence of passive voice and ‘we’-subject active voice sentences in Discussion sections of corpora A and B. Table 5 The frequency of the passive voice and the ‘we’-subject active voice in Discussion sections of corpora A and B Type of sentences

Corpus A

Corpus B

Passive sentences and active ‘we’-subject sentences

Total amount

%

Total amount

%

passive voice

325

27

586

51

active voice – we-subject sentences

181

14

26

2.4

83

As can be seen in Table 4, the salient differences in rhetorical organization of the RA Discussion sections in the two analyzed corpora are: 





 

The macrostructure of the Discussion sections is varied, even in the same language – 19/30 (63%) Discussions in corpus A are divided into subsections (Strengths and weaknesses or Limitations and strengths and Conclusions). Almost all Discussions in corpus B are not divided, only 3 (10%) of them have one separate sub-section Wnioski [Conclusions]. Move 1 in the Discussions by Anglo-American writers begins with the most important information (consolidation of the research) and this is followed by some brief information about the nature of the research (initial-focus strategy), while in the Discussions by Polish writers the most important information is placed after a presentation of the theoretical background (final-focus strategy). All the Discussions by the native English speakers in Move 2 contain information about strengths and limitations of the research, while this information in their Polish counterparts is scarce. It looks as if the Polish writers were afraid that, firstly, admitting any weaknesses and limitations of their research could devaluate their work, and, secondly, that stating explicitly the strengths of their study could be seen as “boosterism” and “self-advocacy” (Swales, 2004: 237) by their local discourse community where modesty in the presentation of one’s own achievements is the appreciated behavioural norm. The absence of Move 3 (Conclusions) in 4/30 (13%) of RA Discussions in corpus B. The last Move (Conclusions), in RAs written by Polish writers does not provide any practical applications of the research, which in the field of medicine are of crucial importance, neither does it give any recommendations for possible future research. These two functions of Move 3 which are common in the Discussions by Anglo-Americans are missing in a number of Polish research articles. Similarly to the Introduction section, the Discussion section in Polish RAs is characterized by an overwhelming prevalence of passive sentences over active ‘we’-subject sentences, whereas in corpus A there is also a prevalence of the use of the passive voice but not such a striking one as in corpus B (see Table 5).

84 Table 6. Metadiscourse in RA Discussion sections in corpora A and B Discussion Metadiscourse Metadiscourse category Interactive Transition markers Evidentials Code glosses Frame markers Endophoric markers Interactional Hedges Boosters Attitude markers Self-mentions Engagement markers Total

Corpus A % of total metadiscourse

amount per 10000 words

Corpus B % of total metadiscourse

34,8 24,2 0,2 6,9 2,4 1,1 65,2 28,8 11,3 5,1 19,9 0,1 100,0

129,7 90 0,7 26 9 4 242,3 107 42 19 74 0,3 372,0

36,5 26,4 2,3 3,8 1,4 2,6 63,5 31,0 15,4 9,0 7,5 0,6 100,0

amount per 10000 words 126 91 8 13 5 9 219 107 53 31 26 2 345

The comparison of metadiscourse items in the two corpora A and B shows in both of them a double-fold prevalence of interactional metadiscourse over interactive. In similar fashion to the Introduction, the most frequently occurring subcategories in the Discussion section are transition markers, hedges and boosters. Next in frequency are self-mentions in corpus A, and attitude markers in corpus B, however, the difference in the occurrence of selfmentions in these corpora is not as prominent as it is in the Introduction sections in both corpora. Generally, in the Discussions there is a greater frequency and diversity of metadiscourse markers, which is reflected by their occurrence per 10000 words (see Table 6). This analysis showed that, compared with RAs written by Anglo-American researchers, RAs by Polish researchers: 1) have a less strict rhetorical structure, manifested by the lack of some rhetorical Moves; 2) do not provide an explicit gap statement in justification of the current research; 3) sometimes miss conclusions (the ones which are present do not explicitly indicate possible applications of the research results); 4) do not mark in the text the author’s contribution to the experiment (use significantly fewer ‘we’-subject sentences).

85

4. Pedagogical implications and conclusions It is hoped that the findings of this contrastive study may help to extend an understanding of the rhetorical organization and the typical linguistic features of RAs in the target discourse community, and also an understanding culture-related differences in RAs in different languages. It is also hoped that the outcomes of this analysis allow for the formulation of the following implications for use in ESP/EAP courses: 



One method which can effectively raise the students’ awareness about the textual and rhetorical organization of RAs is, it may be argued, the use of a genre-based analysis of a corpus containing samples of authentic research articles. This analysis, conducted with reference to a model showing explicitly the conventional rhetorical structure of RAs in the target discourse community, should be combined with a parallel equipping of the students with a range of lexico-grammatical and metadisoursal resources to utilize when writing an academic discourse. For the pedagogical analysis of RA Introductions, I propose the use of a model (see Table 7) in which I have adopted the general principles of CARS model with slight modifications concerning mainly the steps (the overall original move structure was preserved). To make this model more easily comprehensible for ESP students, I have dispensed with the ecological metaphor of competition for space in a highly congested area, as used by Swales, and I have named the moves according to the functions they fulfill.

Table 7 Model of RA Introductions in the field of medicine for use by students as a point of reference in their genre-based analysis Moves in Introduction section

Steps realising the Moves

Move 1 Outlining the context of the research by

Step 1a Stating the significance of the research field and/or Step 1b Providing background knowledge (definition) and Step 2 Reviewing previous research

Move 2 Justifying the research by

Step 2a Indicating a gap in previous research or Step 2b Indicating the need for new knowledge

Move 3 Presenting by

the

current

research

Step 3a Providing the aim of the research and/or Step 3b Providing the features of the research

86



For the pedagogical analysis of RA Discussions, I suggest the use of the model (see Table 8) which adopts the moves and steps as first set out in Nwogu’s model.

Table 8 Model of RA Discussions in the medical field for use by students as reference in genrebased analysis Moves in Discussion sections

Steps realising the Moves

Move 1 Providing total research outcome

Stating attainment or lack of attainment of the main research objective

Move 2 Explaining specific research outcomes

Step 1 Stating specific results Step 2 Interpreting the results and contrasting with the previous ones Step 3 Indicating strengths and/or limitations of outcomes Step 1 Summary of the results Step 2 Stating research implications Step 3 Indicating further research

Move 3 Stating research conclusions

To conclude, this study has shown that: 1) Medical research articles can be analyzed using a conventional model of rhetorical organization, consisting of a sequence of functional units. 2) Medical professionals and members of the discourse community may have implicit knowledge of the moves and steps identified in this study, but undergraduate students should receive explicit instruction in how to write RAs, supported by the above mentioned models, which would raise their awareness of the linguistic manifestations of such knowledge. 3) It is a well-known fact that Anglo-American culture is, at present, the dominant one and the English language is the lingua franca in academic communication. Students, therefore, should possess the knowledge of the rhetorical organization of RAs written by native English speakers, but also of the differences between the rhetorical organization of RAs in their local discourse community and that in the Anglo-American discourse community. 4) Being aware of intercultural differences which are expressed in the rhetorical organization of the text and its linguistic features is helpful for those writers who intend to publish their RAs in international science journals.

87

5) The functional approach based on the analysis of the RA’s rhetorical structure through analysis of authentic RAs is in line with Data Driven Learning (Johns 1991), which develops autonomy and allows students to work at their own pace and according to their individual abilities. 6) Those features of the RA in corpus B which in the analysis presented here exhibited deviation from the conventional models should receive a special attention in the teaching of RA writing to Polish learners. 7) In view of what has been said above, the development of the rhetorical and linguistic competence which would allow students to write a RA which is not only linguistically correct but which also has been constructed according to the generally accepted rhetorical conventions, should be included in the syllabi of ESP and EAP courses for students at a university level.

References Ahmad, U. K. (1997). Research article introductions in Malay: Rhetoric in an emerging research community. In A. Duszak (Ed. ). Culture and styles of academic discourse (pp. 273-304). New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Àrvay, A., & Tankó, G. (2004). A contrastive analysis in English and Hungarian theoretical research article introductions. IRAL, 42, 71-100. Bowker, L. & Pearson, J. (2002). Working with specialized language: A practical guide to using corpora. London, New York: Routledge. Dubois, B. L. (1997). The biomedical discussion section in context. Greenwich CT: Ablex. Gledhill, C. (2000). The discourse function of collocation in research article introductions. English for Specific Purposes, 19, 115-135. Hirano, E. (2009). Research article introductions in English for specific purposes: A comparison between Brazilian Portuguese and English. English for Specific Purposes, 28, 240-250. Holmes, R. (1997). Genre analysis, and the social sciences: An investigation of the structure of research article discussion sections in three disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 16 (4), 321-337. Hopkins, A., & Dudley-Evans, T. (1988). A genre-based investigation of the discussion sections in articles and dissertations. English for Specific Purposes, 7, 113-121. Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse: Exploring interaction in writing. London: Continuum. Johns, T. (1991). From printout to handout: Grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of data driven learning. In T. Johns & P. King (Eds.). Classroom Concordancing, Special issue of ELR Journal 4. University of Birmingham: Centre for English Language Studies, 27-45. Lewin, B. A., Fine, J., & Young, L. (2001). Expository discourse: A genre-based approach to social science research texts. London: Continuum. Lim, J. M. (2006). Method section of management research articles: A pedagogically motivated qualitative study. English for Specific Purposes, 25, 282-309. Mauranen, A. (1993). Cultural differences in academic discourse: Problems of a linguistic and cultural minority. In L. Löfman, L. Kurki-Suonio, S. Pellinen, & J. Lehtonen (Eds.), The competent intercultural communicator. Tampere, Finland: AFinLA, 51, 157-174.

88 Nwogu, K. N. (1990). Discourse variation in medical texts: Schema, theme and cohesion in professional and journalistic accounts. University of Nottingham: Monographs in Systemic Linguistics, 2. Nwogu, K. N. (1997). The medical research paper: Structure and functions. English for Specific Purposes, 16, 119-138. Ozturk, I. (2007). The textual organisation of research article introduction in applied linguistics: Variability within a single discipline. English for Specific Purposes, 26 (5), 25-38. Samraj, B. (2002). Introductions in research articles: Variations across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 21, 1-18. Samraj, B. (2005). An exploration of a genre set: Research article abstracts and introductions in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 141-156. Siepmann, D.(2006). Academic writing and culture: An overview of differences between English, French and German. Translators’ Journal, 51, 131-150. Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Swales, J. M. (2004). Research Genres: Explorations and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Swales, J. M. & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential tasks and skills. Michigan: the University of Michigan Press. Taylor, G., & Chen, T. (1991). Linguistic, cultural, and subcultural issues in contrastive discourse analysis: Anglo-American and Chinese scientific texts. Applied Linguistics, 12, 319-336. Williams, I. A. (1999). Results sections of medical research articles: Analysis of rhetorical categories for pedagogical purposes. English for Specific Purposes, 18 (4), 347-366. Yakhontova, T. (2006) Cultural and disciplinary variation in academic discourse: The issue of influencing factors. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5, 153-167.

89

Appendix A The structure of research article introductions (a revised CARS model by Swales, 2004) Move 1 Establishing a territory via Topic generalizations of increasing specificity Move 2 Establishing a niche (citations possible) via Step 1 A Indicating a gap or Step 1B Adding to what is known Step 2 (optional) Presenting positive justification Move 3 Occupying the niche Step 1 (obligatory) Announcing present research descriptively and/or purposively Step 2 (optional) presenting research question or hypotheses Step 3 (optional) Definitional clarifications Step 4 (optional) Summarizing methods Step 5 (PISF) Announcing principal outcomes Step 6 (PISF) Stating the value of the present research Step 7 Outlining the structure of the paper PISF: Probable in some fields, but unlikely in others

Appendix B An interpersonal model of metadiscourse (Hyland, 2005: 49) Category Interactive Transitions Frame markers Endophoric markers Evidentials Code glosses Interactional Hedges Boosters Attitude markers Self mentions Engagement markers

Function Help to guide the reader through the text express relations between main clauses refer to discourse acts, sequences or stages of parts of the text refer to information in other parts of the text refer to information from other texts elaborate propositional meanings Involve readers in the text withhold certainty and open dialogue emphasize certainty or close dialogue express writer’s attitude to proposition explicit reference to author(s) in the text explicitly build relationship with reader

Examples Resources in addition, and, but, thus first, next, finally, to conclude as noted above, see Fig, in section ... according to X, Z states namely, for example, such as, in other words Resources might, perhaps, possible, about in fact, definitely, obviously, it is clear that, demonstrate unfortunately, hopefully, surprisingly, I agree I, we, my, me, our you, your, consider, note, you can see that

90

Appendix C Rhetorical moves in the Discussion sections (Nwogu, 1997: 135) Rhetorical moves

Steps

Move 1. Highlighting overall research outcome. Move 2. Explaining specific research outcomes.

(a) Stating a specific outcome. (b) Interpreting the outcome. (c) Indicating significance of the outcome. (d) Contrasting present and previous outcomes. (e) Indicating limitations of outcomes.

Move 3. Stating research conclusions.

(a) Indicating research implications. (b) Promoting further research.

91

Hedges in Undergraduate Writing: Czech and German Students Compared Martina Malášková Faculty of Education, Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract Hedging is a socio-pragmatic phenomenon that has received a sharp increase in interest over the last two decades as evidenced by the vast body of literature dealing with this language feature. It has been proven that hedges are a crucial part of academic writing across fields. The present paper reports the results of a pilot study aimed at examining certain types of hedges and their frequencies of occurrence in Czech and German undergraduate writing with special regard to possible cultural differences. The study has identified several interesting points. The most important seems to be that there are differences in the use of hedges in Czech and German undergraduate writing. It may be assumed that these differences are culture based. Keywords: academic discourse, cultural differences, discourse community, hedges, undergraduate writing

1. Hedges in written academic discourse Hedges as a phenomenon virtually omnipresent in expert written academic discourse have been relatively well researched in recent years. Previous surveys dealt with hedging expressions from many different viewpoints, such as disciplinary (e. g. Salager-Mayer 1994), cross-disciplinary (Hyland 1998), cultural (e. g. Burrough-Boenish 2002, Nikula 1997) and cross-cultural (Markkanen & Schröder 1997). Most recently, hedges have been treated as part of metadiscourse (Hyland 2005). The essentiality of these language devices lies in their potential to reflect the writer’s attitude towards both the propositional information and the intended readership, often simultaneously. The latter function is crucial in written academic discourse as any new claim the writer presents in the text is considered to be provisional and subject to the acceptance by his readership, i.e. fellow members of the discourse community (Swales 1990) he is a part of. Such a process is an instance of the ne-

92

gotiation of meaning in interaction within the tradition of social constructivist theory (Hyland 1998). Having the quality of giving readers subtle guidance on how the claims presented in the text should be interpreted, hedges – together with other language means – have clearly significant influence on the success of the writer – reader interaction.

2. Hedges – functional classification The complexity of functions hedges fulfil in written academic discourse is closely connected with the three main elements of the discursive situation – the writer, the reader and the proposition. It is therefore possible to distinguish between different types of hedges based on their primary function in the text in relation to the aforementioned discursive situation constituents. The following classification draws upon the classification devised by Hyland (1998), whose framework for hedging seems to be presently the most comprehensive, and introduces the three main types of hedges in detail. The first type of hedges is primarily concerned with the propositional content itself and operates mostly within the proposition. By using these hedges, such as precision adverbs, the writer aims at greater accuracy in reporting the results of their research while reflecting the reality as truthfully as possible. This is fully in accordance with the community discursive practice. In the present paper and in accordance with Hyland (1996, 1998), this type of hedges is called content oriented hedges. In other authors’ classification these are frequently called approximators (e.g. Salager-Meyer 1994, Prince et al. 1982). The second large group of hedges can be termed participant oriented hedges and it can be further specified into the writer oriented and the reader oriented hedges. The former – as the term itself suggests – are concerned with the writer and serve predominantly as a protective device. The writer seeks to avert possible criticism on the side of the readers. This is mostly achieved by employing different impersonal strategies, such as abstract rhetors, to which the responsibility for the claim is attributed. Due to their predominant functioning as shields, they can often be found under this name in the works of other authors (e.g. Salager-Meyer 1994). The motivation for the use of the latter type of participant oriented hedges lies mostly in the writer’s need to open space for negotiation with the intended readers. He has to opt for non-imposing language means in order to avoid threatening the negative face of the readers and strives to addresses the reader as equal presenting his claims and conclusions humbly as only one of the possible. Writers typically use various reader involvement and personalizing strategies to achieve those goals.

93 Table 1 Semantic classification of hedges

Content oriented

Participant oriented Writer oriented

aim at greater accuracy (precision) and/or

the extent of applicability/ generalizability

protect the writer by depersonalizing the information presented in the proposition

Reader oriented appeal to the reader by employing various strategies of reader involvement and/or

protect the writer by personalizing the information presented in the proposition

The above table summarizes the three types of hedges with their principal functions. As follows from what has already been said, the main motivation for the use of hedges is pragmatic. The writer needs to formulate his claims very carefully. This is given by the assumption that the stronger and more straightforward is the claim, the greater is the risk of rejection of the claim by the readers. Therefore the writer needs to adjust the strength of his claims in order to lessen the risk of rejection as the acceptance of the writer’s claims is crucially dependent on the choice of language means, i.e. the subtle guidance on interpretation of those claims readers are provided with by the writer. It is worth noting that one hedging expression often fulfils several functions at the same time. Moreover, it has been found out that the pragmatic motivation for employing a particular hedging expression is not always clear even to the writer himself.

3. Hedges – formal classification When classifying linguistic forms functioning as hedges in academic texts, it is absolutely necessary to be aware of the fact that hedging functions cannot be assigned to those language means without proper context (Hyland 1998) as it is only in context where the hedging potential is actualized. Markkanen & Schröder (1997) also hold that “no linguistic items are inherently hedgy but can acquire this quality depending on the communicative context or the cotext.”

94 Table 2. Formal classification of hedges Content oriented primarily expressed by:

precision adverbs epistemic lexical adjectives epistemic lexical nouns epistemic modal verbs limited knowledge

Participant oriented Writer oriented primarily expressed by: impersonal structures referring to model/method/theory/ experimental conditions abstract rhetors epistemic lexical verbs attribution to literature

Reader oriented primarily expressed by: personal engagement structures (personal attribution, reference to methods/models, etc.) reader engagement structures (assumption of shared goals, conditionals, questions, reference to testability, etc.)

The table above attempts to summarize the main formal realizations for each functional category. Regardless to the multifunctionality of language forms employed as hedges, they can be generally divided into two broad categories – lexical and strategic. The lexical ones include items such as precision adverbs, epistemic lexical and modal verbs while the latter category contains more complex structures, e.g. impersonal reference to methods/models/experimental conditions or admission to lack of knowledge.

4. Hedges in novice academic writing It is one of the features of discourse community (Swales 1990) that in order to become a member of such a community, one has to reach a certain level of knowledge and discoursal expertise. From this point of view, a discourse community can be seen as a heterogenous group of individuals – both novices and experts. Whether a discourse community survives or perishes is dependent “on a reasonable ratio between novices and experts” (ibid. 27). The present research deals with non-native speaking novice academic writers. Novice non-native writers – as opposed to expert native writers – use English as academic lingua franca , they are also undergone secondary socialisation into academic discourses (Mauranen et al. 1990:184) and have to adapt to practices of the given discourse community with its specifics (Duszak 1997:11). Hyland is in opposition to the widely held opinion that “by appropriately setting out the expected moves novices can, near enough for their purposes, approximate the writing of experts” and maintains that “learning to write academic genres essentially means developing an understanding of the social practices of one’s discipline, becoming aware of the functions of texts and how these functions are conventionally

95

accomplished” (2004:144-145). Therefore in order to be succesful, NNS academic writers have to reach not only a particular level of language proficiency, but also – through teaching and training – „acquire the skills needed to create their own meanings using the socially recognised discursive practices drawn on by full community members.“ (ibid. 148) Previous research into the area of NNS academic writing shows that NNS can be as successful as NS in academic writing (Curado Fuentes 2009). Burrough-Boenisch (2003) holds that the main difference in terms of quality lies in the differences of production of particular linguistic-discursive features by the NNS group. She observes that NNS academic writing “may differ in relation to lexical choice, grammar, and cohesion / structure.” (ibid.) In connection to what has been previously stated, it can be concluded that that there are not only culture based differences in the use of hedges in academic writing in English, but it is also necessary to stress the role of teaching. Burrough-Boenish (2005) underscores its importance claiming that “ESP teachers and their students being aware that cultural as well as linguistic constraints can affect an NNS author’s hedging”. That it is not always the case can be evidenced by a study conducted by Hyland (2000b) on his students at University of Hong-Kong with the conclusion that “there is strong evidence in this study that the efforts of academic writers to weaken their commitment and withhold certainty from their propositions may go unnoticed by L2 readers.” Hyland also maintains that “more direct and unqualified writing is more typical of EFL students than of native speakers” (Hyland 2005).

5. Czech vs German tradition of academic writing The influence of L1 on academic writing - and hedges in particular - has been widely discussed (e.g. Nikula 1997). When comparing Czech and German academic writing in English, it is first necessary to look at the cultural differences between academic writing between European academic writing (with Czech and German as its representatives) and Anglo-American academic writing. Previous research (e.g. Čmejrková & Daneš 1997, Mauranen 1993) shows that from the point of view of reader-writer interaction there are several major differences. The Anglo-American academic prose style is considerably more reader oriented and more dialogic therefore contains more readerguidance devices. The European academic writing, on the other hand, focuses more on the writer and delegates the responsibility for making inferences and drawing conclusions to the reader (Siepmann 2006).

96

All the above mentioned reasons are also reflected in the differences in the use of hedges in academic writing in those languages. Adams at al. (in Burrougs-Boenish 2002) claim that both Czech and Germans tend to avoid hedges when writing in English academic writing and to favour hedging when writing in academic prose style in their mother tongues (ibid.). However, as the scope of the present work is rather limited, it does not allow for any large-scale cross-cultural comparison.

6. Material and methods The corpus consisted of 17 MA theses divided into two subcorpora – Czech and German. The Czech subcorpus comprised 5 linguistics theses and 5 methodology theses; in total 10 MA theses written by the students of Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic. The German subcorpus contained 7 MA theses written by the students of Technical University in Chemnitz, Germany, out of which 4 were linguistics and 3 methodological. The length of each subcorpus was rounded to 176.000 words; the total length of the corpus totals 352.000 words. The target language items researched in the corpus were the following: epistemic adverbs expressing doubt/certainty (probably, maybe, perhaps) and epistemic adverbs expressing limitation (generally, typically, mainly), epistemic lexical verbs (appear, assume, argue, seem), epistemic modal verbs (might, could) and prepositional phrases (in my opinion, in my view). The target language items – with the exception of the prepositional phrases - were chosen based on the high frequency of occurrence in the academic prose style and their typical function as hedges (Biber et al. 1999, Hyland 1998, 2000a). The prepositional phrases were chosen mainly because Czech students sometimes have problems with the correct usage of those and one of the aims of the present research was to find out how frequent these expressions are in the German texts under investigation. The texts were cleaned of block citation and larger stretches of the texts analyzed in the theses. Cleaned texts were processed using the AntConc concordance tool. The results of computer assisted processing were subsequently sifted manually to ensure that only the language items that function as hedges will be taken into consideration as it has already been mentioned that hedges are extremely context bound. The analysis was predominantly quantitative with regard to the typical hedging functions performed by the target language forms. The results obtained by the partial analyses were subsequently compared across disciplines and cultures with special focus on culture-specific differences.

97

7. Results and discussion Based on the results of previous research (Dontcheva-Navratilová 2009) it was hypothesized that there would be differences in the frequency of occurrence of the target language items between Czech and German and also cross-disciplinary differences within the two subcorpora.

80 60

CZ LG

40

CZ ME

20

GER LG

0 Figure 1

GER ME probably maybe perhaps generally typically mainly Epistemic adverbs

(a)

[...] performance in the exam is probably affected by situational factors... [GER ME 005]

(b)

[...] verbs like ‘mean, know, see and think’ are in spoken language typically used in comment clauses but they are mainly used as ordinary transitive verbs followed by an object in written language. [CZ LG 002]

(c)

[…] an individual interpretation of the word everything may perhaps differ… [CZ LG 005]

In the category of epistemic adverbs functioning as content oriented hedges in the examined material there were significant differences in occurrence of these items between Czech and German texts. Generally, Czech students seem to employ more adverbs expressing both doubt and limitation then German students, with the exceptions of maybe and generally. Maybe is also the least frequent adverb expressing doubt/certainty, which is in accordance with the findings of Biber et al. (1999) who state that maybe is the least common out of the three in academic prose style. As far as the cross-disciplinary differences are concerned, there are notable differences between the use of epistemic adverbs between Czech linguistics and methodology theses. In German texts this variation seems to be less salient.

98

60

CZ LG

40

CZ ME

20

GER LG

0 appear

Figure 2 Epistemic lexical verbs

assume

argue

seem

(d)

The types that seem to have received a significant place in fluency practice… [CZ ME 025]

(e)

The relation may appear meronymous but the speaker or writer attempts to … [CZ LG 001]

(f)

In contrast, it may be argued that accuracy practice is favoured by students who are not so open… [CZ ME 025]

GER ME

Hyland classifies seem and appear as epistemic evidential verbs of perception (1998:125) and assume and argue as epistemic judgement verbs of speculation (ibid. 120-121), all of them functioning as hedges typically weakening the writer’s commitment to the propositional content. He reports that verbs in the latter category are almost twice as frequent as the ones in the former category with lexical verbs being the most frequent means of expressing epistemic modality. This, however, applies only partially to the results of the present research as seem is the most frequent of all the examined items. Moreover, it seems that there is less cross-disciplinary variation in the category of epistemic lexical verbs in both Czech and German.

150

CZ LG

100

CZ ME

50

GER LG

0 might

Figure 3 Epistemic modal verbs

could

(g) […] contact over the Internet could be more of a problem as this might have a negative influence on the motivation of the participant. [GER LG 016]

GER ME

99

(h) Further research on the topic might bring new contributive findings. [CZ LG 023]

Both could and might express tentative possibility and can be considered “prototypical hedges” (Hyland 1998). The results of his research show that could is more frequent than might. This conclusion is supported by the results of the quantitative analysis of the German subcorpus with the exception of might in methodology texts. The Czech texts do not copy the same pattern. High frequency of might together with the occurrence of could twice as high in German methodology theses indicates that there is a higher tendency to speculate in German methodology texts than there is in Czech texts in the same discipline.

