Reading, Genre Awareness, and Task Design: TL2C, Chpater 4 by Randall Sadler https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness Post one OR MORE practical applications from this chapter. In other words, connect the ideas in this chapter to pedagogical application and be ready to discuss!! en-us 2016-02-16 18:05:31 UTC 2022-04-12 05:16:04 UTC hello@padlet.com Esther- Ch. 4 ejun2 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2043981493 I’ve only done reading response journals with upper elementary students and fiction texts. The chapter made me reflect on what this would look like for adults writing for academic genres (I thought the chart on p. 132 was really interesting because I tend to think of genre as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.). I think it is really important to have students write before, during, and after reading, but there also needs to be a purpose behind them. I’ve found frustration in classes where we need to annotate or ask questions, but those ideas are never addressed and while there is merit in the practice itself in terms of developing general skills, at the time it can feel meaningless. I also thought it was interesting how the chapter mentioned that reading is often emphasized over writing- I sometimes feel like it’s the opposite? Some other takeaways I got was the importance of authentic texts (written, oral, hybrid) and utilizing textbooks in a critical way to design tasks for socioliterate instruction. ]]> 2022-02-12 19:18:10 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2043981493 Zoe: Chapter 4 aspeng2 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2045525132 I know that as a writer, a bad habit that took me a while to grow out of was the mentality that "my first draft IS my final draft". And I know that as a reader, I would have a tendency to fly through the reading, grasping the big picture, but not as well the smaller finer details of a story. It wouldn't be until later when I reread the reading or book that I would really be taking in details once the big picture was solidified. Writing to learn was never something I really considered until I got to college and there was more accountability in making a first vs final draft. This chapter was also interesting to me because it redefined how I saw genre. In the past, it simply was different themes of books, fantasy, science fiction, murder mystery etc,... 
This quote: “frames for social action” that provide “guiding principles
for achieving particular . . . purposes” with language (Hyland, 2009, p. 26).: was particularly powerful in helping reframe the concept for me. I had never thought about oral genres vs written ones until this reading. And it really opened my eyes to the different teaching possibilities that exist in helping ESL learners prepare for the different types of writing and listening genres and to using textbooks in a way that is really helping the students learn, not just monotonous tasks that have no real impact in learning. ]]> 2022-02-14 06:08:28 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2045525132 Ch 4 buonomo2 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047147841 I think this chapter did well as pressing the idea that reading and writing are best as cohabitating mechanisms that support each other. As such, I liked the idea of utilizing response essays and response journals to integrating these elements. I also think these are great ways to assess student reading comprehension while working on writing skills, vocabulary building, grammatical structure, etc. in a more personalized way. This ties well into the notion that reading, and writing exist on the social spectrum as much as the cognitive, and this mode allows some expression while students work on constructing meaning. One suggestion this chapter made was to use a series of prompts that allow students some automaticity over their choices while still carefully guiding them along the way. This is something I can see working for any age and in any context. Another suggestion I liked was involving students in literacy clubs that give them a sense of community (something that comes up a lot in ESL) in which they can read interesting work, communicate with each other about these texts, and practice creating forms of writing. The example that comes to mind is in creative writing and fiction reading. For example, this could be a fun avenue for fan function groups (those who write about books, shows, movies they like) that exist in both the local and virtual contexts. For academic writing with adults, I think the journal and essay ideas are decent tools, as I mentioned above. Nevertheless, I think it’s important for ESL teachers to remember, as the text mentioned, to carefully consider reading/writing exposure that involves authentic exploration of genre from a myriad of disciplines and contexts to support real-life exposure.    

