Introduction
Writing affords the opportunity to thoroughly articulate ideas and synthesize a variety of perspectives allowing for persuasive communication that transcends both time and space (Crowhurst, 1990). Hence, when students are able to convey meaning proficiently through their writing, they achieve an efficient exchange of information between the writer and the reader, allowing for academic and professional success. (Crossley & McNamara, 20 10) One essential criterion in achieving such fluency is the ability to emphasize upon the need for coherence and cohesion. According to Lee (2002), the term ‘coherence’ is defined as the “relationships that link the ideas in a text to create meaning for the readers”. Through understanding of this definition and its importance, teachers can consciously impart the knowledge of effective coherence and cohesion in order to fulfill the requirements of a respectable piece of writing, ensuring that meaning is made.
Challenges that Teachers Face in Teaching Coherence
In the Singapore context, however, teachers often face many challenges in teaching coherence due to three main reasons:
Conflict of the Nation's Goal
Firstly, Singapore has always been known to be a highly success-driven country, with the emphasis upon “intellectual wealth [being] the nation’s wealth” (Chen, 2000). As a result, there is an increased emphasis upon the product of our students’ achievements- where the education system focuses primarily on producing the grades necessary for the national exams, rather than the process of teaching and understanding specific topics itself. Doing so not only reduces the time and effort that each teacher ultimately spends on particular topics that they deem insignificant, thereby neglecting important writing techniques and procedures, but also compromises on the understanding and importance of coherence in a written essay, as well as how it can be used effectively. Furthermore, the restrains of having a fixed syllabus to follow leads to the question on how important coherence essentially is, and whether it is worth the time needed for more emphasis to be made. After all, “time shortage has been known to be one of the key sources of pressure that teachers face” (Salleh, 2003) in schools these days. Thus, it is the goal of the nation that poses as one of the biggest challenges and decisions that teachers have to make in the teaching of coherence and cohesion.
Diverse Nature of the Population
Secondly, the sheer nature of the population in terms of the students’ characteristics also play a part in influencing the challenges and ways in which teachers teach coherence in writing. Singapore, in particular, is unique in that it “requires teachers to educate students varying in culture, language, abilities, and many other characteristics (Gollnick & Chinn, 2002). Specifically, teachers need to be aware of students with differing abilities, such as that of ‘High Ability’ (HA), ‘Middle Ability’ (MA), and ‘Low Ability’ (LA), including students learning English as a Second Language (ESL learners), or even bilinguals. Hence, teachers need to cater their approaches on the teaching of coherence to suit the needs of the students and their level of understanding. Furthermore, the understanding of the concept of coherence differs between individuals and teachers need to be clear and precise in elaborating upon the specific features that define coherence, as well as how it can be applied to achieve a successful coherent essay. According to Lee (2002), she proposes five features that define coherence:
1. Cohesive devices
2. Macrostructure
3. Information structure
4. Proposition development
5. Metadiscoursal features
By elaborating upon each feature explicitly, students will be made more aware of such tools and can apply their knowledge suitably as it is required. Therefore, students’ characteristics indeed play a part in the difficulties that teachers may face in the teaching of coherence and cohesion.
Coherence as an Abstract Concept
Lastly, the idea of coherence itself appears to be an abstract concept that is both hard to teach, as well as grasp. This could be due to the different focus of students where ESL learners focus mainly on the word and sentence level as compared to the whole discourse level. Consequently, teachers need to make known to them that “a well-formed coherent text is more than just a series of grammatical sentences lined up one after another” (Bardovi-Harlig, 1990), but rather suggests the unified whole of the writing. Furthermore, there exists the possibility of confusion between coherence and cohesion where both serve different albeit similar purposes and teachers need to be able to discern between both to create greater understanding for the benefit of our students in the awareness of application. Therefore, it is in this respect that teachers in today’s classrooms may find it difficult to specifically address the concept of teaching coherence to students.
Suggestions in Teaching Coherence
For these reasons itself, some teachers may feel deterred in wanting to emphasize or even teach coherence and cohesion explicitly as part of the academic writing process. Nonetheless, it is wise to remember that teaching coherence is not a lesson that can be effectively mastered in a mere couple of days. It requires cultivation and reinforcement upon students, including constant practice at a pace suitable for the level of students, thus ensuring that they learn coherence in the best way possible.
