I absolutely loathed this exercise not because I didn't like the book (I do, really.) but because reading it again brought back memories of those freakin' rich-and-we-absolutely-know-it classmates I would rather bury six feet under. Aaarggh.
***
The Pink Book: Guide to Surviving College English
An Evaluation of Concepcion Dadufalza's Reading Into Writing II
For this exercise on textbook evaluation, I have chosen to evaluate a textbook that is widely used in the University of the Philippines General Education English courses, namely Prof. Concepcion D. Dadufalza's Reading Into Writing II: A Handbook-Workbook-Reader for Critical Reading and Writing in Expository Discourse. Divided into five parts, this paper aims to evaluate the theories, approaches and the methods used by the book, followed by an examination of the author's language and style. The next part is an evaluation of the book's content, including the illustrations and visual aids found in the textbook. Finally, the book's manner of presentation and organization is evaluated.
Theories, Approaches and Methods
The book's Preface indicated that Professor Dadufalza based the textbook's flow and content upon the communicative approach to language learning. As such, the textbook's content reflected the tenets of the communicative approach wherein language teaching is based on a view of language as a social tool that speakers use to communicate and make meaning, thus Dadufalza's Reading Into Writing II departed from using the traditional categories of prose writing as it identified and expounded on functional types of expository writing that is used in academic and professional discourse instead. Also in keeping with its' application of the communicative approach, the book's Preface recognized and accepted diversity as a part of language development and use, when it stated that "the materials in both the samples and exercises cover personal, national and international concerns and range over a wide spectrum of subject matter [...] intended to stimulate thinking" (Dadufalza, iii).
Meanwhile, the textbook's Table of Contents also reflected the author's adherence to the communicative approach, specifically to CLT's principle that language techniques should be designed to engage learners in using language for a variety of purposes in all phases of learning. This is seen in the way that the author identified specific ways and different contexts in which the student can use a particular facet of the language. For example, the table of contents under a specific unit topic entitled The Report differentiates between a formal report and an informal narrative account and also provides samples of the various types of reports in different fields of study (not confined to English language and literature), such as report of a personal experience, report on living conditions, report of a survey, report of a lecture and report of a scientific study, among others. The book's table of contents on the other types of expository writing also display this view of language for communication, such as the book's section on The Concept Paper which enumerated samples for explaining and defining concepts in the fields of natural sciences (biological and physical sciences), social sciences (psychology and political science) and the humanities (arts and semantics of language).
Language, Mechanics and Style
Considering that the target learners of Professor Dadufalza's Reading into Writing II are college students, one can say that the book's word choices, level of difficulty and sentence and paragraph lengths are appropriate. The book's language is an example of what the author herself calls “the refined informal style—the most generally useful level of usage” (p. 71). And since the book largely consists of samples of the various kinds of expository writing written by different people, the target learners are able to read, compare and contrast different writing styles and techniques. The large body of sample essays tackling various topics also aid in keeping the students' interest. Moreover, the book is consistently rhetorically-sound and grammatically-correct. I was unable to find any lapses in grammar and the book even has a section where it enumerates the basic principles of rhetorical control (p.109).
Content
Dadufalza’s Reading into Writing II sufficiently develops and integrates the four macro skills crucial to language learning (reading, writing, speaking and listening) through the use of exercises and activities at the end of each topic section. However, the book largely concentrates on developing the students’ reading and writing skills, as they are given a large number of sample essays and guidelines to read and are expected to be able to write all types of expository writing (the report, the concept paper, the reaction paper, the research paper and the position paper) at the end of the semester, aside from answering numerous exercises at the end of each lesson. The speaking and listening skills are also honed, though not as much as the first two, especially in the first parts of the book where students are taught to assert and contradict statements and to recognize and refute logical fallacies by means of debate.
The book also integrates language components such as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary through writing tests and exercises in the sections where the guidelines for expository writing are located. Applying the communicative learning theory principle that encourages sociocultural competence and cultural flexibility in language learning and language use, content from other subject areas are also skillfully incorporated into the lessons discussed in Dadufalza’s Reading into Writing II. For example, the different types of expository writing discussed in the book also tackle writing in fields other than literary or linguistic criticism and scholarship, such as Psychology (p. 192) and Information Technology (p. 216). And because of the textbook’s sociocultural awareness, stereotypes resulting in sexism and ageism are absent from the book’s content. As the author’s Preface would attest: “timeliness, timelessness and universality of appeal and application guided the selection of materials […] their propelling force and far-reaching implications guided the choice” (Dadufalza, iii). On the question of developing positive thoughts and values, the book’s strongest point would be the fact that it recognizes the student’s ability to think and decide for him/herself. Again, the author’s Preface nicely puts this point across when it says that “as a whole, the readings are intended to provoke thought. The student is invited to help himself.”
