Linguistic Obstacles to Better Teaching and Learning

An Urgent Problem in Higher Education

Authors such as Hacker and Dreifus (2011) and Arum and Roksa (2011) have reported that college students do not show significant learning in several essential skills. As outlined in this book's introduction, various studies report that the crucial skills necessary for academic success – and that also appeal to employers – are exactly those skills that college students are not mastering: studies show no demonstrable gains in critical thinking and abstract reasoning skills, or in writing competency, either in the sophomore year or at graduation.

Why might students not be learning? Who and/or what is to blame? A review of the literature finds blame placed everywhere: professors value research over teaching (Hacker & Dreifus, 2011); colleges put too much emphasis on social life and sports (Nathan, 2005); secondary schools are falling down on their job of preparing college-ready students (Greene & Winters, 2005); and so on.

Arum and Roksa (2011) call for changes to the academy that challenge educators and institutions of higher learning to monitor learning as closely as do schools at the lower grades. Yet, it seems that college professors are better scholars than teachers. Pedagogy is rarely part of a PhD student's education, yet today's professors do want to be reflective teachers (Behrens & Kandel, 2006; Fink, 2003; Nilson, 2010; Weimer, 2010). Hacker and Dreifus (2011) argue that colleges and universities need to place teaching above all else. Delbanco (2012) agrees: PhD programs should infuse pedagogy into the curriculum so that scholars are also trained as teachers.

One asset to any educator looking to develop pedagogically is a better understanding of how language works and the role language plays in student learning in colleges and universities.

Language at the Core of Education

It is not trivial that reading and writing are two of 'the three Rs' of education. Students need to learn not just to read and write but also to do so at the level that their teachers expect. Leamnson (1999: 39) says that '[l]anguage is a particularly pressing problem in the education of freshmen'. The task, then, is more complicated than being literate, and it begins (or should begin) early. Cummins (2008: n.p.), talking about primary to secondary schooling, believes that 'a major goal of schooling for all students is to expand students' registers and repertoires of language into these academic domains'. Others agree that gaining mastery in language use at the academic level is a long-term endeavor. Shatz and Wilkinson (2013: 115), speaking about English language learners (ELLs), say, 'Students' school achievement depends on their being proficient in the language of classroom instruction and textbooks'. I argue that this is true of all students. 'Participating fully in all classroom activities requires thinking and talking in ways that incorporate literate language and precise vocabulary. From elementary to high school, such skills are the sine qua non of success. For all students, developing full academic language proficiency takes at least a decade of schooling' (italics added) (Shatz & Wilkinson, 2013: 115).

There are reasons to guide students to better mastery of the English expected at school. Learning, demonstrating that learning, becoming a member of the academy: all take linguistic skills. Lankshear and Knobel (2011: 108) say, 'Within "prestige" subjects like English and science, exam success is largely a function of the ability and disposition to reason and argue in particular ways and to extrapolate from and interpret what is given in texts, as well as (to some extent) to absorb, recall and reproduce information, including that provided by teachers in class'. Taking the argument one step further, we see that many researchers make the connection between language skills and cognitive skills: mastering academic English allows students to think more critically.

To illustrate, Arum and Roksa (2011) report that college students fail to gain specifically in three areas: critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills. The authors identify language as being foundational to all three skills. Language mastery also manifests itself in all modalities: not just writing but reading, speaking and listening. A report from the US National Center for Literacy Education (2013: 3) supports this connection by calling literacy 'the center of all learning' and a necessary component of college readiness. A report by the Carnegie Corporation (Graham & Perin, 2007) finds poor writing skills, even at the basic level, among those graduating from college. These graduates cannot write at a sufficient level of competency to be successful in college or in most workplaces. Some statistics in this report are staggering: 50% of entering students are unprepared for the work; 70% can't write at an academic level; and 25% of students entering community colleges must take remedial writing courses.

How much opportunity, though, do first year college students have to acclimate to the language demanded by professors through reading and writing assignments? According to Arum and Roksa (2011), quoting data from a recent student satisfaction survey, 83% of first year college students report that they are not assigned essays that are 20 or more pages long; and that the same is true for 51% of seniors. Without this linguistic demand, say the authors, students have little chance to practice and polish crucial skills. If faculty demand more reading and writing, giving a benchmark of 40 pages a week of reading and 20-page essays in each course, each semester, we would see students improving in their abilities to write better, think critically,...