What do you think?
Rate this book
Writing as a Second Language
Winner of the Storytelling World Award
“Stop talking! You're supposed to be working on language!� ―overheard in an elementary classroom by award-winning writer and storyteller Donald Davis. From the moment they are born, we encourage children to talk. We enunciate for them, applaud their expanding vocabularies, and hang on their every word. That is, until they enter school. At that time, we expect them to stop talking and measure their language abilities through a new writing. While the educational system focuses on the written product as the sole measurement of language development, many children fail to measure up to established standards. Why? Because, Davis observes, writing is not our first communications tool; for most of us it functions as a “foreign language.� The problem is, individuals are not capable of “creating� or “thinking� within a foreign language. Davis argues that we must step back into our familiar “first� language―the spoken word―as our creative medium and learn to “translate� into that new foreign language called writing. With enough success, writing will eventually become a second language instead of a foreign language. When we talk about language arts in our school, we focus on reading and writing instead of nourishing the whole oral and kinesthetic package that is our spoken language. Davis argues that talking and writing should not be mutually exclusive in language development. In this book, he lays out the method he has used successfully in countless residencies at schools across the United States, working with adults, teens, children, and teachers to develop their personal writing style.
“Stop talking! You're supposed to be working on language!� ―overheard in an elementary classroom by award-winning writer and storyteller Donald Davis. From the moment they are born, we encourage children to talk. We enunciate for them, applaud their expanding vocabularies, and hang on their every word. That is, until they enter school. At that time, we expect them to stop talking and measure their language abilities through a new writing. While the educational system focuses on the written product as the sole measurement of language development, many children fail to measure up to established standards. Why? Because, Davis observes, writing is not our first communications tool; for most of us it functions as a “foreign language.� The problem is, individuals are not capable of “creating� or “thinking� within a foreign language. Davis argues that we must step back into our familiar “first� language―the spoken word―as our creative medium and learn to “translate� into that new foreign language called writing. With enough success, writing will eventually become a second language instead of a foreign language. When we talk about language arts in our school, we focus on reading and writing instead of nourishing the whole oral and kinesthetic package that is our spoken language. Davis argues that talking and writing should not be mutually exclusive in language development. In this book, he lays out the method he has used successfully in countless residencies at schools across the United States, working with adults, teens, children, and teachers to develop their personal writing style.
- GenresNonfictionWriting
140 pages, Paperback
First published October 25, 2000
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Donald Davis
105Ìýbooks19ÌýfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Donald Davis (born 1944) is an American storyteller, author and minister. Davis had a twenty year career as a minister before he became a professional storyteller. He has recorded over 25 storytelling albums and written several books based on those stories. His long career as a teller and his promotion of the cultural importance of storytelling through seminars and master classes has led to Davis being dubbed the "dean of storytelling".
Donald Davis (born 1944) is an American storyteller, author and minister. Davis had a twenty year career as a minister before he became a professional storyteller. He has recorded over 25 storytelling albums and written several books based on those stories. His long career as a teller and his promotion of the cultural importance of storytelling through seminars and master classes has led to Davis being dubbed the "dean of storytelling".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 1, 2020
This book was so eye opening for me about how hard writing is for everyone and how telling the story before can really help. I would recommend it to any teacher!
January 3, 2013
Excellent book on writing and how to approach it
December 13, 2013
Excellent book on writing, especially for children
But good for all of us.
But good for all of us.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.