1. ENGLISH 343
Week 6: Cross-cultural differences in writing, cultural
representation constructed by dominant discourses

2. Agenda
 Your Voices: General discussion on three articles
 Kubota’s work
1) Japanese culture constructed by discourse
2) Unfinished Knowledge: The story of Barbara
 Connor’s article on CR
 Documentary: Writing Across Borders
 Discussion and group work on responding to an L2 writing
REMINDER: Please double check if your individual blog is visible on
the class blog.

3. The goal of today’s class
is
 To understand the influence of cultures on our writing
 To understand and go beyond cultural relativism in writing classrooms.
And, to understand cultural representation as constructed by discourse.
 To come to an understanding that cultural differences are constructed by
discourses rather than existing a priori (notion of culture as a discursive
construct)
 To problemitize binaries in Japanese culture (as an example)
 To discuss various approaches to ESL teaching (specifically on writing):
Acculturation model, pluralistic and critical literacy.
 To understand what CR is and how we can apply this knowledge to
ESL/EFL teaching
See the video by Edward Said:

4. Orientalism_Interview with
Edward Said
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw

5. Initial Discussion on CR
 Consider your criteria of “good writing”. In what ways do your
criteria reflect norms of your native language and academic
culture? In what ways may your own criteria differ from those of
someone from a different country and language background?
 As a teacher, how could you begin to understand the writing
styles and norms of other cultures?
 As English becomes more and more a language used all over he
world among native and non-native speakers alike, discuss your
opinions on the importance of teaching and expecting proficiency
in the norm of the dominant mode? Who establishes these norms
and for whom are they most relevant? How important is it to
uphold those norms in the academic setting?

6. Alexis says
 According to Kubota, “ESL teachers need to ensure that
their students have opportunities to develop skills that allow
them to participate fully in the dominant society” (p. 30).
Also, teacher and learners need to develop a critical
awareness of the social-cultural consequences of
using the dominant language and to find ways to
incorporate the dominant language to create different
meanings. I agree with this statement. Teachers need to
help ESL students develop those skills in order to be
successful in society but make sure that they preserve their
culture differences. My question is how do teachers find
this balance of teaching English writing to speakers of
another language and help them uphold their voice in their
own culture? Also, how do teachers of ESL students not
stereotype a cultures writing when teaching a student
about writing in English? How do you learn about a
student’s writing culture without being stereotypical?

7. Joe says…
 I am in complete disagreement with Atkinson’s belief that “critical
thinking is a social practice unique to western cultural traditions
(11). Dangerous assumptions like this are what often limit
ESL students and coerces them into negative self-fulfilling
prophecies. As we have discussed in this class many times,
each distinct culture is also completely filled with individual
differences and variety. It is simply wrong to say that an entire
culture is incapable of critical thinking. However, I enjoyed
reading Kubota’s narrative about Barbara. Barbara’s story
should inspire those teachers that feel they are not “diverse” or
have never had an opportunity to travel outside their own culture.
Without ever leaving the country or learning another language,
Barbara transformed from a culturally unaware teacher to a
complete advocate of multicultural education. With the help of
her colleague Carol and her love interest David, Barbara
changed how she ran her classroom. For example, she phrased
questions and comparisons to avoid making American culture
seem more sophisticated or superior to other cultures. Even
something as simple as a teacher’s word choice can change the
comfort level of the students in the classroom.

8. Emily says…
 According to Kubota’s 1999 article, people define cultures with
labels, whether or not they know them to be true. However,
because the labels are distinctive, the labels are perceived
as correct. This knowledge is not true, scientific, or neutral.
It just allows groups to have power over each other. When
people continue to use the labels, it enforces the different
levels of stereotypes and power. For example, many people
say “no homo” as if there is something wrong with being
homosexual. The more that people use this phrase, the more it is
reinforced as a norm and as an accepted stereotype. Kubota
states, "It is in discourse that power and knowledge are joined
together," which means that through discourse, power is spread.
Labels create difference instead of aiding the togetherness of
cultures. Concepts of certain groups are constructed by others; it
does not define the group because the labels are not self-
reflective.