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

CZ LG CZ ME GER LG GER ME

Figure 4 Prepositional inphrases my opinion

(i)

in my view

In my opinion, these pupils had not prepared properly before the lesson. [CZ ME 021]

Epistemic stance adverbials of viewpoint or perspective (Biber et al. 1999) represented by these phrases function as reader oriented hedges since they present the results and their interpretation as just one of the possible alternative. By doing so the writer appeals to the readers and opens space for negotiation with the readership. Figure 4 above shows that there is zero occurrence of both prepositional phrases under examination in the German texts as opposed to their Czech counterparts. One of the possible interpretations is that German undergraduate students are less personal in their writing then the Czech novice academic writers. It is also possible that they use different means of expressing authorial stance. This, however, could not be examined due to limited scope of the present research.

100

The results of the quantitative analysis are summarized in the following table. Table 3 Quantitative analysis summary Target language item epistemic adverbs of doubt/certainty epistemic adverbs of limitation epistemic lexical verbs epistemic modal verbs prepositional phrases

Cz linguistics 83

Cz methodology 17

Cz Total 100

Ger linguistics 20

Ger methodology 15

Ger Total 35

105

38

143

78

52

130

69

44

113

95

62

157

65

69

134

140

189

329

28

8

36

0

0

0

The results of the qualitative analysis detected all functional types of hedges – content, writer and reader – in all the examined texts. In (a) and (b) above epistemic adverbs function as content oriented hedges. This function can also be fulfilled by epistemic adverb in connection with a modal verb as in (c) or a modal verb alone as in (g) or (h). Writer oriented hedges – as has already been mentioned – are typically realized by impersonal structures, epistemic lexical verbs, as in (d) above, and attribution to literature, very often in combination, as exemplified by (e) where the epistemic lexical verb teams with an impersonal subject, modal verb and passive voice that further distance the writer from the factual information. Reader oriented hedges containing the target language items were mostly represented by clusters of hedges such as in the following examples (j) and (k) where personal attribution is used together with epistemic lexical and modal verbs or in (l) where the same types of verbs combine with a reader addressing device. (j)

I assume the glide in variant ‘I’ for ES is not reduced, because in all three instances ‘I’ is preceded by what… [GER LG 020]

(k)

I could argue that the high number of male politicians appearing in newspapers only points to… [CZ LG 004]

(l)

…going even further one may argue that age plays a role in distinguishing second from foreign language… [GER ME 011]

101

The analyses also confirmed strong tendency to cluster, a feature that has been frequently discussed in connection with hedging. This can be most probably attributed to the phenomenon of harmonic combinations as well as the writers’ intention to modify the strength of the hedging expressions used in the text. Some rather complex agglomerates of hedges were found in the texts: (m)

Learner strategies like this may also lead to what is generally known as overrepresentation and underrepresentation. [GER LG 019]

(n)

It could perhaps be argued that such a high number of block language structures… [CZ LG 005]

8. Conclusion The research presented in this paper aimed at examining a set of target language items in a corpus of academic texts produced by Czech and German undergraduate students. The aim of the study was to look into possible differences in the frequencies of occurrence and their hedging functions in the texts under examination and to draw preliminary conclusions about the cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural differences between Czech and German novice academic writers. The overall results of the quantitative analysis imply that there are differences reflected in the examined texts to a certain degree. Higher occurrence of epistemic adverbs probably and perhaps in Czech texts might indicate that German novice academic writers present the results of their research with more certainty than the Czech novice academic writers, especially in linguistics texts. However, closer observation of other examined language items shows that there is much higher occurrence of epistemic modal verbs could and might in German texts than in the Czech ones. This can possibly lead to the conclusion that novice writers in both cultures strive to achieve the greatest possible levels of accuracy in reporting their results, but they employ different language means. It is also worth mentioning that Czech novice academic writers of linguistics theses used considerably more epistemic adverbs than the authors of methodological texts. In German texts the cross-discipline difference is not so striking. It is rather difficult to speculate about possible explanations. Epistemic judgemental and evidential verbs are generally more frequent in linguistics texts in both Czech and German writers. However, when we compare these two, there are more instances of epistemic lexical verbs in the German theses. This type of verbs typically function as writer oriented hedges (especially in connection with impersonal subjects) shifting the re-

102

sponsibility away from the writer. Therefore, it may be the case that German novice academic writers are slightly more concerned with the writer selfprotection issue. Based on the absence of prepositional phrases highlighting the writer persona and expressing the writer’s viewpoint or perspective in the German texts it may be assumed that German novice academic writers either tend to be less personal and attempt to avoid expressing the authorial stance, or opt for other means of doing so. Nevertheless, the results are not extensive enough to draw any general conclusions upon. The qualitative analysis attempted to show that all functional types of hedges are present in both Czech and German novice academic writing. It has already been proven that the same functional hedge type can be realized by various formal means and that a certain form can fulfil different functions. It also has to be taken into consideration that all the differences may be influenced by different instructional and training practices at Czech and German universities as the influence of this factor can by no means be underestimated. Due to the scope of the research the above presented results should only be taken as preliminary. They, however, outline the direction of further largescale research that would cast more light on hedging within the area of novice academic writing and bring more conclusive data with implications for teaching academic writing to university students.

References Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., Finnegan, E. (Eds.). (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written Language. London: Longman. Burrough-Boenisch, J. (2002). Culture and conventions: writing and reading Dutch scientific English. Dissertation thesis. Utrecht: LOT Publishing. Burrough-Boenisch, J. (2003). Shapers of published NNS research articles. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(3), 223–243. Burrough-Boenisch, J. (2005). NS and NNS scientists’ amendments of Dutch scientific English and their impact on hedging. English for Specific Purposes, 24(1), 25–39. Curado Fuentes, A. (2009). A case study corpus for academic English writing by NNS authors. In Cantos Gómez, P. & Sánchez Pérez, A. (Eds.), A Survey on Corpus-based Research (pp. 11011114). Murcia: AELINCO. Čmejrková, S. & Daneš, F. (1997). Academic writing and cultural identity: the case of Czech academic writing. In Duzsak, A. (Ed.), Culture and Styles of Academic Discourse (pp. 40-62). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Dontcheva-Navratilova, O. (2009). Evaluation in non-native writer’s academic discourse: Stance devices. In Hanušová, S. et al., Research in English Language Teacher Education (pp. 33-42). Brno: Masaryk University. Duszak, A. (1997). Cross-cultural academic communication: a discourse community view. In Duzsak, A. (Ed.), Culture and Styles of Academic Discourse (pp. 11-39). Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

103 Hyland, K. (2005). Metadiscourse. London: Continuum. Hyland, K. (2000a). Disciplinary Discourses. Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. Hyland, K. (2000b). Hedges, Boosters and Lexical Invisibility: Noticing Modifiers in Academic Texts. Language Awareness, 9(4), 179-197. Hyland, K. (1998). Hedging in Scientific Research Articles. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Hyland, K. (1996). Writing Without Conviction? Hedging in Science Research Articles. Applied Linguistics, 17(4), 433-454. Markkanen, R. & Schröder, H. (1997). Hedging. A Challenge for Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis. In Markkanen, R. & Schröder, H. (Eds.), Hedging and Discourse. Approaches to the Analysis of a Pragmatic Phenomenon in Academic Texts (pp. 3-18). New York: Walter de Gruyter. Mauranen, A. (1993). Contrastive ESP rhetoric: Metatext in Finnish-English economics texts. English for Specific Purposes, 12(1), 3-22. Mauranen, A. & Hynninen, N. & Ranta, E. (1990). English as an academic lingua franca: The ELFA project. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), 183–190. Nikula, T. (1997). Interlanguage View on Hedging. In Markkanen, R. & Schröder, H. (Eds.), Hedging and Discourse. Approaches to the Analysis of a Pragmatic Phenomenon in Academic Texts (pp. 188-207). New York: Walter de Gruyter. Prince, E.F. & Frader, R.J. & Bosk, C. (1982). On hedging in physician-physician discourse. In di Prieto, J. (Ed.), Linguistics and the Professions (pp. 83-97). New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation. Salager-Meyer, F. (1994). Hedges and textual communicative function in medical English written discourse. English for Specific Purposes, 13(2), 149-171. Siepmann, D. (2006). Academic Writing and Culture: An Overview of Differences between English, French and German. Meta : journal des traducteurs / Meta: Translators' Journal, 51(1), 131-150.

104

105

The Way to Abstraction. The X’s Way Construction in Academic Discourse Konrad Szcześniak University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

Abstract The present contribution focuses on the use of the x’s way construction (We forced our way into the meeting) in written academic language. The analysis reveals that the construction is a frequent element of academic discourse, but its uses differ from those found in non-academic English. Most importantly, it is found that sentences built around x’s way in scholarly production convey abstract meanings more often than in general corpora of English. It is argued the construction compensates for its less formal tone, otherwise inappropriate in research papers, by providing a means for a clear and succinct organization of abstract content. The construction is also shown to successfully express meanings of “understanding” and “knowledge acquisition,” because its meaning (“directional motion toward a goal”) can undergo metaphoric mapping with obtainment of abstract themes that stand for acquired knowledge.

Keywords: x’s way, abstraction, obtainment, metaphor 1. Introduction Written language in general and academic text in particular differs from more casual varieties in terms of increased levels of abstraction (Hughes, 1996). The theme of abstraction has therefore been present, explicit or implicit, in analyses of various properties of academic discourse. For example, abstraction is invoked in Flowerdew’s (2003) discussion of signalling nouns or Halliday’s (1988) description of nominalization. Higher degrees of abstraction can also be assumed to accompany the use of features that serve to enhance communication in the service of polite scholarly exchange of ideas. Concessive clauses (Łyda, 2007), hedges, attitude markers, and assertivenesslimiting conditional clauses discussed by Warchał (2010) are pervasive in academic discourse, and one could venture the claim that the main reason be-

106

hind their abundant presence is that they are designed precisely to organize abstract content. What most of the above features have in common is that they make academic discourse more formal too. But apart from devices used, the formal character of academic discourse is also determined by what is absent. Elements of informal casual style, such as idiomatic constructions, are typically avoided in academic writing. For example, fixed expressions and schematic patterns such as the incredulity construction (Her be a good mother?) or the time away construction (They danced and kissed the night away) are, predictably enough, next to non-existent in academic language for two reasons. First, as Nunberg, Sag and Wasow (1994, p. 493) explain, “idioms are typically associated with relatively informal or colloquial registers and with popular speech and oral culture.” But it is not only a matter of convention that informal or colloquial registers are not appropriate as features of scholarly language. What makes them incompatible is their affective force: “Idioms are typically used to imply a certain evaluation or affective stance toward the things they denote. A language doesn’t ordinarily use idioms to describe situations that are regarded neutrally—buying tickets, reading a book (...). (1994, p. 493) The emotional coloring that idioms come with is at odds with the objective neutral tone that academic writing aspires to. However, there are exceptions – constructions that, despite their fairly literary tone, do make it into academic discourse. A case in point is the x’s way construction (She sang her way into our hearts), which has attracted the attention of many scholars, especially cognitive linguists focusing on its productivity and meaning. What is particularly interesting about this construction in the present context is its register flexibility. Because it allows a great range of verbs, it is often attested in fairly colorful literary-sounding uses, otherwise uncommon in scholarly writing: (1)

a. Solar-powered trash compactors are eating their way to the forefront of the green movement. (Mechanical Engineering, 2008) b. By 1996, infestations had crept their way into 42 percent of all California townships. (Agricultural Research, 2000) c. Moreover, it might inadvertently provide an incentive for other countries to blast their way into the ranks of the nuclear-weapons states. (Foreign Affairs, 1999) d. Who but the cognoscenti, the enlightened few, had the cultural agility to walk their way through the maze of visual and literary associations without giving up or getting lost? (Art Bulletin, 2001) e. Glaser (1978) described this process as concepts earning their way into grounded theory. (Nurse Researcher, 2010)

107

The appearance of this potentially informal construction in inherently formal registers is justified by its ability to express often multiple abstract concepts in elaborate relations, all compressed in a single clause. In other words, the x’s way construction caters to a number of demands and properties of academic language at once: abstraction, substance, and brevity. Even more crucially, the construction seems ideally suited to the expression of the process of understanding and acquiring knowledge, a situation type that is inevitably the very point and purpose of scholarly communication. Understanding is intuitively conceptualized as obtaining accurate information, something often framed metaphorically as a journey toward a destination that stands for the truth. This point will be elaborated on in section 4.1, but briefly, x’s way seems custom made for talking about a journey through data toward a solution, as in examples (1d-e) above. This study looks at the use of x’s way in academic texts. The principal focus will be to identify kinds of meanings thus conveyed, among which will be descriptions of physical as well as abstract motion. It will be shown that the latter serves different semantic purposes including obtainment readings. All these will be discussed in terms of how they contribute to abstraction in academic writing. The analysis will be based on material from the academic section of the Corpus of Contemporary American English. First, a short background on the meaning and use of the way construction is offered in the following section.

2. A brief characterization of the x’s way The construction has been the focus of cognitive analyses for more than two decades now. The first thorough description of its semantic content and use was offered by Jackendoff (1990), who observed that sentences built around this syntactic pattern express physical or abstract motion by manners specified by activity verbs (swim, sing, dance), but not state verbs (know, resemble). Later, Goldberg (1995) (2006) and Israel (1996) argued that the motion in question takes place in the face of difficulty or obstacles found along the path, an impression evident in the use of verbs like claw, push, elbow, or dig. Conversely, this view has been claimed to account for the construction’s resistance to verbs like walk or go, as vanilla flavor verbs like these do not convey a sense of difficulty. The difficulty constraint was contested in Szczesniak (2013) on the grounds that although most sentences adduced in the literature seem to corroborate difficulty readings, many convey precisely the opposite meanings, and they do in fact feature verbs that rule out even a hint of difficulty:

108

(2)

a. Most of the other boys had giggled and joked their way through Mr. Slates Sex Education classes. (http://www.textfiles.com/sex/EROTICA/H/heathr01.txt) b. He whizzed his way through everything in the local children’s library. (http://textualities.net/tag/gregory-burke/) c. Attired in jugglers’ costumes, the two frolicked their way to a splendid victory. (Spokane Daily Chronicle, April 24, 1978)

The difficulty reading is actually quite a compelling first impression from reviewing corpora of academic language. After all, this is a genre where the primary focus is on exploring elusive questions and settling debates, the quintessential opportunity for framing scholarly investigation as paths through obstacles. But even here, it is easy enough to find uses that do not stress difficulty. Although not all of them underscore remarkable ease like (2a) above, they lack a clear sense of difficulty faced in the process either: (3)

(...) the breadth of world or U.S. history might well induce teachers to lecture their way through the curriculum (...) (Social Studies, 2004)

Apart from the difficulty reading, another proposed constraint was that verbs participating in the x’s way construction should have meanings construable as contributing or being inherent to motion. Thus, inherent-motion verbs like sprint or tiptoe, and motion-related sound emission verbs like swoosh or rumble are acceptable, but verbs expressing activities incidental to motion are either unacceptable or marginal (Goldberg, 1995) (Israel, 1996). This observation is not borne out by evidence either and the present study will provide evidence to the contrary. First, sentences with incidental activity verbs are very common. They are found in casual uses, in more careful-style genres, like in the novel below (4a), as well as in academic language (4b). (4)

a. We cried and “good-byed” our way down the street and left Linda Avenue, and Sulphur, Louisiana, behind. (Susie Scheyder, The Other Side of the Pulpit) b. These threads knitted their way through the streets. (Review of Contemporary Fiction, 2007)

Second, there is good reason to believe that speakers tend to accept similar uses with incidental-activity verbs almost as readily as classic examples of the x’s way construction with verbs suggesting difficulty. As a grammatical acceptability task study (Szcześniak, 2013) revealed, people are equally amenable to uses like We giggled up the stairs (a sentence provided by Goldberg as illustration of a marginal sentence featuring an incidental activity) and to ex-

109

amples like The mob smashed its way out of the stadium (motion involving obstacles, in line with theory). This of course, does not mean that the construction is open to free reigning creativity unlimited by any constraints. In many cases, the intended reading is that of obtainment, where the goal at the end of the path is construed as a theme that the agent comes to possess. In sentences like (5a) below, coming toward deeper understanding can be paraphrased as coming to have it. Similarly, in (5b), the participant can also be viewed as winning victory and sexual reward. (5)

a. … it might sometimes look as though we are merely fumbling our way toward some deeper understanding … (BioScience, 2005) b. … the battered hero fights his way to victory and sexual reward. (Richard Gerrig and David Allbritton, The construction of literary character: A view from cognitive psychology)

In this connection, it is interesting to point out an important semantic property of the construction, namely the fact that obtainment readings are only possible with abstract themes. Theoretically, one could imagine expressions of obtainment such as (6) below, but sentences with concrete themes are anomalous. (6)

*She shot her way to a teddy-bear at a fun fair shooting gallery.

The reasons behind this limitation are fairly complex and they go beyond the space limitations of this paper; they are discussed in detail elsewhere (Szcześniak, 2013). But in a nutshell, it is impossible to combine a metaphoric path and a concrete goal. The two elements are assumed to be parts of the same plane, whether it is concrete or abstract, and it is perhaps cognitively unnatural and counterintuitive to attempt to imagine a physical path ending in an abstract goal, or vice versa. To sum up, the most important issues concerning the use of x’s way include: (i) the expression of motion along a path to a specific goal; (ii) the supposed expression of motion in the face of obstacles (iii) the requirement for verbs to name activities inherent, not incidental, to motion (iv) the expression of obtainment of abstract, not physical, themes. While point (i) seems uncontroversial, points (ii) and (iii) were contested in Szczesniak (2013). The following analysis of the data will demonstrate that uses contradicting these two constraints are widely attested in general use as well as in academic language. It will also be shown that point (iv) offered as

110

an alternative characterization of x’s way is corroborated fully by data from university language use.

3. The study The present study focused on 860 sentences featuring the x’s way construction. The sentences came from academic journals collated in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The search phase of the study was straightforward and convenient enough thanks to the construction’s stable 1 pattern with some lexical elements being pre-embedded . (7)

SUBJi [V [POSSi way] DIRECTIONAL]

After the material has been generated and concordanced, the sentences were manually analyzed and divided into semantic categories. First, 11 nonway sentences were eliminated from the sample. These included sentences that are superficially identical to true x’s way sentences, but in fact represent 2

a distinct syntactic pattern with a different meaning and syntactic behavior . Negligible though their number is, these instances were stricken from the data. Table 1 Genuine x’s way versus non-way uses. meanings nº tokens

non-way 11 (1.2%)

x’s way uses 860 (98.8%)

total 871

1

The formula is Mondorf’s (2011) modification of Salkoff’s (1988) SUBJi[V[POSSi way] PP]. 2

For example, in the example below, the activity clearly does not enable motion along the path. Another giveaway that this is an “impostor” sentence is that in true x’s way sentences, the pronoun before way is co-referential with the subject, and here there is no identity correspondence between “repression” and “our” (...) bad feelings and unhealthy practices that arise when repression blocks our way to what is natural and legitimate. (Studies in Latin American Popular Culture)

111

Further, the remaining 860 sentences were sorted into those expressing physical motion and abstract motion. The principal goal was to determine what percentage of the abstract sentences carried obtainment readings, and how many of these, if any, exemplified obtainment of concrete objects, which would be relevant to point (iv). The analysis yielded the following figures. Table 2 Number of sentence tokens in terms of categories. meanings nº tokens (per cent %)

abstract non-obtain 489 (56.8%) 403 (46.8%)

physical

total

371 (43.2%)

860

obtain 86 (10%)

As is clear from Table 2, most uses of x’s way in the present corpus (56.8%) involve expressions of abstract meaning. This is in marked contrast to how the construction is used in non-academic genres. According to Mondorf (2011), who conducted a diachronic and synchronic corpus analysis of x’s way’s use in English, the construction primarily expresses concrete motion events. The first recorded uses of the construction’s precursor (in the 15th century) almost all convey concrete motion readings. Then over time, as the construction becomes grammaticalized, some abstract uses begin to be attested, but their share does not exceed one third of the total number of instances. In the twentieth century, the percentage of abstract uses of the way construction is estimated at 19.5% (Mondorf, 2011, p. 413).

Figure 5 Proportion of abstract to concrete x's way sentences in academic language and general use

112

This puts things in perspective, showing that the number of abstract uses in academic language doubles or triples relative to general use (Figure 1). The difference between the 56.8% of abstract uses attested in the academic corpus and the 10-30% in Mondorf’s data suggests that academic language has a strong preference for abstract expression, as it adjusts a typically concrete motion construction to the expression of metaphoric motion readings. Of these, every fifth sentence (86 in total) conveys a sense of obtainment. What is notable is that none of these 86 uses conveys obtainment of a concrete theme. This suggests that the claim in point (iv) in section 2 above is not a mere tendency, but a true constraint governing the use of the construction. All examples found in the corpus involve abstract themes such as “glory” or “recovery” in the examples below, understood not only as abstract goals at the end of a path, but objects that the agents in these sentences actively seek to obtain. (8)

a. … they all died recently as novices and have quickly found their way to glory … (Theological Studies, 2008) b. … patients are still trying to find their way to recovery. (The American Indian Quarterly, 2007)

Before the results of the study are interpreted, let us first address two methodological issues that affected the determination of the types of meanings encountered in the corpus.

3.1. Obtainment vs. non-obtainment meanings It is important to discuss the question of what counts as an obtainment reading and what does not. Potentially, any abstract use of the construction could be construed as conveying obtainment scenarios. However, the principal criterion used in classifying cases of uses was whether a given sentence is typically paraphrasable into a more run-of-the-mill obtainment sentence—that is, expressed by means of an obtainment verb such as obtain, win, get, or conquer. Thus, for instance, the content of sentences like (9a) is often expressed like (9b). (9)

a. Israeli exports have to use subterfuge to find their way into Arab markets (...) (Journal of International Affairs, 1994) b. Our products / exports conquer new markets.

On the other hand, many abstract uses do not lend themselves to such paraphrases (10b). These abstract path uses of x’s way were not labeled as obtainment readings.

113

(10)

a. “Considerable” sums of tax money had found their way into the hands of the slaves (...) (International Journal of African Historical Studies, 2006) b. ?Money wins / obtains / gets / conquers the hands of the slaves.

On the other hand, among uses classified as “obtainment” were those instances of the construction where the theme was in out of-PP form. This is a reversative reading, where an agent relinquishes possession of a theme. Here too, the decision was made based on whether the theme can be construed as a possessum, and in this case, one can talk about “having a depression” or “holding a position”, which qualifies (11) below as obtainment uses of x’s way. (11)

a. … you can read or study your way out of a depression (The Ameri can Scholar, 1997) b. … no one could think his way out of a theist position. (Academic Questions, 1993)

3.2. Facets Many sentences yielded by the corpus search may at first glance look like instances conveying paths leading to physical goals, while in reality they are underlyingly abstract uses. (12)

a. Two recent controversies that found their way into the popular press illustrate the difficulties.

The reason why sentences like this were annotated as abstract is that their goals are really abstractions invoked metonymously by concrete objects. In this particular case, the goal “press” involves what Croft and Cruse (2004) call facets. These are semi-autonomous metonymous senses considered parts of a word’s meaning. For example, in Croft & Cruse’s analysis, the word “letter” below can have at least three facets, which are activated depending on context. (13)

a. letter:

[COPY] a yellowed letter [MESSAGE] a love letter [TEXT] a neatly hand-written letter

b. press:

[COPY] popular press on the upper shelf [CONTENT] sensational popular press [PERSONNEL] press goes on strike

114

Similarly, the word press can convey two simultaneous meanings, only one of which is profiled. In example (12), it is most likely that the CONTENT facet is intended, which makes it an abstract use. The existence of such facets inevitably fuzzes up the divide between literal and metaphoric motion readings, thus complicating annotation, but whenever a sentence with a surface concrete theme involved an underlyingly abstract facet interpretation, it was classified as an abstract path-goal sentence.

4. Discussion 4.1. Understanding is a journey A number of obtainment uses of x’s way in the academic corpus under investigation expressed meanings to do with arriving at conclusions, solutions, and theories, all of which can be subsumed under the umbrella theme of reasoning, a central topic and goal of academic writing. (14)

a. But they haven’t found their way to this fairly abstract and complex conclusion. (Public Interest, 1990) b. … both parties find their way to a single, consensual truth … (Journal of International Affairs, 2006) c. I try to find my way to such truths. (Theological Studies, 2009) d. … for him to think his way through to the discovery was hard … (Perspectives on Political Science, 1993) e. Work your way to the final draft. (Writer, 2010) f. These first words, and the desire to understand their significance, will drive me to write my way to an answer. (Writer, 2010) g. When I solve math problems, I usually work my way to the solutions one step at a time. (Adolescence, 2009) h. … we try to bootstrap our way to better overall knowledge. (Bloomsbury Companion to Syntax)

Why is x’s way so well suited to the expression of cognition and knowledge acquisition? The answer lies in the construction’s form dedicated to the expression of directional motion toward a clear goal. This form would seem a natural candidate to exploit, if it could be demonstrated that a metaphoric association exists between understanding and motion. Although the cognitive literature does not identify a specific label for this mapping (e.g. UNDERSTANDING IS A JOURNEY metaphor), such a traveler metaphor is consistent with a number of established documented metaphoric correspondences like UNDERSTANDING IS GRASPING (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), UNDERSTANDING IS SEEING (this being only possible when the object of understanding is near in sight),

115 PROGRESS IS MOTION FORWARD, and MEANS ARE PATHS (Kövecses,

2010). It was also implicit in references including Freud’s (1913) comparison of a psychoanalyst to a blind traveler or the view of a learner as a traveler (Ellis, 2001). Evidence for a clear understanding-motion mapping also comes from numerous expressions built around the notion that being near information is tantamount to understanding it: nearing the solution; pursuit of knowledge; circle in on the answer; head toward a new theory; get to the truth; follow; find the answer; dig deep into the crux of the matter; an approximate answer; get to the bottom of; leads toward the solution; take a stab / shot at; get straight to the point This UNDERSTANDING IS A JOURNEY metaphor is pervasive in scholarly language, and it can therefore be expected that x’s way will be used not only to talk about understanding in general, but also about the pursuit of academic work in particular: (15)

a. I suspect a few blueprints still survive in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, but until these are discovered we will have to start with the basics and work our way up to an understanding of the human body. (Lawrence F. Frego, An End to All Disease) b. The potential to innovate our way to an elegant solution is alive and well in everyone. (Matthew E. May, The Elegant Solution)

4.2. Readings of motion despite difficulty and inherent motion verbs Concerning Goldberg’s proposed constraint that the verbs featured in the construction should suggest difficulty encountered in the course of motion and inherent motion verbs, the academic corpus offers evidence to the contrary. No detailed analysis will be attempted here beyond the observation that uses with non-difficulty verbs (16a-b) and incidental activity verbs (16a) are attested and they are not signs of substandard usage. Sentences like the following appear in registers where careful style is required.

