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Note from the Writing Center Director— The "ESL Best Practices Checklist" that is offered
below was written by students in WR 421 Advanced Methods of Tutoring,
Winter 2004. The students and I read many texts to advance our understanding
of how best to tutor ESL/Multicultural Students (see Works Cited below).
We also interviewed many EOU international students who gave us great
insights into how best to meet their needs. Below is the "legacy"
from the WR 421 students to help future writing tutors to more effectively
work with ESL/Mulitcultural students. The document includes stories
from tutors’ personal experiences working with EOU international
students. This checklist will be a work-in-progress, so if writing tutors have ideas and stories they would like to add, their contributions will be welcome. See also ESL Research Report ESL Best Practices Checklist by Luke Burton, Jennifer Colton, Amber Machado, Robert Mahon, Dave McDermott, David Newport,& Danielle Willis Working with ESL students is a great opportunity to learn
more about students from other cultures and about oneself as a tutor.
However, tutoring students from another country can be intimidating,
and there are certain factors to take into consideration before taking
on such a task. It is important to realize that there is no "better" or "best" method of writing when comparing one language and culture create what have been labeled "ESL problem areas." Many times, ESL students enter school systems in America with a mostly grammar-based understanding of the English language. They are taught from workbooks and memorization. This type of learning leaves students suffering from a lack of contextual understanding and idiom. Therefore, when working with ESL students, it is sometimes necessary to take a step back and assess the amount of knowledge the students have about how to write an American academic essay before addressing global and local areas. Also, it is important to keep in mind that sessions with
ESL students can take more time and effort, but ultimately, it is meaningful
work, and working with such students creates well-rounded and experienced
tutors. 1. Establish Rapport: Ask student about ability and writing experience Do not make assumptions about an ESL student’s writing
ability and experience based on a single writing sample. Instead, ask
the student specific questions about his/her writing experience in both
English and his/her native language. Students you are working with might
have been professional writers in their native language, but you will
not know this unless you ask. During this portion of the tutoring session,
work to engage your ESL students with positive feedback and questions
that show you are interested in helping them succeed. Be considerate of student’s needs Each student has different expectations of tutors, and
if you are unable to adapt to the students’ needs, it is ok to
recommend them to someone who may be better able to fulfill their needs. Work to inspire confidence Help students feel comfortable enough with you as their
tutor and help them feel proud of working with you and improving their
writing abilities. Compliment them with specific and sincere praise,
and show them what their strengths are. Find expectations and student’s perception of
the paper ESL university students sometimes have a difficult time
understanding their professors’ expectations for assignments. As
a tutor, it is your job to act as a sort of translator between professors
and students. To accomplish this role effectively, you must ask students
specific questions about their assignment while also looking at their
written assignment prompt. Listen to their perceptions of the assignment,
and compare them to your own. Through this dialogue, attempt to clear
up any misconceptions that the student might have. 2. Identify Cultural Differences: Learn about students’ cultures, customs and
traditions to connect with them Try to learn about the culture of the student that you
are tutoring. What country is s/he from? What is polite? What are some
traditions? In doing so, you will begin to understand the Ask open-ended questions When inquiring about a student’s background, ask
questions that will promote discussion and elaboration. This way you
are not asking, "So you are from Japan?" and the student is
not answering with "yes" or "no." Respect student’s need for privacy Because of cultural differences, some students might be
uncomfortable in tutoring sessions which are public, as are the sessions
in the Learning Center/Writing Center. Be flexible with location. Move
to a more private space if necessary. Also, negotiate reading aloud,
perhaps taking turns or doing all of the reading aloud so the focus
is not on speaking and pronunciation, but on the writing. Also, allow
a student to use an alias on the board. Make it up For some cultures, it would be considered arrogant to
talk about themselves, even in essays. Silence is often seen as power,
and the students are very reserved. This creates a problem when they
are asked to write about a personal experience. Instead, encourage students
for whom this is the case to make experiences up. For a paper such as
this, explain that they will not get in trouble for making it up. Or
ask them to describe a friend's experience and use it as their own,
and they will feel more comfortable about writing the paper. Do not assume about ability Many students were established writers and professionals
in their countries before coming to study in the states. 3. Assigning Roles: Talk about their expectations of the tutoring process It is advisable to find out just what the student wants
out of a session with a tutor. For instance, if you find that a student
is expecting you to correct grammar only, you can briefly explain what
is wrong with the global aspect (while still advising on how to correct
any global concerns) and spend more time on the local problems of their
paper so that they may feel more comfortable. However, be sure to not
get too distracted in only answering what the student wants. Be sure
to discuss all concerns of the paper with the student, explaining clearly
what needs work and exploring strategies for making the essay more effective. Balance interaction between tutor and student Establish a balance between informing and listening, so
there is an equal amount of participation between tutor and student.
