Identities and Language in Writing

Justine Mack

Chapter 5 of The Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors focuses mainly on writer identities and how they can relate, occur, and affect working with tutors. A person’s identity can be prevalent in several different ways throughout their writing. A students’ identity can affect the way they write, read, and interact with others especially tutors. When addressing a tutee’s identity we are told not to make any assumptions based off of their writing, reading, or behavior. It is interesting how the topic of identity strongly relates to my Big Idea, of cognitive learning theories. Within Cognitive Learning Theories lies a theory called, Cognitive Behavioral Theory, which is, the role of cognitive (knowing) to determine and predict the behavior pattern of an individual. When the authors discuss Identity and Writing Tutor Programs they talk a lot about identity and behaviors, again warning the tutor to stay away from making assumptions. For example, when a writer and tutor don’t behave as they expected both the tutor and tutee can act in ways that surprise each other and that can cause a distraction or a sense of uncomfort during the session. Some strategies mentioned to overcome or address identity issues are to ask additional questions to help get acquainted such as, “Before we get started, is there anything else you’d like me to know” (Fitzgerald, 116).

Language barriers and physical or learning difficulties are a huge part of a students identity and can largely affect a tutoring session. One of my favorite suggestions listed to combat these differences in this chapter is to ask the writer what he wants to work on and how he wants to work because if someone has a completely different identity than the tutors the tutor must learn to adjust and work with all different kinds of students. I feel to be a successful tutor means being comfortable to work with differences across disciplines, cultures, learning abilities and identities.

In Theresa Jiinling Tseng’s article “Theorhetical Perspectives on Learning a Second Language” discusses four major theories on how second language students process and learn the English language. The first theory is a behaviorist theory that claims you learn by drill and practice just like memorizing vocab words or multiplication tables. In English, we practice sentence drills and memorize sentence structure to make it a habit. The second theory is thought about by Innatist that claim that we are hardwired to learn a language because as children we come into this world with a blueprint of our native language. The third theory is brought up by Cognitivists that claim noticing is important. This theory involves three steps that include noticing, then practicing, then making the skill automatic. The last theory presented by Interactionist say that it help most to talk with an expert meaning that acquiring a new language takes place through interaction. They claim that as an L2 student speaking with a tutor can be super helpful because “Tutors can facilitate this by using interactional tactics such as checking comprehension, requesting clarification, confirming meaning, self-repeating, and paraphrasing” (Tseng, 27).

I believe the most effective theory for L2 learners when trying to acquire the English language is the Interactionist theory about talking with an expert because I feel conversation and actively participating in something you are trying to learn is extremely helpful. I also think he Cognitivist theory is also extremely important because the fact that an L2 learner notices when something is right or wrong in the English language means they have learned enough to notice that and then they can begin to practice it by fixing the issue. With enough practice I feel the skill will become automatic.