Some additional suggestions that teachers can adopt in counteracting these challenges include responding appropriately to a form of culturally responsive pedagogy that allows for the “facilitation and supporting of achievements of all students” (Richards, Brown, Forde, 2006). When teachers are able to take into account the different backgrounds of students to create a clear definition of what is expected in coherence creation, students will be more inclined to practice what is being preached instead of simply acquiring head knowledge without practice. In addition, when preparing specific lessons, teachers can learn to focus on certain more detailed aspects of coherence such as the stress on using pronouns to relate to prior references, or that of using conjunctions to connect clauses and sentences. One possibility is to spend time to focus on each of the five features individually with the inclusion of practices through that of sample essays or guided worksheets, enabling students to recognize each feature appropriately. Essentially, the key is ensuring that the possibilities and techniques in constructing coherence is made known to students, allowing them to reflect upon their own writing and modify it accordingly.
Word Count: 1,015
References
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1990). Pragmatic Word Order in English Composition. Coherence in Writing Research and Pedagogical Perspectives. USA: TESOL.
Chen, P. (2000). Ability-driven education in post-secondary institutions. Address by Mr Peter Chen, Senior Minister of State for Education at the first symposium on teaching and learning in higher education on Thursday 6th July 2000 at 9:00 am at the Engineering Auditorium, Faulty of Engineering, National University of Singapore. [Online] http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/2000/sp06072000_print.htm [2005, February 7]
Crowhurst, M. (1990). Reading/writing relationships: An intervention study. Canadian Journal of Education,15, 155-172
Crossley,S. A., McNamara, D.S. (2010). Cohesion, Coherence, and Expert Evaluations of Writing Proficiency [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/Files/ALSL/Cros_Cohesion_Coherence.pdf
Gollnick, D. M. & Chinn, P. C. (2002). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society (6th ed.). New York: Merrill.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Lee, I. (2002). Helping Students Develop Coherence in Writing. English Teaching Forum. Volume 40(3), 32-39
Lee, I. (2002). Teaching Coherence to ESL students: a classroom inquiry. Journal of Second Language Writing. Volume 11, 135-159.
Richards, H. V., Brown, A. F., Forde, T. B. (2006). Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. [PDF Document]. Retrieved from: http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
Salleh, H. (2003). A Qualitative Study of Singapore Primary School Teachers’ Conceptions of Educational Change. Teaching and Learning. Volume 24(2), 105-115.
Writing affords the opportunity to thoroughly articulate ideas and synthesize a variety of perspectives allowing for persuasive communication that transcends both time and space (Crowhurst, 1990). Hence, when students are able to convey meaning proficiently through their writing, they achieve an efficient exchange of information between the writer and the reader, allowing for academic and professional success. (Crossley & McNamara, 20 10) One essential criterion in achieving such fluency is the ability to emphasize upon the need for coherence and cohesion. According to Lee (2002), the term ‘coherence’ is defined as the “relationships that link the ideas in a text to create meaning for the readers”. Through understanding of this definition and its importance, teachers can consciously impart the knowledge of effective coherence and cohesion in order to fulfill the requirements of a respectable piece of writing, ensuring that meaning is made.
Challenges that Teachers Face in Teaching Coherence
In the Singapore context, however, teachers often face many challenges in teaching coherence due to three main reasons:
Conflict of the Nation's Goal
Firstly, Singapore has always been known to be a highly success-driven country, with the emphasis upon “intellectual wealth [being] the nation’s wealth” (Chen, 2000). As a result, there is an increased emphasis upon the product of our students’ achievements- where the education system focuses primarily on producing the grades necessary for the national exams, rather than the process of teaching and understanding specific topics itself. Doing so not only reduces the time and effort that each teacher ultimately spends on particular topics that they deem insignificant, thereby neglecting important writing techniques and procedures, but also compromises on the understanding and importance of coherence in a written essay, as well as how it can be used effectively. Furthermore, the restrains of having a fixed syllabus to follow leads to the question on how important coherence essentially is, and whether it is worth the time needed for more emphasis to be made. After all, “time shortage has been known to be one of the key sources of pressure that teachers face” (Salleh, 2003) in schools these days. Thus, it is the goal of the nation that poses as one of the biggest challenges and decisions that teachers have to make in the teaching of coherence and cohesion.