116

(16)

a. The giant herd grazes their way through the greater Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater … (PSA Journal, 2009) b. It slakes our thirst for several bone-rattling hours as we bump our way into a magnificent sunset beyond Ankaranemo. (Geographic Re view, 2008)

4.3. Abstractions, necessary or otherwise The way construction is among elements that contribute to increased levels of abstraction in academic writing. First, before the role of x’s way is explained, a note of a normative nature is in order. There are two kinds of abstraction: justified and contrived. Most obviously, a piece of writing can be abstract and complex by virtue of its content. It is less desirable when abstraction is due more to form than the subject matter itself. This happens when formal features of academic writing are mismanaged. How do these features increase levels of abstraction and difficulty of a given text? Nominalizations may place increased comprehension demands on the reader by altering the traditional organization of a sentence (Williams, 1990). Ideally, a clear sentence names agents in the subject position and specifies their actions in the predicate (17a). This is a natural pattern making it easy for the reader to follow the story line. On the other hand, the complexity in (17b) is increased (here quite unnecessarily) by nominalizing actions. As a result, the challenge for the reader is to “unpack” the nominalizations to determine the proverbial “who is doing what to whom”. (17)

a. Before the president decides to implement the project, he promised to analyze its costs and benefits for the nation. b. The presidential project implementation decision was preceded by a promise of a national cost-and-benefit analysis.

Sentences built around the way construction do not suffer from this predicament. While more than 56% of instances of the construction in the corpus were found to involve abstract readings, none disrupted the natural storyline pattern exemplified in (17a) above. That was possible because the agents were in the subject position, followed by clear actions in predicates, and the abstractions did not appear until the object position, where they can be effortlessly interpreted as predictable themes. (18)

a. … (we) laugh, think, and question our way to a little bit of wisdom. (Esquire, 2004) b. … other members bought their seats shamelessly, or charmed their way into the good graces of aristocratic families. (Social Re search, 1998)

117

What makes sentences like the ones above very easy to process is their formal syntactic alignment with the metaphoric motion pattern. Thanks to the syntactic mold of the construction with slots for an agent and the verb expressing a specific activity manner, it is almost an involuntarily reflex to mentally translate the physical progression into metaphoric motion toward an abstract goal. Because of the intuitive correspondence between obtainment (or understanding) and directed motion, such abstract readings are natural and qualitatively different from contrived abstractions like (17b).

5. Conclusions It is quite remarkable that a construction like x’s way, whose light tone is typical of more literary styles, can nevertheless justify its presence in academic writing or even in highly technical research papers (as in example 14h above). Such otherwise unusual participation is possible when the oddball in question makes up for its inadequacy with some compelling advantages. X’s way more than compensates for its un-scholar-like colorful spirit by offering ideal means for the expression of abstract content, the staple of scholarly communication. It does so by framing abstract processes as motion events, in accordance with metaphoric patterns such as PROGRESS IS MOTION FORWARD. The way construction makes it possible to exploit this general frame for a number of specific scenarios, such as ones where understanding is conceptualized as motion toward a goal. Last but not least, reliance on clear metaphoric logic all but guarantees that x’s way sentences do not compound the complexity of form beyond what is abstract in content.

References Croft, W. & Cruse, D. A., 2004. Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ellis, R., 2001. The Metaphorical Constructions of Second Language Learners. In: M. Breen, ed. Learner Contributions to Language Learning: New Directions in Research. Harlow: Pearson Education, pp. 65-85. Flowerdew, J., 2003. Signalling nouns in discourse. English for Specific Purposes, Volume 22, pp. 329-346. Freud, S., 1913. On beginning the treatment (further recommendations on the technique of psycho-analysis, I). In: The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, vol. 12 (1958). London: Hogarth Press, p. 121–44. Goldberg, A., 2006. Constructions At Work: The Nature of Generalization in Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Goldberg, A. E., 1995. Constructions: A Construction Grammar Approach to Argument Structure. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

118 Halliday, M. A. K., 1988. On the language of physical science. In: M. Ghadessy, ed. Registers of written English: situational factors and linguistic features. New York: Printer, pp. 162-178. Hughes, R., 1996. English in Speech and Writing. London: Routledge. Israel, M., 1996. The Way Constructions Grow. In: Conceptual Structure, Discourse and Language. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications, pp. 217-230. Jackendoff, R., 1990. Semantic Structures. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Kövecses, Z., 2010. Metaphor. A Practical Introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M., 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Łyda, A., 2007. Concessive relation in spoken discourse: A study into academic spoken English. Katowice: University of Silesia. Mondorf, B., 2011. Variation and change in English resultative constructions. Language Variation and Change, Volume 22, p. 397–421. Nunberg, G., Sag, I. A. & Wasow, T., 1994. Idioms. Language, 70(3), pp. 491-538. Salkoff, M., 1988. Analysis by fusion. Linguisticae Investigationes, 12(1), p. 49–84. Szcześniak, K., 2013. You can't cry your way to candy: Motion events and paths in the x's way construction. Cognitive Linguistics, 24(1), p. 159–194. Warchał, K., 2010. Moulding interpersonal relations through conditional clauses: Consensusbuilding strategies in written academic discourse. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Volume 9, p. 140/150. Williams, J. M., 1990. Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. 4th ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

119

Preparing Students for the Delivery of Poster Presentations in English Aleksandra Łuczak Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland

Abstract The paper highlights the need for developing poster presentation skills among university students as this form of academic performance becomes more and more common in academic settings and in the world of multimodal incentives. Poster presentations become an attractive alternative to traditional presentations which students dislike as they usually involve the stress of public speaking. On the other hand, poster sessions can turn into dynamic and interactive form of presentation or final assessment. The paper presents a detailed description of an English poster competition that was organised law students of Warsaw based universities. The paper is a description of good practice, analyses strengths and weaknesses of the first edition of the competition and contains practical information about designing conference posters.

Keywords: conference poster, study skills, EAP, ESP, Legal English. 1. Introduction In the era of mobility, internationalisation and globalization of higher education and record high university attendance, as Poland occupies the third position in Europe (after the UK and Germany) according to the total number of students in tertiary education (2,166,000 in December 2010 as presented on http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained /index.php /Tertiary educationstatistics), the need for developing academic skills in students is specially justified. In Poland nearly half of the students choose social sciences, business or law related studies, therefore language courses they attend at universities are highly specialist, often leading to international certificate examinations and structured to satisfy the highly professional target needs of the course participants. Even though undergraduates are not precisely aware of these needs, they are formulated by the employers and pro-

120

fessionals and find their reflection in the course syllabuses designed by the experienced ESP teachers. Pre-experienced learners face a huge challenge as they have to master a complex web of disciplinary specific text types, assessment tasks and presentational modes (Hyland 2006: 8) if they want to be successful in the workplace. Before that, however, there is a fan of study skills which they might need to master if they wish to pursue their education in an international context. Study skills overlap in many aspects with professional (business or legal) skills. For example, reading is a very important skill for future lawyers, interpreting graphs and diagrams is often a problem area when teaching students presentation skills, while developing writing techniques will always pay off, no matter what purposes our students will be writing for: business, academic or legal ones. The skills of paragraphing, linking ideas or summarizing are a must of any tertiary level foreign language course. A comprehensive list of classic study skills and activities may be long and detailed (Jordan 1997, Wallace 2004). In practice teachers and course designers should select the skills and activities which their students will most likely need during the course of studies either at their native country or abroad. Due to time constraints, a selection of study skills has to be made and only the most significant of them can be woven in the syllabus. These might include the following study situations and the study skills needed:

1.

Lectures/talks

1. 2. 3. 4.

Listening and understanding Note-taking Asking questions for: repetition, clarification and information

2.

Discussions/seminars

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Listening and note-taking Asking questions Answering questions Agreeing and disagreeing Giving presentations

3.

Individual reading

1. 2. 3.

Scanning and skimming Understanding and analysing data Note/list-making; arranging notes logically Summarising and paraphrasing

4.

4.

Writing (esays/reports/projects/dissertations/re search papers/articles)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Planning, writing drafts, revising Paragraphing, organising writing Linking words Punctuation Paraphrasing Using quotations, footnotes, bibliography

121 5.

Research

1. 2.

Conducting interviews Designing questionnaires

6.

Examinations

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Preparing for exams Revision Understanding questions Writing under time pressure Answering questions Explaining, describing, justifying

2. Conference poster as a new genre It is hard to find poster presentation skills on the available lists of study skills. Many authors notice (Swales and Feak 2000, MacIntosch-Murray 2007) that poster presentations are treated as second class participation or “a poor country cousin” compared to oral presentations. Although poster presentations have been traditionally reserved for science, they are becoming more and more popular in the academic environment of social sciences and linguistics as an alternative way of presenting research results at conferences as well as a substitute for lecture like appearances which often do not leave time for the interaction between the speaker and the conference participants. As a regular conference attendee I cannot fight the impression that still they are not treated as “valid” as oral presentation sessions. These sessions are usually left for presentations which do not exactly match the leading theme of the conference or for the submissions that are not as relevant, original, scientifically significant or practical as those accommodated for the regular oral sessions. The above conviction has been created on the analysis of the notification e-mail received from the organisers of an international conference on language teaching held in Warsaw in 2010 who wrote: In view of substantial amount of submissions we received and the very high average quality, the blind refereeing process had to be rather competitive. While we could not accommodate your contribution as an oral presentation, we will be happy to accept your submission as a poster.

The growing interest in poster presentations could have been observed in the last two decades of the 20th century. Therefore in the first decade of the 21st century researchers tend to mention posters as a new genre emerging in academic and professional settings. Swales (2004: 64) pointed out that: the birth and the growth of a conference poster as a genre can be ascribed to the increase in numbers of those who want or need to make “conference presentations”, a push to encourage fuller participation of

122

graduate students, a greater opportunity for reporting on work-inprogress, and a semiotic ship in recent decades from the verbal to the multimodal.

Belles & Fortanet (2004: 65) include posters in their classification of the oral academic genres in the category of research genres:

Figure 1. Spoken academic discourse (Belles & Fortanet, 2004)

The need for including posters in AEP syllabus as one of the classroom genres can be identified on the basis of experience built in science field where poster presentations have been used long as an alternative method of assessment in various courses of study. Language teachers as educators tend to use very similar methods of assessment that include: multiple choice tests, grammar tests, short answers tests, gapped text tests, essays, reports, oral presentations, etc. All of these methods are usually intimidating and stressful for students. They do not generate much creativity and usually involve individual rather that group work. Poster presentations may constitute an innovative and attractive alternative to traditional presentations which are usually disliked by students as stressful and fear generating situations. The author of this paper offered her students attending her lecture on Business Culture the choice of an oral or poster presentation as a final assessment. Out of 50 students who attended the lecture only 10 decided to deliver a “traditional” oral presentation. This solution

123

seemed especially appealing to students whose English was at the lower level of proficiency and for whom public speaking in front of 50 other students generated high level of anxiety. During the course one of the lectures was devoted to workshop on poster preparation techniques. Psychological research shows that giving presentations in class are sources of academic anxiety for students (Wood & Palm, 2000). Raised anxiety level can impair performance (Powers, 1999; Sansgiry, Bhosle & Sail, 2006). There are, however, certain solutions that can help decrease anxiety and they include providing a relaxed environment (Cassaday, Bloomfield, & Hayward, 2002); providing workshops for students has also been shown to reduce anxiety (Roney & Woods, 2003). The results of the research conducted by Johnson & Green (2007) on the reaction of the undergraduate students to poster sessions showed that they enjoyed this experience and preferred this way of assessment as compared to individual oral presentations. This format decreased students’ nervousness and they would recommend this form of assessment for use in other classes. The aim of this research was also to investigate whether participation in a poster session in the classroom increases the students' willingness to present at a scientific conference. The results showed that the students’ interest in participating in a scientific conference grew significantly as compared to their opinion from before the poster session. Their ratings were compared with the opinions of a control group of students that did not participate in the research who turned out to be less willing to present at conferences.

3. An example of good practice: Transylvanian experience The author of this paper draws her inspiration for the activities and events presented in this article from a very successful conference organized by Transylvania University of Brasov in Bran in September 2010 (for more information visit: www.phoenixconf.ro). The whole event was organized around four thematic sections in which the conference participants as usually submitted abstracts, then full papers, but traditional conference presentations were replaced with poster presentations. The authors had to submit posters before the conference in A4 format and they were printed by the organizers and framed for display during the first day of the conference. During the morning session of first day of the event participants worked in small, 10-15 person thematic groups. They were instructed by the organizers to study all the posters in their group, select three most interesting and leave at least three questions for the authors of the selected posters on the post-it notes stuck to the chosen placard. The rest of the day was devoted to individual work of the participants preparing answers to the questions which were planned to be

124

delivered next day during round table meeting in the same thematic groups as on the first day of the conference. This way of organising the conference created a unique opportunity to focus on the issues of the special interest and importance for the audience. It eliminated the stress of public speaking in a foreign language and the round table created the climate for extremely fruitful and cooperative exchange of expertise and ideas. Moreover, poster session organization of the event naturally created the informal setting in which conference participants chatted, mingled and networked. The imposed requirement of designing a conference poster undoubtedly forced the participants with no experience in that matter to investigate the issue and make an attempt of creating their first conference poster. The above experience inspired the idea of implementing poster presentations as one of the methods of final assessment during undergraduate courses run by the author of this article at a Polish business university as well as organising a poster competition among students of law that would familiarize them with the new genre and increase their contact with the English language.

4. An example of good practice: student poster competition Students graduating from universities rarely have an idea what an academic poster is and how it should be designed. In order to increase the students’ awareness of this form of presentation an English poster competition for students has been organised at Kozminski University in the academic year 2010/2011. It was a pilot edition of the competition but there are plans to organize it regularly in the coming years. This year’s competition has been addressed to students registered at Kozminski University as well as to contestants from other law faculties in Warsaw and attractive in kind prizes have been prepared by the University for the winners. The topic selected for the first poster competition was: Libertas in Legibus (Liberty in the Law). The intention was to focus at a relatively general issue so that all students would have an opportunity to participate, even the freshmen who have just started their legal education and do not have much expertise in law yet. The aim of the competition was to:

125

a) popularize the knowledge of law and legal aspects of liberty as one of the fundamental human values; b) develop the knowledge of Legal English among Polish students of law; c) develop the skill of visualizing the knowledge. After the Organizing Committee had been appointed, the first step was drafting detailed Rules and Regulations which task was accomplished by a law assistant working at the University. Probably, therefore the document eventually consisted of six pages and contained really exhaustive information. The full Polish text of the Rules and Regulations can be downloaded from the Kozminski website on: http://www.prawo.kozminski.edu.pl/getFile. php/gfx/prawo/pl/ default_ aktualnosci/2/361/1/regulamin_konkursu.pdf. The document consists of six parts followed by an appendix and contained the following details its clauses : I. II.

III.

IV.

V. VI.

General Information: competition theme, information about the Organizer, the aim of the competition; Organizational Details: information about the deadline, competition addressees, electronic format of the submitted works, software available for the design of the posters; Conditions of Participation: information about the maximum size of the submitted posters, entry form (available on: http://www.prawo.kozminski.edu.pl/getFile.php/gfx/prawo/pl/default _aktualnosci/2/361/1/entry_form_papier_firmowy.doc), anonymity procedure, possible number of submitted entries for the competition; Assessment Criteria: information about the composition of the jury, announcement of the deadline for the results, how the participants will be notified about the results; Prizes: the information about the amount of each prize, taxes to be paid and how the posters will be displayed; Copyrights: information about copyrights assignment to the Organizer, the possible use of the posters for the promotional purposes by the University, statement about no copyright infringement of any third party, participants’ consent to publish their personal information.

The Appendix contains basic information about a conference poster. It explains that: A conference poster is a graphically attractive way of visualization of a specific theme, in this case “liberty in the law”. Information on the poster should be presented in a vivid, concise, comprehensive and clear way. It should contain clear and comprehensible language, so that the content does not need any other explanation and is easily understood without any extra comments. The poster should not be overloaded with

126

text but whenever possible it should use tables, graphs and graphics. Any references that are made should be mentioned. A model poster can be found on http://tiny.pl/hwjwd and more information about conference posters is available on:  http://www.plakatkonferencyjny.pl/jak_przygotowac_dobry_pl akat.html;  http://www2.napier.ac.uk/gus/writing_presenting/academic_p osters.html#content;  http://gradschool.unc.edu/student/postertips.html;  http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/graduateskills/preview/presentations/academic-poster-tutorial/postertutorial-print.pdf;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqgjgwIXadA;  http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/sd/pgrd/resources/designing -poster;  http://www.is.stir.ac.uk/docs/CreatingAcademicPostersUsingPo werPoint.pdf.

A brief section on delivering poster presentations can also be found in Blanpain & Laffut (2009: 40). The invitation for law students to participate in the competition was sent by traditional mail to all Law Faculties of tertiary educational establishments in Warsaw. Law Faculties received printed version of the posters to display on their school premises. Moreover, the competition was also advertised on the Internet on various students’ sites.

5. Poster presentation workshop Posters are undoubtedly a novelty not only for the academics themselves but for the students as well. Therefore, the author of this paper and the originator of the poster competition at the same time decided to run a workshop for the students in order to inform them about the competition and encourage to participate. The workshop was meant to acquaint the students with the techniques and tools available for the preparation of posters. Namely, the general term “poster” may be misleading and ambiguous to people who are not familiar with the idea of a conference poster. According to www.thefreedictionary a poster is a large, usually printed placard, bill, or announcement, often illustrated, that is posted to advertise or publicize something and similarly Encyclopaedia Britannica defines it as printed paper announcement or advertisement that is exhibited publicly. In educational or scientific setting, however, a poster is the visual presentation of the research results by an author at a congress or conference with an academic or profes-

127

sional focus. Posters are usually displayed during a scheduled poster session which creates an opportunity for the conference participants to talk to the author, exchange ideas, liaise and build new connections. The primary aim of the workshop was to make students aware of what is expected from them as competition participants and to clarify what a conference or academic poster should look like. We expected that the ambiguity and the novelty of what an academic poster is could be discouraging for the potential competition participant. As the organizers we did not want to end up with submissions which did not meet our expectations and the formal requirements for a conference poster. The students were supposed to realize that an academic poster is a new opportunity for academic and professional presentations and that learning to communicate research well through posters involves far more than formatting issues such as font size (MacIntoschMurray 2007: 347). To combat these during the workshop the students were familiarized with the following guidelines: a) models of the academic posters available on the internet, plenty of which can be accessed on Google Graphics and authentic posters designed by the author which were presented during conferences in Poland and abroad; b) assessment criteria for the submitted posters that include: content, structure, visual impact and clarity; the need for clear, visual impact was stressed. Students should be made aware that posters must be self-explanatory and the audience should not need any notes to understand them. c) software available for designing the poster which might include more advanced ones such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw but also the popular and well known to students Power Point. The basic functions of Power Point that may be useful when creating the poster can be learned from the video uploaded by University of Northern Colorado: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= MqgjgwIXadA; d) 3 P’s Rule, i.e. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare. Namely, the way the actual work on the poster should be allowed plenty of time for careful planning stage during which several questions should be answered. The author should think about the audience and what they already know. During the workshop the following questions were emphasised as preliminary in the process of designing the poster: - What is your message? - What are your key points?

128

- What does your viewer need to know? - How are you going to present your message? e) In the academic context the posters are used to report on the research results in a visual, compact and graphically attractive way. In such situations the poster might be based on the layout typical of a report, i.e.: - Title - Introduction - Methods - Results - Discussion - Conclusions - References However, the structure and layout of a poster will always depend on the theme and that is why any logical choice of headings and subheadings as long as the whole is well organised and clear to the viewer is possible. Designing posters is, therefore, a test for students analytical and critical thinking skills. f) Posters are supposed to convey message quickly and efficiently. They should attract attention by attractive layout. Therefore, a poster must have a focal point that will focus interest. This might be a key flowchart or diagram, or an appealing and prominent main title or a heading, since words are sometimes more powerful than graphics. Whenever it is possible to replace words with graphics, it should be replaced. g) The art of designing posters is not just about using appropriate font and beautiful colours but it is important for the author to be aware that audience will analyse posters from a distance, so the text should be legible from about one metre and attract interest of the scrolling audience from about five metres. Sans serif fonts like Arial or Helvetica are easier to read than serif fonts like Times New Roman. The main title should be about 70-100 points, subheadings around 36-40 points and body text around at least 24 points. It is better to use light background and dark letter than dark background and light letters as this combination may be tiring to read. h) Headings and subheadings should be formatted consistently and numbered or arrows should be used if doubt may arise about the order of reading them, directing viewers logically from the clear entry point and helping them find key sections at a glance. i) Authors should avoid oversimplifying the content by providing too little useful information or overcomplicating by providing too much information. Phrases rather than full sentences should be used. The

129

j)

content should be given some negative / white space, i.e. posters are not easy to read when information on them is cramped without “room to breathe”. Key words that students leave the workshop with might be: prepare, plan carefully, present suitably, balance text and graphics, it is the content that counts.

The workshop was run twice and was attended by about 100 students. The response to the invitation to participate in the competition was not however numerous. We received only ten posters submitted by seven students, since each competition participant could present two posters. All participants were registered students of our University and there were no submissions from law students from other Warsaw universities. Such very low response was very puzzling as the University authorities guaranteed very attractive money prizes: I prize – PLN 2,000 (an equivalent of € 500) II prize – PLN 1,500 (an equivalent of € 375) III prize – PLN 500 (an equivalent of € 125) Manifold reasons for such low response can be identified. The first cause can be the possible unfriendly attitude of the authorities of the invited universities towards the Organizers who are their competitors after all which resulted in their decision not to advertise the contest on their premises. Thus the information was not spread effectively and did not reach as many recipients as it possibly could. Kozminski University students were, however, very well informed and encouraged to participate. They could attend two workshops on poster presentation skills and could contact the Organizers or their English teachers in case of any doubts. Unfortunately, they did not and the posters which were submitted often did not meet the expectations of what a conference poster should be and occasionally contained spelling and grammar mistakes. The conclusions drawn suggest that attending a workshop did not result in widening the students’ knowledge about conference posters as a genre. Most probably they should have been instructed in more detailed way by their English teachers for example, encouraged to conduct research, present the results of the research in the format of a poster and perhaps then their enthusiasm about the competition and will to participate would have grown. Otherwise, the task seemed to be too challenging. All in all, the experience had positive impact on the participants whose works were presented on display during the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Law Faculty in March 2011 and especially for the two winners who were handed in the prizes during the opening ceremony in front of the invited distinguished guests, staff and their fellow students. Other participants’

130

engagement was appreciated by their English teachers with positive extra grades for individual work which constitutes a component (30%) of the overall grade that students are awarded for credit. All submitted posters are shown in Appendices section. The jury composed of two lawyers, one linguist and one graphic artist decided not to award the first prize but only two equivalent second prizes for posters A and B. The choice was very difficult to make. The lawyers opted for the winning posters most even though they do not fulfil the criteria of an academic poster and are rather a graphic representation of the notion of liberty. The author of poster A reproduced on the poster an oil painting representing the girl with the bird which she painted herself. The graphic artist appreciated poster G most for its simplicity and visual impact. The linguist juror and the author of this paper at the same time was captivated by the word play on poster D which was not, however, a purely academic or conference poster but rather an artistic visualisation of the notion of liberty and equality in its many variants. In the linguist’s opinion the posters C, E and F followed the guidelines for designing conference posters, contained meaningful content and reflected the effort of the in-depth analysis of the subject conducted their authors. Posters E and F were unfortunately quite chaotic in their visual representation and in original contained too many distracting colours. All in all from the linguistic, aesthetic and factual point of view poster C seems to satisfy the requirements set in the invitation to participation in the competition. Its author uses correct English, contains logical flow of thought based on the analysis of liberties and freedoms contained in the Polish Constitution presented on the background of subdued, elegant colours.

6. Conclusions Overall experience has shown that despite thorough preparation and marketing activities undertaken by the Organizers students were not very keen on the idea of participating in the poster competition. Even attractive in kind prizes did not constitute sufficient incentive. On the other hand students who were offered the possibility of poster final assessment instead of oral presentation final assessment were very enthusiastic about the idea and vast majority of course participants chose that variant. It was necessary to run a workshop on poster preparation techniques to explain to the students what is expected from them and what academic poster is. The most serious problem that was identified at evaluation stage was the issue of plagiarism, since many students copied directly from the internet. Therefore, the lecturer’s duty is to check if the submitted posters do not violate the copyrights of the third party. Students who infringed the copyrights and copied text from the

131

internet were penalized with a note on that incident placed in their university file. Despite a few such incidents the experiment proved that there is strong academic justification for poster presentations in academic English syllabus. Namely, this new genre of academic discourse is still unknown to the present generation of students who might become future academics. Therefore, there is also the practical rationale behind; with the assignments in the format of poster presentation students will definitely:        

immerse in the learning experience, learn from experience and gain deeper understanding of the subject and the foreign language develop their learner’s autonomy through empowerment develop critical thinking skills work in a more relaxed, informal environment interact, communicate and collaborate with their peers develop their analytical skills as poster is limited by size and has to be concise develop research skills develop creativity and independent thought.

Poster assignments are very likely to generate positive learning outcome. They may constitute an effective way to motivate students, to increase their confidence in using the foreign language, generate quality final product (poster) even by linguistically lower proficient students. Poster presentations, therefore, need more research on their inclusion in AEP syllabuses as a novel, emerging and prospective classroom genre.

References Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122–147. Blanpain, K. & Laffut, A. (2009). Academic Spoken English. A Corpus- Based Guide to Lectures, Presentations, Seminars and Tutorials. Acco. The Netherlands. Cassaday, H. J., Bloomfield, R. E., & Hayward, N. (2002). Relaxed conditions can provide memory cues in both undergraduate and primary school children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 513-547. Fortanet, I., Palmer, J. C.,& Posteguillo, S. (Eds.) (2004). Linguistic Studies in Academic and Professional English. Publicacions de la Universitat Jaume I. Grace, M. (2003). Poster sessions. Teaching Pre K-8, 33, 6. Hyland, K. (2006). English for Academic Purposes. An Advanced Resource Book. Routledge. Johnson, G. & Green, R.( 2007). Undergraduate researchers and the poster session. Journal of Instructional Psychology. June, 2007 Source Volume: 34 Source Issue: 2 Retrieved 23 September 2011 from: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Journal-InstructionalPsychology/166050232.html

132 Jordan, R. R. (1997) English for Academic Purposes: A Guide and Resource Book for Teachers. Cambridge University Press. McNamara, Judith and Larkin, Ingrid K., & Beatson, Amanda (2010). Using poster presentations as assessment of work integrated learning. In: Proceedings of the Australian Collaborative Education Network National Conference, 29 September-1 October 2010, Curtin University of Technology, Perth. Pineda, R. (1999). Poster Sessions: Enhancing Interactive Learning during Student Presentations. Journal of Management Education. 23, 618. Powers, D. E. (1999). Test anxiety and test performance: Comparing paper-based and computer-adaptive versions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) general test. Retrieved 24 September 2011 from http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/RR-99-15.pdf Roney, S. D., & Woods, D. R. (2003). Ideas to minimize exam anxiety. Journal of Engineering Education, 92, 249-255. Retrieved 24 September 2011 from http://www.jee.org/2003/july/776.pdf Sansgiry, S. S., Bhosle, M., & Sail, K. (2006). Factors that affect academic performance among pharmacy students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 70, 1-9. Retrieved 24 September 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637000/ Wallace, M. J. (2004). Study Skills in English: A Course in Reading Skills for Academic Purposes. Cambridge University Press. Stegemann, N. & Sutton-Brady, C. (2009). Poster Sessions in Marketing Education: An Empirical Examination. Journal of Marketing Education, 31: 219. Wood, M. R., & Palm, L. J. (2000). Students' anxiety in a senior thesis course. Psychological Reports, 86, 935-936.

133

Appendix A

C

B

D

134

E

F

G

H

135

I

J

136

137

Mission Statement. The Common Core of Business and Academic Corporate Culture Piotr Mamet University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

Abstract Mission statements are written to persuade people to accept the goals and actions of a corporation. The persuasive force is to be obtained by the relevant structure, grammatical and lexical forms. The study investigates one hundred mission statements drafted by US universities and companies. It compares the features of the register and the generic structure of the analysed texts. It may be observed that firms and universities draft their missions in a similar way in terms of content, structure and register. The major difference may be found in some lexical choices connected with different fields of activity that both types of corporations operate in.

Keywords: mission statement, genre, discourse 1. Introduction Mission statements being “a common management tool” (Campbell and Yeung 1990:iii) and “a class of genres that primarily act as carriers of ideologies and institutional cultures” (Swales and Rogers, 1995:225) have been well researched by experts on management. The research projects made by Bart (1997, 1998, 2001), Campbell and Yeung (1990, 1991), Foster (1993), Graham and Havlick (1994), Haschak (1998) or Pearce II (1982, 1987) are only exemplary highlights in this area. There seems to be much less interest in mission statements “written articulation of a company’s mission” (Campbell and Yeung 1990:iii) in linguistics. The only linguistic research on mission statements as mentioned by Bargiela-Ciappini et.al (2007:62-63, 161-165) is that of Rogers and Swales (1990) and Swales and Rogers (1995). In Poland, the linguistic research on generic and register features of mission statements includes works by Mamet (2005), Mamet and Mierzyńska (2005) and Wolny-Peirs (2005)

138

The aim of the following analysis is to continue the linguistic research indicated above, in particular to compare mission statements of 50 US companies and US universities and to study if they share generic and register features.

2. Mission statement - definition, recipients and components The major concept of a mission as a management tool has already been mentioned in the introduction. This may be complemented with Pearce’s II definition of a mission statement as: “a broadly defined but enduring statement of purpose that distinguishes a business from other firms of its type and identifies the scope of its operations in product and market terms” (1990:263-4). Falsey is probably right when he claims “there are probably as many definitions as there are companies” (1989:3). Rue and Holland (1989:67) point to the fact that apart from the organization itself, its the environment of the organization which is to be affected by the mission statement and its content. In other words mission statements persuade not only corporate employees to work better but also people in the company environment such as local communities , shareholders, partners or suppliers to co-operate with it as stakeholders. Different researchers define mission statements in a variety of ways. The study made by Mamet (2005: 26-30) indicates that the same may be said about the components of mission statements and that there is a considerable disagreement about the number of components and their content. The Ashridgre Mission Model developed by Ashridge Strategic Management Centre and Boston Consulting Group (Campbell and Yeung 1990:2, 6) sees mission as “the holistic bringing together of strategy and values” (1990:iii). The advantage of the model is that it limits the number of components of a mission to four and provides some criteria for their identification, i.e.:    

Purpose – an explanation “why the organization exists”; Strategy – “the commercial logic of the business” and “the business domain in which the company is going to compete”; Behaviour standards – “instructions about how managers and employees should behave”; Values – “the beliefs that underpin the organization’s management style” (Campbell and Tawadey 1990:2-5, see also Cambell and Sally Yeung 1990: 5-10).

139

The following research will use this concept in order to compare the texts in the corpus. One has to remember that mission statements represent “a strategic level of generality and ambiguity” (Fairhurst 1993: 336) and the identification of the Ashridge Model components may prove to be difficult or arbitrary in particular texts.

3. Mission statement – a summary of linguistic research The major contribution to the analysis of mission statements seems to have been by John Swales and Priscilla Rogers (1995) who indicate the major features of register and the variety generic forms. The authors also provide a case study of The Philosophy and Policies of Dana, i.e. a variety of the genre in question (Rogers and Swales 1990). In Poland the genre has been researched by Maja Wolny Peirs as one of the genres containing the elements of what the author calls “the language of success” (2005). One should also mention the research made by Mamet (2004, 2005) as well as Mamet and Mierzyńska (2006) that focuses on the generic and register features of mission statements. The major findings of the above mentioned research may be summarized in the following sub-sections. 3.1 . Register According to Swales and Rogers (1995) mission statements:      

tend to be written in a general and ambiguous pithy and up-beat language; most of the verb forms are in the present, imperative and purpose infinitive and modal verbs appear in the un-hedged variety; goals, principles and values are among the preferred nouns; “positive” adjectives such as competent, enthusiastic or leading are used to make the texts more attractive (:226-227); the use of first-person plural pronouns is a major device fostering affiliation and identification (:227); sentences tend to start with „employee denoting” subjects” (:232). The stylistic features of the genre as indicated by Wolny-Peirs (2005) in clude:



functional, “utilitarian” style that dominates over the esthetic function;

140

   

complex syntax that limits readability; official style; technical and professional style containing i.e. attributes as the components of “the language of success” nominalization (:137).

Piotr Mamet’s research points to the variety of registers that appear in missions and to their scope which range from general language to language for specific purposes such as official language or business and technical vocabulary. It also indicates that mission statements follow, at least to some extent, the rules of Plain English (2005: 108- 150). 3.2. Discourse and Genre Analysis Swales and Rogers (1995) classify mission statements as genres that carry “culture, ethos and ideology” that “stand a little apart from normal recursive processes” and systems of genres that get things done (:226). The authors indicate problems connected with classifying mission statement as a genre. On one hand they stress that the texts they analyse “possess similarities sufficient to characterize them as a single genre” (:226). On the other hand they point to a variety of labels used to signify the genre, e.g. Our Mission, Our Commitment, Vision or A View to the Future. Moreover while treating mission statement as a single genre they indicate a number of forms it may take, e.g. slogan, motto, catch phrase, signature tune, single page documents, folded flyers and booklets (: 225). Classifying all of them under a single generic name “mission statement” seems justified in terms of applying a set of criteria which constitute a combination of textual and contextual features (ibid.). Considerable differences among the instances of mission statements in terms of length are confirmed by Mamet (2005: 303 -308) and WolnyPeirs (2005: 135-136). Mamet (1995) analyses mission statements in terms of textual features, chiefly text organization (e.g. slogan, one or more paragraph texts, the use of points). He also investigates whether mission statements contain the components prescribed by management theory and practice, e.g. strategy values, etc. The analysis also proves that the concept of discourse colony, as elaborated by Michael Hoy proves to be a useful tool in analyzing this genre. The latter concept provides for a modular organization of a text whose components serve the same function but which are not based on a sequence and may function independently like entries in a encyclopedia. Components of a discourse colony are held together by a framing context (Hoey 1986:1-26).

141

Mamet’s concept seems to be close to that represented by Martin who claims that “titles, sub-titles, headings and subheadings are commonly deployed to keep track of the composition structure” (1992:443).

4. The Analysis The main objective of this research is to answer the question whether the same genre, i.e. the. mission statement is used in a similar way by two different types of organizations such as. businesses and universities, Presumably university mission statements are written by scholars for potential scholars or at least well educated people. Firms address groups of people who may be more differentiated in terms of knowledge and education. This analysis will focus on determining whether the missions of firms and universities follow the same composition in terms of text structure and the elements prescribed by the Ashridge Model. Moreover it will also concentrate on the study of the selected features of style such as lexical, grammatical choices. The missions reading ease will also be considered. 4.1. Corpus As mentioned above, Swales and Rogers rightly indicate that mission statements “ appear under a variety of labels” (1995:226). The analysed corpus consists of texts that contain the lexeme “mission” in their titles and documents containing vision apart from mission component are referred to as mission statements. All the texts of missions statements were downloaded and, if necessary, converted into Word format documents. The Microsoft Word 2003 was used to obtain such data as the number of words, average sentence length, etc. The corpus analysed in this project covers 100 texts (27009 orthographic words) – 50 missions of US universities (14853 words) and 50 missions of US businesses (12156 words). Microsoft Word 2003 was used to count the number of words. Table 1 summarises the major corpus data. Table 1 Number of words in the analysed texts. Firms

Universities

no. of words

11622

14737

average

232.44

297.06

shortest

19 (Du Pont)

34 (Argossy)

longest

1697 (Google)

890 (Tuskegee)

142

Although the longest mission is that of a business unit one may say that universities tend to design longer texts than firms. This is evident from the average number of words used which indicates that the same number of texts involve a larger number of words.

4.2. Structural features of the analysed texts 4.2.1. Components of Ashridge Model

One should start with the observation that, partly because of the general strategic character of the analysed genre, it is difficult to identify components of the Ashridge Model (AM) model and to draw a border line between them. Standards of behaviour may be treated as components of the corporate strategy while values to be observed by the corporation may be said to be a component of these standards. The occurrence of the AM components presented below is the result of a mixed approach. On one hand it takes into consideration the intentions of the authors facilitating the identification of chunks of texts labeled in a way provided by AM, e.g. Values or Objectives [e.g. Columbus State University]. On the other hand some texts are not divided into any structural parts and it is the researcher who, sometimes in an arbitrary way, determines the occurrence on non occurrence of a given item. In some texts the components of AM are easily identifiable in an univocal way. Thus the mission of the California State University indicates its strategy in a section entitled Priorities. This is followed by a sentence “to realize this vision, the university will adopt the following priorities”, which in turn is followed by a pointed list of priorities. In a similar way values tend to be grouped under a separate heading, e.g. Strategy, Core Purpose and Core Values [Ball], Values [Fontbonne University], Our Values [ Avis] or Core Values [Maryville University], Guiding principles [Saint Martin University]. The other way, that appears chiefly in short missions, is to hide the components in the text. Thus one may guess that:  a phrase like our passion is teaching and learning [Argossy University] is to be classified as a strategy;  phrases like is a major Catholic university… focuses on academic and ethical development [Seton Hall University] or we will conduct business ethically and with a high degree of integrity [Ethyl] indicate values. Tables 2 and 3 below present the findings in a more detailed way.

143 Table 2 Ashridge Model Components in the analysed texts Ashridge Model Component

Firms

Universities

O

50 (100%)

46 (92%)

S

40 (80%)

46 (92%)

B

36 (72%)

46 (92%)

V

30 (60%)

39 (78%)

Symbols used: O = objectives, S = strategies, B = (standards of) behavior, V = values.

Table 3 Breakdown of Ashridge Model Components in the analysed texts Ashridge Model Component

Firms

Universities

O + S + B+V

23 (46%)

33 (66%)

O+S+B

7 (14%)

6 (12%)

O+B+V

6 (12%)

3 (12%)

O+S+V

1(2%)

-

S+B+V

-

4 (8%)

O+S

9 (18%)

3 (6%)

O+B

-

1 (2%)

O

4(8%)

-

Symbols used: O = objectives, S = strategies, B = (standards of) behavior, V = values.

Generally speaking universities seem to apply the AM standards more carefully than businesses. 33 university missions (66%) versus 23 (46%) business missions contain all four components of the model. The number of missions containing three components is more balanced, i.e. 10 university missions (20%) and 14 business ones (28%). Objectives, which may possibly be considered as the core element of a mission, appear in all 50 missions of businesses and in 46 missions of universities. 4.2.2. Text structure and discourse colony

Both firms and universities draft their missions in a similar way. Short one paragraph texts occur in 9 missions of firms (18%), e.g. Heinz, Nalco and 6 missions of universities, , e.g. Argossy, Clark Atlanta, Cornell, Seton Hall. There is a tendency to avoid longer texts, i.e. not exceeding two or more paragraphs with no extra sections added. Only 2 firms (4%) Ethyl and Sysco

144

and 7 universities (14%), e.g. Bentley, North Carolina, Redlands drafted their missions in this way. Most of the studied texts, however, were longer and consisted of a number of paragraphs. They form sections divided into smaller units by means of subtitles, points, numbers or a combination of all of them. This applies to 39 (78%) and 37 (74%) missions of firms and universities, respectively. This may be summarized in the following table. Table 4 Text layout in the analysed corpus Type

Text layout

Firms

Universities

No.

%

No.

%

1

One paragraph

9

18

6

12

2

Two or more paragraphs *)

2

4

7

14

3

Sections **)

39

78

37

74

*) Paragraphs only, no points, numbers or subtitles **) Texts divided into smaller sections, e.g. subtitles, numbered points, points marked by colored and / or bold initial word or repeating initial word

The prevailing method is convenient because it enables the readers to chose those sections which are of principal interest to them. The most obvious choice is made prior to reading. Thus the mission of Sonoco is broken down into three components grouped in short sections under bolded subtitles: Strategic mission statement Strategic objectives People culture and values [Sonoco] In a similar way the University of California divides its statement into sections starting with bold letters and referring the reader to different areas of activity: We teach … We do research … We provide public service …. [University of California]. This type of text is also an application of the concept of discourse colony, as indicated above, because it permits the reader to select parts of texts which are relevant to them and which form more or less independent units.

145

4.3. Register features of the analysed texts rd

4.3.1. Collective forms we, our versus 3 person singular

The use of we / our forms is of special importance when drafting the texts of mission statements. As said before Swales and Rogers indicate that the firstperson-plural pronoun is a major rhetorical device used in mission statements in order to „…foster affiliation and identification…” (1995: 231). Affiliation and identification are very important in terms of motivating corporate employees to perform their duties well. The use of we / our pronouns is also a major device used in plain language communication. This, in turn is very important when one bears in mind that the recipients of a mission statement, i.e. the stakeholders form a complex and diversified group. This diversity covers different levels of educational background and language knowledge. The corpus analysed in this project reveals the use of we / our forms in a similar manner. As far as firms are concerned: 

26 (52%) mission statements are totally dominated by the use of we / our forms, e.g. We will conduct business ethically; We value our employees, our customers and our... [ Ethyl].  21 (42%) texts contain both we and 3rd person singular forms, e.g. Sonoco intends to be the low-cost global leader; We remain committed to actively developing a diverse, global workforce. All of our employees [Sonoco].  only 2 mission statements (Cuna and Heinz) are limited to 3rd person forms, e.g. CUNA will accomplish its mission in the following ways [Cuna]  there is one mission statement written totally in an impersonal style: to be the best … marketers, designers and manufacturers of industrial electric motors [Baldor].

The same data for the universities may be summarized as follows: 



only 2 (4%) mission statements are dominated by the use of we / our forms, i.e. our passion is teaching and learning. We develop … [Argossy] or Our principal mission at Lake Superior State University is; We do this [Lake Superior]. Most of missions (29, i.e. 58%) use both we/our and 3rd person singular forms, e.g. Cornell aspires to be; on the basis of our distinctive

146



status [Cornell]; Mansfield University is dedicated to; we are committed to [Mansfield] or Santa Clara is; we expand [Santa Clara]. 19 (38% ) of mission statements do not use we/our and prefer 3rd person singular forms , e.g. Marshall University will [Marshall] or the university strives to enrich the public [Oregon]

This may be summarized in the following Table. Table 5 We / our forms in the analysed corpus firms

universities

26 (52%)

3(6%)

21 (42%)

28 (56%)

3 person singular only

2 (4%)

19 (38%)

Impersonal forms

1 (2%)

-

We /our only rd

We/ our and 3 person singular rd

Generally speaking the use of first-person-plural pronouns is more often used by firms – the total number of texts using the we/our forms is 47 (94%). Universities seem to be slightly more reluctant to use the analysed forms, which appear in 31 texts (62%) The number of university mission statements written altogether without the we / our pronouns is 19 (38%) in comparison with 3 missions of firms (6%). This may indicate that people drafting university missions tend to use the formal style. Speaking in terms of Critical Discourse Analysis one may say that the use of the rhetoric of identification resists, at least formally, the power and social inequality between the senders and recipient of missions. The use of the formal style enacts and reflects the inequality of power. Hence as can be seen the educational institutions tend to be more tied to the authority of the university and therefore stress the lecturer-student relationship of power. In modern business the master-servant relationship tends to be converted into a partnership one, or at least hidden by rhetorical devices 4.3.2. “Commitment” words

The language of a mission statement should stress that the corporation is committed to accomplish its mission. This justifies the occurrence of lexemes that both belong to the formal style and express the dedication to achieve the mission’s goals, e.g. commit, dedicate, pursue and strive. They appear in missions of both universities and firms and may be illustrated by the following examples:

147

Commit    

We are committed to the highest standards of excellence in everything that we do [Beckton Dickinson and Company]; We are aligned and committed to our vision [Sikorsky]; the organization is fully committed to achieving [Ohio State University ]; Truman State University is committed to the advancement of knowledge [Truman State University].

Dedicate    

dedicated to bettering standards of living [Delta]; Heinz – the original Pure Food Company – is dedicated to the sustainable health of people [Heinz]; The university is dedicated to the discovery, understanding, preservation and dissemination of truth [Fontbonne University]; Mansfield University is dedicated to a personalized education [Mansfield University].

Pursue    

We will proactively pursue new business opportunities [CSC]; we collectively pursue our key business objectives and success… [North East Utilities]; The pursuit of distinction through inquiry and innovation [Columbus State University]; Xavier is an educational community dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge [Xavier University].

Strive    

striving to surpass our competitors [Avon]; we strive to be good citizens [Lockheed Martin]; University strives to sustain [University of Minnesota]; Indiana University strives to achieve [Indiana University].

The overall breakdown of the occurrence of the analysed lexemes in the corpus is summarized in Table 6.

148 Table 6 The occurrence of major lexemes expressing commitment in the analysed corpus No. (%) of missions containing the lexeme Lexeme

Firms

Universities

commit (1040)

22 (44%)

31 (62%)

dedicate (3200)

7 (14%)

21 (42%)

pursue (1580)

6 (12%)

9 (18%)

strive (1580)

12 (24%)

11 (22%)

(Cobuild frequency band)

The data suggest that one may speak about an obvious tendency to use the lexemes in question but not about their dominance which may be limited by plain language requirements. 4.3.3. “Quality” words

One of the persuasive tools and functions of a mission statement is to present the organization and its activities in a positive way. As said before the concept of a corporate mission is the outcome of the concept of excellence in strategic management. This directly explains the occurrence of excellent or excellence lexemes in 14 (28%) mission of business units and 30 (60%) missions of universities.    

We relentlessly pursue excellence in everything we do, every day [Alcoa]; We will deliver excellence [Northrop Grumman]; to provide access to academic excellence [Park University]; We value excellence in learning with great teachers who are active scholars [Seattle University].

An excellent organization should be a leading one, or at least it should aim to achieve a leading position in its branch, market, etc. In the case of universities this also applies to providing prospective leaders in business, politics and society. Thus forms like lead, leader, leading or leadership abound in the analysed corpus. They occur in 25 (50%) of mission of firms and 33 (66%) of mission of universities. 

To lead the nanomanufacturing technology revolution [Applied Materials];

149

  

to maintain a leadership position in the markets it serves [Cummins]; Bentley is a leader in promoting ethical and socially responsible enterprise [Bentley]; provides leadership in the development of programs [Northern Iowa].

Table 7 presents the occurrence of major lexemes referring to the quality of activities together with their frequency as stated by Collins Cobuild Dictionary. Table 7 Quality lexemes in the analysed corpus Missions containing the lexeme Lexeme (Cobuild frequency band)

Firms

Universities

best (680)

16 (32%)

6 (12%)

excellence/ excellent (3200 / 1040)

14 (28%)

30 (60%)

lead (680)

25 (50%)

33 (66%)

In terms of plain language rules one may observe that the quality of activities of firms and universities is presented by means of both basic and low frequency vocabulary.

4.3.4. ESP register

Businesses represent profit oriented provision of goods and services while universities specialize in education and research. These two different profiles may result in different register choices. The differences in register may be indicated by vocabulary related to employees, clients, products, profiles of activity. Thus, firms tend to use lexemes like employees or people to denote those who work for them. These lexical forms appear in 23 (46%) and 16 (32%) texts, respectively, e.g.  

Northrop Grumman's leadership is founded on talented employees [Northrop Grumman]; Dana people are dedicated to making our customers successful [Dana].

Universities use a wider scope of lexical forms, first of all staff (15,3%) faculty (13 texts , 26%) or scholars (4,8%), e.g.

150



Qualified faculty and staff create a community that [Central Washington].

Businesses sell their products to clients and this lexemes customer and client appear in 33 (66%) and 3 (6%) missions, respectively.  to lead the industry in creating value for customers [Nalco];  We succeed through satisfied customers [Xerox];  provide gold standard performance - for our clients [BursonMarsteller]. One may say that students are the equivalent of clients in educational activities and this is confirmed by the occurrence of the lexeme student in 45 university missions (92%). Another reason for the occurrence of ESP register in a mission is the description of the product and type of activity in the mission. 40 missions of firms (80%) include lexemes referring either to their product or type of activity. However, they vary considerably in terms of precision. Most of them include very general, and hardly ESP terms like:   

exploration and production [Apache]; solutions essential to a better, safer and healthier life [Du Pont]; consumer products [PepsiCo].

Universities represent an obvious type of activity. Still they may describe it in a variety of ways. There is a striking similarity to the missions of firms in terms of lexical choices connected with the corporate activity, i.e. 40 universities (80%) make some reference to the types of courses they run - 32 (64%) missions or the faculties they have - (23 46%) . Just like firms they can do it by avoiding details. Predominantly, they just mention that a university runs particular types of courses and avoid further explanation , e.g.  

a commitment to undergraduate education [Oregon]; to provide high quality undergraduate and graduate academic instruction [Slippery Rock].

Faculties or, at least subjects lectures are indicated in a very general way, e.g.  

personalized education with all programs grounded in the liberal arts [Mansfield]; a quality liberal education for undergraduates [Portland].

151

References to courses, degrees and faculties are not a distinctive feature of university mission statements but in a way they form a major link between these missions and the academic register. John Swales quotes fifteen most common nouns to be found in Hyland’s corpus of research articles, i.e. model, figure, time, product, study, cell, case, point, effect, result, process, system, structure, example, group (2004: 29). This list used as a yardstick to verify the academic character of the language of university mission statements indicates that academic register seldom appears in the analysed corpus. Nouns like system, process and study occur most often in texts 8, 7 and 6,, respectively) and some of the nouns do not appear at all, e.g. figure.. 4.3.5. Average sentence length

The Plain Language rules recommend the use of short sentences but they do not recommend any particular measure. The twin, British concept of Plain English is more precise in claiming that “clear writing should have an average sentence length (ASL) of 15 to 20 words” (http://www.plainenglish. co.uk/files/howto.pdf 2011-02-01) . With this criterion in mind one may say that firms follow the plain language rules whereas mission statements of universities are more difficult to read.. The recommended range occurs in (12 - 24%) but there are 17 (34%) texts with lower ASL. Thus texts with ASL that does not exceed 20 words form 60 % of a firm’s corpus mission. Table 8 below presents the ASL data in a detailed way. Table 8 Average sentence length of the analysed texts ASL

firms

universities

Up to 14

17 (34%)

4 ( 8%)

15-20

12 (24%)

11 (22%)

21-30

19 (38%)

28 % ( 56%)

31- 40

2 (4%)

7 (14%) *)

*) including one text with ASL = 62.6

One may see that Universities tend to use longer sentences than firms . ASL up to 20 words occurs in 15 missions (30%) of universities, i.e. a drop of 50% in comparison with missions of firms. 70 % missions of universities (compared with only 40 % of missions of firms) are in the ASL range from 21-40.

152

5. Conclusions In terms of qualitative analysis mission statements of firms and mission statements of universities follow the same patterns as far as contents (the components of the Ashridge model) and text structure, are concerned i.e. following the discourse colony concept and/or using very short chunks of texts. They also share register features that realize the rhetorical strategies aimed at motivating the employees and creating a good image of the corporation. Thus both firms and universities use collective we forms, elevated lexical items to present their dedication and quality of operations. The solemn and strategic character of the genre, the complexity of communicative objectives and of target reader groups make it difficult to draft mission statements totally in accordance with the requirements of plain language communication. The major qualitative difference between the genre exemplars is connected with the field of activity. Educational and research activities of universities determine lexical choices that do not occur in the missions of profit and shareholder oriented business units. However, this does not mean that English for Academic Purposes in particularly exploited in university missions. The quantitative research indicates that universities draft their missions more carefully than firms in terms of the use of Ashridge Model components. They also rely more heavily on the uses of the 3rd person singular forms thus being slightly more reluctant to use we /our collective forms. However it does not seem that the quantitative differences justify the opinion that mission statements of firms and universities are totally different.

References Bargiela-Chiappini F., Nickerson C., Planken B. (2007). Business Discourse. Houndhills: Basingstoke and New York. Bart C. K. (1998). A comparison of mission statements and their rationales in innovative and non-innovative firms. International Journal of Technology Management, 16 (part no. 1-3), 6477. Bart C. K. (2001). Exploring the application of mission statements on the World Wide Web. Internet Research. Electronic Networking Applications and Policy 4, s 360-368. Bart C. (1997). Sex, Lies and Mission Statements. Business Horizons, November-December, 918. Campbell A., Yeung S. (1991). Creating a Sense of Mission. Long Range Planning 24 (4), 10-20. Campbell A., Yeung S. (1990). Do You Need a Mission Statement? London: Economist Publications. Dijk A. T. van. (2003). Critical Discourse Analysis. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, H. Hamilton (Eds.), The Handbook of Discourse Analysis (pp. 352-371). Oxford : Blackwell Publishing.

