When Background Matters: Three Writing Center Employees' Views on ESL Students.
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| Title: | When Background Matters: Three Writing Center Employees' Views on ESL Students. |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hall, Helena |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2001 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research Speeches/Meeting Papers |
| Descriptors: | College Students, English for Academic Purposes, English (Second Language), Foreign Students, Higher Education, Interviews, Process Approach (Writing), Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Writing (Composition), Writing Instruction, Writing Laboratories, Writing Skills, Writing Teachers |
| Abstract: | This paper presents findings based on interviews with three employees of a university writing center about their experience tutoring foreign students. International students who are not native speakers of English but want to enroll in American universities must demonstrate a basic level of competence in English before they can participate in a degree program. This is especially difficult for some students, as writing is sometimes not valued in some countries as much as it is in the United States. Teaching students to write at a level required in U.S. higher education is often doubly difficult because they struggle not only with English, but they also try to learn the conventions of writing at the same time. Even when the student has researched the topic, they have great difficulty putting a paper together properly. One source of the problem for foreign students is that it is common for the staff at a university's writing center to be students from that institution's English department. They may indeed be skilled writers but often have few skills in teaching a non-native speaker of English to write well in English. Policies that "treat all students the same," while well-intentioned, result in the needs of foreign students often being overlooked. Little research has been done in this area, and more needs to be done. In the meantime, writing center employees need to become more aware of the special needs of non-native speakers of English. (Contains 26 references.) (KFT) |
| Entry Date: | 2002 |
| Accession Number: | ED455695 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper presents findings based on interviews with three employees of a university writing center about their experience tutoring foreign students. International students who are not native speakers of English but want to enroll in American universities must demonstrate a basic level of competence in English before they can participate in a degree program. This is especially difficult for some students, as writing is sometimes not valued in some countries as much as it is in the United States. Teaching students to write at a level required in U.S. higher education is often doubly difficult because they struggle not only with English, but they also try to learn the conventions of writing at the same time. Even when the student has researched the topic, they have great difficulty putting a paper together properly. One source of the problem for foreign students is that it is common for the staff at a university's writing center to be students from that institution's English department. They may indeed be skilled writers but often have few skills in teaching a non-native speaker of English to write well in English. Policies that "treat all students the same," while well-intentioned, result in the needs of foreign students often being overlooked. Little research has been done in this area, and more needs to be done. In the meantime, writing center employees need to become more aware of the special needs of non-native speakers of English. (Contains 26 references.) (KFT) |
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