Witty Title

Janet Emig’s article was particularly interesting to me. I have been telling my students that when they write they’re being forced to slow down and really think about what they’re doing, so they can consider where they’re coming from and where they’re going while they’re making sense of where they are. Emig puts it much better: “Writing … connects the three major tenses of our experience to make meaning.” How cool is that?

I thought Emig’s points about talking and writing were interesting as well. I am not much of a talker – I’m kind of shy, so I tend to stumble over my words, forget pertinent information, etc. when I speak – but I feel that most of my students would rather talk than write. As we discussed a bit during training before the semester started, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to make writing seem relevant to people who think differently from the way I do. This is why I try to lead discussions more than lecture, and I think this might fit in with Emig’s point about talking being a form of pre-writing. I hope it works that way for my students.

Still, as Emig points out, talking and writing are fundamentally different, and they require different mental activities to be successful. Each of what Emig calles “the four languaging processes of listening, talking, reading, and writing” are fundamental to the learning process, and I hope to include each in equal measure in my classes.

(I used the word “point” four times in ~250 words, and I don’t care.)