]]> 2022-02-14 20:10:13 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047147841 Mika: Chapter 4 mikakomasuda717 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047348920 The main takeaway from this chapter for me was that reading skills contribute to writing skills and vice-versa, so they both need to be emphasized. I like the idea of having students choose texts on topics that they find interesting, whether it is academic or non-academic because I feel that a large part of the reluctance that comes with reading/writing assignments is the text being too difficult or uninteresting to the student. It would be beneficial to teach them different reading strategies, and to apply strategies depending on the task at hand to make the reading process less overwhelming (aka prevent them from trying to go over every detail of the reading) For example, skimming if the task is to summarize, and scanning if the task is to find specific information for synthesis. Summarizing and synthesizing are writing strategies that definitely require focus because it not only teaches comprehension skills, but also how to determine the most important or relevant information in the text and cut out what is not essential: a skill which determines the quality of their writing to a great extent. I would also emphasize the importance of critically examining the reliability of texts and/or its sources including academic texts, because students tend not to question or argue against information in readings (I have an impression that especially in Asian cultures, we are taught that the textbook is ALWAYS right). I also like the general idea of having low-stakes reading logs or writing assignments in the form of informal journals or reflections before moving up to more difficult tasks.
 
]]> 2022-02-14 22:53:38 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047348920 Ch 4 akathleensantos https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047638112 I think the main idea from this chapter was the idea that reading and writing skills are interdependent and teaching one skill should also foster skills in the other. I personally liked the idea mentioned about giving students a short menu of writing prompts to choose from, rather than having all students write about the same prompt. Complete free reign on topics is daunting, both as a learner trying to figure out what to write and a teacher trying to figure out how to grade, but a small menu leaves some freedom for choice and autonomy. ]]> 2022-02-15 02:57:39 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047638112 TL2C Ch. 4 mjkim10 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047668598 I really loved the idea of having students doing blog posts. Reading and writing can be used for them and it can become a creative outlet for students (designing their blog, naming their blog, using a color scheme) which may motivate students to use it and read through others' blogs more. It can also become a safe place for students to share their thoughts and to show their individuality and unique personalities. 
Another practical application was introducing students to a variety of genres as a way to show them multiple facets of text. I'm sure this has been done in classrooms before, but I think it would be such a fun idea for students to cycle through books from different genres throughout a year/semester. As the chapter suggests, students can participate in genre analysis, critically read texts, and build skills in reading and writing various genres. In addition, students can also take part in the process of research in genres such as choosing materials and even interviewing experts. 
Lastly, towards the end of the chapter, it seems that the five paragraph theme (or FPT) is NOT favored or beneficial towards students, which I find interesting, since it still seems very prevalent today (even in our ESL academic writing program). I wonder how we can still show/teach the basic form sort of writing, with a model like FPT, yet still ultimately equip students to write works beyond that structure, especially in an academically focused course.]]> 2022-02-15 03:21:51 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047668598 chapter 4 Berenice R br101 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047787833 I understood from this chapter how to implement reading skills into writing skills and writing skills into reading skills. Which in hindsight might seem direct and can be fun to approach, but I think the process can be precarious, especially when it comes to how the instructor has been taught regarding structures and grammar rules. Activities that I thought seemed fulfilling mentioned in the chapter were summaries, book reviews, and journals. I think a lot of creativity can also stem from reading reflection and help the student enjoy reading and writing without having to worry while reading. On the other hand, writing to read can strengthen the quality of reading, which is best for essays, especially when trying to gather textual evidence, which can be difficult when reading dense text. What I believe helps me stay organized when reading is if I can take notes throughout the process, analyze my notes, and truly understand the reading highlighting the interdependence that reading and writing have. ]]> 2022-02-15 04:55:08 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047787833 Chapter 4 and pedagogical applications angelinayao75 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047844343 Reading this chapter made me realize how reading can help learners write better. It is important to recognize that not only output but also input helps improve writing skills. In the real world, however, many times learners just focus on practicing writing and treat writing as a separate subject. If the relationship between reading and writing is recognized, teachers can help learners get more input by assigning readings (learners’ choice, ideally). The chapter also points out that “meaningful interaction” with the text improves writers’ skills (p. 98). This is even more true when the text is learner-selected. In teaching, teachers should probably give students the freedom to choose reading materials they are interested in. By reading the text, students would be able to internalize how the text is composed. In chapter 4, this process is referred to as the “conversion of text-based information to knowledge” (p.94). Teachers can assign reading-writing tasks such as writing summaries and responses. In many courses I’ve taken in UIUC, we were asked to write either summaries or responses (reading reactions). Although the intention was not to improve our writing, it did help promote active thinking when I was reading. I think this would work the same way for L2 learners, as they would understand the materials better and try their best to make meaningful interactions with the content. Another interesting point in this chapter is text selection. I like that it emphasizes “authenticity and completeness” and their balance with “teachability and appropriateness” (p. 121). On textbook adaption, the chapter says to make the textbook fit student needs and goals, adaption should always be expected. This is a reminder to me that in pedagogy teachers should always put student needs first. “Best” materials don’t necessarily help all groups of students the most.]]> 2022-02-15 05:44:21 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047844343 Mearieta: Chapter 4 mearieta https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047873913 Lots of great practice applications of reading and writing are presented in this chapter. All which can be used in pedagogical application to help ease ESL learners into reading and writing while building interest at the same time. Reading and writing skills work hand in hand and both need to be worked on and emphasized. Some of the applications included providing a menu of options for reading or writing activities and exploring multiple genres. Through practices like this they open up the world of reading and writing and allows students to complete assignments based on their own interests. I myself never liked reading and writing in school. I was never fully interested in the prompts and reading and I never remember getting to choose my own in elementary school until we did book reports and that’s when I truly enjoyed reading (but that was short lived). I would be curious to see how this this can be done while at the same time encouraging different writing styles and topics, not just the ones they feel comfortable in. While still maintaining a level of freedom and creativity. ]]> 2022-02-15 06:09:45 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047873913 Chapter 4 mamimatesl https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047908299 The chapter states that Reading and Writing go together, which R skills help W skills improve, and other way around, too. Tho I agree to this statement as a teacher, I have a few friends  who are good at writing but they do not have enough competence in reading, and this confused me that I question whether this is an exception or that statement do not hold the all water.

