Academic Literacy Research Articles

학부 유학생의 학업 문식력 신장을 위한 방안 연구

This study began with the consideration of extracurricular program operation of A University. The previous semester's program confirmed that a balanced development of basic communication skills, socio-cultural adaptation skills, and academic abilities among undergraduate international students was required, and the process was re-designed as an integrated activity between BICS(Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALP(Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency). A survey conducted at the end of the program confirmed that this program helped undergraduate international students adapt to college life, understand Korean society and culture, and improve their communication, reading, writing, and listening skills. It was confirmed that the strengthening of these basic communication skills could have a positive effect on university students’ academic performance and further contribute to improving academic literacy.
 This study can be used as basic data for extracurricular programs for undergraduate international students. In addition, expanding the content and category of the program by linking the subject can help improve the academic literacy of undergraduate international students in various aspects. However, since this was a short-term case of a specific university, follow-up studies using longer-term cases should be conducted to accumulate practical data.

Evaluation of attitudes and behaviors of family medicine residency students regarding academic literacy

Amaç: Bu çalışma ile; Ankara ilinde Aile Hekimliği uzmanlık eğitimi alan hekimlerin akademik okuryazarlık ile ilgili tutum ve davranışlarını belirlemek ve bunları etkileyen faktörleri ortaya koymak amaçlanmıştır.
 Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmaya 188 aile hekimi uzmanlık öğrencisi katılmıştır. Ankara’da eğitim alan Aile Hekimliği uzmanlık öğrencileri çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Elektronik ortamda katılımcılara 23 soruluk anket ve Akademik Okuryazarlık Ölçeği (AOÖ) formları gönderilmiştir. 
 Bulgular: Katılımcıların %68,62’sı kurumlarında, %36,18’si kurumları dışında bilimsel araştırma konusunda eğitim almıştır. Çalışmaya katılan hekimlerin %59’u uzmanlık eğitimleri süresince hiç kongreye katılmamış, %67,61’sı hiç bilimsel araştırmada araştırmacı olarak bulunmamıştır. Çalıştıkları kurumda veya kurumları haricinde kurs, kongre ya da sempozyumda bilimsel araştırma konusunda eğitim alanların AOÖ puanları yüksek bulundu (p

Assembling a justified list of academic words in veterinary medicine: The veterinary medicine academic word list (VMAWL)

The assembly of corpus-based discipline-specific word lists for pedagogical purposes has recently been on the rise (e.g., Arndt, 2022; Fraser, 2007; O'Flynn, 2019; Yang, 2015). In order to cater to the needs of learners in veterinary medicine (VM) and for field-specific academic literacy, this paper analyses a reiteration of the Veterinary Medicine Corpus (Özer and Akbaş, 2023; hereafter the VMC), assembling a specified list of academic words used in published research articles (RAs) in VM. So far, VM has remained largely unexplored with the exception of Durrant's (2009) limited coverage of VM texts. The analysis was conducted using LancsBox 6.0, prompted to yield a list of PoS-tagged lemmas (P-lemmas) sorted by frequency (Coxhead, 2000; Yang, 2015) and dispersion (Arndt, 2022). The most frequent 1,000 lemmas for each content word category were collated into a candidate list. We then manually eliminated proper nouns and GSL (West, 1953) words. The final list, the Veterinary Medicine Academic Word List (VMAWL), contains 835 PoS-tagged lemmas (P-lemmas), a reiteration of which was produced by adding the types in Bauer and Nation’s (1993) taxonomy at the second level to test coverage. The VMAWL was profiled and validated against the four parent categories independently on AntWordProfiler (Anthony, 2022a) with analysis showing the VMAWL comprises 13.75 % of the VMC and diverges greatly from generic word lists like the AWL, NGSL, new-GSL, and AVL. The list can be used to develop teaching materials for EAP or ESP academic writing courses.