153 Collins. (2001). Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Learner. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publishers. Drucker P. (1973). Management. Tasks Responsibilities Practices. London: Heinemann. Eggins S., Martin R. J. (2001). Gatunki i rejestry dyskursu. In T. A. van Dijk (Red.), Dyskurs jako struktura i proces (pp. 153-181). Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. Fairhurst, G.T. (1993). Echoes of the Vision. When the Rest of the Organization Talks Total Quality. Management Communications Quarterly 6 (4), 331-371. Falsey T. A. (1989). Corporate Philosophies and Mission Statements: a survey and guide for corporate communicators and management. New York: Quorum Books. Foster T. R. V. (1993). 101 Great Mission Statements. How the World’s Leading Companies Run their Businesses. London: Kogan Page. Galbraith J. K. (1985). The New Industrial State. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Graham J. W., Havlick W. C. (1994). Mission Statements. A Guide to the Corporate and Nonprofit Sectors. New York: Garland. Halliday M.A.K. (1989). Context of situation. In M.A.K. Halliday and R. Hasan (Eds.), Language, Context and Text (pp. 3-14). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Haschak P. G. (1998). Corporate Statements. The Official Missions, Goals and Philosophies of Over 900 Companies. Jefferson: McFarland. Hoey M. (1986). The Discourse Colony: preliminary study of a neglected discourse type. In M. Coulthard (Ed.), Talking about Text. Studies presented to David Brazil on his retirement (pp. 1-26). Birmingham: Engl. Language Research Univ. Levitt T. (1960). Marketing Myopia. Harvard Business Review 38 (4), 45-56. Mamet P. (2004). Misja firmy Johnson & Johnson, czyli o tłumaczeniu ponad kulturami. In P. Fast (Red.), Socjologiczne aspekty przekładu (pp. 237-258). Katowice-Warszawa: Śląsk. Mamet P. (2005). Język w służbie menedżerów – deklaracja misji przedsiębiorstwa. Katowice: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Mamet P. and B. Mierzyńska. (2005). Mission Statement – A Corporate Persuasive Genre. In Metody a Prostředky Přesvědčování v Masových Mèdiích. Sbornik textů z mezinárodní konference Ostrava 13.-15.9.2005 (pp. 125-130). Ostrava: Filozofická fakulta Ostravské univerzity v Ostravĕ. Martin J. R. (1992). English text: system and structure. Philadelphia: Benjamins. Pearce II J. A. (1982). The Company Mission As a Strategic Tool. Sloan Management Review 23 (3), 15-24. Pearce II J. A., David F. R. (1987). The Bottom-Line on Corporate Mission Statements. Academy of Management Executive 1 (2), 109-116. Pearce J. A. (1990). The Company Mission As a Strategic Tool. In A. Campbell, K. Tawadey (Eds.), Mission and Business Philosophy (pp. 264-280). Oxford: Heinemann. Peters T. J., Waterman R. H. (1986). In Search of Excellence. Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. New York: Harper & Row. Rogers P. S., Swales J. M. (1990). We the People? An analysis of the Dana Corporation Policies Document. Journal of Business Communication 27, 293-313. Rue, L.W ., Holland, P. G. (1989). Strategic Management, Concepts and Experiences. New York: McGraw-Hill. Supernat J. (2000). Management. Tezaurus Kierownictwa. Wrocław: Kolonia Limited. Swales J. M., Rogers P. S. (1995). Discourse and the projection of corporate culture: the Mission Statement. Discourse and Society 6 (2), 223-242. Swales J. M. (2004). Research Genres. Explorations and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. Wojtak M. (2001). Styl urzędowy. In J. Bartmiński (Red.), Współczesny język polski (pp. 155171). Lublin: Wydaw. Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej. Wolny-Peirs M. (2005). Język sukcesu we współczesnej komunikacji publicznej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Trio.

154

WWW pages How to write in plain English [online] http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/howto.pdf [accessed 2011-02-01]. Plain Language. Improving Communications from the Federal Government to the Public [online] http://www.plainlanguage.gov/ [accessed 2010-12-08]. What is Plain Language? [online] http://www.plainlanguage.gov/whatisPL/index.cfm [accessed 2010-12-08]. Readability Formulas [online] http://www.utexas.edu/disability/ai/resource/ readability/manual/formulas-English.html [accessed 2011-02-01].

155

When a Linguist Dies ... Academe in Obituaries Gabriela Cichy University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

Abstract The commemoration of the dead is inextricably connected with the history of mankind although the obituary in newspapers or professional field journals is a relatively recent phenomenon dating back to the 18th c. This paper, based on a corpora of 70 obituaries of linguists, is only a very initial phase of a larger study on social and cultural determinants of evaluative language use in obituaries and in its present form it intends to present results and draw conclusions on the culturally bound evaluative portrayal of a comparatively homogenous group of professionals whose lives have come to end.

Keywords: death, linguists, obituary, evaluative language, genre

1. Introduction Obituaries are a genre seen often as that part of the ritual of death in which the axiological and evaluative potential of human language comes to its peak. I am preoccupied with the questions: what does the language of obituaries tell us about academe? What values manifest themselves in obituaries of academics? The corpora for analysis are 70 obituaries of a comparatively homogenous group of professionals authored by fellow specialists and published on a field website between 2006 and 2011. The aim of this paper is to analyze linguistic resources of evaluation in the obituary to establish a model of a personal academic text. The analysis is premised on the typology of values proposed by one of the forerunners of linguistic axiology in Poland Jadwiga Puzynina, which I find particularly useful for lexical analysis. Since the obituary is more intended for celebration than defamation, this study concentrates on the mechanisms of positive evaluation on the denotative and connotative level.

156

2. Origin and evolution The first death announcements in the press appeared in The Gentleman’s Magazine founded in London in 1731. In the first issue of 1 January, alongside articles On the Present State of Affairs or On the Credulity of Witchcraft appeared Monthly Bill of Mortality and Deaths of Eminent Persons (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 First Issue of The Gentleman's Magazine – 1 January 1731

Since the 18th century, this genre of commemorating the dead has undergone a stylistic transformation from early moralizing, through Victorian celebration of death, to contemporary concentration on life. Bridget Fowler (2005, 2007), who sees obituaries as representations of collective memory (dominant, popular and counter-memory), distinguishes several stylistic types within the genre; apart from the traditional positive obituary, there exist sub-genres which are untraditionally positive, negative,

157

ironic or tragic. Jacek Kolbuszewski (1997) proposes a functional typology of (Polish) obituaries into informative, condolatory, valedictory, anniversary, address of thanks and hybrid obituaries, whereas the tone remains invariably favourable in accordance with the convention: de mortuis nil nisi bonum. Eliecer Crespo-Fernández (2006) differentiates the neutral informative mode of edited obituaries from opinative family-authored obituaries whose language is more emotive and figurative . Yet, regardless of its manifold realizations which stem from many factors (e.g. purpose, place of publication and intended reader), the defining feature of the obituary genre is an appraisal of the deceased, whether it be positive or negative. The obituary of today is not a text about death; it is a summary of life and of the life’s achievement, as Nigel Starck defines it: The obituary offers an appraisal of a life in the form of a brief biographypublished in a newspaper, magazine or journal. It is important to note the appraisal factor, for it is the element that distinguishes an obituary from a standard news story about death. While the intent of the latter is to supply an account of a deceased person’s life, often with information also on the circumstances of death, the obituary provides an assessment of its subject’s character, achievements, and an effect on society. This is frequently demonstrated through the use of anecdote. (Herman, Jahn, & Ryan, 2007: 407 ). Thus, the obituarius (pertaining to death) becomes a kind of a curriculum vitae.

3. Previous research: looking for a niche (of sorrow) One of the first authors to deal with “valuing lives” in the obituary were Bytheway and Johnson (1996) who analyzed the 86 obituaries of various professionals published in The Guardian in June 1995. Fowler (2005) studied The Times’ obituaries of politicians, writers, artists, sports people and trade unionists to find out whom we choose to commemorate. Tight (2008) focused exclusively on the obituaries of 100 academics drawn from the so called British “quality quartet” (The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph) in the year 2007. These studies however, considered values from a sociological perspective. In Poland, a number of linguists have explored the obituary texts for linguistic resources of evaluation, among them Grzesiak (1991), Kściuczyk (2005, 2007), Kaptur (2007), Włodarski (2008), and, most recently, Jakosz (2010). Except for Włodarski (2008), all of these articles concerned Polish obituaries and were written in Polish.

158

4. The present research: corpus and tools This paper analyzes the language of evaluation in the obituaries of linguists written by linguists (friends, colleagues, former pupils and chairs of departments) published on The Linguist List between 2006 and 2011. During that time 70 memorial notices were gathered of 64 deceased (in 6 cases two for one person). The obituaries had been published under the headings of an obituary, in memoriam or an appreciation. They were analyzed for evaluative vocabulary (mainly adjective and participle adjectives) with its collocations and for high frequency phrases with a minimum length of clusters 3-5 (word bundles). The following software was used for textual analysis: Concordance, Antconc 3.0, Wordsmith Tools 4 and LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count).

5. Theoretical framework There exist several models of evaluation, to mention: Krzeszowski’s (1998) cognitive axiology in semantics, Bondi and Mauranen’s (2003) evaluation in academic discourse, Martin’s (2003) and Martin and White’s (2005) appraisal theory and Bednarek’s (2006) evaluation in the press (modified appraisal theory). The theoretical framework of this study is premised on Jadwiga Puzynina’s typology, in which evaluation is defined as: a mental act of stating what positive and negative qualities (and to what degree) are, according to the person evaluating, inherent in particular features, behavior, states, and indirectly in objects (Puzynina, 1992: 83, translation G.C.).

Assuming the existence of two basic categories of 1) absolute, or ultimate, and of 2) instrumental values, Puzynina categorizes the absolute values into content categories, each of which has its central concept (positive/negative): 1) transcendental (metaphorical): sanctity/transcendental evil 2) cognitive: truth/ignorance and error 3) aesthetic: beauty/ugliness 4) moral: good of another person/harm of another person 5) ethical: propriety/inappropriateness 6) vital: life/death 7) sensory: happiness/unhappiness, pain. Before we analyze the semantic fields pertaining to each type of values, let us take a brief look at The Linguist List’s obituary structure. Constant elements

159

of these obituaries (presented in the prevailing order) are: - the full name and academic title of the deceased - an indication of the linguistic specialization - the date of death - contributions to the field - education and career (dates of receiving academic degrees, functions and awards) - the name of the obituarist(s). Optional elements are: - the age of the deceased (indicated in 23 obituaries) - the cause of death (mentioned in 19 obituaries) - the place of death referring to a town, and occasionally providing more de tails such as: in the Ljubljana Medical Center, in hospital, or in the peaceful and comfortable surroundings of his home - the list of survivors. The age of the deceased ranged from 48 years to 101, while the majority died in their 80s or 90s. Significantly, the institutional affiliation is not indicative of nationality because of a great international mobility of linguists (even across continents, e.g. South America-France-North America, or Europe-AfricaEurope-North America) for reasons being mostly academic, and occasionally political: from Moscow to Yale, or from Romania to Italy and from Czechoslovakia to US. A considerable part of each obituary is devoted to listing the subject’s contributions to the field, their academic awards and administrative functions. In one case, education was interrupted by military service, and in another case the linguistic path was somehow inspired by it: it was the Second World War which caused [linguist] to extend his linguistic interests as he was exempted from US military service on condition that he learn a Southeast Asian language and write text books for soldiers. We find one untraditional positive obituary of an accountant who became a convert to linguistics after a life changing experience. The scientific activity of most subjects continued after retirement, as expressed in phrases: he never stopped working, several monumental books finished after his retirement, immersed himself even more deeply in his research, remained active, formed and articulated a variety of new ideas, or became retired volunteers.

160

6. Evaluation in obituaries The obituary is a part of the rite of passage from earthly to transcendental realm, so references to transcendental values, the highest on Puzynina’s scale, seem unavoidable. The semantic field of transcendental values is centred around the concept of transcendental good embodied by God. Hence, dedication of one’s life to God’s service as a missionary or a pastor, as well as translating the Bible, treated as a mission, is a realization of the transcendental, but also moral and cognitive values, as in: he would dedicate the rest of his life to God's service, the promise he had silently made to his God during the night. The commitment to God for the remainder of his life is a final conscious decision of the obituarised regarded by him as an irrevocable obligation. Further examples of positively connotative meaning are missionary work and couple, and the fact that [linguist] was also a lay pastor who had served as a missionary in his younger days. Naming the obituarised a devout Christian is a denotative way of evaluation. Inherent in the choice of primarily evaluating words such as positive and value is the conviction that the deceased finds Christianity a source of values and personal integrity: he saw his standing as a practicing Christian as a significant and positive part of his sense of self and value. Although no other religions have been mentioned, it is however emphasized that simple human respect should never depend on anyone's religion. Devotion to people is a means to deserve a reward in heaven, so the fact that a linguist was strongly devoted to the communities with which he worked is pursuing Christian values. In the Christian vision, even if a life was rich with wonderful experiences, the eternal life is infinitely richer. Here, the use of the adverb infinitely implies that in the hierarchy of values, transcendental values are incomparably higher than the vital ones. To transcendental values, we might add tremendous humility and the service to God and people reflected in high frequency of the verb served (26). The linguists served: to the academic world, the department in almost every administrative capacity, the Canadian linguists community, on committees, on editorial boards, as the chair, as President, as director, as senior consultant, and in so many ways for so long. Undoubtedly, for academic work, cognitive values centred around truth understood as cognition and knowledge, are essential. If we analyze evaluative adjectives referring to the two roles, those of a researcher and teacher, we obtain a vast semantic field of cognitive values. Thus, the researcher is: meticulous (2), active (1), prominent (1) and talented (1). The researcher is also appraised by his actions: [linguist] set rigorous standards for his own work, as well as that of his students, always strived to write original books and he was fascinated by originality of thought in his students; many young researchers were attracted into his “ magnetic linguistic” field being greatly

161

helped to develop their professional skills and to find their place within the scientific and academic infrastructure. Valuable is the researcher‘s capacity to be original and to inspire and attract young talented researchers, which is conveyed by the metaphorical use of the adjective magnetic. The adjective original (10) is further used in an attributive position with: research (1), ideas (2), conclusions (1) and field data (1), and in the predicative position with work: original, provocative and entertaining. Being a creative thinker and clearly one of the most open-minded and original thinkers in the field are among these values that allowed the evolution of linguistics or which revolutionized the field. Both evolution and revolution have connotative evaluative meaning, positive in this context. This is also inscribed in phrases such as ground-breaking work or his analyses are still considered seminal. Indispensable for improving one’s knowledge are such qualities of the mind such as: penetrating and inventive minds, boundless curiosity, clear thinking, insightful and incisive analyses, unbiased analysis and true commitment to one’s tasks, love of solving problems along with encyclopaedic memory and deep intellect. The researcher has to be armed with valuable tools including considerable linguistic and analytic skills, impressive philological skills, enormous erudition, vast knowledge, meticulous attention to detail, dedication to accuracy and comprehensiveness. He has to represent high academic standards and be a sharp and critical mind at work (a metonymy). The attributes of a scholar (41) are expressed by such denotative premodifiers as: dedicated, energetic, keen, generous, pioneering, eminent, outstanding, and great. Furthermore, stating that a person is not just a scholar […] but an informed citizen implies moral values. Similarly, the attributes such as brilliant, fierce, intolerant of intellectual dishonesty and incompetence belong both to the cognitive and moral values. Denotative evaluation is used with relation to the linguist (23) who is: very fine, superbly talented, brilliant, outstanding and great, and to the teacher and mentor. The teacher (21) is premodified by adjectives: captivating, inspiring, benevolent, patient and constructive, dedicated and effective, fine and caring, superb, superlative, exacting, great, and successful; and postmodified as in: teacher in the purest and best sense of the word, teacher who taught by living ,or led by example, and teacher and mentor. The mentor (15) is evaluated as: caring, fine, superb, dear, beloved and respected. Evaluation of teaching on the connotative level is expressed by the metaphor gold standard. These two academic roles of a scholar and teacher are inseparable, which is also reflected in language. The obituaries abound in collocations such as: supportive advisor and mentor; teacher and mentor; teacher, sponsor, mentor and friend; our teacher, our mentor, teacher and supervisor; inspiring teacher and meticulous researcher; and captivating lecturer and teacher.

162

Included in the category of highest academic achievement are the hyperboles: a true matriarch and a giant of the twentieth century linguistics invisible to those whose eyes could not reach high enough to take the true measure of his greatness. Evaluative modifiers of the researcher/teacher role simultaneously belong to the set of moral values, which we are going to analyze further on. Lower in Puzynina’s hierarchy are situated aesthetic values. In academic terms, a work of art is course devised, organized, and taught by [linguist]. Lexis from this category also includes: beautiful, beautifully, elegant, orderly and masterfully. It is said that the beauty of a linguist’s face is remarkable and remains intact by age, the portrait of a linguist is beautiful, but significantly, this physical beauty is a reflection of inner life. The manifestation of beauty are also order and elegance of scholarly “production”: his work was […] of the highest quality, fastidious, detailed, his studies were always the epitome of careful research and elegant argumentation, studies are models of descriptive clarity [and] elegant analysis. The next is the category of moral values constructed around the good of another person, which may be realized by involvement in social issues. Therefore, the subject’s strong commitment to progressive politics, or the support of Ukrainian culture in Canada, exceptional sensitivity to sociolinguistic issues and current social conditions as well as being a most dedicated political and human rights activist, or being especially helpful to those who had been disadvantaged by the apartheid system all result from moral virtues of a person. Humility and modesty, along with generosity are moral qualities characterizing many linguists: a man of tremendous humility, his generosity was legendary despite his tenacious modesty, earned a reputation for generosity and fairness, [linguist’s] intellectual talents were more than matched by his emotional and moral qualities. Further examples of denotative evaluation include: an exemplary human being, a generous friend, generous and caring individual, an extraordinary human being who was in addition kind, considerate and generous, or not only generous. Principles such as indefatigable work ethic, devotion to the truth regardless of cultural and political consequence, or being a staunch foe of nationalistic exploitation of language for political purposes reflect well on the moral stand of a person. The highest evaluation of an eminent linguist and, at the same time, a very moral person is appositely expressed in one of the obituaries: as a linguist he was superb, as a human being he was sublime. Indications of ethical values of the deceased are abundant. Among denotatively evaluative adjectives related to propriety is kind (17) in phrases: incredibly kind, tender and kind human character, and above all, a person who was kind, kind, kind, then kind personality, kind, modest, and gentle man, or, gracious gentleman. Virtues included in this category of values also comprise:

163

gentle kindness, engaging manners, affability [which] was unparalleled, and people feel enchanted when he spoke with kind and affable words at conferences. Being considerate towards others is rendered denotatively by: had the gift of understanding people and by was a sincere and careful listener, as well as by the metaphor: was never a prima donna. To this list we might add sincerity of an utterly unpretentious linguist. When life has come to an end, an obituary becomes an opportunity to evaluate life-the central notion of vital values. In obituaries, life a highfrequency word (46); the life of a linguist is appreciated when it is: scientific, multifaceted and productive, full and meaningful, full of rich and wonderful experiences, when it is a life that embodied a philosophy of professionalism and high scholarly standards. The conviction that worthy life is interwoven with academic work, is inscribed in word bundles: life and career and life and work. Élan-vital is frequently emphasized; and so, the Noun energy is used 10 times. Energy is exceptional and beautiful, it is everlasting, linguist’s exuberant energy is topic of legends, energy is combined with love and also enthusiasm. Energy is metaphorically infectious (he literally “infected” his colleagues with his energy), someone’s life may be radiating […] energy; there is also great zeal. Besides, the long-lasting activity of the majority of linguists is conveyed by the adjective lifelong modifying commitment, interest, relationship and member. Sometimes a life which is still so young and active ends. But, as one of the obituarists writes: Even when somebody has lived for 86 years and sums up his own life by saying, 'it was good, it was satisfactory,[…] death always comes too early. There are always unfinished plans, friends to be seen, interesting manuscripts to be read and even more interesting research questions to follow up on, delicious meals to be eaten, and bottles of good red wine to be enjoyed [http://linguistlist.org/issues/21/21-3229.html].

Although obituaries are mainly devoted to mechanisms of positive evaluation, numerous examples of negative evaluation are found in the category of vital values. Interestingly, in none of the obituaries, do we deal with typical positive conceptualization of death as sleep or rest. Death is here negatively perceived as: a loss, a terrible loss, irreparable loss, great void, untimely departure, coming to dust or even as an act of violation: a major blow. Another negative value is failing health when life becomes an ordeal, a biggest challenge, a gift for which one must struggle, or life which is a struggle with a disease e. g. struggled with chronic lymphocytic leukemia for many years. Despite the struggle and fierce will to live, life may be taken away as in the phrase: complications from the surgery and subsequent treatment took his life. The obituaries poignantly chronicle enormous determination and spirit of

164

a linguist affected with MS who worked out clever strategies for sliding from bed to her computer so she could work, or an exemplary courage with which another linguist faced his final difficult years when he was stricken with cancer. Finally, we come to the lowest kind of hedonistic values related to contentedness and well-being. These purely sensory appreciations are represented by both positive qualities like peaceful and comfortable surroundings of his home and negative ones like failing eyesight, or disintegrating speech. Passions beyond linguistics enlisted as sources of pleasure include gardening and food, dance, hiking, wine and story writing. Character features such as gregarious, or fun-loving spirit are semantically evaluative. Puzynina emphasizes that the state of happiness is dependent on our relations with others, and therefore, emotional states and feelings belong to the category of sensory values (Puzynina, 1992: 172). Negative emotions, which as shown in LIWC comparative analysis of the Linguistlist obituaries. personal texts and formal texts in Table 1 are relatively less frequently named, are expressed in obituaries are shock and dismay, sorrow and sadness. These emotions are conventionally rendered in initial and closing formulas such as sadly, it is with (great) regret that, it is with (great) sadness that, deeply mourn the sad passing of and will be sorely/deeply missed. Table 1 Results of LIWC analysis Corpus of obituaries: 35, 396 words Lexical density: 0.57% Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count LIWC

Analysed obituaries

Personal Texts

Formal Texts

Self-reference

1.0

11.4

4.2

Social words

7.97

9.5

8.0

Positive emotions

2.09

2.7

2.6

Negative emotions

0.59

2.6

1.6

Overall words

3.73

7.8

5.4

28.75

13.1

19.6

cognitive

Big words (long)

Occasionally, the closing phrases are tinged with more personal emotional tone, for instance: saddened to the core (metaphor) . To this category also belong the names of situations in which negative feelings arise: self-imposed isolation and amplifying solitude resulting from ill-health. Nevertheless, as

165

shown by Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (Table 1), in obituaries, negative emotions are outweighed by positive emotions whose usage at 2.09% is much higher than the 0.59 % percentage of words conveying negative emotions. Positive emotions are related to the category of closeness (Puzynina, 1992: 174). We positively evaluate lexemes denoting family relations, and the word family is used in the corpora as many as 37 times in the context of loving family, a devoted family man, and will be missed by his family. It is the family or a close relationship that is a source of happiness along with academic achievement, as seen in lexemes such as happily married, wife, beloved wife, wife of 67 years, beloved husband and father, and proud father, dad. Positive connotation of these lexemes is transferred onto other spheres, e.g. [linguist] was like a kind father to colleagues, students and friends, or a father of modern Japanese linguistics. We find further predicates of positive feelings; one subject had no greater love than the love he had for his children, another one cherished his relationships with his sons, or adored his wife. High frequency of the Nouns friend (28) and friends (29) along with an adverb friendly (2) provides further evidence for the importance of this category. The collocations of a friend include semantically evaluative: close, steadfast, superb, warm-hearted, very dear, dear dear, good, dear friend to many. This analysis of the evaluative lexis in obituaries has to be supplemented by connotative evaluation relying on proper names. Hence, we find names of prestigious universities and names of famous people, both from and outside academe, whom the obituarised met or worked/studied with, to mention Charles Pierce, Noam Chomsky or Senator Robert Kennedy. The obituaries abound in names of academic awards and medals which are an acknowledged form of acclaim. Undoubtedly, evaluation is inscribed in the names of numerous functions performed by the obituarised: chair (22), president (14), dean (4) or member (33). Puzynina mentions the axiological connotations of the number first (Puzynina, 1992: 146). In the obituaries analyzed, linguists and their work are positively evaluated as pioneering or innovative: he was the first to study in depth, first work ever produced, first to systematically sort through the many problems, was first to attempt a catalog, one of the first women students. Positively evaluative on the pragmatic level are metaphors, among them golden years of a department and golden boy; with golden implying successful, prosperous and fruitful. The metaphor welcoming bridge for students denotes a teacher who guides students through their studies and encourages their inquisitiveness. On the other hand, metaphorical babtism of fire implies hardships (negative). However, used for appraisal of courses, it acquires a positive meaning. In three obituaries, positive evaluation is evoked by refer-

166

ences to military service during World War II. Finally, the attitudinal character is embedded not only in mitigating apology expressions typical of the genre, but also in the use of diminutive names of the deceased (Mickey, Nick, Tom, Dave, Charlie, Bill, Des, Gene and Ben).

7. Conclusions Among the values analyzed in the obituaries of linguists, cognitive values are the best represented category. Nevertheless, the borders between categories often become blurred as lexemes from the cognitive category are frequently modified by moral words (like generous or caring). Adjectives evaluate a person directly, but also metonymically through his/her works: •

• •

• • • • • •

important (32): collection, contribution, works, influences documents, role, aspect, achievement, research project, lesson, line of research, role of a teacher good (15): work, solutions, points, pedagogical sense, dictionary, will, sense of humor, friend, Scot great (39): sadness, man deal, importance, influence, man, insight, linguist, scholar, storyteller, colleague, man weight, influence, void, scholarly tradition leading (11): journals, figure, experts, specialist, pioneer, linguists, descriptivists, dailies excellent (5) collection, language learner, guest, material, contributions exceptional (3) value, sensitivity to social issues, energy outstanding (10) scholar, contributions, publications, scholarly career, linguists original (10) research, ideas, conclusions, field data and work, thinker distinguished (10) academic career, academician, member, Professor.

