Elena Shimanskaya The University of Iowa 04/13/2013

1. 1st Annual University of Iowa World Languages Graduate Student Conference "Exploring Divisions”Composing process of a bilingual writer: division and unity of the two languages Elena Shimanskaya The University of Iowa 04/13/2013

2. Plan Theoretical background Think-aloud protocol Writer Prompt Method Findings Book selection and planning Backtracking L1 interference Focus on upgrading Conclusions/reflections

3. Theoretical background Writing in one’s native language (L1-writing) vs writing in one’s second language (L2-writing) – same or different? Woodall (2002): quantitative differences

4. Theoretical Background Studying writing in general • The influence of topic • Composing processes: backtracking, revising Particularities of L2 writing • Impact of L2 proficiency • Task difficulty • Interaction between L1 and L2 • Language-switching • Composing processes: compensatory processes, upgrading processes

5. Theoretical background Example: Language-switching Qi (1998): switching for cognitively demanding tasks Woodall (2002): “…L2 proficiency and task difficulty do not uniformly affect the frequency and duration of language-switch” and can even sometimes have a positive effect

6. Theoretical background Example: Language-switching Qi (1998): switching for cognitively demanding tasks Woodall (2002): “…L2 proficiency and task difficulty do not uniformly affect the frequency and duration of language-switch” and can even sometimes have a positive effect

7. Theoretical background Threads that emerged: The influence of topic Language-switching Composing processes

8. Think-aloud ExampleThink aloud of solving a math problem:

9. Think-aloud Important methodological problems of think-aloud research (Smagorinsky, 1994): data are subject to idiosyncratic interpretation; 2. assumes that writing is a problem-solving ask (alternatively a stream-of-consciousness activity); 3. do not elicit all cognitive activity; 4. artificial conditions of a time-constrained session; 5. other factors: e.g. affect, linguistic ability.

10. Think-aloud Important aspects to consider (Smagorinsky, 1994): Researcher-participant interaction Participant characteristics Coding Data analysis and reporting results Attention to context Reactivity: how the fact of verbalizing your thoughts influences the cognitive processes

11. Think-aloud Smagorinsky(1994) on advantages and disadvantages of this research methodology: “… a fundamentally "human" enterprise, subject to personal bias, interaction factors between researchers and subjects, problems of interpretation, and other aspects of human caprice.” BUT also “… offers a unique glimpse into the workings of the human mind.” (xiii)

12. Writer David Graduate student in the French Department L1 French L2 English No formal assessment of his proficiency level Very fluent (has spent 8 years in the US) Writes mainly in French

13. Prompt “Write about your favorite book. Please, summarize the plot for me. Why do you like this book?”

14. Method Physical setting: small computer lab, the researcher and the lab assistant present during the data collection session Preparation: no preparation Technology: Word (composing), external microphone (voice recording), Camtasia Studio 7 (screen recording) Time: 10 minutes + 20 minutes + short informal unstructured interview Instructions: overview of think-aloud protocol, dictionary use

15. Product David didn’t finish the essay 2 paragraphs of text (2/3 of a page) “Les A.N.I. du Tassili” (1985) by AkliTadjer

17. Book selection/planning “Well first of all what book do I like best? It’s kind of hard to say… I don’t know what I can talk about… a a a a … well see the thing is it is not necessarily the book that I like that come through my head but books that I read for classes and my research… so maybe I think maybe I’ll just do that and so I’ll… yeah … so I know what book I wanna talk about”

18. Book selection/planning “And really quickly I just wanna make sure that before I start writing I’ve got some way of … organizing my thoughts and so… let’s see… I’ll just present the book and ah… and … who wrote it and all and then I’ll just get into the story. I don’t know if I’ve got 30 minutes worth of … information on it but worse comes to worse I can always talk about another book” Only planned orally

19. Backtracking When the writer stops writing/typing and repeats/rereads the text that he has already produced by going at least 2 content words back from where he stopped. ≈ 28 minutes on actual writing 22 instances of backtracking (≈2 min 30 sec or 8%) Backtracking episodes were often followed by a brief pause (preplanning?) Once thinking ahead: talking about where his writing is going

20. L1 Interference 6 episodes: An instance of language-switching Reflections on spelling Lexical searches

21. L1 Interference spelling: “pro-lé-ta-rien… pro-lé Comment on écrit ça? pro-lé-ta-rien» Lexical search: “emigrate” in English? Lexical search: “typical” and who himself was born in France. His [pauses] having a French interference. Let me see. I wanna say something like typical but then that’s English more like the way ilesttypé. Mmm. The way his his appearance I guess we’ll just be general. His appearance mmm… I know I wanna say that he’s being rejected but I don’t want to say it like that by everybody else. His appearance singles him out singles him out as an Arab.

22. Language switching funny thing isthat [pause] that the the the the action in the book does not even take place in the suburbs in the suburbs. In fact not oops not even in France. Le tassili est un un bateau ou un? Ummmun ferryouic’estça. Oops Why did I switch to French ? Start writing in French. Le tassiliThe tassiliThere. That’s better.

23. Focus on Upgrading “the… the the something about the… work… the … the thethe working force? The the nope not that not so much where mean… having a problem cause I got a French words in my head thinking about ouvrier and I can’t find a way to say that in English. Mmm… E: Ouvrier? Workers? S: Yeah, but not really… see the thing is ummm… like the labor force? like the proletarian no that agree that is another good word but I’ve already used it. A and b mmm… that’s a little too communist tainted which I did on purpose there because umm… because that Renaud singer guy is very… quite communist also mmm well… at least in the French sense of it not so much in the Russian one. Ummm… so… Nowadays the suburbs are more the place where all of the poor people of immigrant origins are gathered (whether willingly or not) and not so much mmm… where yeah that where all of the … ah… work force would work but I still don’t like all the thethethethe nope still blinking. Not so much [pause] I’m sorry I’m having a break down now…”

24. Grammar • The tone is somewhat similar to the one ( to that) of the singer called “Renaud”. • He was ( is) a songwriter/singer who grew up in what used to be a more proletarian environment. • Changing tense from present to present perfect: His appearance singles ( has singled) him out as an Arab even though he does not know much about Algeria –even though he doesn’t know the Arab language very well either. • Another problem with tenses (pauses to reflect on the problem for 50 seconds): When the story begins, Omar has just tried what he calls a “voluntary internship” which actually just means that he decided to go to Algeria and discover the culture that he has come to believe is ( was) his own.

25. Interview •The reason for the switch to L1 was the French name • David felt guilty for not verbalizing everything • Not all processes were verbalized: sometimes felt the need to go back and explain some decisions that happened too fast • David did not think in French when he was writing • Would have written differently if he had not been verbalizing

26. Conclusions/Reflections effects of proficiency in L2 effects of topic (“It is kind of hard to write about a book that is in French in English”) audience (explains “pieds-noirs”) Backtracking (“going back to move forward”)

27. Conclusions/Reflections •Topic matters: future research compare this type of situation with writing about something culturally specific to the US • Record the entire process (as opposed to limiting the writer in time)

28. Special thanks: David, the bilingual writer who agreed to participate in the study Professor Severinofor her insightful comments on the work THANK YOU! MERCI!