Encourage students to take an active role in the tutoring session, but
do not push too hard. Challenge students to a high standard Challenge all of your students, and hold them all to the
same high standard. By doing this, it will help students develop the
right attitude and they will approach their work in a more effective
manner. Remember what we learned in WR 220, PRAISE is the first thing
you should do after reading the draft. Negotiate reading aloud Do not demand that a student read his or her draft aloud,
if it is clear that s/he is not comfortable doing so. Share the reading
or read for the student, while s/he follows along actively. Use low
voices so the student does not feel exposed. Adjust your style to the
situation. Explain collaborative process Many times, ESL students are not used to the idea of a
collaborative process. It may help to explain that you are not an editor.
Instead, stress the fact that you are simply a peer who can give feedback
on how to better the paper. It may be helpful to get a feel for the
student’s expectations of the session and make it clear that you
will not correct every mistake, but will give guidance on how the student
can correct his/her own mistakes. This is where you, as a tutor, let
the student know that you are "teaching how to fish instead of
actually giving them fish," as Susan would say. 4. Identify Global Problems: Avoid superficial feedback The most common response from professors (and sometimes tutors) is that the student "needs improvement." What does this phrase imply? It is very vague and is of no help to the student. It also conveys that the student is inept, which brings up another problem you need to avoid with assuming. Do Not Assume Anything! Just like we ask for more detail
with students writing, you need to be more specific in your responses
to students and watch body language to be sure you are getting through. Have students summarize their paper with an outline If you, as a tutor, wish to help the student with overall
structure and thesis without working paragraph by paragraph, have the
student write out an outline of his/her paper and then reflect on it.
If the student can successfully create an outline that fits the criteria
needed for the assignment, ask them why they chose that structure and
congratulate them. Only after this should you work on local problems.
If a student can’t write an outline of his or her own paper, how
are we, as peers (not tutors) supposed to be able to follow it clearly? Do not assume authority over their text The reading of texts is a social process. Our expectations
and habits of reading are produced through social relations that the
readings themselves reproduce. When tutors and teachers read, their
interpretations and experiences of the text are determined by the social
stance they take toward the student. In the role of teacher, they may
assume authority over an ESL student and the text; by doing this, it
allows teachers/tutors to appropriate the text, assume they know what
it means or doesn’t mean, and what its language should be. Tutors
and teachers try to make the student’s paper fit their own template
of good writing, and sometimes approach the papers by not looking for
what is already there, but rather looking for things that aren’t
there (creating their own meaning). If needed, transcribe notes onto paper If a student can easily describe everything they want
to say in a paper Discuss expectations of academic essay and professor This is a good opportunity for a tutor to ask a student
how much s/he knows about the English academic essay. You can also tell
students what you know about the professor and the class s/he is taking.