9. Alice says…
 Cultural understanding cannot exist outside of
discourse, yet we can critically examine this
discourse in order to understand power
relationships among cultures. With an awareness
of discourse, we can start to combat colonial
mindsets, such as Otherness. (I also found it
interesting to learn that cultural groups can also use
discourse to their own advantage, as illustrated by
Japanese theories of nohonjinron and nihon
bunkaron. I was aware that colonizers used discourse
to maintain power, but I was surprised to see that
discourse was also used in response to Western
dominance.)

10. Alice continues…
 I agree with Kubota that English teachers need to be careful about
connecting their students’ actions with social and ideological values
of a certain culture. Kubota maintains that “power…is not
unidirectional, nor is discourse monolithic” (“Japanese Culture
Constructed by Discourses” 22). In other words, discourse is
multi-facted. As English teachers, we should feel challenged to
help our students develop awareness and think critically about
the functions and purposes of cultural discourse. We should
respect our students’ linguistic backgrounds in order to help
create equality. We should give students an opportunity to
critically analyze their own languages, as well as English. I
believe that if we help them, they can develop an understanding of
the discourse of power in order to negotiate and create their own
individual identities in the midst of (and perhaps in spite of) cultural
determinism and Orientalism. I think this is where the idea of
contrastive rhetoric can come into play. If we, as teachers, can
understand some of the differences in writing across cultures, then
we can help our students write to an English-speaking audience with
specific expectations while still respecting various writing styles.

11. Tomas says…
 I guess before that and since then I haven't much considered or
entertained the idea that individuals from other cultures will
approach communication differently. I feel like contrastive rhetoric is
an off-shoot of discourse analytics, but in a different form. I suppose
we're all kind of familiar with the notion that people approach
communication in different ways, and that misunderstandings
typically arise from a lack of understanding between interlocutors.
So I see how it is important for us as future educators of
English as a second language to be cognizant about these
issues that will inevitably arise with teaching the rhetorical
stylings of English. It is a delicate balance between helping
students maintain their identity and voice while also
successfully using the rhetorical strategies and devices of their
L2.
1. Is anyone else becoming really, really hyper-critical of the
conversations they have with others? 2. Why isn't there more of an
emphasis placed on educating people about this stuff earlier in life? It
seems like this knowledge would be valuable to more than just future
ESL teachers.

12. Kubota, R. (1999)
Japanese culture
constructed.

13. Kubota (1999)
 What are the goals of Kubota’s 1999 article?
 What does she do in this article to convey her
arguments? What are some of the rhetorical strategies
she uses to convince the readers?

14. Her arguments
 She problematizes taken-for-granted cultural labels found
in the applied linguistic literature by taking Japanese
culture as an example. She critiques essentialized
representation of Japanese culture found in various articles
and moves us beyond the binary definitions.
e.g. Asian culture values collectivism and discourages
creativity and critical-thinking.
 She finds out how these arguments are a reflection of the
constructed Other in colonial discourse.
 She defines cultural difference as involving complex issues
that require critical scrutiny.
 She claims that Japanese identity and national character
was defined by “nihonjinron”

15. Kubota argues…(p.15)
 The argument here is not that cultural differences and
human agency do not exist. The way people think, speak,
write, and behave is certainly influenced by culture in which
they are brought up, and certain cultural differences indeed
exist. Nor do I reject the notion that people as human
agents have individual lived experiences and voices that
may not be shared by other members of the same culture.
Although cultural similarities, diversities and individual
factors as well as cultural differences are worth exploring,
instead I attempt a critique from a different perspective,
namely, a critique of cultural representation from the
concept of discourse and power/knowledge

16. Group work
 In your groups, identify the essentialist and determinist
cultural assumptions that exist about Japanese
culture.

