2009 CALL Conference

Can Paraphrasing be Taught?

Determining and Analyzing Paraphrasing Strategies of English L1

and English L2 Learners at a Community College in Ontario

Lara McInnis,Humber College and OISE/UT, Toronto,

ONMay 28, 2009

Quick Survey1. Have you ever been taught summarizing or

paraphrasing techniques?2. a) Have you ever taught summarizing or

paraphrasing techniques? b) If yes, were you generally pleased with the

learning outcomes? Do you feel that your students successfully learned these skills? How did you assess learning outcomes (e.g., quiz, essay)?

3. What language skills and features do writing students need to have acquired before they can paraphrase successfully?

4. At what point in an English student’s academic career should he/she first learn how to paraphrase?

I. Rationale & Background My experience teaching paraphrasing

skills Definitions and brief review of

literature

II. My Research Research question Design: Purpose Participants,

Materials, Methods Data Collection, Analysis and

Preliminary Findings Limitations

III. Discussion Implications Idea sharing

I. Rationale Why can’t my students follow the step-by-step instructions to paraphrasing?

My experiences teaching in EAP, ESL and COMM led me to question my own success as an instructor of paraphrasing.

It is necessary for college students to understand, appreciate, and value someone’s intellectual property

Research methods and idea synthesis are inevitable realities within mainstream course assignments

Understanding and using quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills are essential skills for students to develop and use in an authentic academic setting (Barks & Watts, 2001; Campbell, 1987).

What we know:

Institutional Approaches “Triadic model” of quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing

Examples:

OWL at Purdue George Brown College University of Toronto

(Keck, 2006)

What do educators and researchers know about paraphrasing?A strategy to avoid

plagiarism

Shows proof of understanding

Writing students often confuse paraphrasing with patch writing

(Barks & Watts, 2001)

How demanding is paraphrasing?High lexical proficiency

Advanced reading comprehension

Syntactical sophistication

Factors influencing how students paraphrase (or don’t paraphrase): Cognitive factors

Linguistic factors

Cultural factors (Pennycook, 1996)

Students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards plagiarism as an unethical practice

Pragmatic factors

Rebuttals to “Western” Concepts of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a concept interpreted uniquely among a variety of cultural groups and their respective academic settings. (Pennycook, 1996)

“Educators in post-secondary education

have an “oversimplified view of plagiarism” (Currie, 1998, p. 1), refusing to acknowledge its  complexities, and treating it as a simple act of cheating rather than part of an essential process of language learning.

Definitions

Discourse Synthesis:

writing from sources – a hybrid task of reading and writing requiring students to “select, organize, and connect content from source texts”

(Segev-Miller, 2004, p. 6)

Paraphrasing:

a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form

(Mirriam-Webster online dictionary)

Research on paraphrasing 1) Campbell (1987)

summary task for L1 and L2

seven paraphrase types native English speakers provided less directly copied material than non-native English speakers

low inter-rater reliability (.75)

Research on paraphrasing2) Shi (2004): summary task

L1 Paraphrases L2 (Chinese adult students’ )

Paraphrases borrowed 1/4 of original material from source

rarely extracted strings of words from original text

borrowed 2/3 of original material from source

sometimes mixed own words in with completely copied text (patch writing)

Research on paraphrasing3) Keck (2006)

looked for “attempted paraphrases” in a summary task

“Taxonomy of Paraphrase Types”

unique links and general links Percentage of unique links determines type of paraphrase

Inter-rater reliability of 95% Findings: L2 writers used significantly more Near Copies than L1 writers

II. Research QuestionWhat paraphrasing strategies do

English L1 andEnglish L2 speakers use in a

paraphrasing task?

a. What is the quality of L1 and L2 participants’ paraphrases ?

b. What is the appropriateness of L1 and L2 participants’ paraphrases?

c. Are there significant differences in the quality and appropriateness of L1 and L2 participants’ paraphrases?

II. Design: Purpose of Study to analyze paraphrasing strategies used

by L1 and L2 community college students using think aloud protocols (also known as concurrent verbal reports) and stimulated recall protocols

similarities and differences are being determined through an analysis of participants’ questionnaires, written work , and verbal data

Participants

Five L1 community college students who have completed/exempted from essay writing skills course.

Five L2 community college students who have completed ESL essay writing skills course.