This helps them feel comfortable with you and gives them a heads-up. 5. Identify Local Problems: Become an informant when necessary Some students make mistakes because they don’t know
the information. If a student struggles with an idiom or an exception
to a rule, it’s okay to become the informant and give the student
the information they need to succeed with writing the paper. Establish a plan for attending to errors When it is time to attend to sentence-level error patterns,
plan with the student how you will attend to the error. You may decide
to, as you or the student reads, to mark an "x" in the general
vicinity of the error, and have the student identify the error and correct
it. You may decide to slow down at a word or phrase, or repeat a word
or phrase to draw attention to a problem. Note that this technique works
only when you are working on rule-bound errors. If the problem is with
an idiom for which there is no rule, a tutor can point or repeat it
until the cows come home, as the student will not have the information
to fix the problem on their own. Here is where a tutor becomes and informant.
Do not correct all errors, but use examples Remember we are not editors and you would be doing the
student a disservice to correct all their errors for them. Not to mention
that the errors may be so abundant it could be overwhelming for you
to correct them. Instead, find the most common error in a specific draft
and show them how to correct one or two examples. Then have the student
practice correcting some of the errors. It is also encouraging for the
student if you find a sentence where they used the proper form in their
draft; then encourage them to create more sentences like that. Be sensitive to errors and feelings of students Though ESL students sometimes have many local errors within
their papers, it is important that you do not identify these problem
areas in a manner that could discourage students. Instead, you should
emphasize the positive aspects of students’papers, then remind
students of certain errors in the text. If an error pattern, such as
article usage, is reoccurring, you can even approach the problem humorously.
Remember that tutoring sessions have to be helpful, but they don’t
have to be serious. Do not assume authority! Tutors and teachers should attempt to negotiate a meaning
from the text, and enter a dialogue with the students about the text.
When we alter our relationships to our students, and work as peer writers
rather than authorites, we will also read their prose in a more egalitarian
and helpful way. 6. Prepare For Next Session: Encourage students to talk with professors during
their office hours Explain that it’s not only struggling students that
seek their help, but also "A" students often seek assistance
from their professors. Here at Eastern, it is a more casual atmosphere,
so students should feel comfortable with approaching professors. Be willing to go beyond the session to answer questions In some situations, one tutoring session may not be enough.
If another half- hour is needed, be willing to attend to the student’s
needs. Sometimes it is helpful to go with a student to see a professor,
as four ears are better than two. Also, be available to show them how
to seek answers to their questions if you are not able to answer them. Establish location (possibly outside Center) Feel free to leave the Learning Center/Writing Center. Some
international students are embarrassed in by coming in to see a tutor,
so establish a place to meet outside of the Learning Center/Writing
Center. Perhaps you could go to the library or the tables down stairs in
Loso Lobby. Encourage students to make another appointment Explain to students that the only way their writing will
get better is if they keep practicing and keep getting additional help
from tutors. Ask them when they would like to meet next, or maybe even
more than once a week. Even if the student does not plan on needing
a weekly meeting, it is helpful for them because tutors can help with
brainstorming, outlines, and general assignments. Explain that tutors
can help at all stages of the writing process. Shop for tutors Encourage students to seek help from different tutors,
as we all have strengths in different areas. Let students know they
don’t have to feel tied down to one tutor if they can find another
tutor who is more suited to their needs. Make a better writer, not a better paper This is an extension of Susan’s "don’t
give them fish, teach them how to fish" philosophy and what Stephen
North reminds us is important to do: Make a better writer, not just
a better paper.. We, as tutors, are not here to only make a better paper,
no matter how much easier that seems. We must take into consideration
that not all students are up for tutoring, and if we use our time wisely,
we can feel a little bit better knowing that a student is writing his/her
own paper without a peer, if we try our best to make a better writer
and not just a better paper. It seems hard, but, in fact, it’s
quite easy. Just do what we do best: tutor. And remember that it is
the student we are tutoring, not the student’s paper. Provide them