17. Theories on the
Japanese
 Nihonjinron (gained popularity in 60s and 70s)—the notion
of cultural uniqueness
The characteristics of Japanese identity (like many other
nationalities) are ideological constructs.
Japan went through an economic growth and westernization in
60s and 70s. To explain this economic success, theorists
claimed that Japanese people exhibit unique characteristics
(e.g. groupism, homogeneity). This ideology emerged from the
sentiment that Japan has lost their traditional values during the
rapid postwar industrialization. Since then, Western style has
been dominating both public and private sphere (they wanted
to reclaim their identity). This notion has served the interest of
political leaders. The concepts of harmony, groupism and
homogeneity reduce conflicts in the society (pg. 20-21)

18. Criticism of Nihonjinor
 Monolithic, essentialist and reductionist view of Japanese
culture—promoted as a form of cultural nationalism
(Yoshino, 1992)
 Befu (1987) says that this ideology (the notion that
Japanese people and culture are unique) works to rescue a
Japanese identity threatened by Westernization, which
manifests power relationships between Japan and West.
 It was used as an excuse to legitimate Japan’s position in
the event of political and economic conflict.
“The soil in Japan is unique” “The quality of snow in Japan is
unique:

19.  Researchers often characterize Japanese culture as traditional, homogenous, group
oriented, collectivist whereas western cultures are defined with labels such as
individualism, self-expression and critical thinking.
 Japanese written discourse as indirect, implicit and inductive as opposed to English
discourse , which is described as direct and deductive.
Examples from research: Carson (1992) says schooling in Japan values group goals over
individual interests. Teaching techniques emphasizes memorization, repetition and drilling.
Similar cultural image was presented by McKay (1993)—writes about ideologies in teaching
of writing. Asian cultures value conservation of knowledge and favor reproductive mode of
learning that stress imitation and memorization. In contrast, western cultures favor extending
knowledge emphasizing critical thinking and hypothesizing.
Atkinson (1997) points out that the concept of critical thinking presupposes individualism and
is incompatible with Asian cultural values.
Fox describes the Japanese written discourse with labels such as “politeness”,
“indirectness”, “vagueness” and absence of critical thinking.

20. Group work
 What are the counter knowledge/case against cultural
determinism that she discusses in the article?

21. The case against
deterministic thinking
Recent educational research show that Japanese preschool
and elementary school curriculum does promote creativity,
original thinking and self-expression
 Spack (1997) problematizes the static image of ESL
students as bound by their native culture.
 Zamel (1997) emphasized the complexity, idiosyncrasy and
unpredictability of L2 writing.
 Lewis (1992) “first grades were observed in an animated
discussion” during the reading lesson. He also reports that
Japanese elementary school teachers recognized various
approaches that students used to solve problems (p. 23)

22. So, how should we approach such
cultural representations?
 It is important to understand the meaning of such
cultural labels (where do they come from, what do
they do to people)
 Such representations need to be viewed as particular
knowledge rather than objective truth (p. 25) They
also need to be reevaluated from the point of view of a
discourse in which power relations construct and
legitimate such beliefs.

23. Pedagogical issues/three
approaches to ESL teaching
 The acculturation model
 The pluralist model
 Critical multiculturalism

24. Critical literacy approach
 Both affirms and critically interrogate what is perceived as the
authentic student voice
 Legitimizing the vernaculars of minority does not exclude their need
to acquire the dominant codes.
 The cultural and linguistic codes of the dominant roup needs to be
demystified so that the subordinate students “can use the dominant
knowledge effectively in their struggle to change the material and
historical conditions that enslaved them” (Freire, 1993, p. 135)
 Lisa Delpit also argues for the need to both maintain cultural
heritage and develop skills necessary for success in mainstream
society.
READ THE QUOTE ON PAGE 29

25. Barbara’s story
 The main points
1) Teachers usually have good intention while reflecting cultural
differences instead of denying them.
2) However, this liberal view of cultural difference tends to fall inyo
cultural relativism essentializing cultures and creating a
dichotomy between “us” and “them”
3) The liberal view of cultural difference also FAILS to examine how
cultural differences are constructed by discourses and how power
is exercised in perpetuating such differences.
4) In order to understand the cultural differences critically issues of
power and discourse need to be examined (p. 12)

