LITERACY LENSES

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Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 57(7) April 2014 doi: 10.1002/jaal.281 © 2014 International Reading Association (p. 537)

The Acquisition of Academic Literacy in the Eyes of a Chinese Graduate Student Lina Sun is a doctoral candidate at Saint Louis University, East

Brunswick, NJ, USA; e- mail lsun2@slu.edu .

According to the Institute of International Education ( 2011 ), Chinese students have become the largest group of international students in American universities. Among the various challenges in the process of adjustment to the host culture, academic writing imposes perhaps the biggest barrier impeding students’ ultimate success. English is not the dominant language in China. And because of the lack of systematic training in academic writing, as well as unfamiliarity with certain writing techniques, most Chinese students come to college with different forms of “broken” or “fractured” English affecting their writing ability. How to help these students deal with language differ-ences and achieve desired academic success is a critical issue of concern for both specialists in English as a second language (ESL) and content subject instructors. I hope my experi-ences of acquiring academic literacy will shed light on this issue from a cultural insider ’ s perspective as a student and novice researcher.

First, “standard academic prose” exists in significantly differ-ent versions in the United States and China. From my early encounters with American academic writing discourse, I find that a natural form of expression or rhetorical conven-tion that I have always taken for granted as acceptable in a Chinese educational context may suddenly

become a problem. To continue to be successful, I would have to “sani-tize” my discourse, familiarize my-self with new forms of coherence, get rid of idiosyncratic stylistics, become straightforward, get to the point, bare my thoughts, and assert my views.

Second, being caught between conflicting and competing writing traditions can be constructive and transformative because these ten-sions enable me to have a richer repertoire of communicative strate-gies across cultures. I can straddle two academic communities and contribute to the body of scholarship from a different lens. In my restless and painful quest for a suitable voice and niche in transcultural discursive practices, I began to develop not only profound insights into the rhetorical challenges in academic communi-cations but also a keener apprecia-tion of the strengths and limitations of both discursive traditions.

Third, I think it ’ s extremely im-portant for international students to seek help and feedback from com-petent native language consultants who also know something about the specific topic. Less experienced researchers and writers need such consultations to cultivate agile rhe-torical ability and complete mastery of the language to make a foray into the academic community. Should no such perceptive language con-sultants be available, then take the

risk to submit your article to a proper journal for critical comments from reviewers, revise it, and resubmit. It is a demanding training process, but it is also an effective confidence builder in academic publishing. Normally an article can be accepted with major revisions as long as it has one or two appealing points for the audience.

In a word, linguistic compe-tence is just one of the key con-tributors to academic literacy. ESL writing instructors and content area teachers need to create more empowering classroom settings in which language and cultural differ-ences are viewed as a resource rather than a problem. It is also advisable to encourage students to experiment with rhetorical conventions and dis-cursive practices in diverse contexts and from different perspectives, and to make it easier to access informa-tion sources and competent writing consultants. With concerted efforts from both students and teachers, I believe Chinese international stu-dents will have a greater chance of successfully acquiring academic literacy and cruising through the American universities with ease.

References Institute of International Education . ( 2011 ).

Open doors 2011: Report on international education exchange . Retrieved from www.google.com/#q=institute+of+international+education+report+2011