Abstract
This article aims to examine the factors which must be taken into consideration before attempting to utilize Kasper and Petrello’s nonjudgmental approach to English composition classes at a small 2-year college in the American Southwest. The majority of the students there are Navajo. Navajo oral tradition and syntax are two important factors to consider before utilizing this approach. Instructors are suggested to understand Navajo culture including oral tradition and syntax and direct students to the differences and similarities between Western and Navajo rhetorical patterns.
Highlights
Based on previous studies (e.g., Daly, 1978; Faigley, Daly, & Witte, 1981), students’ writing-related skills or performance, such as grammar, mechanics, sentence structures, seem to have a negative association with writing anxiety/apprehension (WA)
Results of previous studies (Daly & Miller, 1975) on WA that show that past experiences tend to associate with WA open the door to the application of Kasper and Petrello’s (1998) nonjudgmental approach to assessing writing due to the Navajo history of the Long Walk or the boarding schools (House, 2002)
I would like to examine factors that must be taken into consideration before attempting to utilize Kasper and Petrello’s (1998) nonjudgmental approach to English composition classes at a small 2-year college in the American Southwest
Summary
Based on previous studies (e.g., Daly, 1978; Faigley, Daly, & Witte, 1981), students’ writing-related skills or performance, such as grammar, mechanics, sentence structures, seem to have a negative association with writing anxiety/apprehension (WA). Based on my 6-year personal teaching experience with the Navajo college students, they seem not to have problems writing personal narratives; instead, when it comes to argumentative papers, the majority of them would have problems including a clear thesis statement in their essays.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
