Translation: The accuracy of meaning

In a recent reading of Lawrence Venuti's "Translation Studies," I understand that debates about literal translations and cultural relevant translations stem from antiquity. I can see how various translations of a religious book or a children's book need specific attention to meaning, but I find the issue of political writing to be far more problematic. Topics concerning education apparently affect everyone. Let us take for example the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2002. States interpret the meaning of this education reform, in a sense, translating the federal literature to mean something similar, "make everyone accountable." Each state, composed of various cultures, attempts its own translation and its own approach to meeting the federal government's requirements. In a similar fashion States are requiring school districts to either meet the federal criteria or a more explicit state criteria, which will meet the federal requirements. This modern example of translation studies,or education reform, seems to mirror that of text translations from centuries before; hence translation studies are not just pertinent to scholars but to people who have a vested interest in education.

Much to Say About Identity and Borders

In this weeks reading of “Migrations, Diasporas, and Borders,” S. Friedman presents the language describing culture and identity change. She acknowledges globalization as one of the compelling reasons for change, a means towards evolution. Acknowledging the existence of migration and the social borders between individual and group identities, I can’t help but ponder how this plays out in the classroom. Let’s take for example our primary and secondary education systems in the public sectors. Students attending primary and secondary facilities are faced with an overwhelming variety of identities. Students from Mexico, Eastern Europe, Korea, and so on, all have different perceptions of the world around them, not to mention how they perceive themselves. If we take these varieties of perceptions, and combine them with the worldviews of an institution like school, we might further wonder why chaos does not break out in school.

It is right for Friedman to mention the different state of borders as, “fixed and fluid” (272). Looking at the borders between identities, I find the roles of students shifting by culture. Within public primary schools, I see teachers and students struggling to define identity borders. Some teachers that I come in contact with like their students to behave like the ideal student, the teacher’s ideal student. Students coming from different cultures than that of their teacher often wonder why the teacher reprimands them for inappropriate behaviors, such as leaving their desks to go help someone who is struggling with a math problem. It is within this instance that the teacher might take a step back from their role as teacher and allow the helping student assume the teaching role. On the other hand, some students might not dare interrupt the teacher or leave their desk to help other students. Given that some students only assume the student role in class, there is a marginal zone where teacher might misinterpret behaviors as average next to out going students. These zones of marginality are quite important to be aware of in primary school classes, especially since lesson plans are becoming more and more
standardized.

Given that there is so much to say about identity and the defining borders, I can only begin to scratch the surface. Friedman's essay, while clear, a slew of related topics to discuss, not just in education, but health care, law enforcement, entertainment, etc.

Cultural Studies

Cultural studies seems like a very broad subjective field of research. When the author, Jean Franco, states that cultural studies, "offers a democratic view of culture and embraces a spectrum of methodologies" (p. 209), I imagine a once loosely based field of study organized into a more constructive and systematic approach to culture. As Franco notes, cultural studies are not driven by just one or two theoretical approaches. Apparently, culture can be studied from several different disciplines, from economics and politics to history and sexuality. Depending on the nation studying culture, different approaches might be taken. Britain has adopted a Marxist view, looking at historical changes in culture (eg. art, literature, and institutions). The U.S. study of culture incorporates more influences of culture and not just those rooted in history. An American researcher might look at race and gender on the Internet. This move tries to include as many cultural influences as possible. This further clarifies what Franco means by "[embracing] a spectrum of methodologies."

TESOL Quarterly: Current topics

The following is the handout that I passed out in class on 11/12/08. Since I am struggling to post the PowerPoint presentations, I thought the handout would be the next best thing.

TESOL Quarterly
A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect
Founded in 1966
Web Site: www.tesol.org/pubs/magz/tq.html
Location: CSUSB Library, third floor, bound periodicals under the letter T
The last year is unbound (2008) and can be found on the third floor behind the old elevators under current issues.
Indexed Under: Eric Database, Wilson, Print and linguistics, MLA, Sociolinguistics, Sociology

Mission Statement:
“TESOL Quarterly is an international professional organization for those concerned with the teaching of English as second or foreign language and of standard English as a second dialect. TESOL’s mission is to ensure excellent in English language teaching to speakers of other languages. TESOL encourages professionalism in language education; individual language rights; accessible high quality education; collaboration in a global community; and interaction of research and reflective practice for educational improvement.”

2003
Direction towards multi-culturalism, interest in effects of ESL students’ culture; re-conceptualizing language education, looking at learning and not standards measuring performance; teaching issues and practical application for teachers: idioms and academic speech; overcoming problems in technical writing for students.

2004
Public school curricula: how politics affects public schools and how community view ESL education. Research looks at the language that different disciplines use-can ESL students understand it, implementing phonological lesson plans; sounds & pronunciation
Special Topic Issue: Gender issues, second language socialization.