26. Summary
NARRATIVE, DRAMATIZE, WRITE DOWN, DRAW A STORY BOARD ETC:
 Who is Barbara? What were some of her initial thoughts on her ESL
students? What are some of the dilemmas she experiences?
 Who is Carol? What are her views on culture? What are some of her
suggestions to Barbara?
 Who is David? How does he conceptualize the notion of culture? What are
some of his suggestions to Barbara? What did Barbara realize after her
conversations with David? What changes did she apply to her ESL
teaching?
“Barbara would emphasize that the students need not abandon their own
culture—they simply need to acquire new cultural conventions in order to
succeed in the academic community” (p.14)—What pedagogical model in Kubota
1999 does this fit in?

27. Contrastive Rhetoric

28. Contrastive
Rhetoric/Intercultural
Rhetoric
 Interdiciplinary domain of second language studies and applied
linguistics that deals with examining differences and similarities in
writing across cultures.
 The assumption is: any language includes written texts that are
constructed using identifiable rhetorical features
 Raises teachers’ awareness on cultural differences in writing.
Helps L2 students to explore cultural differences in L2 writing
Contrastive Rhetoric/Intercultural Rhetoric: What is the impact of
culture on writing? How do students negotiate the composing
conventions in their own L1 literacy practice and the writing
convention of the target language? (Atkinson, Enkvist, Hinds, Connor,
Kubota, Kaplan, Matsuda, Nelson )

29. Examples by Connor
 Compares and contrasts a Flemish applicant’s and
American applicant’s cover letters.
What are some of the rhetorical and lexical differences
can you identify in both letters?

30. Robert Kaplan’s Contrastive Rhetoric argument: Cultural
Though Patterns in Intercultural Education (also referred
as “doodles article”
 First study/a pioneer work by a U.S.
applied linguist to explain the written style
of ESL writers (as opposed to patterns of
speech!)
 Explored the links between the culturally
specific logic/thought patterns and
paragraph structures in English essays
written by NNES students.
 Came up with five lingua-cultural groups in
rhetorical structures of a piece of writing in
students’ cultures- He claims that Anglo-
European expository essays follow a
linear development; Oriental languages
prefer an indirect approach and come to
the point at the end; Romance languages
employ extraneous material p. 223
 “The patterns of paragraphs in other
languages are not so well established, or
perhaps only not so well known to
speakers of English”
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31. Early Criticism to Kaplan’s doodle
article: Flows in his arguments
 The generalizations about student’s culture based on the rhetorical and
cultural through patterns has been contested by many scholars.
Fault # 1: Essays were collected as class exercise, students did not have
comparable language skills (they were all developmental writers)
Fault # 2: He was making assertions about one’s L1 writing rhetoric and
thought patterns based on a general L2 essay structure. Other factors such as
topic knowledge, language proficiency, educational background also influences
students paragraph development
Fault # 3: Rhetorical deviations he found in NNES students were similar to the
rhetorical errors made by NS students
Fault # 4: Considering standard English speaking NSs as the norm-
overlooks the plurality within language groups! Native English speakers do not
all write in linear, straight line paragraph development. Members of different
discourse communities write in different genres.

32. Faults in argument
continued
Ethnocentric view of culture:
 The worldview of a group of people using the same
language is determined by that single language and
culture? (strong version of Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)

33. STILL…
 He drew teachers and scholars attention to linguistic
differences in ESL students’ writers “Writing is culturally
influenced”
 The study of writing is seen as a cultural-educational
activity.
Also, see the various domains of studies within the field of
contrastive rhetoric (p. 226)
e.g. text linguistics, classroom-based collaborative research,
genre-specific contrastive investigations
See examples of studies on pg 230-232.