Regarding integrating reading into writing curriculum, I like the idea of teaching (Grobe´s 10 Guidelines, 2003) learners how to read and write strategically as this may save some time for learners. Also, this is more instructional and help students not be bored of the process. Also, I find writing to read & reading to write activities engaging, which means it is easy for students to enjoy and learn at the same time. In my learning process, I was never big on reading; however, I always liked writing activities over a reading passage. That´s when&where I felt safer to produce language.

As to teaching through written genres, the level and our learners´ interest play essential roles. For instance, in our ESL program, articles, admission essay, and so on could work while in an EFL setting, I would suggest having students have some flexibility. Thus, I believe importance of  text selection is underlined, too.

btw, I am too lost in distinguishing directional, nondirectional, und bidirectional models. I think definitions/ examples were not clear enough, like at least to me, lol.

Lastly, I found this reflection question stated below really interesting, so I want to answer it as well.

"What types of in-class and out-of-class activities and exercises are most productive for inexperienced writers? For experienced writers? Why?"

  • I strongly believe creative writing help learners the most. Giving them flexibility with a guideline as a scaffolding and then seeing how crazy they can go feels amazing in class writing activities. Out-of-class, it is the best to reflect on their day, week, month, or whatever period they want to reflect on. This is a great chance to practice writing and see the progress in the first place. I always used this in my classes and worked well. Also, I use this in ESL classes here in UIUC, and my learners love it. 

