Explicit instruction in western cultures in the english-language writing classrooms of the arab gulf: Pedagogical perspectives

Writing is one of the most complex skills ESL/EFL learners are asked to master. Academic writing in English is often characterised by deductive reasoning, the linear development of ideas, the use of explicit discourse markers, and avoidance of repetition. However, for many Arabic speakers the presentation of an argument often involves paraphrasing, double arguments, and proverbs. When these are employed in written English texts, they may appear as errors or threats to coherence that result from the writer's limited awareness of Inner Circle socio-cultural conventions. Explicit instruction in Inner Circle cultures and rhetorical patterns has been posited as one way to address this issue. This chapter explores arguments for and against such instruction in the English-language writing classrooms of the Arab Gulf. It then offers some of the theories underlying culturally relevant literacy practices before exploring the feasibility of applying such approaches in the Arab Gulf.