2005
Micro and macro factors of language learning
Looking at early schooling: Uptake (What are the students retaining and how do they demonstrate what they have learned, signs of learning not only at the grammatical level but also at the social level like attitude, behavior, and strategies); collaborative planning by teachers and students
Special Topic Issue: Listening and pronunciation (different accents of English) – acceptance of other accents as a legitimized form of speech.

2006
Cognitive and sociocultural approaches to second language acquisition (SLA); vocabulary and meaning, form-focused or meaning focused; negotiated meanings; literacy and oral language
Special Topic Issue: roles of race, ethnicity, and culture in TESOL.

2007
The influence of ideologies, values, and identities on language learning; micro-level of language teaching and feedback issues, specifically corrective feedback (CF); returning to the issues of language planning and policy (LPP) and the move toward more fluid boundaries; teacher knowledge and identity, the formation and reflection of teachers’ beliefs and practice.

2008
TESOL and its role in the community: law, health, housing, and labor relations. Uses of grammar instruction
Special Issue Topic: Psycholinguistics and TESOL

Submissions: articles cannot be longer than 24 double spaced pages, max. 8500 word.; they should strengthen relationships between theory and practice, original interpretations, make a significant contribution to the field and reflect sound scholarship and design. Content needs to be accessible to a brad audience, even to readers not familiar with the subject matter; since it is an international journal, it welcomes submissions from English language contexts around the world

TESOL Quarterly

Primary and Secondary Sources

A quick observation about primary sources. In one of my education classes, we refer to a primary sources as any firsthand account of an event in history. This might be picture, paintings, journals, music, etc. Is it acceptable to call a copy of a text or painting a primary source when compared to a textbook? Keep in mind that the students I would be interacting with will most likely be between the ages of nine and twelve.

Textual Scholarship and Science

I realize that I am a bit behind in the readings, but several of the topics we are reading about are new to me. Take for example, L. S. Marcus’s piece on textual scholarship. I find this quite interesting that through textual scholarship, the modern concept of a bibliography was born. Needless to say, the bibliography has become a major part of academic writing. Yet, it is the uses of the bibliography that many young students have not quite grasped.

Bibliographies provide a wealth of information that allows readers/researchers the ability to trace the ideas of the author. While Marcus applies most of her discussion to fictional writing, there is just as much reason to study bibliographies in the sciences. I have seen several cases of my own students missing valuable sources within an article’s cited references. It has been my experience that many students do not realize that the articles they are pulling together for a research paper represent a timeline of a particular topic they are studying. Within this timeline a conversation about the research unfolds.

Just as Marcus discusses the importance of scholars representing the most accurate interpretations of past texts, so it is that scientific research needs to represent the phenomena or population it is studying to the best of its ability. Acknowledged by Marcus in her essay Textual Scholarship, studying texts is not without subjectivity. While science strives to be objective, there are choices that are made by researchers that are inherently subjective. As much as textual scholarship sounds primarily like a literary studies sub-field, it is an important part of the sciences, helping to drive the various fields of study towards different questions to be answered.

Incorporating Ideas

I often ask my self, “What can I say that has not been said before?” In many of my own writings I have research to aid me in not just introducing me to different topics, but laying out the conversation for me to discover the holes that are present. To maintain the clarity of the topic I am writing about, I rely on the words and ideas of the current conversation. This is one reason why I find it extremely important to incorporate quotes from other sources effectively. According to Graff and Birkenstein (2006), it is important to include quotes, to provide support for the topics we are writing about.

Reading papers written by young writers, in this case, grades 5 to 12, I find quotations being used to support statements made by the writer. Often the writer will commence with his or her commentary, introduce the quote, and then move onto the next idea. This kind of hit and run approach to quotes, as Graff and Birkenstein’s graduate assistant refers to it, does little to make the quote relevant to the discussion, hence confusing the reader. It requires a little more explanation from the writer in order for the quote to appear relevant.

I have spent time with young writers, explaining the importance of introducing and explaining quotes effectively. However, the issue that comes up is the writer’s assumption that the reader will “get the idea” from the context. In some cultures/language communities, writers can expect their readers to do a little more of the work, making connections where ideas are not clear. The question that I encounter from many writers is, “How much do I need to explain about the quote?”

Answering this question requires that I start by explaining a quoting formula of sorts. First, set up the context that the quote will be fitting into. Next, introduce the quote (who said it). Then discuss the quote. Graff and Birkenstein provide a clearer rationale for this formula, but when dealing with young writers, I find it necessary to start with this formula then elaborate.

If anyone else has another approach to teaching quote usage, please let me know. I am always open to new ideas.