Primary Sources of Data Questionnaire Audio-recordings of participants’

verbalized thoughts and of interviews

Computer screen recording of changes made during the typing process

Final written product of four paraphrases for each participant

Materials Computer with Microsoft Word Screen Recording computer

software Instruction sheet with four

statements to be paraphrased by participants

Digital voice recorders Photocopied article: “College or

University?” by Kimberly Noble, MacLean’s magazine (2006).

The article “College or University?” by Kimberly Noble

MacLean’s magazine, Nov. 13, 2006

1913 words

Flesch-Kincaid scale of readability = 48 = Grade 12 level(fairly difficult)

(Bauman, 2007)

Excerpts for paraphrasingCriteria:1. At least five content words are high

frequency words (Bauman, 2007)

2. At least five words are found in Academic Word List sublists (Coxhead, 2007)

3. Clear main idea4. Authentic appropriateness for

paraphrasing

Procedure with Participant1. Introduction to task (10 minutes)2. Discuss and practice verbal reports (10

minutes)3. Participant reads article and makes notes

(15 minutes)4. Participant reads instruction sheet with

four sentences to be paraphrased (5 minutes)

5. Participant describes thoughts (into microphone) while completing task (30 minutes)

6. Break (10 minutes)7. Post-task interview with stimulated recall

(15 min)8. Questionnaire

Instructions for participants

1. Considering the context of the article, please paraphrase each sentence below.

2. Pretend you are writing a research essay on why students are choosing Canada’s colleges over universities. Your audience is your writing instructor. (dictionary + spell check are ok)

3. While you type your paraphrases, please describe clearly into the microphone all the thoughts that are going on in your mind.

4. You may use any language(s) to describe your thoughts.

Sample ExcerptOriginal Passage: Canada’s college sector is no longer

what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change.

(44 words, Difficult Readability, 13 on Flesch-Kincaid scale)

Content Words yellow & underlined

Original Passage: Canada’s college sector is (no)

longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change. (44 words)

General Service List (Baumann, 1995) Words in red

Original Passage: Canada’s college sector is no

longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change. (29 words, 64% of total word count)

Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000)Original Passage:

Canada’s college sector is no longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions,

colleges have undergone a

dramatic evolution in the past

decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change.

(7 AWL words, 16% of total word count)

Sample Paraphrase: Elizabeth (L1 speaker)

Original:Canada’s college sector is no longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change.

Elizabeth:Many people have the notion that Canadian colleges are purely vocational, but recently, they have been changing and will continue to do so for years to come.

Excerpt of Think Aloud Protocol

What strategies does Elizabeth use to paraphrase? Do you feel Elizabeth plagiarized?

Sample Paraphrase: Elizabeth (L1 speaker)

Original:Canada’s college sector is no longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change.

Elizabeth:Many people have the notion that Canadian colleges are purely vocational, but recently, they have been changing and will continue to do so for years to come.

Excerpt of Think Aloud Protocol

What strategies does Elizabeth use to paraphrase? Do you feel Elizabeth plagiarized?

Sample Paraphrase: Namie(L2 speaker)Original:

Canada’s college sector is no longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change.

Namie:Canada’s college sector is not the same as it used to be. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have experienced lots of changes in the last ten years.

Excerpt of Think Aloud Protocol

What strategies does Namie use to paraphrase?

Do you feel Namie plagiarized?

Data Analysis: Participant ProfileTo measure paraphrasing strategies: CVP will be transcribed (recruit

translators if necessary) List of strategies used (1 Unit of Analysis

= one strategy mentioned in the CVP or the stimulated recall)

To measure attempted paraphrases: Based on Keck’s (2006) Taxonomy of

Paraphrase Types with some modifications

I will label each attempted paraphrase as one of the following types:

Keck’s Taxonomy of Paraphrase TypesType of Attempted

Paraphrase% Unique Links*

Exact Copy 100%

Near Copy 50%

Minimal Revision 20-49%

Moderate Revision 1-19%

Substantial Revision 0%

Unique links are “individual lexical words (i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs), or exactly copied strings of words used in the paraphrase that also occurred in the original excerpt. Non-lexical words were also counted if they were copied in the string of content words matched those words in the original text.

