Chapter 4: Presentation and Analysis of data
4.1 Introduction
4.3.5 Student E
Her results suggest a very mediocre student. Her inability to articulate an understanding of what constitutes academic writing reinforced this perception of her. In terms of the two research questions therefore, there seems to be little or no 'fit' between her prior literacy experiences and those of the REd Hons or LILT module, and this absence of' fit' can be construed as impacting negatively on her performance. Had she come into the programme with a sound mastery of academic writing conventions, experience suggests that Student D's exiting result is likely to have been higher even though she is an English L2 speaker.
When asked which kinds of writing he found the most difficult in terms of structure and organisation, he replied: "I mean the most difficult things is formal you see .. but informal is not a difficult thing." Since I expected this response, it was more as a formality that I asked him to define' formal' writing, believing that he would equate it with academic type discourse, or discourse characterised by formalised conventions relating to structure, coherence, cohesion and so on. The following explanation from him, therefore, came as a surprise. "In fact," he said, "if! can look at de de de de formal writing .. so if we are given a thing .. for instance .. eh .. just write a letter to your maybe to your friend or whatsoever .. you see that is a formal writing because you have to think of the address .. something like that. How are you going to to to address this letter? Something like that .. that is a formal thing. But de de de informal thing, is to say .. how are you going to view with your own opinion concerning for this thing?
Do you see, that thing is easy because it is your own view. Ya, ya." And when asked the question: 'Was the writing in your training college years easier than in the REd Hons' programme?', he answered: "No, no, at the colleges .. sometimes things were so difficult. It was no longer easier .. eh .. at all times .. we used to do the formal things, you see. So there was no longer informal things. So in .. I mean .. in training colleges when you write something, it comes from your mind .. so you didn't get marks because the lecturers .. most of the time ..
needs to be guided by .. by .. what do you call these things? .. the memorandum."
Interestingly, while this emphasis on 'formal' writing made his College years "so difficult", he experienced the REd Hons as "challenging because most of the things were from your own view .. you see .. how are you going to view these things?"
This unexpected 'twist' to my own interpretations of 'formal' and 'informal' writing contexts, influenced my management of the rest of the interviewing process. Unpacking Student E's formal vs informal, and easy vs difficult perceptions suddenly seemed too complex to process in this context, and I let them go. However, the discrepancy between his construction of what constitutes formal and informal writing, and what kind of task he might consider easy or difficult, and mine, is worth reflecting on. Itseems to me that the distinction he drew was between a prescribed, fairly rigid (and hence 'formal') macro-structure, and a strong writer (i.e. personal and therefore de facto 'informal') control over content and perspective. My interpretation of 'formal' and 'informal' on the other hand, relates much more directly to the Hallidayan notion of 'tenor' i.e. the relationship between the writer and reader (or speaker and listener) and the degree to which the language used (embedded in the choice of vocabulary and
the discourse/ genre features) reflects the 'distance' between these two (or more) parties. So while my sense of 'informal' does also relate to the 'personal', it is much more about the 'ordinariness' of the relationship I enjoy with my reader/writer (speaker/listener). In the
context of this kind of personal relationship, power is more equitably distributed, allowing me, with confidence, to use 'ordinary' language - colloquialisms, abbreviations, and so on.
From a very recent observation of a lesson in which a Grade 9 educator was teaching the 'formal' letter, the only indicator emphasised by the educator as that which made the letter formal, was the presence of 'two addresses'. At no point in the hour long lesson, was attention drawn to the type of language one might use in this context (an application for ajob). With this kind of language pedagogy in place, it is possibly not surprising that the interpretations by our students (predominantly the products of the teaching just described) of what constitutes 'formal' and 'informal' writing, should differ from mine. Although it is not within the scope of this study to pursue this thread of 'difference' any further, Student E's response here raises interesting questions, which could provide the basis for another piece of research. Finding out exactly how, for example, Zulu speaking students construct schemata for formal/informal in theirprimary discourse would be one such question and an excellent starting point.
What remains significant in terms of Student E's progression through his tertiary studies is the difference individuals made to his levels of confidence and self esteem i.e. those affective factors which, whatever his' academic' performance might have been, positioned him in such a way that he constructs his REd Hons experience as challenging and rewarding. His first three year diploma seemsnot to have done much to accelerate his academic development, or his self esteem: "So in, I mean in training colleges, when you write something, it comes from your own mind, so you didn't get marks, because the lecturers, most of the time, needs to be guided by .. by .. what do you call these things? .. the memorandum." However, his fourth year at College and one student in particular during his REd Hons years, made all the difference. Of his fourth year, he said; " ... to get M+4 was I mean, so good, it was there at the College of Natal, so things were no longer the same as we .. as .. as we were at our colleges, the training .. ah, your fourth year was better." And the student who had a significant impact on him "was a very, very brilliant guy. Actually, he was my friend ... I used to ask him, and sit down with him .. and he used to help me in many things. So really .. that's why I used to manage my REd Hons.... Really, he was a very good man .. I mean I used to organise .. I used to help many
students through ... because he was my friend."
In making some assessment of Student E in relation to the two research questions, I believe he entered the REd Hons programme with a considerable amount of confidence and prior
experiences of what I would callrelated literacy skills. Despite there not being much evidence of literacy practices directly comparable to those demanded of him in the LILT module, my engagement with Student E persuades me that the fit was sufficiently close to pose no
significant problem to him - or his lecturers. Itwas clear in the interview that issues related to academic literacy per se, had never reared a conscious or ugly head for Student E. That he should exit a post-graduate degree with a construction of the writing demands of the programme as 'informal', suggests to me that the disjuncture between prior literacy
experiences and those encountered by him in the REd Hons programme, was so minimal as not to grab his attention at all, or in any way impact negatively on him. Since subsequent to achieving his REd Hons degree, he has been made a principal, the fact that he exited the programme with no more than the 'people's mark' has obviously been of no consequence to him whatever - he did not mention it, and neither did I raise it. The REd Hons for this student, therefore, had very particular and positive payoffs which had nothing to do with outstanding performance or overt academic literacy competence.