Illustrations and Other Visuals
A number of illustrations and visual aids were used, especially in the first few chapters of Reading into Writing II which aided in enhancing the book’s content. The comic strips provided in the section on Point of View (Chapter 3) helped in concretizing notions of subjectivity and objectivity and helps the student in generating concepts and ideas for his/her papers. Also, the graphs and tables provided in sections where expository writing for visual arts (ex: Ray Faulkner’s essay on “Line”, with drawings by Diego Rivera and Pablo Picasso) and natural sciences (ex: formal report of a scientific study on sexual dimorphism among Philippine Negrito groups, with appendices of maps, graphs and tables) were discussed helped in clarifying the sample essays that were provided. However, because the cartoons provided in Chapter 3 were meant to “disturb and generate ideas for writing” (Dadufalza, iii) and because they are there precisely to enable students to identify and differentiate subjective from objective views, some of them displayed subjective and stereotypical views which may alienate some sensitive people (ex: the Doonesbury strip might offend some members of fraternities).
Presentation and Organization
The topics discussed in Prof. Dadufalza’s Reading into Writing II were logically presented, with the simplest concepts presented first, and then gradually progressing into the more difficult ones. For example, writing outlines were discussed before expository discourse in general was introduced to students. And even before outlines, issues of logic, evidence, style and point of view were exhaustively covered by the textbook in order to equip students with the necessary knowledge that will aid them in writing their outlines and eventually, their exposition papers. There is also a smooth transition from one section to another, aided by the sectional table of contents that is present for every chapter, and concepts from previous chapters are integrated into the later ones. The only things that I find lacking in this book are chapter reviews and summaries that might aid students in remembering certain concepts; and group activities, which are absent in this book, as it concentrates more on the student’s individual development. I suppose the integration of group activities will rely more on the individual instructor, yet it would have been helpful if the author added suggestions for group activities.
All in all, one can consider Prof. Concepcion D. Dadufalza's Reading into Writing II: A Handbook-Workbook-Reader for Critical Reading and Writing in Expository Discourse as an ideal companion to studying (and passing) college-level general education English courses.
Source:
Dadufalza, Concepcion D. Reading into Writing II: A Handbook-Workbook-Reader for Critical Reading and Writing in Expository Discourse. Makati City, Philippines: Bookmark, Inc., 1996.
Mi dispiace
Posted in the self on Aug 10, 2008 at 9:45 AM
You ask me for a light and I turn away, pretending not to hear you. You walk away, finding somebody else. Always, you smile at me, a million times more than I care to count. At programs, at impromptu gatherings, in the middle of the sunburnt streets bleeding red, even at random moments when we cross each other's paths in that dilapidated building that cradles young hearts with fiery voices. And always, I look down pretending to fiddle with a book, or a cig, or a pen, anything, anything at all, so I would not have to meet your expectant gaze. Or, when the demons get the better of me, I raise an eyebrow, or frown. You turn away.
In another lifetime, perhaps, we could have talked, shared jokes and cigarettes, theorized, laughed and cried about the bumps and twisting turns of this protracted journey.
For we walk on the same rough road to freedom: carry the same flags, bear the same burdens, and will share the same eventual triumph.
But that is in another lifetime. For the sun that eludes my sight, in yours takes delight.
And (now) there is nothing but
re·gret
/rɪˈgrɛt/ [ri-gret]
–verb (used with object)
to feel sorrow or remorse for (an act, fault, disappointment, etc.)
Non posso.
This brief essay was written for my English 191 class (Teaching College English). Mind you, I have no intention of actually pursuing a career in teaching English (at least not in the near future), this was written with only a decent grade in mind. Teehee.
That said, read on.
***
In a backward, agrarian and pre-industrial country like the Philippines where the present educational system is geared towards producing laborers suited to satisfy the demands of the foreign market, fluency in English language is often taken to signify the potential for upward mobility, as it opens doors and job opportunities that may have been closed otherwise. It is a well-known fact that our fluency in the English language (relative to other Asian countries) makes us prime choices for jobs overseas that require knowledge of English. Such a phenomenon made the study of English a worthy investment for students, since one's mastery of the language became an indicator of one's intelligence and social status, which in turn increased the demand for capable English teachers. Of course, one cannot deny that our country's reliance upon the development of a "market-specific kind of English…rather than propagate a national language that has already been a product of decades of struggle" is "symptomatic of the [government's] blatant neglect to industrialize the country by suiting its economy to the needs of developed nations"1, yet the trend continues.
As an English major, I am fully cognizant of these things and my desire to become an English teacher is grounded not only upon the fact that I want to utilize and share the knowledge that I acquired to my future students and share with them my passion for books, language and literature, but also because I want the next generation of students to truly appreciate the study of English language and literature for its own sake, rather than treating it as mere means for social mobility (i.e. to get into high-paying jobs or to get into law school). Furthermore, I want to help in making the study of English language and literature more accessible to poor students in far-flung barangays and towns in the countryside and in giving English studies a more mass-oriented flavor (i.e. study of English as grounded upon the objective material conditions and needs of the country). Most importantly, I want to explore the possibility of subverting the colonial project of studying English language and literature into becoming significant tools that can offer prospects for genuine social change and progress in a Third World country like the Philippines.2
1. Campoamor, Gonzalo II. "The Pedagocical Role of English in the Reproduction of Labor." Mula Tore Hanggang Palengke: Neoliberal Education in the Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines: IBON Foundation, Inc., 2007.
2. Specific strategies on teaching English literature are discussed by Prof. Nonilon Queaño his article On Teaching Literature (Mula Tore Hanggang Palengke: Neoliberal Education in the Philippines. Quezon City, Philippines: IBON Foundation, Inc., 2007.)
