Barbara A. Lehman

Teaching technical writing in multilingual contexts: A meta-analysis

Abstract Teachers of technical and professional writing in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Programmes need to understand the particular needs and social contexts of students for whom English is not a first language. The focus of this paper is on technical writing, and the paper presents the findings from four broad areas surveyed in a meta-analysis of research articles on curricular, teaching, learning and assessment practices for university-level English technical communication in multilingual contexts. Communication lecturers in the SET professions are faced with decisions regarding the kind of language forms, topics and purposes to address when teaching, developing materials, or designing assessment tasks for a multilingual technical communication class. It is hoped that this meta-analysis will provide communication lecturers, who work within SET fields, with information for effective and inclusive practice.

Pondering the Significance of Big and Little or Saving the Whales: Discussions of Narrative and Expository Text in Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Classrooms.

Abstract This study investigated the nature of book discussions about expository and narrative texts in fourth‐ and fifth‐grade classrooms. Eight teachers discussed one narrative (Amos & Boris, Steig, 1971) and one expository (Whales, Simon, 1989) picture book for a total of 16 small group discussions, which were audiotaped and transcribed. Literary and informational topics were discussed most and were more evenly balanced during the eight discussions of Amos & Boris while informational topics emerged nearly twice as often during Whales discussions. Illustrations and intertextual connections appeared as topics on a much smaller scale. Analysis of talk patterns revealed teacher dominance during discussion through a high percentage of questions asked, consistent initiation and control of the topics, and teacher repetitions of student responses or teacher questions. Teachers’ questions posed during the expository discussion were more literal than for the narrative text. Student initiations tended to occur when provided the opportunity to write responses to their reading and share during discussions.