Homework for Friday, Dec. 4:
Read this short article called ENGFISH (a chapter from Ken Macrorie's book Telling Writing), and write a comment on this blog (must have a minimum of 100 words!!!) about your personal opinion regarding ENGFISH.
If you cannot post for some reason, you may also email me your paragraph, or bring it as a hard copy to class on Friday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Personally, I believe that Engfish is definitely something that exists within our nation's school system. The only aspect of Engfish that I do not agree with is that the author of this chapter believes that one should use their "natural voice" or "inner voice". I do not think that in a school setting one should use their inner voice because it tends to be informal and contain more grammar mistakes. The whole point of English class is to work on your grammar and to be able to properly form academic style papers. The only time one should be able to use the "inner voice" is in a personal journal or narrative paper.
ReplyDeleteIt just seems that when students attend English classes they (we) have a need to impress the teacher and use big words, as well as use different sentence structures to make a big impact that we are intelligent writers. From my perspective, i would think teachers don't want to hear how we talk normally in our personal lives because i believe and hear for myself that a lot of stuff i say isn't too correct or appropriate for writing in English classes. All teachers have different ways of teaching as well and some classes are easier than others. In my last years' English classes i got an A on every paper, it is definitely a different case in this class.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article on Engfish. I thought it was very interesting. Most people do not look at English as Engfish. The third grader was more open to writing what he or she felt. As a college student, I feel that I do try to write papers like I think the professor wants them. I may not say things that I want because I feel the professor may not like it. Students should be able to express themselves in a way they feel and not have to worry about every grammar mistake. I feel this class is a little different because it is teaching us grammar. In other classes that are not about grammar, I feel that you should be able to just right and not worry as much about if it is the correct way or not. Professors should grade more on the actual content of the paper then just the grammar. I think that students would enjoy writing their papers more if they were able just to right how they want to.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting. I have never heard about Engfish before but now that I have, I realize that I use it also. I tend to write my papers like I think my teachers would want me to instead of using my own words.I believe that students should use their own words instead of trying to use big words that don't make any sense. I also think that students should know the difference between writing and talking. The way people talk is not necessarily the way he or she should be writing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have been talking to my friends about this topic recently. Students are often constrained in academic writing. After graduating college, most students will not maintain collegiate writing style while in the workforce. Also, I am glad that Macrorie uses Henry David Thoreau as an example of intelligent individuals who despise institutional writing. Thoreau often felt that using intelligent words merely gave off the perception of intelligence. Whenever I am not in classrooms, my verbal language is very different from my academic speaking and writing. For example, I use contractions almost every sentence possible in verbal speech. However, instructors specifically state that contractions in academic writing in unacceptable. I agree with the previous postings that students would feel more comfortable if they were not constrained by instructor expectations.
ReplyDeleteThe Engfish article interests me because I use Enfish unconsciously. I liked how Macrorie included text from a text book to show how common Engfish is. I think students have become a victim of this because people associate word usage with intelligence. This is problematic it becomes hard to express feelings. I always thought when writing papers you were suppose to use big words and sound “sophisticated”. I would get so wrapped up in trying to sound smart that I would be less concerned with the message I was trying to deliver. The art of Engfish adds pressure to students because they are trying to impress the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI thoroghly enjoyed this article and I feel that it really reached out to grab ahold of my attention. I am a writer and an English Education major and often I feel very frustrated with what the author refers to as "Engfish". Although I am aware that it is important to have an ability to use grammar and sentence structure properly, I consistantly feel that it causes me to lose my inner voice that gives me the ability to write creatively. I wish that professors and teachers would take a minute when reading students' papers to try to truly understand what students' are trying to say before they paint their papers red with corrections. As a future English teacher, I hope to apply the idea that the author proposes to my students in order to let them write what they truly want to say without feeling pressured to perfect "Engfish".
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Engfish before reading this article; however, I have been using it without even knowing it. When I write my papers, I do not write what I am thinking because I am too worried about what the teacher wants to hear. Therefore, I write what the teacher wants. Students should be able to write what they are thinking instead of trying to please their teachers with big words. Teachers need to grade more of the content of the paper instead of just the punctuation and grammar. Grammar is important hen writing papers, but the content of the paper is important as well.
ReplyDeleteThis article interested me because I have never heard of Engfish before. I know I have used it when writing my papers and think its important to hear a students opinions or inner voice. In my opnion, I think that students should use their own words in papers. I know when I am writing I tend to worry to much about what the teacher wants instead of what I am truely thinking. I think it still is very important for students to know the difference between writing and talking, but at the same time, be able to transfer their thoughts on paper using correct grammar and punctuation.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the article, Engfish. I feel that the information portrayed is correct. There seems to be a big difference between, English, and Engfish. Within the article, the author stated that most students wouldn't say, "Would you mind locating me to the nearest bus stop." This qoute resembles the use of correct English use. I feel that it is necessary to use proper English in certian environments, such as; school, work, or any professional atmosphere,while we should use Engfish in social atmosperes to help deliver a more 'informal' message.
ReplyDeleteThe topic is interesting because everyone has their own writing styles. Just because people may not agree with with someone elses writing style does not mean it is any worse than their own. Personally, I found it hard to express my ideas in a factual manner especially in research papers. Over the years my grades on research papers have suffered because I am not particularly good at regurgitating information that is not my own.
ReplyDeleteAs the chapter states there is a big difference between English and Engfish. To me Engfish does not seem near as descriptive as English, which is one of the things I like about English. Unlike the average students that chapter kept referencing I am very descriptive in my writing, unlike the sample journal entry that was used as one of the examples of Engfish I am always very descriptive with things of that nature. I understand that if I was not descriptive a year later I would look back on the entry and have no clue as to what I was talking about. Personally I feel as if one should always use this style of writing, especially when one is in a formal setting such as school. I do however like how Engfish asks students to use their inner voice but most of the times people’s inner voice is not very descriptive.
ReplyDeleteI thought the article was interesting. I had never heard of Engfish until I read this article. I think you see a lot of Engfish, especially in papers. I realized that I write like that a lot. I think it is just common for most people to write like Engfish. I think Engfish should be taught or let more students know about it so maybe this would help them write better. I don’t think a lot of students are aware of it. Or at least let them be aware that they are writing like that. After reading this article I now know the difference between English and Engfish.
ReplyDeletePersonally I believe that 'engfish' is extremely prevalent in alot of students' writting. I know that I have turned in papers that have 'engfish' in it. I think the main reason that students use 'engfish' is because they feel that they sound smarter, or that if they use their own voice it won't sound proper or educational which is generally what students are writing about, an educational topic. I believe that in order to keep 'engfish' from appearing constantly it has to be stopped at a very early age, sometime in grammar school probably.
ReplyDeleteEveryone uses Engfish in school whether they agree with it or not. A minority of people uses proper grammar in everyday conversation. The rest use regional dialect or broken English. Thus, when they enter the classroom, they feel obligated to use larger, “more correct” words to impress the teacher and get an A when in reality they scarcely use the vocabulary that is fervently taught in schools. This article also makes me think of e e cummings, who intentionally did not capitalize, misspelled words, and did several other grammatically incorrect actions in his writings to accentuate their common man persona.
ReplyDelete