Academic Language Development and Linguistic Discrimination

Language use within Canadian postsecondary institutions reflects ongoing neocolonialism and the privileging of European and North American English varieties. This article shares student perspectives of interactions with faculty on themes of language development and linguistic discrimination, discovered in qualitative interviews using Appreciative Inquiry methodology. Participants’ stories reveal both appreciation for supportive practices that facilitate the development of academic language skills and frustration with linguistic discrimination. Practices valued by participants include using simple and clear language, creating a comfortable environment for non-native English speakers, honouring multilingualism, and providing supportive instruction in discipline-specific language. Students also identified experiences of linguistic discrimination that resulted in academic and personal harm. In students’ stories, a tension between encouraging academic language development while avoiding discriminatory practices emerges. Paths forward in navigating this tension while challenging colonial language hierarchies may include integrating pedagogies using an academic literacies framework while also creating space for translingual practices in classrooms and institutions.

Nursing Students' Perceptions of Academic Literacy Education - Reflections from the Swedish Red Cross University

Academic literacies refer to academic writing as social practices. This study describes first-term nursing students’ perceptions of the academic literacy education provided and its significance for their forthcoming training and clinical practice. Nine student nurses at the Swedish Red Cross University participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using latent content analysis. Two categories were identified: A challenging but rewarding step focused on the students’ struggles to become academically literate. A professional outlook targeted the students’ perceptions of the requirement to acquire academic literacies for their training and future clinical practice. The results provide insights of dichotomous perspectives among nursing students regarding their need to acquire academic literacies. Some of the students convey a resistant and sceptical view of adding academic education to nursing training. Others acknowledge the requirement of being academically literate, a competence sometimes hard-won. However, in their struggles, teacher guidance was requested; an appeal that needs to be met with creative solutions. Repetitive approaches by teachers combined with the use of student initiatives are proposed to enable improved academic literacy levels among the students.

The Development of an Academic Literacies Programme for Students in Britain and Beyond

Richmond’s Academic Literacies Programme (ALP) is a content-based form of instruction for university students which teaches critical reading, research skills, content synthesis, and writing and presentation skills. It is designed to empower all students to research and write effectively throughout their undergraduate studies. This article is a quantitative case study review of a British-American university’s ALP, examining student feedback across academic disciplines on specific taught ALP skills and comparing their improvement from 2014 to 2022. Chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests showed students valued research, critical reading, academic writing, essay structure, understanding academic honesty, using tutor feedback, and referencing skills; however, survey development and recommendation reports were not meeting student needs in their majors and so were removed from the programme. In comparison, in a follow-up review conducted in 2022, the skill of identifying research gaps was not effectively used or applied. However, independent group testing found the usefulness of skills at the lower learning level improved from 2014 to 2022, as did the application of skills at the higher level. This study concludes that ALPs are valuable for all university students beginning higher education research, regardless of first language or degree course.

A four-year trajectory of development from student to published researcher

Abstract This case study tracks a multilingual writer’s academic writing, in particular her engagement in the research article (RA) genre, over the course of four years as she moved along a trajectory from a novice graduate student to a confident disciplinary writer. The theoretical framework draws from academic literacies (Barton & Hamilton, 1998), highlighting practice and disposition (Bourdieu, 1990) as a way of understanding engagement with the RA genre. The findings, based on an analysis of interviews conducted with the participant, reveal three stages of the participant’s development in her disposition toward the RA genre, all interspersed with affect. Each stage is illustrated through examples from the interviews. The study’s longitudinal design provides a novel perspective that brings out a dynamic picture of the development of a graduate student writer. The findings are discussed in light of previous research and pedagogical implications are set out.

Using a functional multilingualism framework and online learning to develop professional repertoires and racial literacy for trainee mathematics teachers in London, England

ABSTRACT This article is a narrative case study of language provision for trainee mathematics teachers on a one-year initial teacher training course: a Postgraduate Certificate in Education in London, England. It draws on Heugh’s (2018) (Conclusion: Multilingualism, Diversity and Equitable Learning: Towards crossing the ‘Abyss’. in The Multilingual Edge of Education 2018 (pp 341-367) Palgrave MacMillan) description of Functional Multilingualism; Muscovitch’s (2015) Academic Literacy in Mathematics for English learners in The Journal of Mathematical Behaviour, 40, 43-62) to intertwine the development of professional language repertoires with the praxis of school mathematics pedagogy; and digital multimodal literacies to promote writing, professional language repertoires and critical language awareness. It models practices and tasks designed to improve outcomes in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education course and address the lack of confidence felt by trainee teachers when teaching multilingual classes. These develop safe spaces that allow for sharing of school practicum experiences and is a context for discussion of race literacy and other aspects of diversity and inclusion referred to in the Equalities Act (2010). Drawing on innovation over a four-year period (2017–2021) the case study provides a variety of starting points to develop consistency within the many initial teacher training routes leading to Qualified Teacher Status and for collaboration between schools and Higher Education Institutes during further two years of school-based training required in England before final recognition as a fully qualified teacher.

