Written Communication Jan 1997

The Acquisition of Academic Literacy in a Second Language

RUTH SPACK

Abstract

This study examines the reading and writing strategies of one student, Yuko, over a 3-year period and traces the process she went through to acquire college-level academic literacy in English, her second language. Multiple data sources included interviews with the student and two of her political science professors, classroom observations, and texts from 10 courses in three disciplines—including course materials and the student's writing, with instructors' comments. The investigation was enriched by a cross-cultural perspective, for Yuko described learning strategies in two languages and learning environments in two countries, Japan and the United States. Data analysis suggests that her educational background shaped her approach to U.S. academic discourse practices and the way she theorized about those practices. Her theory and her analysis of her own experience changed over time, raising questions about cross-cultural interpretations of student learning.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1997-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088397014001001
Open Access
Closed
Topics
literacy studies race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (14)

  1. Ihara et al. (2020)
    Feature: Writing on the Periphery: The Writing Landscape of a Two-Year College
    Teaching English in the Two-Year College
  2. Lillis et al. (2020)
    Time, the Written Record, and Professional Practice: The Case of Contemporary S…
    Written Communication
  3. Lillis (2008)
    Ethnography as Method, Methodology, and “Deep Theorizing”
    Written Communication
  4. James (2008)
    The Influence of Perceptions of Task Similarity/Difference on Learning Transfer…
    Written Communication
  5. Hirvela (2005)
    Computer-based reading and writing across the curriculum: Two case studies of L…
    Computers and Composition
Show all 14 →
  1. Shi (2004)
    Textual Borrowing in Second-Language Writing
    Written Communication
  2. Smith (2003)
    The Role of Technical Expertise in Engineering and Writing Teachers’ Evaluation…
    Written Communication
  3. Leki (2003)
    Living through College Literacy
    Written Communication
  4. STAPLETON (2001)
    Assessing Critical Thinking in the Writing of Japanese University Students
    Written Communication
  5. NEWMAN (2001)
    The Academic Achievement Game
    Written Communication
  6. FISHMAN et al. (2001)
    An ESL Writer and her Discipline-Based Professor
    Written Communication
  7. HASWELL (2000)
    Documenting Improvement in College Writing
    Written Communication
  8. HANSEN (2000)
    Interactional Conflicts among Audience, Purpose, and Content Knowledge in the A…
    Written Communication
  9. ANGELOVA et al. (1999)
    “If You Don't Tell Me, How Can I Know?”
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (8)

  1. Prior (1995)
    Tracing Authoritative and Internally Persuasive Discourses: A Case Study of Res…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. HAAS (1994)
    Learning to Read Biology
    Written Communication
  3. STERNGLASS (1993)
    Writing Development as Seen through Longitudinal Research
    Written Communication
  4. Greene (1993)
    The Role of Task in the Development of Academic Thinking through Reading and Wr…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  5. FARR (1993)
    Essayist Literacy and Other Verbal Performances
    Written Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. PRIOR (1991)
    Contextualizing Writing and Response in a Graduate Seminar
    Written Communication
  2. McCarthy (1987)
    A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing Across the Curriculum
    Research in the Teaching of English
  3. BRIDGEMAN et al. (1984)
    Survey of Academic Writing Tasks
    Written Communication
Also cites 20 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 177 View in citation network →

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