34. Approaches to apply CR
in the classroom
 Teachers should encourage their students to analyze the purpose of
their writing and analyze their audience carefully: This kind of
investigation involve breaking down students’ stereotypes of their L1 and
L2 and helping them come to a more complex understanding of how
their L1 rhetoric creates meaning (p. 46)
 Teachers can ask students to compare L1 and L2 texts with regard to
paragraph and discourse-level organization (preferably with intermediate
and advanced level students). The comparison of comparable L1 and L2
texts can be taken to full text levels (analyzing letters, research articles,
books).
 Teachers can involve students in examining audience and reader
expectation in different cultures. What is good writing in China vs U.S. in
different academic discourses?
 Casanave suggests that students in classes could react to texts written
for the same purpose in L1 and L2 and discuss cultural expectations for
certain types of writing.

35. ESL Assignments/Notes
based on CR/IR
As a way to focus on rhetorical strategies, ESL instructors
in Indiana unv. Try the following assignments:
Chose two magazine advertisements that sell the same
kind of product but appeal to audiences in different
cultures, but have similar socio-economic classes (luxury
car ad in Germany and a secondary luxury car as aimed
at people in the U.S.
(You may try this ad analysis assignments targeting
different audience “in the same culture” man vs women)

36. Writing Across Borders:
Intercultural Rhetoric
 The role of culture in writing
 Culturally sensitive ways of
assessing students’ writing
 Struggles that international
students face while writing
in American colleges.
 The teaching and
assessing practices that
disadvantage international
students
36

37. Introducing the
documentary
 Made over a three period at Oregon State University
 Features interviews with international students,
second language scholars addressing various writing
issues in the college context.
 Strategies used by faculty to work with cultural writing
differences
37

38. Questions to keep in
mind while watching
 How does culture play out in writing, and how are our
expectations shaped by cultural preferences?
 How do we assess international student writing when
we have to grade it alongside the writing of native
speakers, and how can we think about surface error in
a fair and constructive manner?
 What kinds of teaching and testing practices
disadvantage international students and which help
them improve as writers?

39. Three approaches in reading and
responding to ESL writing
1. Assimilationist
The goal is to help L2 writers write linear, topic-driven, idiomatic and error-
free papers
2. Accommodationist
The goal is to teach academic discourse without letting the student lose their
L1 linguistic and cultural identities. It’s up to the reader “how much like a
native speaker” she wants to sound.
3. Separatist/Multicultural writing
The goal is to preserve support the student in maintaining her linguistic
identity separate. You help the student preserve the difference. Looking
at writing as an “act of communication”
Source: Matsuda, P. & Cox, M. (2004). Reading an ESL writers’ text. In S.Bruce &
B.Rafoth. ESL Writers: A guide for writing center tutors.

40. Responding to a student
writing
 Imagine that an ESL students submits this essay.
Read and respond to one ESL essay in your groups.
How would you respond to this essay? Provide both
marginal and end comments to this student.

41. Good responding
strategies
 Respond student writing as a work in progress rather than judging it as a finished product.
 Respond to patterns of errors rather than individual errors.
 Focus on errors that impede meaning rather than errors in idiom.
 Ask questions to clarify meaning.
 Less is more.
 Ensure your comments reflect your priorities.
 Engage in dialogs about students’ writing process instead of the writing product only.
 Inform L2 writers about the academic writing conventions and genres in English.
 Encourage them to visit the writing center.
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42. Marginal and End
Comments
 Marginal comments
 These comments are best suited for giving feedback on specific
sections of the text.
 End comments
 These comments are usually more lengthy and are saved for
more global concerns affecting the whole essay.
 Here is where you point out the patterns you noticed in the
student’s paper.
 Find a manageable set of issues for the student to work on for
the next draft or paper
42

43. Successful classroom pedagogies while
responding to ESL writing
 Ask students’ believes and expectations on good writing. L2 students
becoming “ethnographers” of their own writing.
 Research students’ writing experiences both in L1 and L2.
 Awareness building activities of audience, expectations of rhetorical
features: Educate students about different genres, expectations of readers
and the social purposes of writing.
 Raise students’ awareness on readers’ expectations.
 Refrain from perpetuating stereotypes when talking about student writing.
 Teachers need to be cautious in essentializing languages and cultures
(“reinforcing the cultural uniqueness” Kubota, 1998)
43