‘Sometimes I wonder if our best really is our best’: Tutor reflections on the challenges of shifting to online tutoring during the pandemic

Tutors play an important role in higher education, as they may facilitate learning, promote engagement, and assist with student success. Students also often feel more comfortable seeking assistance from them than from lecturers. Yet, tutors tend to be sidelined in the literature on teaching and learning, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper is framed by an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach and seeks to understand how three tutors in an online academic literacy module experienced the shift to online learning. Data, in the form of personal reflections, were collected online and analysed thematically. It was found that the tutors experienced the shift negatively and they raised practical concerns, as well as interpersonal ones. Implications for tutor training are discussed.

Penerapan Keterampilan Membaca Sekilas dalam Memahami Karya Ilmiah

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of applying reading skills at a glance in improving understanding of scientific work. The method used in this study was library study. The data in this study were obtained from reading reference books and journal articles. The result of this study is that by applying fleeting reading skills in understanding scientific work, we can improve academic literacy, help students and researchers access information quickly, and form critical and effective individuals in managing information. A fleeting reading skill is not just a technical skill, but a learning strategy that supports the achievement of higher education goals. In extensive reading, these skills are key to achieving an overall picture and basic information of scientific texts. In addition, the application of fleeting reading skills in scientific work provides significant benefits, such as time efficiency and the ability to quickly identify key information, although deep reading remains essential for comprehensive understanding.

Academic Literacy Skills of Postgraduate Students in the Department of Turkish Education

This study aims to identify the academic literacy skills of postgraduate students specializing in the department of Turkish education. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed method, one of the mixed methods. The first working group consisted of 161 students for the quantitative dimension and 25 students in the second group for the qualitative dimension. The study deployed the Academic Literacy Scale and a semi-structured interview form as data collection tools. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used during quantitative data analysis, while content analysis was used for qualitative data. The quantitative findings revealed that the mean academic literacy level score of postgraduate students in the Department of Turkish Education was 4.07, indicating an agreement level; the student's academic literacy level significantly differed across the level of postgraduate education in favor of those pursuing the doctoral degree; no significant difference was observed across postgraduate education stage and gender. The qualitative findings suggested that postgraduate students in the Department of Turkish Education predominantly utilized scientific research processes to identify problem situations, had a moderate level of knowledge regarding scientific research processes, and exhibited awareness of the need to act honestly and responsibly in scientific research and to obtain the necessary permissions. Additionally, they read academic sources to gain information about a subject and to review the literature, even though they needed help reading academic sources in languages other than Turkish. Besides, academic sources were found to provide adequate information. Moreover, they were determined to write academic texts according to a certain writing plan and felt inadequate in writing academic texts. Notably, the education they received in Turkish education improved their academic literacy skills.

Language assessment in EMI: unravelling the implicit-explicit dichotomy

Abstract English Medium Instruction (EMI) is a content-focused approach in which language learning seems to have been sidelined. However, there appear to be some inconsistencies between EMI language objectives and actual practices that are reflected in the assessment phase. The literature has revealed that an implicit-explicit dichotomy is being used to explain the role of language in EMI; here explicit refers to the declared language outcomes as opposed to implicit, meaning implied but not stated. In this study, the description of a Linguistics course taught through the medium of English, the final assignment and its evaluative rubric are critically examined. The overall aim is to discuss discrepancies between language objectives and language assessment and identify a theoretical framework that could explain the implicit-explicit dichotomy in EMI. The present study raises the possibility that the discrepancies between language objectives and assessment criteria could be described in terms of teacher practices and beliefs that diverge from the declared language policy. Findings further indicate that the implicit-explicit dichotomy depends on academic literacies constructs, which have implications for the students’ development of linguistic tacit knowledge, which is learnt experientially but cannot be easily codified.