To conclude, we should note that there exist many academic genres in which Polish linguists write both in English and Polish. There is however, no tradition of writing personal and emotional texts in English, which is likely to change with the increased mobility in the world of academia. Sooner or later, a sad necessity for the production of such texts by Polish linguists will emerge. The corpora studied in this paper indicate that authors of obituaries in English should be aware of some generic patterns and lexical bundles, including it is with great sadness, he served as, will be remembered for, contributions to the, will be deeply missed, a major figure in, he was always, for his

167

work, colleague and friend, chair of. Moreover, they should be able to highlight certain types of values and abstain both from intense positive evaluation and negative evaluation.

References Bourdieu, P. (1988) Homo Academicus. Stanford : Stanford University Press. Bultnick, B. (1998) Metaphors We Die By: Conceptualizations of Death in English and Their Implications for the Theory of Metaphor. Antwerpen Papers in Linguistics 94. Bytheway, B. And Johnson, J. (1996) Valuing lives? Obituaries and the Life Course. Mortality, 1 (2), 219-234. Crespo-Fernández, E. (2006) The Language of Death: Euphemism and Conceptual Metaphorization in Victorian Obituaries. SKY Journal of Linguistics 19, 101-130. Fowler, B. (2005) Collective Memory and Forgetting. Theory, Culture and Society,22 (6), 53-72. Fowler, B. (2007) The Obituary as Collective Memory. New York; London : Routledge. Grzesiak, R. (1991) O sposobach wyrażania wartości w tekstach nekrologów. In J. Anusiewicz, Puzynina J. (Eds.), Język a Kultura, 3, Wartości w języku i tekście (pp. 75-84). Wrocław: Wiedza o Kulturze. Herman D., Jahn M. and Ryan, M. L. (Eds.). (2007) Routledge Encyclopaedia of Narrative Theory. London: Routledge. Jakosz, M. (2010) Polskie nekrologi w prasie: sposoby wartosciowaniajezykowego (na przykladzie “Gazety Wyborczej”). Postscriptum Polonistyczne, 2 (6), 219-233. Kolbuszewski, J. (1997) Z glębokim żalem...O współczesnej nekrologii. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wroclawskiego. Kściuczyk, J. (2005). Nekrolog prasowy: medium pomiędzy żywymi a umarłymi. Poradnik Językowy, 9, 19-30. Puzynina, J. (1992). Język wartości. Warszawa: PWN. Starck, N. (2006). Life after Death; the Art of the Obituary. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. Tight, M. (2008). Dead Academics: What Can We Learn about Academic Work and Life from Obituaries? London Review of Education, 6, (2), 125-135. Włodarski, T. (2008). Preliminary Findings on the Axiological Potential of Obituary Headlines in the Contemporary British Press: the Proposal of Axiological Linguistic Analysis. Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, 51, 154-167.

168

169

The Epistemic Dimension of Attitudinal Meanings Expressed by Polish and English Writers of Letters to the Editor Tatiana Szczygłowska University of Bielsko-Biała, Poland

Abstract This article deals with those aspects of language that facilitate the expression of epistemic attitudinal meanings through the medium of letters to the editor published in the Polish and English press. The analysed texts, structured as a system of interrelated claims and arguments, are argumentative in their nature and thus enable writers to convey various attitudes towards the discussed topics. What remains in the focus of attention here are the opinions and relevant supporting details expressed regarding aspects of reality as well as the linguistic resources through which they are realized.

Keywords: intercultural competence, diversity, monocultural EFL students 1. Introduction The article traces the potential for expressing argumentative attitude along the epistemic dimension as exploited by writers within the medium of letters to the editor published in the Polish and English print media. Letters to the press are seen as an argumentative discourse genre since their authors are concerned with winning the audience’s sympathy for their personal attitudes towards the discussed matters. In pursuing this goal, writers put forward claims and formulate supporting arguments, employing a range of discourse strategies that draw extensively on the lexical, grammatical and textual resources for expressing argumentative attitude. Therefore, attention is devoted to those resources that enable writers to show their attitude toward some “proposition or the state of affairs” described in it without “presenting the statement as a categorical fact” (Vihla, 1999: 20).

170

2. Letters to the editor as an argumentative discourse genre Letters to the editor, similarly to other representative members of the genre, are meant to communicate in the absence of the recipient (Violi, 1985: 161). However, what makes them distinct from other types of correspondence is their underlying communicative aim which consists in putting forward to a wide audience, through the newspaper’s editor, a personal “comment on some aspect of news that has either been reported in the paper and/or previously mentioned in the letters column” (Bex, 1996: 154). By revealing attitudes towards the discussed matters, writers actually engage in argumentation. Indeed, as Perelman (2002: 34) notes, the actual goal of argumentation is to convince people that the offered arguments may serve as a reasonable basis for arriving at the claim the arguer wants them to accept. Argumentation is in fact “a verbal, social and rational activity aimed at convincing” an intended audience “of the acceptability of a standpoint by putting forward a constellation of propositions justifying or refuting the proposition expressed in the standpoint” (van Eemeren, Grootendorst, 2004: 1). It is located in interpersonal space since in any act of argumentation the participants’ overall purpose is to develop such communicative strategies so as influence the beliefs of others and arrive at “a shared position on some issue” (Hitchcock, 2002: 291). Therefore, the message should be tailored to the expectations of the audience, relevant to their background, interests and preconceptions about the discussed topic as well as relatively moderate in its tone so as not to discourage those who are being convinced (Perelman, 2002: 34). Letters to the editor may be thus seen as a stretch of discourse, whose argumentative nature is revealed through a system of connected arguments which co-occur with claims in support of which they are advanced. 3. The notion of argumentative attitude Argumentative attitude is the feature of language consisting in the expression of one’s viewpoints, beliefs, judgements, emotions and attitudes towards various phenomena in the surrounding world, which also involves an attempt to convince others of the rightness of the adopted stance. The terminological maze which has grown up around this notion is mapped out by such diverse, yet interrelated, concepts as connotation (Lyons, 1977), affect (Besnier, 1993), attitudinal meaning and modality (Halliday, 1994), appraisal (Martin, 2000), stance (Conrad and Biber, 2000; Biber and Finegan, 1989), evaluation (Thompson and Hunston, 2000), evidentiality (Chafe, 1986), to mention but a few. Added to that is the notion of subjectivity, related to the “expression of the self and the representation of a speaker’s [...] perspective

171

[...] in discourse” (Finegan, 1995: 1). Similarly, worth mentioning is Halliday’s (1979, 1994) interpersonal dimension of meaning, revealed through language resources serving to establish and maintain social relations. In this context, the EPISTEMIC DIMENSION OF ATTITUDINAL MEANING is uderstood as the writer’s position in respect of truth validity of the assertion made with regard to the discussed topic. Therefore, the analysis centres on “linguistic items and constructions that express either degree of certainty (e.g., certainty, doubt, probability, epistemic necessity, or epistemic possibility) or source of information (e.g., direct, indirect-inferential, or indirect-reportive evidence), or both” (Boye, 2007). Hence, on the one hand, reference should be made to the degrees of knowledge that are indicated by epistemic modality which, according to Halliday (1994: 89), involves modalization concerned with different degrees of probability (possibly/probably/certainly) as well as usuality (sometimes/usually/always). On the other hand, equally important seems to be evidentiality realized through “any linguistic expression of attitudes toward knowledge” (Chafe, 1986: 271). These, in turn, may involve such evidential items as “hearsay or report (the Qutative) or the evidence of the senses” (Palmer, 1986: 51). However, it should be remembered that argumentative attitude can be expressed not only in respect of a single proposition, but also throughout the whole text and in respect of any objects and events in the world which are mediated through language (Pounds, 2005:16).

4. The notion of the epistemic claim Focusing on the concept of claim, one comes across many different terms that are used to refer to this phenomenon. For instance, van Dijk (2000) maintains that if the claim appears before its support, it may be labelled as a standpoint. By comparison, when it is offered after the support, then it may be labelled as a conclusion, which is a term proposed by Aristotle (Hitchcock, 2002: 3). Pounds (2005: 201) uses the word thesis to define “the writer’s main opinion/s, that is the writer’s overall ‘claim/s’ or ‘conclusions’ that is/are literally stated in or inferred from or implied in the text and can be ‘summarised’ in one or more super-ordinate ‘argumentative speech act/s’”. She also quotes Halliday’s conception whereby “the ‘thesis’ is the ‘most straight-forward decoding of the meaning selected’ by the writer on the part of the reader” (Pounds, 2005a: 201, quoting Halliday, 1994: 366). Łyda (2007: 156), by contrast, uses the word claim and defines it as “a kind of proposition”, adding that “sometimes it is a proposition for belief, sometimes a recommendation for action.” Basing on the above presented ideas, the EPISTEMIC CLAIM refers to a statement in which “the writer’s opinion expresses his/her commitment to

172

the truth of the macro proposition” (Pounds, 2005: 201). Given that proposition is “the unit of meaning which constitutes the subject matter of a statement”, arguers who put forward an epistemic claim express their belief about some state of affairs which can be determined as being either true or false (Crystal, 1999: 275). Actually, they form an opinion about “what is possible” (Johnson-Laird & Byrne, 2002: 648). Indeed, epistemic claims are made true by certain naturally obvious facts in the world, and thus they may be also labelled as factual claims (Murphy, Loveless, 2005). Epistemic claims are in fact “knowledge claims which carry certain truth values” and which can be made on behalf of self-knowledge concerning, for instance, truths about sensory experience (Narasimhan, 2001: 299). An example of such a claim could be the sentence: The two Bushes, father and son, have largely contributed to the violence in our world (F. Geissler, 24/5/2004). Here, the letter writer expresses the view that Bush father and Bush son are responsible for growing violence around the world. This fact is what the writer believes to be true although the person’s degree of commitment to the truth value of the stated claim is qualified by means of the word largely. Reading the whole letter, one can see that the support which is provided involves reference to some factual evidence like: Saddam Hussein’s Army shot down Iranian and Kurdish innocents with U.S. weaponry or The CIA trained Afghanistan’s Taliban.

5. The notion of the epistemic argumentative strategy and its types The term EPISTEMIC ARGUMENTATIVE STRATEGY, also called an ARGUMENT, refers to the semantic material constituting the data provided in each letter in support of a given epistemic claim. Such “statements advanced in justification or refutation of” an epistemic opinion are typically related to knowledge and belief and thus may take the form of facts, assertions or other data which would validate the writer’s commitment to the truth of the expressed proposition (Eemeren, Grootendorst & Kruiger, 1987: 12). It is worth remembering that “the arguments ‘qualify’ the ‘thesis’, making its content more explicit or actually giving rise to a thesis that is not otherwise ‘linguistically present’ in the text” (Pounds, 2005: 205). Therefore, the context in which a given strategy is used plays a significant role in identifying both the claims and strategies as epistemic, rather than as representing different types. Indeed, in the case of an epistemic claim, in which the writer conveys his or her degree of confidence in the truth of what is stated, it would be natural to refer to verifiable facts about the world. However, given the argumentative nature of letters to the editor, one is likely to find many persuasive arguments of intrinsic origin that appeal to

173

subjective premises like examples from own life. Still, reference may also be made to arguments of extrinsic origin that are “located outside the writer’s subjectivity” as they involve reliance on “factual evidence or authority”, often assuming the form of statistics or expert opinions (ibid.). Similarly, argumentative strategies can be categorized as either “positive” or “negative”, basing on whether their aim is to uphold or deny the validity of reasoning focused on in the letter. The typology of epistemic argument types presented below is a resultant of the categories proposed by Pounds (2005) as well as of the types that have been identified in the analysed corpus of letters. Specifically, the following strategies have been distinguished: 1) P R O V I D I N G F A C T U A L E V I D E N C E in the form of verifiable statistics, facts, physical evidence, research results, numerical data, and similar. It bears much resemblance to what Connor and Lauer (1988: 146) define as the “rational appeal” within which the arguments are “based on the structure of reality”. The most typical linguistic realizations include “absence of typically modal lexical items or presence of ‘high certainty’ modal lexis such as: ‘surely’ or ‘must’, use of indicative forms of the verb” (Pounds, 2005: 209). Added to that are phrases like according to the data, recent research suggests/shows that as well as lexis denoting perception and cognition (sensory evidence: seeing, hearing, realising, noticing, smelling). An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that there is no one to stand up for smokers in Europe is partly based on the following evidence: - Bans and odious non-smoking signs APPEAR in Europe [...] (G. Koumparellis, 18/2/2004) 2) PROVIDING LOGICAL EVIDENCE involving such categories of reasoning as comparison and contrast, cause and effect, entailment, contradictions, generalizations and analogies. Such arguments may also be classified as appealing to the rational since logical reasoning often involves relating new occurrences to already understood phenomena (Connor & Lauer, 1988: 146). Logical relationships may be signalled by means of conjunctions (e.g., although, because, therefore, instead of) as well as adverbs (e.g., equally, comparatively, similarly). Moreover, certain meanings of this kind “may be inferable from various linguistic material including metaphors and similies” (Pounds, 2005: 209-210; Connor & Lauer, 1988: 146). An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that Donald Rumsfeld is responsible for the tortures inflicted on Iraqi prisoners is partly based on the following reasoning:

174

3)

4)

5)

6)

- It is the only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn: HOWEVER YOU LOOK AT IT, Donald Rumsfeld’s responsibility for the sadistic torture of Iraqi prisoners cannot be denied. (L. Nwobu, 5/7/2004) PROVIDING SECOND-HAND EVIDENCE involving reference to what Walton (1997) terms as “expert opinion” as well as to data which has already been processed and commented upon by others, for instance, witness statements or narratives of personal experience. An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that Donald Rumsfeld is responsible for the tortures inflicted on Iraqi prisoners is partly based on the following second-hand evidence: - Rumsfeld himself admitted that the Geneva Conventions will not apply to the prisoners of war: It is on record that RUMSFELD HIMSELF HAD SAID some time ago that the Geneva Conventions would not be respected in the treatment of prisoners of war. (L. Nwobu, 5/7/2004) REFERRING TO POPULAR OPINION, defined by Walton (1999: 27) as “appeal to popular opinion”, consists in reliance on general beliefs about cases, common human practice or knowledge arrived at through hearsay, which are believed to represent a standard of rational decision-making on many important issues. An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that Marseille is not the pride of France is partly based on the following reasoning: - Spending a night out may prove dangerous: GOING OUT AT NIGHT in many parts of the city IS NOT RECOMMENDED. (J. Kaufmann, 20/9/2004) PROVIDING FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE AND EVIDENCE in the form of facts generated through the writer’s personal involvement in the reported cases. The most typical linguistic cues are first person pronouns and possessive determiners, often accompanied by words signalling sensory evidence and by many other lexical items used to report own experience. An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that genetically modified food is produced and eaten also in Europe is partly based on the following reasoning: - I came across suspiciously looking tomatoes in Italy: I NOTICED IN ITALY, WHERE I LIVED until a few years ago, several fruit stalls sold [...] (K. Skullerud, 31/5/2004) EXPRESSING OWN CONVICTION OR PERCEPTION takes the form of reference to the writer’s subjective understanding of reality and values. This is often signalled by “first person pronouns and possessive adjectives; ‘mental process’ verbs; ‘emotive’ choice of vocabulary; colloquial or figurative language” as well as by expressions similar to in my opinion, I suppose, according to me, to my mind (Pounds, 2005: 210). Since inner convictions

175

are not easily verifiable, the writer often resorts to emotions, that is, uses the “affective” appeal, expressing own feelings but also evoking them in the readers (Connor & Lauer, 1988: 146). An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that the golden age of computer technology had already passed into history is partly based on the following reasoning: - I doubt whether we need all those improvements: HOW MUCH FASTER DO WE NEED word processors and presentation software to be? (M. Dedrick, 2/2/2004) 7) QUOTING HOLDERS OF THE SAME OPINION to further reinforce the writer’s claims, which may be achieved, for instance, by emphasizing the supporters’ qualities, competence, reliability. An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that Egypt has a potential to be a leader is partly based on the following reasoning: - Christopher Dickey shares my opinion: CHRISTOPHER DICKEY CORRECTLY UNDERLINED Egypt’s potential to be a leader [...] (F.W. Saad, 18/10/2004) 8) UNDERMINING ADVERSARY OPINION/OPINION HOLDER(S) may be seen as the writer’s attempt to downgrade real or potential adversaries by attacking their “credentials, questioning their competence, motives, convictions” as well as by undermining evidence offered by them (Pounds, 2005: 210211). An example can be found in the letter in which the claim that prohibiting smoking makes that smokers feel like violating this ban is partly based on the following reasoning: - Those who criticize smokers forget about this rule: Of course, THEY [those who criticize smokers] FORGET ONE THING: the forbidden is always the most sought after. (G. Koumparellis, 18/2/2004) By way of conclusion, worth noting is that argument types 5, 7 and 8 centre on the notion of “credibility”. Indeed, as Connor and Lauer (1988: 146) suggest, “the credibility appeals include the writer’s personal experience, knowledge of the subject, and awareness of the audience’s values.”

6. The choice of texts The corpus of texts selected for analysis consists of 100 letters to the editor published in 2004, where 50 come from Newsweek International and the remaining 50 from Newsweek Polska. Both magazines provide extensive news coverage which motivates the readers to formulate diverse opinions. As a result, both magazines’ correspondence sections constitute an invaluable

176

source of argumentative texts, all of which are relatively short, contain numerous instances of argumentative strategies and are thus particularly suited to the exploration of argumentative attitude. For the sake of objectivity, an attempt has been made to include in the two corpora whole selections of letters from the same issue, which unfortunately sometimes proved impossible. First, in some letters the writer’s main intention was not to present a viewpoint but rather to ask for advice. Second, the main communicative focus of many letters was on expressing thanks, apologies or clarifications concerning certain inaccuracies found either in earlier correspondence or in previously published articles. Third, some letters did not contain enough general reference for an average reader to understand clearly the writer’s point.

7. Results of the analysis The aim here is to show the frequency of epistemic claims and arguments in the two corpora. Comments are provided as for the linguistic realization of claims, taking into consideration those features which to the greatest extent contribute to the expression of the writers’ epistemic attitude. It is important to note that the claims and arguments have been categorized taking into consideration the context of the whole letter. For convenience, the results obtained for the English letters are referred to as E, whereas those obtained for the Polish letters are referred to as P.

7.1. The epistemic claims Altogether, there have been identified 77 claims in E and 67 in P. However, the epistemic component is slightly higher in P with 46 epistemic claims against 43 in E. As for the epistemic claims stated directly, there have been identified 33 such instances in E and 34 in P, which nevertheless makes it a more dominant tendency in E (76.74%) than in P (73.91%). In both corpora, the remaining epistemic claims have been implied by the arguments, respectively, 10 in E and 12 in P. As many as 33 claims in P and 27 in E have contributed to the fact that the attitudinal meanings expressed in a given letter are exclusively epistemic. In most cases the epistemic claim is the only one made in a single letter, however, in 3 cases in P against 1 in E the writers put forward two such claims. By comparison, 16 epistemic claims in E against 13 in P (with a varying distribution pattern) have been accompanied by other claim types, namely, deontic and/or emotive.

177

Considering the linguistic material literally stated in, rather than inferable from or implied in the letters, comments can be provided on the features contributing to the epistemic attitudinal meaning of the claims. The letter writers reveal themselves as CARRIERS OF OPINION only in 2 cases in E against 8 in P. Such claims constitute examples of what Halliday (1994: 354-355) terms as explicit subjective modality whereby the writer is clearly seen as the source of assessment. In E, subjectivity is encoded in the first person subject pronoun (we or I), which is followed by a mental cognition verb (find or think). In P, the same feature is encoded in three different ways: in the first person form of cognition verbs (uważam – I think, nigdy bym nie mógł stwierdzić – I would never claim, wyjaśniam – I want to explain, nie wiem tylko czy – I don’t know if), in the inclusive personal plural pronouns nas and my in connection with an implied cognition verb (u nas ... zanikła – [I think] ... has ceased to exist at our place ..., bardziej zdemoralizowani niż my ... – [I think] more demoralized than we are ...), in the first person verb forms in connection with an implied cognition verb (Przed chwilą przeczytałem tekst o złodziejskiej giełdzie ... – I have just read the article [=learned] about the thievish second-hand car sale ..., zmieniamy się w ... – [I think] we are changing into ...). The SOURCE OF CERTAINTY is presented as deriving from the writer only in 3 cases in E against 7 in P. The readers are invited to act as a co-source of certainty in 3 cases in E and in none in P. Their task is to provide some missing semantic material through the process of implication, which is signalled by means of question marks (e.g., Marseille is ‘France’s port Of Pride’ […]?). In the remaining cases the source is objectivised: - through nominalization, expressing maximum certainty: 4 cases in E, 6 in P (e.g., Egypt’s potential, an icon, samotność – loneliness, jeden z niewielu artykułów – one of few articles); - through the predicate to be with strong epistemic value: 5 cases in E, 7 in P (e.g., are); - through other predicate form expressing strong epistemic value: 8 cases in E, 6 in P (e.g., occurs, is contributing, szkodzą – [they] harm); - through a predicate form containing a modal expression with a strong epistemic value, expressing strong certainty: 3 cases in E, 1 in P (e.g., must be feeling, cannot be denied) or fairly weak certainty: 1 case in E, 4 in P (e.g., tends to include, zdają się nie mieć – [they] seem not to have). Other means of objectivising the source of certainty have been identified either in E or in P and involve the following: a) English claims: - attribution (e.g., overpraised),

178

- existential sentences beginning with the word there and containing the predicate to be expressing maximum certainty (e.g., there is no one to speak, there is a huge gap between), - a predicate form containing a modal expression in its past tense form to indicate remoteness in certainty (e.g., seemed to have succumbed to), - predicates different than to be in their past tense forms form to indicate remoteness in certainty (e.g., sought to place, lost, contributed to); b) Polish claims: - the use of passive voice containing the predicate to be in its past tense form to indicate remoteness in certainty (e.g., został postawiony – has been put), - the predicate to be or other predicates in their past tense forms form to indicate remoteness in certainty (e.g., była – [it] was, przestała istnieć – [it] ceased to exist). Epistemic attitudes are additionally conveyed by subjectively charged vocabulary in 15 cases in E (e.g., a spoilt and arrogant baby, the blame, ashamed, sadistic torture) and slightly less often in P: 14 cases (e.g., zdrajcami - traitors, stronniczy lewacki manipulant – a biased lefty manipulator, złodziejskiej giełdzie – a thievish second-hand car sale). The overall expression of belief is further enhanced by various intensifiers which have been identified both in E (e.g., especially, indeed, so, unfortunately) and in P (e.g., nie tylko ... również – not only ... but also, prawie wyłącznie – almost exclusively). 7.2. The epistemic argumentative strategies Altogether, there have been identified 288 argumentative strategies in E and 207 in P, from among which 204 in E against 153 in P are epistemic. As many as 184 epistemic strategies in E against 140 in P can be termed as “pure” (p) since they have the essential features typical of one strategy only. Their distribution in both corpora into different types is illustrated in Figure 1.

179

184

2

161

23

138

27

115

30

4

92

2

7

3

providing logical evidence

3

20

providing second-hand evidence

30

69 46

referring to popular opinion

3

2

29

quoting holders of the same opinion

46

undermining adversary opinion

93

23 0 ENGLISH

POLISH

providing first-hand evidence/experience

expressing own in both corpora into different Figure 1 The distribution of “pure” epistemic strategies identified conviction/perception types. providing factual evidence

By contrast, 20 epistemic strategies in E and 13 in P can be termed as “mixed” (m) as they combine with other argument types, which is shown in Figure 2. second-hand evidence + own conviction/perception

20

6

first-hand evidence/experience + own conviction/perception

1

factual evidence + first-hand evidence/experience

16

12

2

3

first-hand evidence/experience + second-hand evidence

2 8

first-hand evidence/experience + undermining adversary opinion

2 2 10

4

1 1 1 1 1

0 ENGLISH

POLISH

undermining adversary opinion + own conviction/perception second-hand evidence + quoting holders of the same opinion own conviction/perception + logical evidence factual evidence + logical evidence

Figure 2 The distribution of “mixed” epistemic strategies identified in both corpora into different types. factual evidence + own conviction

180

In both corpora the most common strategy used in support of the epistemic claims is PROVIDING FACTUAL EVIDENCE, which has been identified in 106 cases in E (93p, 13m) against 50 in P (46p, 4m). This in turn shows a marked preference for an objective approach to the discussed topics. Writers try to construct credible versions of reality by referring to facts and figures as well as by providing examples. They frequently use the present and past indicative forms of the verbs, for instance, Both policies HAVE BEEN BROUGHT about by, Al Quaeda HAD OFFICIALLY CLAIMED responsibility, Kukliński [...] SPRZECIWIAŁ SIĘ - Kukliński [..] opposed or Takie zjawiska WIDAĆ wszędzie – such phenomena can be seen everywhere. There have also been identified examples of high certainty modal lexis like must, is clearly opposed to or could only be seen as, especially in E. Quite common are various nouns and verbs denoting cognition and perception like see, predict, notice. Sometimes the facts or evidence given by the writers are presented in the form of rhetorical questions, which is aimed at inviting the readers to draw for themselves conclusions similar to the main opinion(s) expressed in the letter. Epistemic claims are also frequently supported by means of two strategies that emphasize the SUBJECTIVE ELEMENT, which altogether has been identified in 69 cases in E against 72 in P. One of these strategies is expressing own conviction/perception: 41 cases in E (30p and 11m) against 35 in P (29p and 6m). The other is providing first-hand experience and evidence, less common in E with 27 cases (all pure) than in P with 37 cases (30p and 7m). Especially in E, the writer’s subjective presence is revealed through the use of firstperson pronouns and possessive adjectives, for instance, I cannot imagine, We in the south of Europe, affected our health. By comparison, in P the same effect is additionally achieved by means of the inflectional verb endings, for example, osobiście nie widzę w tym – I personally don’t see in it, popieram maturę – I approve of the school-leaving exam, sam widziałem – I saw it myself. Certain hypotheses or impressions related to the discussed subject matter, especially in E, are sometimes presented in the form of rhetorical questions, most of which are aimed at criticizing or even ridiculing aspects of the surrounding world, for example, How much faster do we need [...]?, Haven’t [...] been improved? or Jak Sejm mógł przyjąć taką ustawę? – How could the Parliament have passed such an act? Charged language seems to be more common in E (e.g., illustrious example, It is obnoxious that, argument is lazy and dishonest), but similar examples can also be found in P (e.g., czarno widzę – I’m pessimistic about, tylko tchórz lub aparatczyk – only a coward or an apparatchik). In P, many letter writers signal the fact of presenting own convictions by means of phrases like moim zdaniem – in my view, wnisokuję – I have come to the conclusion that, mnie zniechęca – it discourages me, mi to

181

nie wygląda – it doesn’t seem to me. By comparison, in E, especially when the writer’s experience is presented throughout most of the letter, the author’s personal involvement can be identified basing on a closer examination of the context, since items like I, me or we are infrequently repeated. In both corpora, there have been identified instances of REFERENCE TO THIRD PARTIES: 44 cases in E against 40 in P. When undermining adversary opinion/opinion holders (23 cases in E against 22 in P), in E the role of adversaries is frequently attributed to the newspaper/its articles or comments (10 cases). However, adversary opinion holders are mentioned by name mostly in P (11 cases against 6 in E). General reference (i.e., some people/ they/ those who hold a different opinion) is also more popular in P (8 cases) than in E (3 cases). In both corpora adversary opinion is usually blamed basing on factors which can be generally termed as a “wrong view of reality (including mistaken ideas)/ incorrect interpretation of the facts (sometimes even involving bias),” with a slight preference for such reasons in E (14 cases) than in P (9 cases). Third parties are also introduced for support whenever letter writers resort to such strategies as providing second-hand evidence, quoting holders of the same opinion and referring to popular opinion. This, however, seems to be more common in E (21 cases) than in P (18 cases). In both corpora the role of the same opinion holders is most often attributed to the newspaper/its articles or comments (6 cases in E against 4 in P). Third parties are infrequently mentioned by name (4 cases in E against 3 in P). However, especially in E, they are almost as frequently quoted for saying/doing something or for presenting evidence that confirms the writer’s claim (8 cases in E against 11 in P) as for simply sharing the author’s opinion (7 cases in E against 3 in P).