]]> 2022-02-15 06:37:02 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2047908299 Aliza: Chapter 4 alizam2 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048001606 Understanding how reading and writing are intertwined concepts that rely on one another in order to further improve each skill set. Treating them as separate units can result in students having increased difficulty in one over the other at times and in order to improve both skills it’s important to use both reading and writing. There are students who usually prefer one over the other because of their exposure to these concepts during their academic studies. In order to play on their strengths and weaknesses doing group, activities may be helpful so the students can improve their reading and writing skills while helping one another. I always preferred small group activities over class activities since it feels less embarrassing and less stressful when you make mistakes. Giving them the ability to feel comfortable in small groups will allow them to feel more vulnerable and open about their reading or writing skills. Having the students choose the writing prompts and give them control over their work will encourage them to take the content seriously as they may seem more engaged with the content.

]]> 2022-02-15 07:47:09 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048001606 TL2C Chapter 4 adetutufab https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048307614 This chapter gave me a nudge as a parent who is helping to develop English Language in my Children and teaching another language to my kids, that I have been focusing on the reading skills more than the writing skills. The chapter calls our attention as teachers to how we should balance developing reading and writing skills in our students. The chapter talks about how reading and writing go hand in hand. (How they enjoy” symbiotic development relationship”).  It lays emphasis on the fact that reading can be used to improve writing skills and vice versa. As teachers, the two of them are to be used together, one is to be used to improve the other, we should not focus on one, as too much focus one can make students master one skill e.g., reading skills, and having difficulty in the other. I remember back in the days, many of our teachers made that mistake, they focused on making us know how to read, and neglected developing our writing skills. 

The chapter mentioned some interesting activities like; making students write and post on blogs, exploring multiple genres, summaries, interest-based assignment, book reviews etc. These are good ways that I agree with that we can use to teach reading and writing to ESL students.

]]> 2022-02-15 10:55:04 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048307614 TL2C Chapter 4 yherhim2 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048351541 I think that the reciprocity between writing and reading was an important point that stuck out to me. The theories of nondirectional and bidirectional relationship both are centered around the fact that there is no exact boundary of where writing and reading skills start or begin. No matter which theory an instructor believes in, it is important to note that reading and writing skills cannot be separated. There are skills that transfer from reading to writing, and different skills that come from writing to reading. One problem that I may see arising is that there are so many skills and concepts that are to be learned from reading, and I think I will have a hard time trying to focus on specific skills for one lesson. Another problem I might have is relaying reading and writing skills and not isolating them as separate subjects. By getting too carried away with trying to improve reading or writing, I think I might be taking away from the relation of them. I like how there are a lot of references, ideas, and creative solutions for integrating reading and writing in the classroom in multiple graphics in the chapter.]]> 2022-02-15 11:25:12 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048351541 Chapter 4 kseniap2 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048723372 Throughout this class, we have learned how reading and writing are related and how we can use both of these practices to establish and teach literacy. Personally, I enjoyed reading more and I believe most students fear writing. By incorporating "reading-writing" activities, students can like or at least be exposed to writing as much as reading in the classroom. 

Some examples are:
Literacy Clubs; the importance of peer review (this is something I did a lot in high school. Our class focused a lot on creating writing groups and reviewing our works together); teachers can also find authentic texts and help their students analyze them (something from historical eras?). Another way of incorporating reading and writing is asking a student to write about something they are about to read (essentially their original opinions and ideas about the topic). ]]> 2022-02-15 14:44:11 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048723372 Agnes Chapter 4 Agnes_Bednarz https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048731446 The bidirectional concept on reading and writing is something that has been discussed about our ESL academic writing classrooms. There seems to be a much greater emphasis placed on writing yet reading skills are ones that we generally do not adhere to in the classroom although it might be more beneficial to do so.  By having students complete reflections or any sort of personal writing based on the readings (not just their writing) it might help them to draw more connections and develop a greater awareness of critical thinking skills required in academia.