Partnering to enhance the postgraduate student experience

The learning and teaching team at Edith Cowan University's School of Nursing and Midwifery has partnered with postgraduate students to enhance their experience and success. Targeted initiatives throughout the curricula, including online and multimodal learning activities and resources, were co-developed in response to anecdotal evidence that some commencing students in this diverse cohort were lacking essential digital and academic literacy skills. The team is improving learning opportunities for all students by leveraging online platforms and fostering constructive relationships between staff and students to enhance self-engagement and motivation. A self-evaluation has been developed and implemented for students to gain a clear understanding of their academic and digital literacies. It is also providing important data about students' preparedness for their studies. This paper will share early findings from the research project, including scalable approaches and strategies to promote agency and empower students and staff.

Supervisory feedback and doctoral students’ academic literacy development: the case of writing for publication

ABSTRACT This study examines how supervisory feedback facilitates doctoral students’ academic literacy development in their situated practice of writing for publication (WFP). Multiple-sourced data collected from one supervisor and his four doctoral students were analyzed, including drafts with written comments added, feedback dialogues around text development through instant messaging, and student interviews. Findings show that supervisory feedback unpacks the hidden knowledge about WFP and contributes to students’ academic literacy development in three ways, namely, familiarizing them with the conventions of the academic genre, inducting them to the social relations embedded in scholarly communication, and encouraging them to make and claim original contributions. Overall, the supervisory feedback characterized by dialogic interactions creates a productive site for students to internalize the tacit and discipline-specific knowledge in the social practice of WFP and develop as reflexive and independent scholarly writers. The findings have implications for academic writing pedagogy and feedback giving at doctoral level.

Weighing In: Faculty Recommendations for Policy and Practice at Post-Remedial Community Colleges

ABSTRACT Considering the importance of faculty’s role in policymaking – especially when related to student success – this study provided a comprehensive analysis of faculty’s perceived obstacles to student success in post-remedial academia, as well as their suggestions for improving outcomes. This study analyzed survey feedback from faculty (N = 849) at 12 different colleges at the City University of New York (CUNY), from both 2-year and 4-year institutions, across a range of disciplines, from both tenured and untenured faculty, and from both part-time and full- time faculty. Respondents, overall, identified worsening academic literacies, a reduction in academic standards, and an overall reduction in student success since developmental education has been phased out. Faculty also suggested an array of policy, curricular, and classroom-level solutions that would help student outcomes in post-remedial academia. These included reinstating exam-based placement protocols, developing students’ academic literacies more rigorously, and re-offering pre-requisite (remedial) coursework.

ACADEMIC LITERACY AND WRITING IN UNIVERSITY: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

The author examines the problem of developing students' academic literacy and teaching writing from the perspective of theory and practice. The article analyzes the nature and structure of academic literacy and puts forward the thesis that the formation of academic literacy is based on the concept of academic discourse. Written language is seen as a key component of academic literacy, and teaching writing is built on learning to translate academic written discourse.

The academic literacy journey of student writers at transition to an English Medium Instruction (EMI) university programme in Japan

English Medium Instruction (EMI) has spread far and wide in recent years, becoming a prominent feature of higher education globally. One area of research is devoted to exploring how students cope with the transition to EMI university programmes. The present study traces the academic literacy challenges of 40 1st year EMI social science students during their initial 14-week academic writing preparatory course at a university in Japan. A mixed-methods approach was used to chart changes in student perceptions of academic literacy challenges via questionnaires, interviews, and written journals. No significant change was discernible in student perceptions of academic writing difficultiesover the semester. However, different patterns of fluctuation for different groups of students were evident, with beliefs about the challenges of developing academic literacy strengthening and weakening over the semester. Qualitative content analysis revealed that the transition towards academic literacy was a demanding one. Students felt unprepared for the demands of academic writing, given the high-stakes exam focus of high school English curricula in Japan. The study underlines the importance of EMI support provision focused on discipline-specific language and academic literacy development.

