Phan, L. H., & Baurain, B. (Eds.). (2011). Voices, identities, negotiations, and conflicts: Writing academic English across cultures. Bingley, England: Emerald Group, pp. 233, hardback.

Phan Le Ha and Bradley Baurain have edited a book that offers a perspective on issues encountered by students and academics as they construct knowledge related to their respective disciplines in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) settings. The book features contributing authors, mostly non-Western, who examine a spectrum of cross-cultural issues in academic writing by reexamining, questioning, evaluating, and challenging current assumptions and practices from sociocultural influences to specific educational contexts to publishing subcultures and the dominance of Western publishing companies.

Chapters are grouped under two headings: Pedagogical and Psychological Journeys and Moral and Political Explorations. Section I consists of six chapters that explore notions of identity and voice and the resulting tension and negotiation that arise as students strive to become members of an academic discourse community. Section II contains five chapters that examine academic writing from a moral and political stance, especially concerning plagiarism. The book concludes with a chapter about the importance of “playing by the rules of the game” in academia and building students’ background knowledge about Western ideas and philosophies to ease their transition into a Western academic discourse community.

This book challenges educators and administrators in ESL/EFL settings on multiple levels. First, there is a lack of literature on writing across cultures from a non-Western perspective. Most of the literature that has been published on the topic has been written from an outsider’s perspective that proposes stereotypes about an Asian way of learning and writing that is presented as substandard compared to Western academic writing, and discusses its perceived negative impact on students’ ability to acquire critical thinking skills in their disciplines. Findings in this text, however, suggest that differences should not be viewed as a deficit but rather as prior knowledge, and writing practices that Asian students bring to academia should be viewed as strengths that they can integrate into their writing (Phan Le Ha, Chapter 2). Furthermore, case studies demonstrate awareness among Asian students of the importance of critical thinking and how they acquired their own strategies for integrating it into their writing practice as they struggled to develop a personal voice (Meihui Wang, Chapter 3; Ly Thi Tran, Chapter 4).

Second, the book stresses that, as institutions of higher learning become more globalized, they need to make appropriations. For example, instructors at these institutions should view English as an international language, in which all variants of English and all cultural backgrounds should be respected. As student writers grapple with an alien way of learning and writing, allowing them to incorporate the strengths of Asian learning and writing into their English academic writing practices can result in higher self-esteem, greater confidence, and fewer internal conflicts. Overall, teachers need to reflect on their view of other cultures and how this view impacts their approaches to teaching writing, and then they need to make necessary appropriations to the curriculum that are culturally inclusive.

Third, Chapters 7, 8, and 9 address the issue of plagiarism and how Western institutions of higher learning view it as a battle that must be resolved by punishment. Baurain (Chapter 7) claims that arguments regarding the issue of plagiarism result in false assumptions and negative stereotyping about “cultural others,” who are viewed as the main perpetrators of plagiarism. He states that cases of assumed plagiarism are often caused by a lack of understanding among the accused of what constitutes literary theft. Also, students often have not been equipped with the necessary tools that enable them to avoid it. He suggests adopting a more holistic and culturally inclusive pedagogy that addresses the development of students’ identities and sociocultural values as student writers try to comprehend Western views of textual ownership and plagiarism.

This book opens the door to further research. Each study examines only a small number of participants. Studies involving a larger number of subjects would yield more significant results. Also, even though the book aims to study writing academic English across cultures in ESL/EFL settings, there is a lack of diversity among participants, who were predominately from Asian countries. It is not clear until the reader is well into the book that the primary focus is not international students per se but students from Asian countries. Also, many of the studies were conducted in Australian university settings. If the aim of the book is to appeal to Western institutions of higher learning and publishing houses, then greater diversity in terms of the educational settings in which studies are conducted would be beneficial. It would also eliminate repetition of issues pertaining to a specific group and context.

I would recommend this book to administrators, educators, and tutors working with international students at the higher education level. It could lead to an open reflection of current attitudes and pedagogical practices that may be culturally biased. Suggested appropriations can be implemented, and the results, observed and documented, can lead to further research.

Fiona Memmott received her MA in TESOL from Hunter College, City University of New York. She has taught content-based ESL at the public school and higher education levels to students from diverse backgrounds.