8. Comparison of the results In this section, the results obtained for the epistemic claims and arguments in E are set against those obtained for the same categories in P. To arrive at plausible conclusions, the results presented above have been summarized and expressed in terms of per cents. The emerging trends are carefully considered, compared and subsequently commented upon in order to show the differences and similarities between the ways in which the epistemic attitudinal meanings are conveyed in the two corpora.

182

8.1. The epistemic claims across the two corpora On the whole, the Polish writers have a preference for basing their opinions on an epistemic attitude, and thus may be said to act as “believers” more often than the English writers do, which is illustrated in Figure 3.

100%

90% 31,35

80%

44,16

70% 60% 50% 40% 68,65

30%

55,84

20% 10% 0% English claims

Polish claims epistemic

other claim types

Figure 3 The distribution of claims into epistemic and other types across the two corpora

Moreover, it is more often the case in P than in E that the writers prefer not to mix their epistemic claims with other claim types, and thus their argumentative attitude may be seen as somewhat more uncompromising in this respect. This is illustrated in Figure 4.

183

100% 90% 80%

70%

62,8

60%

71,74

50% 40% 30% 20%

37,2

10%

28,26

0% English epistemic claims accompanied by other claim types

Polish epistemic claims unaccompanied by other claim types

Fig. 4. The distribution of epistemic claims into accompanied and unaccompanied by other claim types across the two corpora.

In E the percentage of the epistemic claims that are stated directly is slightly higher than in P, which in turn implies that the English writers show a greater tendency to openly express their epistemic opinions. This is illustrated in Figure 5 below.

184

100% 90%

23,26

26,09

76,74

73,91

English epistemic claims

Polish epistemic claims

80% 70%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

0% stated directly implied Figure 5 The distribution of epistemic claims into stated directly and implied by arguments across the two corpora.

In the stated epistemic claims, the Polish writers opt for explicitness and subjectivity, since they are more likely to reveal themselves as carries of opinion as well as to derive the source of certainty from within themselves. The English writers tend to be less explicit, but are more likely to emphasize the interpersonal element by including the readers through implication. Still, they try to emphasize their presence through the use of subjectively charged vocabulary more often than the Polish writers (34.88% in E against 30.43% in P).

8.2. The epistemic argumentative strategies across the two corpora Given that the epistemic component expressed through the claims is slightly higher in P, accordingly, the proportion of epistemic arguments is also higher in P than in E, which is illustrated in Figure 6.

185

100% 90% 29,17

26,09

70,83

73,91

English strategies

Polish strategies

80% 70%

60% 50% 40% 30%

20% 10% 0% epistemic

other types

Figure 6 The distribution of argumentative strategies into epistemic and other types across the two corpora

Interestingly, the proportion of “pure” strategies, showing the essential characteristics of one strategy only, to the “mixed” ones is almost the same in both corpora, which is ilustrated in Figure 7. However, in P the “mixed” stategies are more diversified with regard to the number of combinations involving various features attributable to more than one argument type.

186

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 90,2

91,5

9,8

8,5

English epistemic strategies

Polish epistemic strategies

50% 40%

30% 20% 10% 0%

mixed pure Figure 7 The distribution of epistemic argumentative strategies into “pure” and “mixed” across the two corpora.

Considering now the number of cases in which particulat epistemic argument types have been alluded to in the two corpora, including “pure” and “mixed” instances of use (224 cases in total in E against 166 cases in total in P), the following observations can be made. The analysis shows that there are three important factors that can serve as comparison criteria to examine the ways in which the Polish and English letter writers substantiate their epistemic opinions with due support, namely, subjectivity, objectivity and the interpersonal. The predominance of explicitness and SUBJECTIVITY in P (68 cases in E against 72 in P), observed for the epistemic claims, is reinforced by a higher frequency of epistemic strategies in which the writers express own conviction or resort to own experience and evidence. Notwithstanding the fact that in both corpora “providing factual evidence” has been the favoured argument type, in E reliance on OBJECTIVE data is much stronger (112 cases in E against 54 in P). The English writers are also more impersonal in seeking support for their epistemic opinions. Indeed, the INTERPERSONAL element (44 cases in E against 40 in P), revealed through those strategies in which third parties are either addressed for support or undermined for being in opposition, is more dominant in P. These trends are illustrated in Figure 8.

187

100% 90% 80%

46,9 50

70% 60% 50% 43,37

40% 30,35

30% 20% 10%

19,64

24,09

English epistemic strategies

Polish epistemic strategies

0% the interpersonal element

the subjective element

the objective element

Figure 8 The distribution of the subjective, objective and interpersonal elements in relation to the “pure” and “mixed” instances of use of epistemic strategies across the two corpora.

Another observation that can be made from the data is that in any of the two corpora the writers show no marked preferences for addressing third parties mainly for support or to simply undermine them/their opinions. However, certain differences exist with regard to the reasons for which third parties are addressed to. Overall, it emerges that when criticizing, the Polish writers do not hesitate to point to particular individuals by name whereas the English writers tend to attack mainly the newspaper. The situation is totally reverse when it comes to appreciating others for support. In such cases, the English writers are more willing to mention their supporters by name. Moreover,

188

they are also more likely to offer praise to the newspaper for sharing their views. The Polish writers, by contrast, sometimes attribute the role of supporters to their friends. They also value mainly the actions, statements or evidence presented by their adherents rather than the very act of sharing their opinion.

9. Concluding remarks The final comment here could be that the ways in which both groups of writers express and support their epistemic opinions seem to correlate with the general phenomena of Polish and English linguistic politeness. The English tend to be more indirect and hence their reliance on objective data as well as their reluctance to indicate themselves as those who in fact hold the views conveyed in the letters. By comparison, the Poles are usually more straightforward and emotional, which seems to be manifested in their preference for subjectivity as well as in the attempt to emphasize the interpersonal element.

References Bex, T. (1996). Variety in Written English. London & New York: Routledge. Besnier, N. 1993. Reported Speech and Affect on Nukulaelae Atoll. In: Jane H. Hill and Judith T. Irvine (eds.), Responsibility and Evidence in oral Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 161-181. Biber, D. & Finegan, E. (1989). Styles of stance in English: Lexical and grammatical marking of evidentiality and Affect. Text 9 (1), 93-124. Boye, K. (2007). A semantic map of epistemic expressions. An online version of an abstract of a paper delivered during a workshop on Semantic Maps: Methods and Applications (a workshop held adjacent to the seventh meeting of the Association for Linguistic Typology), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, 29 September 2007. Retrieved July, 29, 2008, from http://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/conference/07SemanticMaps/pdf/9_boye.pdf. Chafe, W. (1986). Evidentiality in English conversation and academic writing. In W. Chafe & J. Nichols (Eds.), Evidentiality: The Linguistic Coding of Epistemology (pp. 261-272). Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Connor, U. & Lauer, J. (1988). Cross-cultural variation in persuasive student writing. In A.C. Purves (Ed.), Writing across Languages and Cultures. Written Communication Annual, vol. 2 (pp. 138-159). Newbury Park, Beverly Hills, London, New Delhi: SAGE Publications. Conrad, S. & Biber, D. (2000). Adverbial marking of stance in speech and writing. In S. Hunston & G. Thompson (Eds.), Evaluation in Text (pp. 56-73). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Crystal, D. (1999). The Penguin Dictionary of Language (2nd edition). Penguin Books.

189 Finegan, E. (1995). Subjectivity and aubjectivisation: An introduction. In D. Stein & S. Wright (Eds.), Subjectivity and Subjectivisation: Linguistic Perspectives (pp. 1-15). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Halliday, M.A.K. (1979). Language as Social Semiotc. London: Edward Arnold. Halliday, M.A.K. (1994). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (2nd edition). London: Edward Arnold. Hitchcock, D. (2002). Aristotle’s theory of argument evaluation. An online version of the article published in K. Boudouris & J. Poulakos (Eds.). (2002). The Philosophy of Communication, vol. 1. Athens: Ionia Publications. Retrieved September, 14, 2005, from http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~hitchckd/aristotle.pdf. Johnson-Laird, P.N. & Byrne, Ruth M.J. (2002). Conditionals: A theory of meaning, pragmatics, and inference. Psychological Review, 109 (4), 646-678. Łyda, A. (2007). Concessive Relation in Spoken Discourse. A Study into Academic Spoken English. Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Martin, J.R. (2000). Beyond exchange: APPRAISAL systems in English. In S. Hunston & G. Thompson (Eds.), Evaluation in Text (pp. 142-175). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Murphy, E. & Loveless, J. (2005). Students' self analysis of contributions to online asynchronous discussions. An online version of the article published in Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 21 (2), 155-172. Retrieved November 12, 2005, from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet21/murphy.html. Narasimhan, M.G. (2001). Controversy in science. Journal of Biosciences, 26 (3), 299-304. Palmer, F.R. (1986). Mood and modality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Perelman, Ch. (2002). Imperium retoryki. Retoryka i argumentacja. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. Pounds, G. (2005). An Investigation into the Dimensions of Attitudinal Meaning in the Light of a Comparative Analysis of English and Italian Grammar and ‘Letters to the Editor’. Unpublished thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Language, Linguistics and Translation Studies. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Stubbs, M. (1996). Text and Corpus Analysis: Computer Assisted Studies of Language and Culture. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Thompson, G. & Hunston, S. (2000). Evaluation: An introduction. In S. Hunston & G. Thompson (Eds.), Evaluation in Text (pp. 1-27). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Van Dijk, Teun A. (2000). Ideology and Discourse. A Multidisciplinary Introduction. An English version of the book used as an internet course for the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). July 2000. Retrieved September, 12, 2005, from http://www.discourse-in-society.org/ideodis2.htm#5.6.%20Argumentation. Van Eemeren, Frans H., Grootendorst, R., & Kruiger, T. (1987). Handbook of Argumentation: A Critical Survey of Classical Backgrounds and Modern Studies. Providence, RI: Foris Publications. Van Eemeren, Frans H. & Grootendorst, R. (2004). A Systematic Theory of Argumentation: The Pragma-Dialectical Approach. London: Cambridge University Press. Vihla, M. (1999). Medical Writing. Modality in Focus. Amsterdam – Atlanta, GA: Rodopi. Violi, P. (1985). Letters. In T. A. Van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse and Literature (pp. 149-167). Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Walton, Douglas N. (1997). Appeal to Expert Opinion: Arguments from Authority. The Pennsylvania State University Press. Walton, Douglas N. (1999). Appeal to Popular Opinion. The Pennsylvania State University Press.

190

191

Section III: Building Up the Academic Community

192

193

Building Up a Community of Users of English as a Lingua Franca for Academic Purposes in a PolishUkrainian Intercultural Project Anna Niżegorodcew Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study based on an analysis of the process of co-editing a book written by Polish and Ukrainian academics and students is reflection on how non-native speakers from two different language and culture backgrounds use English to present their own cultures to each other. The concepts of a community of practice, as introduced by Wenger (1998) and legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991) are adopted to elucidate the question of the feasibility of building up a community of users of English as a Lingua Franca for Academic Purposes on the basis of an intercultural project. The answers provided by the analysis are only partly positive.

Keywords: community of practice, legitimate peripheral participation, English as a lingua franca for academic purposes, intercultural project

1. Introduction While in the term English for Academic Purposes (EAP) the stress is on special, academic purposes of native or non-native communities of academics (Dudley-Evans & St John 1998), what comes to the fore in the term English as a Lingua Franca for Academic Purposes (ELF AP) are academic purposes of English for international communication used by non-native academics in international and intercultural contexts (Niżegorodcew 2011). Since English has become a recognized lingua franca of the academia (Swales 1990), non-native international academics communicate in English by e-mail, they give academic presentations in English at international confer-

194

ences and meetings and they publish research papers in English3. In search of an English native-like professional genre, non-native academics try to emulate the discourse of native English high quality professional publications, by modelling the wording, style, use of citations and references on the published papers. A gradual process of obtaining access to target language communities by non-native target language speakers has been called legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991). The term stresses the legitimization of non-native speakers and their right to participate in discourse practices of native target language speakers. According to Wenger, non-native speakers engaged in common tasks form communities of practice (Wenger 1998). A community of practice is formed by three essential dimensions: (a) mutual engagement in activity with other members of the community, (b) an endeavor that is considered to be of relevance to all members of the community, and (c) a repertoire of language varieties, styles, and ways of making meaning that is shared by all members of the community (Young 2009:146).

As far as the subject matter of academic discourse is concerned, one of the ways of obtaining academic prestige is assuming the position of an expert in a given field of knowledge. Such a position becomes then a niche of expertise for non-native speakers, who may enter the field of knowledge on a par with native speakers. It seems that in humanities, intercultural studies can be such a niche for non-native speakers. By virtue of being users of at least two languages and being knowledgeable, admittedly, to some extent, in their own and the target language cultures, they are considered to be able to make comparisons between their native and target cultures and play the role of intercultural mediators (Niżegorodcew & Bandura 2009). Apart from focusing on the cultures of English speaking countries and comparing them with own cultures, ELF AP users can also choose to familiarize speakers of other languages with their native cultures. For instance, multicultural European academic representatives of different national cultures may try to make them understandable to one another through English. Such an approach to teaching culture has become popular recently in English language teaching materials. Instead of teaching English as a foreign

3 For instance, researchers in Poland are more highly assessed by the Polish academic authorities if they publish research papers in English.

195

language (EFL) combined with target cultures, course designers and textbook writers try to focus on the cultures of international English language users (e.g. Kerr & Rosińska 2009).4

2. The question of identity of ELF AP users The question of primary importance is how to build up a community of ELF users on the basis of a common language of communication. A general claim was made by Singleton and Aronin (2007) that non-native speakers of English own it in the sense of making choices whether to use it or not in various communicative circumstances. A stronger claim was made by Saraceni (2008), who contends that the English language has been relocated from the language associated only with target cultures to that of the language of international communication. Both claims refer to the use of English as a language for international communication (ELF), they do not, however, address the basic question of ELF users’ identity. Limiting the scope of our discussion only to using English in multicultural educational projects, on the basis of longitudinal observations, I concluded (Niżegorodcew 2011: 91-92) that a community of ELF users can be built around clearly delineated goals, supported by project coordinators and by written documents and memoranda. Such a community of practice lasts as long as the project itself. Let us consider the second requirement for the formation of a community of practice in the aforementioned Wenger’s model, that is, an endeavour that is considered to be of relevance to all members of the community, which seems to be the most fundamental condition for the rise of an ELF users’ community. A endeavour considered to be of relevance to the members of a community must be based on their identity. In the project in question (Niżegorodcew 2011), the identification with ELF users’ community of practice seemed to be first of all the identification with one’s profession. It was the reason why representatives of different fields of studies and coming from different educational systems were likely to

4 For instance, in Matura Masters: Pre-intermediate student’s book there is a section on multicultural England, in which the authors ask Polish learners “What does it mean to be English?”, and additionally and interestingly, “What does it mean to be Polish?” (Kerr & Rosińska 2009:119).

196

encounter more difficulties and misunderstandings in using English than those coming from similar disciplines and systems of education. Furthermore, since the project was concerned with designing common courses of studies in European universities, the lack of background knowledge of different national educational laws and practices in European countries interfered more with successful communication than a lower level of proficiency in English. The question arises if non-native speakers of English can identify with their English non-nativeness and accept their position of peripherality in the mainstream native users’ world. The identity approach to Second Language Acquisition elucidates how “relations of power in the social world affect learners’ access to the target language community” (Norton & McKinney 2011:73). Similarly, it could be claimed that relations of power in the English native and non-native speakers’ world affect ELF users’ access to the mainstream EAP community. On the one hand, if ELF academic users view their cultures either as powerful resources in which they invest, or as affordances which make their non-native English identity unique, they may be considered as empowered in their non-native identities. On the other hand, however, academic representatives of cultures which are peripheral in comparison with the mainstream EAP cultures may face problems not only with using the mainstream cultures discourse but also with identifying with their own cultures. A strong sense of peripherality and a dramatic search for identity is a characteristic feature of marginalized cultures, frequently those dominated by more powerful neighbours and those with post-colonial history (Zabuzko 2005). ELF speakers acquire access to other cultures and their multicultural aspects, among others, owing to English language use. In an idealized perspective, ELF may enrich a given culture by encompassing diverse cultures by making them available to one another. It may also raise non-native speakers’ awareness of differences between cultures (Niżegorodcew forthcoming). However, the very nature of a language for intercultural communication deprives ELF of its identifying function with a home community. This function is mostly reserved for national languages (House 2003). Thus, it can be claimed, that in the case of ELF speakers, their legitimate peripheral participation in intercultural studies, may turn into full participation only if they are able to come to terms with their own national identities and position themselves in the third place between monocultural and monolingual mother tongue communities and multicultural and multilingual communities of English native speaker users (Kramsch 1993). Such a third place offers an insight into one’s own cultures and enables non-

197

native English language speakers to make them available to speakers of other languages through English.

3. Developing Intercultural Competence Through English: a PolishUkrainian Project - description and main challenges In the intercultural project Developing Intercultural Competence Through English: Focus on Ukrainian and Polish Cultures (Niżegorodcew, Bystrov & Kleban 2011) a tacit assumption underlying it was that academic representatives of two neighbour countries (Poland and Ukraine) would be able to present their respective cultures to each other and that they would be able to build up a community of practice on the basis of English as a common language of communication. The co-ordinator of the project was the Applied Linguistics Section of the English Department at the Jagiellonian University (JU), Kraków, Poland. Its partner was the English Philology Department at the National State Precarpathian University (PU), Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Both departments decided to publish an edited book of readings with intercultural tasks for students to develop their intercultural competence. In 2009 staff members and MA students from both English Departments agreed to compile a collection of texts in English with accompanying intercultural tasks. Our aim was to enable students of English in our countries, the population of whom has greatly expanded since English has been recognized by educational authorities as a European lingua franca, to familiarize themselves with each other, with some aspects of our cultures, as well as with some contemporary social problems in our countries. It was believed that the medium of English as a language of international communication would make our students perceive their own and their neighbour’s cultures in an intercultural perspective and to raise their intercultural awareness and tolerance. Our formula for the selection of text formats was open-ended. It was decided that our volume should include some more theoretical introductory chapters in order to give the prospective readers a background knowledge in Part 1. Theory and Application. However, we have accepted two different text formats in the practical Part 2. Practice: Readings and Projects. In the Readings, the writing tasks were assigned to staff members of the English Philology Department of the Precarpathian University (PU), who compiled texts on selected topics. In the Projects a group of MA students of the Applied Linguistics Section of the English Department at the Jagiellonian Univer-

198

sity (JU) did their own research on topics of interest to them, including some queries received from Ukrainian students5. While working on the project, we faced four main challenges: a. Too much focus on English language teaching in the Ukrainian chapters On the Polish part, we did not expect our Project to include primarily English language teaching (ELT) materials with culture as its focus. In other words, we did not expect our partners to create tasks focused only on listening and reading comprehension because our primary aim was developing intercultural competence. We failed to be explicit enough about it at the beginning of the DICE Project. In consequence, the Ukrainian authors spent much time and effort on preparing reading and listening comprehension tasks based on the included texts. At a later stage of the Project the misunderstanding was clarified and the redundant ELT materials were removed from the proposed book to be included in another volume to be published in Ukraine. b. Possible unintentional infringement of copyrights, primarily in Ukrainian chapters but also in Polish chapters Another problem that we envisaged was possible unintentional infringement of copyrights. The Ukrainian partners made it clear that they wanted our joint Project to be published in Poland. There were no objections on the Polish part because we realized that the book published in English in Poland, a European Union country, could become much more accessible to target readers than the same book published in Ukraine. The target readers could be not only students in Poland and Ukraine but also Poles and Ukrainians living abroad and other people interested in Polish and Ukrainian matters. However, at first the Ukrainian partners did not realize that the publication of the DICE book in Poland would be linked with their following rigid copyright laws. Apparently, copyright laws are different in Ukraine and in Poland. Additionally, some of the Ukrainian, Polish and international authors had to revise their contributions in which they did not mark quotations from oth-

5 I am grateful to my colleague Marcin Kleban Ph.D. for supervising the MA group, among whom there were both Polish and international students (from the US, Canada and Ireland).

199

er authors’ texts. In the final version of the anthology, both references and quotations have been clearly marked and copyright permissions obtained. c. Uncritical approach to the texts included in the Readings Initially, it was collectively decided by the editors and staff of the English Philology Department of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University that considering a turbulent Ukrainian-Polish past history and present political situation, it would be unwise to start discussing topics in which Ukrainian and Polish perspectives would be very different. We agreed that the Readings should not include texts that are nationally biased and that they should aim as much as possible at the objectivity of the presented facts. However, we soon realized that the task of selecting appropriate texts to present aspects of Ukrainian culture and contemporary life was very challenging for the Ivano-Frankivsk academics. Negotiating topics and texts was an indirect process since the Polish editors negotiated them with the Ukrainian editor, who represented other Ukrainian authors. The process approach the Polish editors chose was initially criticized by the Ukrainian editor as revealing too much of the imperfections of the earlier versions of the Project. Paradoxically, the very features of the editing process were praised by the Reviewer of the volume: The editors aptly point out that the process is not always easy and, indeed, should it be so, such ease would undermine the very purpose the book undertakes, which is to prepare for cross-cultural communication and provide relevant training. (from the Review)

d. Lack of balance in MA students’ research projects As far as the Projects are concerned, Polish and Ukrainian students were supposed to research topics that were of interest to them and to the other party and to present their balanced answers in the form of seminar presentations. The Ukrainian MA students formulated their challenging questions and the Jagiellonian University students, some of them foreigners to Polish culture (international MA students), apparently did not realize that the topics they embarked upon were extremely delicate and could be approached from different perspectives (attitudes to different religions and ethnicities in Poland, Polish students’ dishonesty). In the process of editing the students’ research papers the editors negotiated with the student authors some modifications of their (sometimes) untrue, controversial or biased opinions on religious tolerance of Polish people, their alleged lack of anti-Semitism and general dishonesty of Polish students.

200

In spite of its methodological deficiencies, a small scale students’ survey research on polite behaviours in Polish culture, according to the Reviewer, contributed very well to the development of their cross-cultural competence and provided intracultural reflection. (from the Review).

4. Co-constructing ELFAP identities in the DICE Project The above problems we faced while selecting topics, compiling readings, researching areas of interest and, finally, co-editing the book being the outcome of the project, may be interpreted in the light of Wenger’s model of communities of practice and Lave and Wenger’s hypothetical legitimate peripheral participation, as challenges we encountered in co-constructing our ELFAP identities. As regards the excessive focus on English language teaching materials and tasks in the original versions of the Ukrainian chapters, it seems that our partners first of all identified with their well-known roles of academic English language teachers rather than with the new roles of lecturers and trainers in intercultural communication studies. The misunderstanding was discovered much later, when the texts had already been prepared. At that stage, however, both parties had no problems with reaching an agreement and withdrawing large portions of materials from the proposed book. It seems that the modifications required by the Polish partner did not involve any face threatening acts for the Ukrainian authors who may have felt empowered by their new roles of experts in intercultural communication. Possible unintentional infringements of copyrights were much more difficult to deal with. Although at the first sight the issue appeared to consist only of editing shortcomings, both parties negotiated it for a very long period of time. One of the possible explanations why some authors were not willing to follow standard style sheets is that they did not wish to admit that initially they were ignorant of them. Admitting ignorance is certainly a face threatening act, especially for an academic. Thus, the third Wenger’s requirement for the creation of a community of practice was not met at first since not all members of our intended community of practice shared a necessary repertoire of standard referencing styles. However, this very challenge revealed a developmental potential of the DICE Project. Having learned how to appropriately use style sheets, our partners were enabled to participate in ELF AP discourse. The process of the selection of texts included in the Readings part was very challenging for the Ukrainian authors. The difficulties seem to have been twofold: firstly, manoeuvring between risky topics, that is those in which Ukrainian and Polish views vary, and avoiding nationally biased texts, and

201

secondly, aiming at the objectivity of the presented facts. The final selection reflects a search for identity of a nation with a very long and difficult history of domination by more powerful neighbours (Poland, Russia, Austria, the Soviet Union). The texts also reflect identification problems of contemporary Ukrainians searching for their place in Europe between the European Union and Russia. Thus, on the one hand, some authors identify Ukrainian culture with ancient customs and traditions (texts on Ukrainian folk tales, folk arts, traditional rites and beliefs). On the other hand, in the choice of texts on contemporary Ukraine, the discourse of objective facts (texts on migration policy in Ukraine and adopting European standards in Ukrainian education) intermingles with the discourse of official planning and subjective opinions (texts on tourism development and changes in cultural life in Ukraine). Generally speaking, some Ukrainian authors did not assume the third place perspective and they treated Ukrainian culture as a universal phenomenon. For instance, the readers were given the following task following a text on the symbolical meaning of embroidery in Ukraine: Fill in the chart with the most popular embroidered items in your culture. Say what purposes they may have in your culture and comment on their symbolic meaning. The authors did not seem to realize that embroidery may not be popular or indeed symbolical in other cultures, and that this question may not be relevant in the absence of embroidered items and their symbolism. Finally, the third approach to the question of significant texts on Ukrainian culture, in my opinion the most successful one, uses postmodernist fiction and grotesque essays (texts on Ukrainian postmodernism and Ukrainian gender roles). Such an approach to Ukrainian culture is advocated by Marko Pawlyshyn, a Ukrainian lecturer in comparative literary studies in Australia: It seems that through postmodernist glasses Ukrainian culture, even in its contemporary form, looks more attractive, and at least it loses that colonial tragic dimension, which has been its stumbling block for decades. Why shouldn’t we then put the postmodernist glasses on? (Pawlyshyn 1994: 201, in this author’s translation).

