Speaker
Description
An exploration of autoethnography and its sibling, creative non-fiction, can greatly help relatively untraveled students prepare for a study abroad experience, especially when autoethnographic works from the other country are well-curated. When instructors can carefully delineate this style of writing in terms of its purpose, style, and structure, students can have meaningful and useful experiences anticipating life abroad before they depart.
References
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780887.2023.2293073#abstract
Autoethnography as an ethically contested terrain: some thinking points for consideration
Abstract
Autoethnographic writing in the EFL language classroom has several overlooked qualities that make it worth investigating, particularly for students preparing to study abroad. By curating autoethnography as a genre of literature and providing examples of extant autoethnographic writing, an instructor can offer a window to their language learners, not only to authentic writing, but also to real human experiences particular to the writers’ backgrounds. Because AI plagiarism continues to plague writing courses in higher education and AI writing detection is rapidly being outpaced, personalization and motivation will be increasingly important in helping students develop writing skills.
Secondary skills include meta-thinking, building rapport, and the lowering of affective filters. By transforming a classroom of relative strangers into a community of learners who trust each other to provide quality feedback on autoethnographic, creative non-fiction writing, students can anticipate a study abroad experience with increased confidence. While autoethnography and creative non-fiction can be something of an ethical minefield, or at the very least an ethically contested approach (Sparkes, 2024), a sensitive instructor can make it a valuable and memorable experience for students.
Short summary
An in-class exploration of autoethnography and its sibling, creative non-fiction, can greatly help relatively untraveled students prepare for a study abroad experience, especially when autoethnographic works from the other country are well-curated. When instructors can carefully delineate this style of writing in terms of its purpose, style, and structure, students can have meaningful and useful experiences anticipating life abroad before they depart.
Keywords
Study abroad
Autoethnography
Creative writing
Motivation
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Saturday or Sunday |
|---|---|
| Title | Autoethnography as Preparation for Study-Abroad Students |