In this course, together we will rediscover that writing in a foreign language (English, in this case) can be a joyful and empowering process. As learners of English, we may have long suffered from examination-oriented English education that emphasizes rote memorization and forced practice while idolizing a “standard” way of speaking and writing in English. In this class, we will unshackle ourselves from these inefficient methods of how to learn English and biased views of what is “good” English.
We will explore how reading for pleasure and immersing yourself in what genuinely interests you can be a powerful way of improving our English proficiency and becoming a better writer. We will also learn that resistance towards writing is normal and that developing a flexible process of writing that honors “bad” first drafts and value revision is key to overcoming writer’s block. More importantly, we will criticize the biased view that accent is undesirable and that sounding like a “standard” native speaker is the ultimate goal; instead, we will feel more confident in the diverse linguistic resources each of us bring and use the full repertoire of our multilingual abilities in our writing to create something unique and beautiful.
- Instructor: Bowen Wang-Kildegaard