The experience of learning another language can be frustrating and time consuming, yet it can also be rewarding. As Hanauer (2012) states, “learning a language is a significant, potentially life-changing, event” (p. 1). For second language (L2) writers, the challenges come from not only the English language, but also from the newness of various writing genres and language structures and the difficulty of avoiding plagiarism. Many compositionists argue that creative writing can help L2 writers gain academic literacies, which includes academic writing. Others argue that creative writing has no place in the scholarship on academic writing. Bizzaro and Baker (2014) argue that in order to place social equity in composition classrooms, “we [must] begin with genres from the students’ cultures” (p. 173). Creative writing is one way to encourage students to use their rich backgrounds and experiences they bring into the classrooms.

Sullivan (2015) asserts that creative writing has a place in composition classrooms because it helps promote “curiosity, openness, engagement, persistence, responsibility, flexibility and metacognition” (p. 16). Bizzaro and Baker (2014) also support the use of creative writing in composition classrooms because “it provides an opportunity for students to employ genre knowledge from their first language, knowledge that is socially constructed, and provides a foundation for students to build upon” (p. 177). Because many students are taught to focus on English grammar in their language learning experiences, they tend to pay more attention to structural levels at an early stage of the writing process. Additionally, many L2 students who are educated in the context of English as a second or foreign language are taught to focus more on accuracy than fluency in their English writing classes; they may have very limited opportunity to practice academic writing in English. Hanauer (2012) argues that creative writing helps L2 writers express their ideas without worrying about grammatical structures and promotes fluency in their writing skills.

Creative writing also allows L2 writers to use their personal and cultural knowledge in composition classes. A literacy narrative falls into the category of creative writing because it allows students to be creative, open, and flexible in their writing and how they represent their literacy experiences. For L2 writers, literacy narratives promote critical thinking, a sense of empowerment, and agency in their own reading and writing experiences. Hanauer (2012) takes this a step further to ask L2 writers to compose their literacy narratives in poetic format. He supports the idea that poetic writing is meaningful for L2 writers, and students are expected to work on an extended project that combines creative writing and narratives in a poetic format. Toward the end of the extended project, these writers are expected to present their creative work in book format. In other words, students are encouraged to design and “publish” their poetry books, which gives them a sense of ownership and pride in their work (Hanauer, 2012).

One might wonder what skills these L2 writers learn from doing this extended project or the creative writing projects. In this article, we explore the following question: How did a literacy narrative assignment help L2 writers express their emotions?

L2 Writers’ Literacy Narratives

In this section, we describe the experiences of three undergraduate L2 writers who were enrolled in a composition class in which they were asked to write and create poetry books focusing on their literacy practices at a university in the United States. After the semester ended, they were asked to reflect on their experiences working on their poetry books in a composition course and how this assignment helped them develop their writing skills and build their confidence as L2 writers.

Many international students feel anxious when they come to study in another country, and these three students also faced the same feeling of doubting their own language abilities and proficiency when they came to the United States for their education. As reflected in their short narratives below, their experiences in working on a poetry book assignment helped them successfully express their emotions in the English language. The following statements are excerpts from Monica, Felipe, and Adnan about how the poetry book assignment gave them confidence in writing in English. The statements are unedited, except for length.

Monica’s Narrative

For the poetry book I choose talking about love, childhood, adolescence, family, friends, and my cat. I choose these subjects because it was the deepest aspect about me. It would be rewarding going back to past experiences. Once I learned we should present a chosen poem in front of the class after the conclusion of the book, I thought whether I would be able to communicate feelings in English. In my native language I mostly do not have the need to choose words to express feelings. It is a natural process that does not occurs in the second language. Therefore I would have to be careful in order to communicate the right thing!

For the book presentation, I choose the poem represented in Figure 1 (below). While I was writing the book, my experience in English was very little. Today, after 1 year and a half, I can notice grammar issues in the poem I was not able to perceive at that moment.

Figure 1. A sample of a poem by Monica.

When I finished reading it out loud to the class, a classmate told us: “I really liked hearing this poem because it describes exactly how I feel.” Others agreed with their heads and facial expressions. Then I realized I reached the point where I could share my feelings in a new language. That moment was rewarding. I felt accomplished and happy.

Felipe’s Narrative

Creating the poetry book reduced my anxiety towards writing because this assignment was a free space where I could just write and not be wrong about syntax, content, and even grammar.

Adnan’s Narrative

During the first week of class, we were told we had to write a poetry book for our first assignment. I was intimidated and surprised to say the least. Back in Kuwait, most of my Arabic classes were about poems but we didn’t write poems. We had to study the grammar of the poems and memorize them. I didn’t enjoy these classes at all. My first thought was “Will I be able to do this?” However, having seen some examples of poems written by fellow ESL students in class, I slowly began to have confidence that this class going to be a very different experience and I was correct. I struggled during the first draft but slowly began to enjoy writing poems.

Expressing emotions through writing can be a very difficult task for many international students because of the barrier in finding appropriate emotive words in English (Chamcharatsri, 2013). The excerpts from the three L2 students touch on the challenges they faced expressing their emotions in writing but show that they soon learned to exercise agency in the writing process. Monica, through feedback from her peers, realized that she had “…reached the point where I could share my feelings in a new language. That moment was rewarding. I felt accomplished and happy.” Monica’s emotion was understood by other classmates. Felipe had also felt anxious when he was asked to write poems in English. However, he later reflected on his experience and realized that poetry writing helps him reduce his anxiety in English writing. Adnan also felt unsure and experienced self-doubt when he was told that he would write English poems, but his self-doubt began to subside when he read poems written by other ESL students. Though he admitted having difficulties in writing his first draft, his perception changed after that. He became confident in his writing ability.

Conclusion

Because many writing classes ask students to write narratives, it is an effective genre for students to reflect on their learning experiences. As Sharma (2015) argues, “writing ‘about’ the experience of learning to read and write can greatly promote students’ development of critical sensibilities, capacity for intellectual judgment, independence as writers and makers of knowledge, self-confidence and self-respect and, in short, their epistemological agency” (p. 109). Not only do they have an opportunity to reflect on their learning experiences, but they also learn how to express emotions through writing in a creative outlet. This helps students gain confidence and agency in their language learning journey.

References

Bizzaro, P., & Baker, J. (2014). The poetic and the personal: Toward a pedagogy of social equity in English language learning. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 42(2), 172–186.

Chamcharatsri, P. B. (2013). Emotionality and second language writers: Expressing fear through narrative in Thai and in English. L2 Journal, 5(1), 59–75.

Hanauer, D. I. (2012). Meaningful literacy: Writing poetry in the language classroom. Language Teaching, 45(1), 105–115.

Sharma, G. (2015). Cultural schemas and pedagogical uses of literacy narratives: A reflection on my journey with reading and writing. College Composition and Communication, 67(1), 104–110.

Sullivan, P. (2015). The unessay: Making room for creativity in the composition classroom. College Composition and Communication, 67(1), 6–34.

Bee Chamcharatsri is an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico. His scholarly interests include emotions and writing, creative writing, world Englishes, and writing center research.

Mônica Garcia is an undergraduate student in the Music Department at the University of New Mexico.

Felipe Rodriguez Romero is an undergraduate student in the Psychology Department and the Honor’s College at the University of New Mexico.

Adnan Mohamad is an undergraduate student in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of New Mexico.