Data Analysis, cont: Paraphrasing strategies and

paraphrase types will be compared across:

- L1 and L2- areas of study

For example: shared strategies within L1 (or L2)

I will match strategies used by each participant with the participant’s typed paraphrases

FindingsMake some general observations

about: participant strategies for

paraphrasing similarities/difference between

L1 and L2 groups link participants’ experience in

explicit paraphrasing instruction with strategies used

Limitations Inter-rater reliability Defining paraphrase types: Links?

Continuum? Verbal report difficulties for L2

students Fuzzy recall of past instruction:

explicit or implicit? The influence of participants’

vocabulary levels Can discovering strategies (or

differences in language groups) transfer into effective teaching practice?

III. Discussion: Implications Addresses (but does not answer) the

question, “Can paraphrasing be taught?”

Could argue that paraphrasing is undervalued as a skill to avoid plagiarism

Enlightens researchers and instructors to the needs of students (L1 and L2) in discourse synthesis and how those needs might differ among students of different language groups

Recommendations for teaching paraphrasing Focus on strategies rather than analyzing

what constitutes plagiarism (Keck, 2006) Emphasise “rhetorical planning” Emphasise the oral nature of

paraphrasing Read, read, read Practice, practice, practice Don’t jump to accuse. View textual

appropriation as essential to building academic literacy skills.

Final Thoughts Are writing students who “commit”

plagiarism being deliberate or careless?

Concept of “voice” in writing (Socio-cultural)

“If I steal someone else’s sentences, I get in trouble. If I steal someone else’s idea, that’s fine, right?”

Bruce Headlam, New York Times (May 26, 2009)

ReferencesBarks, D., & Watts, P. (2001). Textual borrowing strategies for graduate-level

ESL writers. In D. Belcher, & A. Hirvela (Eds.), Linking literacies: Perspectives on L2 reading-writing connections (pp. 246-267). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Barry, E. (2006). Can paraphrasing help students define plagiarism? College Student Journal, 40(2), 377.

Bauman, J. (2007). Vocabulary resources. John Bauman.com. Retrieved on November 3, 2007 from http://jbauman.com/gsl.html

Britton, J., Burgess, T., Martin, N., McLeod, A., & Rosen, H. (1978). The development of writing abilities No. 11-18. Urbana, Il: National Council of Teachers of English.

Campbell, C. (1987). Writing with others' words: Native and non-native university students' use of information from a background reading text in academic compositions No. CLEAR-TR4.

Connor, U., & McCagg, P. (1983). Cross-cultural differences and perceived quality in written paraphrases of English expository prose. Applied Linguistics, 1983, 4, 3, autumn, 4(3), 259-268.

Coxhead, A. (2007) Academic Word List. Massey University School of Language

Studies. Retrived November 3, 2007 from http://language.massey.ac.nz/staff/awl/sublists.shtmlCumming, A. (1990). Metalinguistic and ideational thinking in second

language composing. Written Communication, 7(4), 482-511.

Currie, P. (1998). Staying out of trouble: Apparent plagiarism and academic survival. Journal of Second Language Writing, 7, 1-18.

Kaplan, R. B. (1966). Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education. Language Learning, 16, 1-20.

Keck, C. (2006). The use of paraphrase in summary writing: A comparison of L1 and L2 writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15, 261-278.

Meyrowitz, J. (1982, August 30). Where have the children gone? Newsweek , 94 (13).

Pennycook, A. (1996). Borrowing others' words: Text, ownership, memory, and plagiarism. TESOL Quarterly, 30(2), 201-230.

Plotnick, J. (2007). Paraphrase and summary. Retrieved Oct. 27, 2007, from http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html.

Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2007). Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/.

Risemberg, R. (1993). Self-regulated strategies of organizing and information-seeking when writing expository text from sources. Unpublished Dissertation, University of New York.

Segev-Miller, R. (2004). Writing from sources: The effect of explicit instruction on college students' processes and products. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 4(1), 5-33.

Shi, L. (2006). Cultural backgrounds and textual appropriation. Language Awareness, 15(4), 264-282.

Shi, L. (2004). Textual borrowing in second-language writing. Written Communication, 21(2), 171-200.

Sample Paraphrase: Namie(L2 speaker)Original:

Canada’s college sector is no longer what you, your parents and even some of your guidance counsellors think it is. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have undergone a dramatic evolution in the past decade, and are poised for further – some even say transformational– change.

Namie:Canada’s college sector is not the same as it used to be. Once purely vocational institutions, colleges have experienced lots of changes in the last ten years.

Excerpt of Think Aloud Protocol