Looking back at the Project, it can be concluded that the lack of direct contacts between the editors and authors in Poland and Ukraine, as well as different approaches to the writing and editing process, the product approach in Ukraine and the process approach in Poland, constituted considerable obstacles in the formation of a community of practice. Apparently, the first and the second Wenger’s requirements were not fully met since co-operation was indirect and different aspects of a common endeavour were relevant to the Project partners.

202

The final challenge faced in the Projects section referred to the lack of context awareness in choosing and researching particular topics. Our authors were Polish and international MA students who volunteered to co-operate with Ukrainian MA students in a distance intercultural project (Niżegorodcew, Bystrov & Kleban 2011), which was partly included in the common Ukrainian-Polish DICE Project. Consecutive versions of their contributions could be more easily analysed since they were more available to this author than the Ukrainian contributions. The student authors proposed their topics partly in response to the Ukrainian students’ queries (projects on tolerance and prejudices and on standards of politeness in Poland), and partly as research subjects of interest to them (the project on Polish students’ dishonesty). The students’ projects were part of their MA seminar assignments and were presented as power point presentations in class. Later, however, the student authors faced considerable challenges in editing their research results and producing research articles. Viewing that process from the identity perspective, it seems that the MA students identified easily with their roles of seminar participants and presenters, but they were not ready to play the roles of authors of research papers. Another accompanying issue concerned JU students’ unbalanced cooperation with Ukrainian students, who originally were supposed to research topics of interest to Polish students but they never completed them. In consequence, the JU students’ research papers did not have either a counterpart in the PU students’ papers or a feedback from the Ukrainian students, which resulted in the Polish authors’ demotivation to complete their projects. As has been said, the student authors were persuaded to modify their (sometimes) untrue, controversial or biased opinions. It could be concluded that through a number of revisions of their research papers, they finally identified with their new roles of academic writers and co-authors of a collection of texts to be published. It could be claimed that their new roles have contributed to their sense of empowerment as English language users and participants of a community of practice, together with their teachers and international academics. The Reviewer observed that among the mass of books on intercultural communication the proposed volume distinguishes itself by […] unusual format combining the work of both scholars and students (from the Review).

5. Conclusion We assumed at the initial stages of the DICE Project that English as our language of communication can help us co-construct our identities as

203

intercultural users of English as a lingua franca. We hoped that by describing in English our own cultures to each other and to readers from other cultures, we could acquire intracultural awareness, that is, a more critical attitude towards our own cultures, leading to a raised awareness of cultural diversity and tolerance of other cultures. We realized later that the mere use of English as a lingua franca was not sufficient to build up a community of practice. In intercultural communication we have to directly engage in activity with our partners, we have to perceive our common tasks as equally relevant to all of us, and we have to share ELF resources (Wenger 1998). In other words, we must assume new identities as legitimate although still peripheral participants of EAP communities of practice. Finally, it can be concluded that, firstly, we have approached an expert academic status of native English speakers and writers while researching, writing and editing our book, although a fully positive answer may be given only by our readers. Secondly, however, the DICE Project participants have not created a real community of practice since they have not met the requirements of a community of practice, as formulated by Wenger (1998). Thirdly, we have not distanced ourselves from our cultures to a sufficient degree to assume the position of the third places. Thus, it remains to be seen if we may be able to make our cultures available to speakers of other languages through English. A negative or positive answer may be given only by our readers. What facilitated our challenging tasks was our knowledge and skills in using written and oral English, admittedly not always error-free, our academic expertise in writing and editing academic papers, a longitudinal character of our project and negotiating the content and form of our volume throughout the whole process of writing and editing it.

References Dudley-Evans, T., & St John, M. (1998). Development in English for Specific Purposes: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. House, J. (2003). English as a lingua franca: A threat to multilingualism? Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7, 556- 578. Kerr, P., & Rosińska, M. (2009). Matura Masters:Pre-intermediate Student’s book. Warszawa: Macmillan. Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Niżegorodcew, A. (2011). Speaking in English for Academic Purposes in the light of Lingua Franca English and Sociocultural Theory. In M.Pawlak, E. Waniek-Klimczak & J. Majer (Eds.), Speaking and Instructed Foreign Language Acquisition (pp. 84-95). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Niżegorodcew, A. (forthcoming) . Understanding culture through a lingua franca.

204 Niżegorodcew, A., & Bandura, E. (2009). Designing an intercultural studies course for secondary school teacher trainees. In L. Chodzkiene (Ed.), Language and Culture: New Challenges for the Teachers of Europe (pp. 115-123). Vilnius: Vilnius University Press. Niżegorodcew, A., Bystrov , Y., & Kleban, M. (Eds.). (2011). Developing Intercultural Competence Through English: Focus on Ukrainian and Polish Cultures. Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. Norton, B., & McKinney, C. (2011). An Identity Approach to Second Language Acquisition. In D. Atkinson (Ed.), Alternative Approaches to Second language Acquisition (pp. 73-94). London & New York: Routledge. Pawlyshyn, M. 1994. Postmodernistyczne spojrzenie na ukraińską kulturę. In O. Hnatiuk (Ed.), Rybo-Wino-Kur. (pp.193-201). Warszawa: Świat Literacki i Tyrsa. Saraceni, M. (2008). English as a lingua franca: between form and function. English Today, 94, 24(2), 20-26. Singleton, D., &Aronin, L. (2007). The role of English in a multilingual world. In J. Arabski, D. Gabryś- Barker & A. Łyda (Eds.), PASE Papers 2007: Studies in Language and Methodology of Teaching (pp.11- 21). Katowice: Para. Swales, J. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Young, R. (2009). Discursive Practice in Language Learning and Teaching. Chichester: WileyBlackwell. Zabuzko, O. (2005). “Psychologiczna Ameryka” i renesans azjatycki, albo znów o Kartaginie. In O.Hnatiuk (Ed.), Sny o Europie (pp. 55-102). Kraków: Nemrod.

205

Polish-Finnish Intercultural Academic Cooperation Liliana Szczuka-Dorna Poznan University of Technology, Poznań

Abstract Globalization and mobility of academic staff have changed the working environment of many scientists. People work in international and multicultural teams in their native as well as foreign countries. They experience many contrasting working styles with students and staff, as well as different attitudes to time and silence. Nonverbal communication is a very interesting element in intercultural contacts differences may be subtle or, on the contrary, very apparent. This paper presents similarities and differences between Polish and Finnish academic staff working at universities. The author focuses on both verbal and nonverbal communication, presenting findings from her survey. Examples from Polish and Finnish universities are provided, as well as opinions of students and academic staff.

Keywords: nonverbal communication, international teams, intercultural communication, Intercultural competence. 1. Academic cooperation Polish-Finnish academic cooperation started in 1997 when Staff Mobility grants enabled academic staff to deliver lectures and classes in both countries. The staff exchange formed the basis for launching a new three year programme, the Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Commerce, which was introduced in universities in Poznan (Poland), Ylivieska (Finland) and Bethune (France). When the Erasmus Staff Mobility started, academic staff from Poznan University of Technology and the University of Applied Sciences in Central Ostrobothnia decided to participate in the programme by giving lectures to international students both in Poznan and Ylivieska. The range of modules includes corporate management, international commerce, interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, Business English, basic Finnish and Polish. The author of this paper goes to Finland every winter se-

206

mester to deliver a module called Intercultural Business Communication. The first part of the module is given by a Finnish teacher (December/January) and the second by the author in February. The group of students is international, consisting of students from Finland, Poland, Germany, China, Hungary, Turkey and Kenya. The first years of teaching created some problems in communication, especially with Finnish students. Moreover, Finnish academic staff, although very polite and helpful, sometimes behaved differently than was expected by Polish academic staff. Different projects as well as being a part of an academic society raised many questions during the author’s stay in Finland The basic questions were these: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Do Polish and Finnish academic staff act the same way in front of students? Which elements of verbal and nonverbal communication are similar and which are different? How do students compare the behaviour of the two nationalities during lecturing? How can individuals in higher education institutions become inter culturally competent?

These questions formed the background for a survey conducted in Poland and Finland to research different aspects of nonverbal communication.

2. Characteristics of Polish and Finnish cultures - a theoretical overview. According to Neuliep (2009), intercultural communication is primarily a nonverbal act between people: During intercultural communication, verbal and nonverbal messages are sent simultaneously. Verbal communication represents the literal content of a message, whereas the nonverbal component communicates the style or how the message is to be interpreted. Hence, the nonverbal code often complements, accents, substitutes, repeats or even contradicts the verbal message (:247).

There are various channels of nonverbal communication, e.g., kinesics (communication with the body); paralanguage (the use of voice, volume, pitch, rate); proxemics (perception and use of space how people stand or sit); haptics (the use of touch); physical appearance; chronemics (the use of time); and olfactics (the use of smell). Knowledge of differences in nonverbal behaviour can be one way of accepting and developing intercultural competence.

207

One way of becoming competent is to understand differences between cultures. As higher education institutions become intercultural places of research collaboration and scientific work, academic staff together with students create a new intercultural field for bridging the cultural and content divide. Fields of study and courses are offered to students who work in intercultural environments surrounded by multicultural groups of academic staff and students. Therefore, the next step will be the process of intercultural competence. According to Deardoff (2009), this starts with attitudes, then moves from the individual level (attitudes) to the interaction level (outcomes). The degree of intercultural competence depends on the degree of attitudes, knowledge and skills. Richard R. Gesteland in his book Cross-Cultural Business Behavior, (2001) defines four aspects of business cultures: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Relationship-focused vs. Deal-focused Formal, hierarchical vs. Informal, egalitarian Polychronic vs. Monochronic Reserved vs. Expressive

According to his typology, Polish culture seems to be moderately relationship-focused, rather formal, polychronic and variably expressive. Finnish culture he presents as deal-focused, moderately formal, monochromic and reserved (Table 1). Table 1 Characteristics of Polish and Finnish cultures Polish culture

Finnish culture

Moderately Relationship-Focused

Deal Focused

Formal

Moderately formal

Polychronic

Monochronic

Variably Expressive

Reserved

Source: after R. Gesteland (2001)

From this description one can see the basic differences in the first category of Gesteland’s division. Polish people make initial contacts indirectly, usually at trade shows or official meetings. They are introduced by somebody else (e.g., another partner who is familiar with Finnish culture). In Finland, however, communicating is more direct, although partners need time for real openness and trust. The second distinction concerns attitude towards time and scheduling. Fins are punctual, they plan one meeting at a time, and schedules are important in their calendar. Poles, representing polychronic culture, ac-

208

cept lateness, c. 5-10 minutes. For some Poles, schedules and deadlines are not very important and can be modified easily. Meetings can be interrupted by phone calls or short visits paid by other people, e.g., secretaries. Another important division between cultures is nonverbal behaviour. Polish culture is variably expressive, whereas Finnish seems to be more reserved. The main difference according to Richard (2002) lies in the description of speech-and–thought icebergs: “The Finnish iceberg shows a more introspective nature is involved, indicating minimum thought revealed. Japanese tell you even less” (274-275). Another feature pointed out by Lewis is Finnish shyness and silence, which very often becomes an obstacle in interpersonal contacts. Polish people seem to be more open, talkative and straightforward. There are differences in greetings, small talk topics, as well as moments of silence during official talks or meetings. Although the two nations come from one continent, Europe, even slight differences can lead to misunderstandings during team work and university projects. Descriptions of Polish and Finnish culture are also given by Geert Hofsted in Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (2005). He defines national cultures according to five elements: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity and long-term orientation. A comparison of the two countries is given in figure 1. His observation shows that the two cultures differ mostly in power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance; the two other dimensions are not very distinctive. Hofstede suggests the same division on an occupational level. According to him occupational cultures with their symbols, heroes and rituals can be compared with organizational cultures.

Figure 1 Polish and Finnish culture by Geert Hostede. Source: www.geert-hofstede.com

209

The different models show subtle differences between two cultures. Using these models, the original motivation for using the survey in this study was to obtain a general picture of the differences and similarities in Polish-Finnish academic staff’s behaviour and, more specifically, ways to overcome barriers for future bilateral cooperation among academic staff as well as students.

3. Survey 3.1.Respondents Data for the study was collected by means of two questionnaires - for academic staff and for students. A pilot questionnaire was given to academic staff at Poznan University of Technology and students studying at PUT. These initial questions were revised – one change was made in the student questionnaire and two in the staff questionnaire. Once revisions were made in the arrangement of items and vocabulary, the final versions of the questionnaires were printed in English. Respondents were divided into two groups: A. Academic staff from Finland and Poland B. Students from Finland, Poland, as well as international students who stayed in Finland or Poland during the academic year 2010/11. Group A: The questionnaire was distributed among Finnish academic staff who worked in Ylivieska (University of Applied Sciences) in winter 2011. The Polish staff completed the questionnaire in Poznan (Poznan University of Technology) in winter and spring 2011. The exact number of respondents as well as data about staff gender, education, age and nationality is given in table 2. Of the respondents, 53% were women and 47% men. The age categories were the following: 50% were academic staff below 36, 13% were academic staff between 36-46, and 37% were academic staff above 46. Only 3% had only Bachelors Degrees, whereas 77% had Masters Degree and 20% the Ph.D. Degree. The majority of respondents were Poles (63%), compared to Finns, 37% .

210 Table 2 Survey statistics: Information about staff respondents. GENDER Male Female Σ AGE 26-36 36-46 above 46 Σ EDUCATION BA MA PhD Σ NATIONALITY Polish Finnish Σ

Number 14 16 30 Number 15 4 11 30 Number 1 23 6 30 Number 19 11 30

Percent 47% 53% 100% Percent 50% 13% 37% 100% Percent 3% 77% 20% 100% Percent 63% 37% 100%

Group B: The second questionnaire was distributed among students who studied in Poland and Finland in the academic year 2010/11. Table 3 shows data about them. Students could decide which staff nationality they wanted to describe in the questionnaire. All 82 respondents (35 Polish students, 32 Finns and 15 other nationalities ) completed a questionnaire with one open choice: the academic’s nationality they wanted to describe. Table 3 Survey statistics: information about student respondents. GENDER Male Female Σ AGE 18-22 23-26 27-30 Σ EDUCATION BA MA PhD Σ NATIONALITY Polish Finnish Other nationality Σ

Number 71 11 82 Number 55 18 6 82 Number 69 7 1 82 Number 35 32 15 82

Percent 87 13 100 Percent 67 22 7 100 Percent 84 9 1 100 Percent 43 39 18 100

211

3.2.Questionnaires Questionnaires were given both to students and academic staff while this author was visiting Finland, as well as in Poland during the academic year. Information covering basic demographic variables (sex, age, education, nationality) was included in the last item. The academic questionnaire consisted of 16 questions, including topics such as small talk - introduction in a class, greetings, eye-contact, voice, distance, dress code at university, punctuality, gestures and behaviour during discussion. Academic staff were asked to decide which aspect of communication is the most important from the list of six items (Appendix 1). Students first decided which nationality they chose to describe. Then they answered 18 questions on topics similar to the academic staff questionnaire (Appendix 2).

4. Results and discussion 4.1. Academic Staff Questionnaire The picture that emerges from the data shows only a small discrepancy between the behaviour of Polish and Finnish academic staff. Analysis of question 2 showed the majority of academic staff decided to start lectures with a short introduction (Fig. 2): Histogram

Question 2

22 20

65%

Number of the observations

18 16 14 12 10 8 19%

6

16%

4 2 0 A short introduction (small talk)

A joke, comments on contemporary issues etc Just straight to the topic

Figure 2 How do you start lectures with students?

212

A majority of academics greet colleagues by saying hello (74%) or shaking hands (14%). On rarely occasions they kiss on cheek (9%) or hug (3%). Academic staff pay attention to eye contact with their colleagues (93%), which is more often long and direct (63%) as opposed to short and frequent glances (33%). For Question 6 concerning tone of voice, 52% respondents identified as moderate and rather calm, whereas 48% answered as loud and confident. Distance between academic staff is usually 60-120cm (70%). They also pay attention to physical appearnce (80%) with some elements of formality (59%). Histogram

Question 9

18 59%

16

Numbers of the observations

14 12 37%

10 8 6 4 2 4% 0 Very formal

Casual With some elements of formality

Figure 3 What is your formal code?

Time is very important for academic staff (97%) and they are right on time (68%) or or even 10 minutes early (32%). Academic staff use gestures during their communication (70%), the most frequent being hand gestures (58%), pointing (8%), and body langauge (8%). During discussions they do not interrupt (38%), listen to the speaker (35%) or interrupt and try to express their own point of view (24%). Silence is present in their life (77%). The most important aspects of communication in the academic setting are language used (63%), eye contact (15%) and tone of voice (15%). For statistical reasons, it would be interesting to compare demographic variables such as sex, age, education, nationality (independent variables) with the staff answers to questions 2-16.

213

The author analyzed the influence of nationality on questions from the Staff Questionnaire. The analysis was based on two hypotheses: H0 – there is no significant correlation between independent and dependent variables; H1 – there is significant correlation between variables. The hypotheses were verified by a test statistic chi-square. H0 was classified as α=0,05. The first question analyzed was H0- Nationality does not have any influence on the method of starting lectures H1- Nationality has a significant influence on the method of starting lectures. The table shows the independent variable, i.e., nationality, and the dependent variable, i.e., the method of starting lectures. The percentage shows the number of respondents for each independent variable. From the table below as well as categorized histograms, it can be suggested that Polish academic staff start lectures with a joke or comment on contemorary issues more frequently than Finnish academic staff ( 0% Finns and 20% Poles). Finnish academic staff start classes with a short introduction (72% of respondents). Test statistic value- χ 2 =2,287 Degree of freedom: df= 2 p-value: p= 0,238 Test result: p>α Therefore, there is no basis to refute the H0 hypothesis. One can conclude that there is no significant correlation between nationality and the way lectures are begun. The results, although surprising, could be influenced by the small sample of respondents.

214 Table 4 How academic staff start classes.

Number

Question 1

Question 2 A short introduction (small talk)

Question 2 Just straight to the topic

Question 2 A joke, comments on contemporary issues, etc.

Σ

A Polish academic

12

3

4

19

63,16%

15,79%

21,05%

8

3

0

11

72,73% 20

27,27% 6

0,00% 4

30

% Number % Number

A Finnish academic Σ

Question 1 x Question 2 14 12

40,0%

10 26,7%

8 6 13,3%

4

10,0%

10,0%

2

Question 1: A Polish academic

A joke, comments on contemporary issues etc

Just straight to the topic

A short introduction (small talk)

A joke, comments on contemporary issues etc

Just straight to the topic

A short introduction (small talk)

0

Question 1: A Finnish academic

Figure 4 How do you start lectures with your students?

The next question 1x3 analyzed two hypotheses: Ho- Nationality does not have any influence on the way people greet others at work. H1- Nationality has a significant influence on the way people greet others at work.

215

The results showed: Test statistic value- χ 2 = 1,886 Degree of freedom: df= 2 p-value: p= 0,39337 Test result: p>α Therefore, there is no basis to refute the H0 hypothesis, which means there is no significant correlation between nationality and form of greetings. Question 4 focused on eye contact. Both nationalities pay attention to eye contact during their lectures. The results, however, showed that there is no significant influence of nationality on eye contact. Test statistic value- χ 2 =0,1640 Degree of freedom: df= 1 p-value: p= 0,68546 Test result: p>α Question 5 described different methods of eye contact at work; 63%of respondents replied that long and direct is the most frequent. Histogram Question 5 20 63% 18

Number of the observations

16 14 12 33%

10 8 6 4 2

3% 0 Long and direct

Figure 5 Eye contact at work.

Short and f requent glances

Hardly any

216

The next analysis concentrated on correlations between nationality and tone of voice when speaking during classes and lectures. Ho- nationality does not have a significant influence on the tone of voice H1- nationality has a significant influence on the tone of voice Table 5 Tone of voice when you speak.

Question 1

Number %

from

A Polish academic the

row Number %

from

A Finnish academic the

row Number

Sum

Question 6

Question 6

Moderate and ra-

Loud and

ther calm

confident

9

10

47.37%

52.63%

6

4

60.00%

40,00%

15

14

Sum

19

10

29

Question 1 x Question 6 12

10

10 9

No of the obser.

8

6

6

4

4

2

0 Moderate and rather calm Loud and confident

Question 1: A Polish academic

Figure 6 Tone of voice when you speak.

Moderate and rather calm Loud and confident

Question 1: A Finnish academic

217

The answer to question 6 shows some difference: Finns frequently declared they speak moderately and rather calmly (60%), whereas Poles (52%) used loud and confident voices. Test statistic value- χ 2 = 0,4186 Degree of freedom: df= 1 p-value: p= 0,51761 Test result: p>α Therefore, there is no basis to refute the H0 hypothesis, which means there is no significant correlation between nationality and the tone of academic’s voice. The next question tried to verify the hypothesis that there is a correlation between nationality and distance during conversation. Both nationalities (70%) declared a distance of 60-120 cm to be the most popular. Test statistic value- χ 2 = 1,2918 Degree of freedom: df= 2 p-value: p= 0,5241 Test result: p>α Therefore, there is no basis to refute the H0 hypothesis, which means there is no significant correlation between nationality and distance. Question 8 examined the importance of physical appearance in the life of academic staff with Ho- there is no significant influence of nationality on appearance. The results are the following: Table 6 Is physical appearance an important aspect of your life?

Question 1

Number

A Polish academic

% from the row Liczba

A Finnish academic

% from the row Number

Sum

Question

Question

Question

8

8

8

I don’t pay atten-

YES

NO

tion to it

16

3

0

84,21%

15,79%

0,00%

8

1

2

72,73%

9,09%

18,18%

24

4

2

Number

19

11

30

218

Question 1 x Question 8 18 16

53%

14

Number of the obser.

12 10 27%

8 6 4 10%

7%

2 3% 0 Yes

No

I don't pay attention to it

Question 1: A Polish academic

Yes

No

I don't pay attention to it

Question 1: A Finnish academic

Figure 7 Is physical appearance an important aspect of your life ?

Test statistic value- χ 2 =3,80382 Degree of freedom: df= 2 p-value: p= 0,14929 Test result: p>α Therefore, there is no basis to refute the H0 hypothesis, which means there is no significant correlation between nationality and physical appearance. Both nationalities paid attention to certain formality of their dress code. Question 10 examined the correlation between nationality and time. The results were the following: Test statistic value- χ 2 = 1, 7868 Degree of freedom: df= 1 p-value: p= 0, 18132 Test result: p>α

219

Therefore, there is no basis to refute the H0 hypothesis, which means there is no significant correlation between nationality and time. The importance of punctuality is depicted in question 11. A majority of both nationalities are right on time when they have classes or business meetings. Table 7 Is time important to you? Question 1 Number

A Polish academic

% from the row Number

A Finnish academic

% from the row Number

Sum

Question 11(2)

Question

11(2)

You are on time

You are 10 minutes early

12

7

63,16%

36,84%

9

2

81,82%

18,18%

21

9

Sum 19

11

30

Question 1 x Question 11 14

12

40%

10

Number of the obser.

30% 8 23% 6

4 7%

2

0 You are right on time You are earlier 10 minutes

Question 1: A Polish academic

Figure 8 Is time important to you?

You are right on time You are earlier 10 minutes

Question 1: A Finnish academic

220

The next two questions analyzed the use of gestures. Both nationalities answered positively that they use gestures during communication (see Fig. 9). Question 1 x Question 12 16 50% 14

Number of the obser.

12

10

8 20%

6 13%

4

13%

2 3% 0 Yes

No

Sometimes

Question 1: A Polish academic

Yes

No

Sometimes

Question 1: A Finnish academic

Figure 9 Do you use gestures while communicating?

The most popular gestures used by academic staff are hand gestures (66,67% for Poles and 44,44% for Finns) . Question 14 presents nationalities during discussions. A majority of them do not interrupt- 42,11% for Poles and 54,55% for Finns. Both nationalities listen to the speaker - Poles 36,84% and Finns 27,27%. The next question tries to find out to what extent silence is present during classes. A positive answer was given by 78,95% Poles and 72,73% Finns. Finally, question 16 examined the most importance aspects of communication in their academic setting. The results showed that for Polish academic staff it is language used (37%), tone of voice (11%) and posture (8%). Finns chose language used (26%) and eye contact (12%). 4.2. Results – Student Questionnaire Students were asked to decide which academic’s nationality they would describe. Their choice is shown in Figure 10.

221 Question 1 x Question 2 40 35

35 31

30 25 20 15 10 5

1

0

Number of obs.

Polish academics

Polish academics Finnish academic

Finnish academic

Question 1: A Polish student

Question 1: A Finnish student

40 35 30 25 20 15 10

10 5

5

0 Polish academics Finnish academic Question 1: Other nationality

Question 2

Figure 10 Students’ observations

Polish students described 35 Polish academic staff. Finnish students described 1 Polish academic and 31 Finnish academic staff. Other nationalities described 5 Polish academic staff and 10 Finnish ones. The total number of described academic staff was 82 (41 Polish and 41 Finnish) . According to the students, most academic staff start classes with small talk (56%). Greeting take plays in the form of saying hello (90%), and sometimes by shaking hands (9%). Academic staff talk with students using first names only (43%) or using first and second names (35%; see Fig.11).

222 Histogram Question 5 40 43%

35

No of the obser.

30

35%

25

20

22%

15

10

5

0 Use f irst and second names

Use second names only Use f irst names only

Figure 11 How academic staff talk with students

Question 2 x Question 5 35 29

30 25

22

20 15

13 7

6

5

5

Question 2: Polish academics

Use second names only

Use first names only

Use first and second names

Use second names only

Use first names only

0 Use first and second names

Number of obs.

10

Question 2: Finnish academic Question 5

Figure 12 How Polish and Finnish academic staff talk with students

223 2

Test statistic value- χ = 26,42846 Degree of freedom: df= 2 p-value: p= ,00000 VCramer= ,5677133 Test result: p