Academic texts reviewing as a productive training task

Introduction. The process of creation of academic texts by students is actively studied in the global higher education system in connection with the target of shaping students’ general research and learning activities. The aim of the paper is studying the specifics of students’ abstracting scientific texts, viewed as a productive learning task. Materials and methods. The study of the scientific texts abstracting process involved 125 second-year Bachelor degree students majoring in engineering and technical fields. The survey involved qualitative and quantitative content analysis of texts of abstracts. A fragment of students’ substantiation of applied relevance of a selected topic in the academic discipline “Fundamentals of Psychology” served as a unit of the analysis. Results. As shown by the analysis of the abstracts’ content, a total of 88% of students originally treated the abstracting task as a reproductive target, i.e. the abstract is treated as a text compiled from materials of educational, methodological and scientific literature. After refining the texts of abstracts, 76% of the students eventually reached the level of explicit personalised substantiation of practical application of the theoretical knowledge. Abstracting as a productive learning target contains novelty and variability of solutions; its fulfilment supposes the students’ effective substantiation of the applied significance of the explored subject. Under this condition, such components of the abstracting process as motivational, intellectual, operational, axiological and communicative ones are actualised. Conclusion. It is possible to distinguish two main strategies of teaching students to create scientific texts: 1) formation of specific skills, abilities and competences; 2) development of scientific worldview, academic literacy, methodological culture. In the authors’ opinion, every subject area, types of preparation work and academic classes have a potential for simultaneous realisation of the given positions. Further research should envisage perfection of the individual approach towards involvement of greater number of students in solving productive/creative learning targets.

Transprofessional collaboration in higher education

At Södertörn University, Sweden, a transprofessional model has been developed aiming to support students’ writing development from the theory of academic literacies. In this innovative way of working, university librarians and writing teachers collaborate with university teachers to integrate a teaching element on academic writing (including searching for, appraising, reading, and writing texts) into existing university courses. In this article, we describe and discuss our experiences of implementing this transprofessional model in nursing education. We observe that collaboration made it possible for all professionals to share their knowledge, both in a theoretical and practical sense. Among other things, the university teachers appropriated several linguistic tools which they were able to use in their continued teaching of academic writing. However, challenges regarding the collegial sharing of knowledge were also experienced. If the lessons learned are to be implemented the organisation, both resources and a mandate from the management is essential.

What’s in a name? study skills? academic skills? academic literacies? Does it really matter and to whom does it matter?

As a growing and maturing profession, Learning Developers are still crafting their space within their institutions and face constant conversations with academic and professional colleagues, as well as students, as to who we are and what we offer. Whilst we are protective of the terms we use, and resist using ‘study skills’ to describe our work in favour of the concept of Academic Literacies, it seems that the rest of the academy is slow to follow suit. Working on a joint project with our Careers service to develop an institutional capabilities framework really highlighted the difference in terminology used, and the sense that, no matter how much I tried, academic and professional colleagues were unwilling or unable to engage with our service offer as delivering anything other than ‘study skills’, despite our insistence on using Academic Literacies to refer to our embedded teaching. It made me wonder whether the terminology matters or might even be counterproductive. Does the term ‘academic literacies’ serve as a barrier to staff and students, even when intended to explain the pedagogical approach that informs our practice? Our students won’t necessarily understand what academic literacies or Learning Development means, which results in using two names to describe our service – one a student-friendly ‘Skills@Library’ name, and the other ‘Learning Development’, intended to demonstrate that we are an academic unit that staff can consider peers in curriculum development and design. Does this approach just serve to dilute our offer to both parties, and cause confusion as to what we actually do? Through three small open discussions, held as part of the mini keynote session, we explored how LDers refer to their service, why they have chosen those terms, and how they think they are received by their colleagues. With the aim of identifying barriers that this terminology causes for engagement from both staff and students, the following questions were used as prompts for the discussions. Questions: Is using the term ‘study skills’ really that problematic? Does it truly challenge our professional identity, and if so, is that challenge significant? How do you refer to the service that you run? How do your cross-institution colleagues describe your service? What have you done to challenge their assumptions?