The descriptions of genre based writing being more goal oriented was a nice definition and a clearer way for instructors to focus on a specific area and how to implement that into their lessons. Although the 5 paragraph essay is not particularly agreed upon in the book, it seems (for the ESL students at the moment) to be the simplest way for students to learn the basics and in future courses be able to expand on those concepts and skills they have developed.]]> 2022-02-15 14:47:31 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048731446 Ch. 4 sismai8 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048755720 This chapter introduced concepts such as the directional, bidirectional, and nondirectional hypotheses. What I found to be interesting was how similarly this chapter related to my own learning experiences. I believe the emphasis on reading in L2 classes is much more stressed than writing. While teachers never explicitly said that we read to become better writers, I do believe that the abundance of text we encountered as students in L2 classrooms was in line with this belief. I think it would be interesting to incorporate the bidirectional hypothesis and try teaching reading from the other end, through writing first. I think the reason why this is not done as frequently is because of how difficult it can be to execute. Teaching reading through writing just entails selecting the appropriate text for the levels of your students. While there are numerous textbooks and prewritten prompts to teaching writing, it requires a lot more input and creativity on the educator's part to ensure students are understanding and not overwhelmed by the prompts. Writing can be scary for students and I think this statement can be generalized past L2 classrooms. However, with the correct materials, the anxiety in the classroom can be reduced significantly. I would like to try to teach a writing class in which students are given daily journal prompts and can spend time writing without specific grading criteria. I could even allow the students to come up with their own prompts and exchange with partners and have them answer each other's questions. If we teach students to write for fun as we teach them to read for fun, they are more likely to make improvements.]]> 2022-02-15 14:57:07 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048755720 Chapter 4 TL2C https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048825130 I thought it was interesting how this chapter talked about the connection between reading and writing when developing these skills. I think that we often view skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening as separate and distinct, and therefore often try to train them individually. However, these can also be separated into written and spoken forms of language, and it seems easy to understand how they can influence each other when we make this broader distinction, though even the written and spoken form may influence each other. Therefore, teachers should keep an open mind to the activities they employ when trying to teach a certain skill, as development in adjacent skills may aid the learning of what they are trying to teach.]]> 2022-02-15 15:24:00 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048825130 Chapter 4 rpc31 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048832207 I thought it was interesting how this chapter talked about the connection between reading and writing when developing these skills. I think that we often view skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening as separate and distinct, and therefore often try to train them individually. However, these can also be separated into written and spoken forms of language, and it seems easy to understand how they can influence each other when we make this broader distinction, though even the written and spoken form may influence each other. Therefore, teachers should keep an open mind to the activities they employ when trying to teach a certain skill, as development in adjacent skills may aid the learning of what they are trying to teach.]]> 2022-02-15 15:26:53 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2048832207 Chapter 4 of TL2C Bianca_T https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2063718279 To me, the main takeaway from this chapter is the importance of a socioliterate approach to writing (and reading). Communicative events take place in a specific sociocultural setting and have a specific communicative function. Thus, to be successful, L2 (and L1!) learners have to know the purpose of the communicative event, its context (e.g., the target audience), and its constraints. This knowledge will help learners choose the genre—with the lexical items, registers, grammatical structure, and textual organization associated with it—which will help them approach the communicative act more effectively. All of this shows how important it is for learners to be exposed to different genres and to be given the opportunity to practice writing (and reading) in them. I think that the socioliterate approach should guide the syllabus design of any L2 writing course. ]]> 2022-02-24 02:09:55 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2063718279 Chapter 4 bny21 https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2137062488 From the reading, I understood that reading and writing are connected, and that teaching one skill directly involves skills of the other. This is something we have touched on before, and I have also seen it emphasized in other linguistic/EIL classes I have taken. However, I have noticed that in the Foreign Language classroom setting, one always seems to be emphasized over the other. From this chapter, I understand how important it can be to balance the two, and how it may be beneficial to include activities that target both. 

An application of the ideas discussed in this chapter may include extensive reading and responses, journal writing & reflection, and most importantly, include interesting and creative readings and writing. This writing can be based on their own ideas or include things they have read previously. Letting students explore can foster great results. ]]> 2022-04-09 01:20:53 UTC https://padlet.com/randallsadler/Reading_GenreAwareness/wish/2137062488