Working with ESL Writers

Across the Curriculum

Susan Whitelock

Epilogue

…the dominant communication style and world view of the U.S. university, variously known as "academic argument," "analytical writing," "critical thinking," or just plain "good writing," is based on assumptions and habits of mind that are derived from western-or more specifically U.S.-culture, and that this way of thinking and communicating is considered sophisticated, intelligent, and efficient by only a tiny fraction of the world's peoples. If faculty want to encourage deeper, more meaningful multiculturalism, we need to recognize that many of our students have been brought up to think and express themselves very differently, and that these ways are worthy of our attention and understanding.

Helen Fox, Listening to the World

INTRODUCTION

As the number of international students increases in American university classrooms, more content-area professors who require writing in their courses are seeking information on how to better respond to ESL writing. This author has studied the current research on working with ESL writers in order to better prepare content-area professors to work more effectively with non-native English speakers. While most pertinent research in this area is written for ESL and writing faculty whose central focus is teaching language and writing, much of this research can be applied to classroom practice across the disciplines. This author has selected the research pertinent to content-area faculty whose main focus is delivering specialized content while also requiring writing as part of their courses.

This Faculty Guide for Working with ESL Writers is divided into two sections, one theoretical and one practical:

I. Myths and Misperceptions: Working with ESL/Multicultural Writers
II. Classroom Practices for Working with ESL Writers

Bibliography