My Acquaintance with Composition Studies

Being of a more scientific mind, I used to be quite skeptical of the research done in composition. Prior to working on my M.A. in English Composition, with an emphasis in TESL, I had worked primarily in the field of psychology. Concentrating on social psychology and cognitive psychology, I was compelled to investigate their applications in education. After two years of studying educational theories, primarily those related to second language acquisition (SLA), I discovered a sub-field of education that peaked my interest, composition. Within composition I discovered a space that I could share with those interested in learning to use language.

My initial reading of Susan Jarratt’s “Rhetoric” frustrated me. I do not believe that I am the only one who felt this way after reading Jarratt’s piece. Since I do have some background derived from The Western Rhetorical Tradition, I find Jarratt to be quite thorough, almost to a fault. She takes her readers through a time line of various changes and applications of rhetoric, yet I get the feeling that she is approaching the lengthy history, not as a rhetorician, but as a compositionist. Jarratt’s perception of rhetoric seems to provide a more detailed summary of the uses of rhetoric by language users. Her perspective leads readers to the current use of Discourse Analysis within the study of rhetoric. During my frustrated reading, I saw points in time where the study of linguistics was starting to emerge.

The field of linguistics applied to composition studies is a likely place for language research to continue. Bartholomae’s continues to explore the field of composition, as it evolves within academics. He mentions the trends of composition and the movement towards writing across the curriculum (WAC). While I am currently taking part in a WAC program, I can’t help but to see applications for these academic studies in primary and secondary education. Peter Elbow’s work, which suggests the communicative nature of writing, rings true to me. Within elementary reading and writing, the focus on form is not being balanced with communicative function. In other words, students are writing, but they do not know for what purpose. This will continue to perplex me, but I find support in the work that is being done at the college level of composition.

More to Research Than Meets the Eye: Uncovering niches

Initially, I thought, “okay, a book on library research, how much more could I learn.” Well, I am amazed by how specialized research is. Prior to reading the first two chapters of The Oxford Guide to Library Research, by Thomas Mann, I thought that I had exhausted my research if I had checked psych info, EBSCOHOST, Wilson Omni File, and J Store. After reading the Mann text, I realized that I could be starting with more specific sources in mind and branch out. Wow, what a concept, I could be thinking of a general recap of a topic, and then narrow down my starting point using specific sources such as specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias. This may sound inconsistent, but I think there is some logic here. I will begin with the Invention stage of the writing process.

We are often told by professors, “think about a topic you would like to research and narrow down a paper topic.” It seems to me that Mann would suggest that we start with a specific research topic, one that is already outlined in a reputable source. From this point on we begin with articles and other sources that are related to the topic. Moreover, our research being rooted in such sources means that we do not have to look to far for relevant material. This is where our extension of the topic comes in.

By starting with a clear and researchable topic, we set ourselves up for a clearer connection between articles and newly related research. This is where we get to find our niche. We now begin expanding the field of research on this topic. For our expansions of current research Mann suggests that we know how to thoroughly search catalogs. One of the practicalities of this is to avoid doubling up on research already conducted on the topic, hence avoiding mistakes or vague conclusions that were already made.

Mann actually takes the discussion of library research beyond that of what I would do with my own students, but he does prepare his readers for several of the issues researchers come across. Knowing how to overcome some of these roadblocks helps not only me as a research, but also as a teacher.

They Say I Say Templates Are Worthy Tools

As a student in my undergraduate writing classes I have never stopped to question my professor’s writing prompts or a particular organizational requirement. I have attributed my slow development as a writer to this passive approach to academic writing. It was not until my third year of studies that I understood how my professors’ instructions were affecting my understanding of writing. Graff and Birkenstein’s (2006) book, They Say I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, does not capture my understanding of why my professors had me write my five paragraph essay in a particular way. Better yet, Graff and Birkenstein show me what the required moves look like. Ah, to know then what I know now.

Just as I overcame my own frustrations with writing, I believe others to do the same. Graff and Birkenstein (2006) have managed to show readers such as myself, templates for carrying out effective writing. Their rationale for these rhetorical moves and templates support my own thought, which is writers learn to compose through imitation. As native speakers of English we begin utilizing writing templates from as early as elementary school.

These templates become more complex and serve different purposes at the college level especially when it involves nonnative speakers of English. When learning to speak or write a new language, we need some form of guidance. As our comfort grows with this new language, we can manipulate the original templates. I think this is when creativity begins. Moreover, I think this is when language users feel confident enough to enter conversations and risk sounding obscure to those already in the conversation. It is at this point where templates can play a less important role, and the function of the words becomes the focus, making room for new creative moves.

I can’t help but to agree with Graff and Birkenstein’s suggestion that good organization does not take the place of content; therefore, one does not take the place of the other. Good writing begins by imitating those who do it well, such as our professors.

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