Is anyone familiar with the word "Engfish?" (sic) English teachers perhaps?

[MARYROSE02]

I'd never heard the word myself until a couple of weeks ago when it came up during research for an essay question, along with other terms like "low stakes writing" and "high stakes writing" and the authors, Ken Macorie and Peter Elbow. I already knew about "freewriting" which is an important part of low stakes writing, from my creative writing classes.

 

I've spent enough time on PIO, pleasant though it is, so time to log on to my OU subject.

[MARYROSE02]

Am I the only one on PIO who has heard of "Engfish?"

[Marisawright]

Probably - I had to look it up. It's a jargon word used by writers and literary critics so other people are unlikely to know it. It means stilted, lifeless writing.

[newjez]

I'd never heard the word myself until a couple of weeks ago when it came up during research for an essay question, along with other terms like "low stakes writing" and "high stakes writing" and the authors, Ken Macorie and Peter Elbow. I already knew about "freewriting" which is an important part of low stakes writing, from my creative writing classes.

 

I've spent enough time on PIO, pleasant though it is, so time to log on to my OU subject.

 

It sounds like it's overwriting? Like when students put in overly descriptive writing, flavoured with literary tricks, aimed at earning marks rather than adding to the quality of the text they are writing.

 

Hadn't heard of any of them, but then I made the mistake of studying literature rather than creative English at school.

[MARYROSE02]

It sounds like it's overwriting? Like when students put in overly descriptive writing, flavoured with literary tricks, aimed at earning marks rather than adding to the quality of the text they are writing.

 

Hadn't heard of any of them, but then I made the mistake of studying literature rather than creative English at school.

I think it's a circular process where the teachers concentrate on student's grammar, punctuation and spelling (All important) but ignore what they write and how they write, so students no longer write with their own voice and concentrate on what they think the teacher wants, and both are left frustrated.

 

Google "Ken Macrorie" and "Peter Elbow." I'd never heard of either until I did this unit.

[MARYROSE02]

I think you are right actually about "over writing " too.

[newjez]

K

I think it's a circular process where the teachers concentrate on student's grammar, punctuation and spelling (All important) but ignore what they write and how they write, so students no longer write with their own voice and concentrate on what they think the teacher wants, and both are left frustrated.

 

Google "Ken Macrorie" and "Peter Elbow." I'd never heard of either until I did this unit.

 

Funny, my wife teaches early primary, and they ignore spelling and grammar and concentrate on what the kids are trying to say. But this all seems to go out the window when they get older. My eldest are taught exam technique, where the nature of the question and the number of marks dictate how the answer should be formed. This sounds like an extension of that.