Comment on Did Dr. Krashen Commit Self-Plagiarism? by Adrien Luanga Kasanga

In my academic career–much shorter than that of the respectable scholar, Stephen Krashen, I have “borrowed” chunks (including figures and ideas) of my own previously published materials BUT I’ve always felt obliged, in the name of academic honesty and integrity, to properly acknowledge the original source (myself!). This is what we teach our students and we cannot exempt ourselves under the excuse that we are “exceptional” or world-renowned scholars! The problem is not whether or not we should use our own ideas or previous texts. The problem is that we SHOULD, all the times, attribute any such idea or text to the original source, irrespective of who “owns” the original idea. In any case, would it not be beneficial to him and the readership if he cited the original source? I, for one, would have been glad–I’m usually tempted–to find the original source for fuller details. Not to check any authenticity or similarities, but to learn more about any attendant insights. By the way, academic honesty applies to what we may believe to be so famous quotes that they need not referencing. Recently,a reviewer asked me to provide the year of publication and page of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s now famous quote “We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden” which I’d taken from a published academic article. A full day’s search–including of online books published by respected authors–turned no specific bibliographical indications of the original source, but repeats of the quote! As a result, in line with rules and principles of academic integrity, I removed the quotation. Yet, highly respected published (secondary) sources repeat the quote without bibliographical details! Self-plagiarism may be considered less “harmful” than other forms of copying, but it still IS an academic offense. Period.