Diverse Nature of the Population
Secondly, the sheer nature of the population in terms of the students’ characteristics also play a part in influencing the challenges and ways in which teachers teach coherence in writing. Singapore, in particular, is unique in that it “requires teachers to educate students varying in culture, language, abilities, and many other characteristics (Gollnick & Chinn, 2002). Specifically, teachers need to be aware of students with differing abilities, such as that of ‘High Ability’ (HA), ‘Middle Ability’ (MA), and ‘Low Ability’ (LA), including students learning English as a Second Language (ESL learners), or even bilinguals. Hence, teachers need to cater their approaches on the teaching of coherence to suit the needs of the students and their level of understanding. Furthermore, the understanding of the concept of coherence differs between individuals and teachers need to be clear and precise in elaborating upon the specific features that define coherence, as well as how it can be applied to achieve a successful coherent essay. According to Lee (2002), she proposes five features that define coherence:
1. Cohesive devices
2. Macrostructure
3. Information structure
4. Proposition development
5. Metadiscoursal features
By elaborating upon each feature explicitly, students will be made more aware of such tools and can apply their knowledge suitably as it is required. Therefore, students’ characteristics indeed play a part in the difficulties that teachers may face in the teaching of coherence and cohesion.
Coherence as an Abstract Concept
Lastly, the idea of coherence itself appears to be an abstract concept that is both hard to teach, as well as grasp. This could be due to the different focus of students where ESL learners focus mainly on the word and sentence level as compared to the whole discourse level. Consequently, teachers need to make known to them that “a well-formed coherent text is more than just a series of grammatical sentences lined up one after another” (Bardovi-Harlig, 1990), but rather suggests the unified whole of the writing. Furthermore, there exists the possibility of confusion between coherence and cohesion where both serve different albeit similar purposes and teachers need to be able to discern between both to create greater understanding for the benefit of our students in the awareness of application. Therefore, it is in this respect that teachers in today’s classrooms may find it difficult to specifically address the concept of teaching coherence to students.
Suggestions in Teaching Coherence
For these reasons itself, some teachers may feel deterred in wanting to emphasize or even teach coherence and cohesion explicitly as part of the academic writing process. Nonetheless, it is wise to remember that teaching coherence is not a lesson that can be effectively mastered in a mere couple of days. It requires cultivation and reinforcement upon students, including constant practice at a pace suitable for the level of students, thus ensuring that they learn coherence in the best way possible.
Some additional suggestions that teachers can adopt in counteracting these challenges include responding appropriately to a form of culturally responsive pedagogy that allows for the “facilitation and supporting of achievements of all students” (Richards, Brown, Forde, 2006). When teachers are able to take into account the different backgrounds of students to create a clear definition of what is expected in coherence creation, students will be more inclined to practice what is being preached instead of simply acquiring head knowledge without practice. In addition, when preparing specific lessons, teachers can learn to focus on certain more detailed aspects of coherence such as the stress on using pronouns to relate to prior references, or that of using conjunctions to connect clauses and sentences. One possibility is to spend time to focus on each of the five features individually with the inclusion of practices through that of sample essays or guided worksheets, enabling students to recognize each feature appropriately. Essentially, the key is ensuring that the possibilities and techniques in constructing coherence is made known to students, allowing them to reflect upon their own writing and modify it accordingly.
Word Count: 1,015
References
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1990). Pragmatic Word Order in English Composition. Coherence in Writing Research and Pedagogical Perspectives. USA: TESOL.
Chen, P. (2000). Ability-driven education in post-secondary institutions. Address by Mr Peter Chen, Senior Minister of State for Education at the first symposium on teaching and learning in higher education on Thursday 6th July 2000 at 9:00 am at the Engineering Auditorium, Faulty of Engineering, National University of Singapore. [Online] http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/2000/sp06072000_print.htm [2005, February 7]
Crowhurst, M. (1990). Reading/writing relationships: An intervention study. Canadian Journal of Education,15, 155-172
Crossley,S. A., McNamara, D.S. (2010). Cohesion, Coherence, and Expert Evaluations of Writing Proficiency [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/Files/ALSL/Cros_Cohesion_Coherence.pdf
Gollnick, D. M. & Chinn, P. C. (2002). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society (6th ed.). New York: Merrill.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Lee, I. (2002). Helping Students Develop Coherence in Writing. English Teaching Forum. Volume 40(3), 32-39
Lee, I. (2002). Teaching Coherence to ESL students: a classroom inquiry. Journal of Second Language Writing. Volume 11, 135-159.
Richards, H. V., Brown, A. F., Forde, T. B. (2006). Addressing Diversity in Schools: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. [PDF Document]. Retrieved from: http://www.nccrest.org/Briefs/Diversity_Brief.pdf
Salleh, H. (2003). A Qualitative Study of Singapore Primary School Teachers’ Conceptions of Educational Change. Teaching and Learning. Volume 24(2), 105-115.