strategies and tools that they can use in future writing. End on a positive note The most important part of a tutoring session is the ending. Make it a positive enough experience to make students want to come back again. Remind students of their progress, whether in terms of a particular draft, class, or term. Be sure to say something encouraging to them before they leave the session, and make it clear that you believe their next draft will be better. _____________________________________________ ESLTutoring Experiences Luke's Story Establishing Rapport, Being Flexible, and Considering
Student’s Needs: Establishing rapport with students is one of the most
important, yet difficult jobs of a tutor. After working with many ESL
students, I have witnessed the power of good rapport firsthand. I quickly realized this problem, and sought to create
a different tutoring session atmosphere for this student. Rather than
diving right into the paper like the student wanted me to, I would make
a point to talk to the student about her classes and her life before
I would begin going through the paper. However, because the student
had very advanced language skills, I felt that it was appropriate to
identify local errors and focus on these rather than going through the
standard global to local process that I use with other students. Because of my flexibility and willingness to listen to
her complaints, our time together became valuable to her. As we worked
together more, we became friends. By simply being open to this students’
concerns and expectations, I was able to establish a level of rapport
that helped this student to feel comfortable enough to ask me specific
questions about a class that we were both taking. Eventually, this student
started sitting by me during class, and we became study partners. This
relationship based on my initial commitment to establishing rapport,
has become one that I am proud of as both a person and a tutor. Identifying Cultural Differences: Amber's Story When working with an Asian student for the first time,
I immediately asked the student, who shall remain nameless, "What
country are you from?" The student informed me that she came from
Tokyo, Japan. This information was locked away and I continued by asking,
"How are you adjusting to the school system here?" To this
she replied "fine." This fine was accompanied by a weak smile,
which told me that things could be going better for her, but she wasn’t
going to tell me that. Generally when I ask open-ended questions to get students really thinking about their topic or to extract personal information from them. For example, one student from Mexico was experiencing difficulty writing exactly what he wanted to say about a political issue. When I came to a particularly confusing section in his paper I asked him, "What exactly did you mean to say here?" I did not offer my opinion about what he meant, but let him speak while I took notes. After reading what he had said it was easier for him for formulate sentences that made his points more clear. Susan's Story It is also important to realize that what is considered
"good writing" in American academic culture may be different
from what is considered "good writing" in other cultures.
As you work with students, be curious about their writing histories
and the ideas of writing in other cultures. I worked with a student
from India who wrote long, informational papers but she kept getting
low grades in her classes. I asked her what would be considered a good
essay in her culture, and she said that the purpose of an essay in India
schools is to show knowledge. I then explained that American college
academic essays are expected to be thesis-driven and focused on a main
idea. A light bulb went on over her head. No one had ever explained
this to her. She was able to adapt her style to meet the expectations
of American professors in academic culture. At no time did I imply that
the thesis-driven essay is better, just different. Another time I was working with a Japanese student who
was writing an essay in response to an argumentative essay assignment.
As we read through her draft, it was clear that she was talking around
her position, never quite stating it. I explained to her that in American
academic essays, students were expected to state their position outright.
As we spoke, it was clear that she was following her culture’s
rules of politeness. According to this student, it would be rude and
insulting to readers to push a position on them, or to assume the readers
could not deduce the writer’s position from the polite and indirect
essay she had written. We ended up laughing about American’s love
of directness and bluntness in contrast to her culture’s valuing
of indirection and politeness. I was able to explain, then, the expectations
of American college academic essays as different but not better than
how essays are conceived in her culture. Making Assumptions about ESL Writers: Dave M's Story Not all ESL writers need a lot of help with their writing. I once tutored a student from Burma, and when he came to see me, it was his first tutor session in the States. He was very nervous at first, so it would have been easy to assume that he didn't have strong English language skills. But after talking with him for a few minutes, asking open-ended questions, he relaxed and opened up a bit. In the long run, he was very talkative. I asked him what his expectations were for tutors and his answer was interesting. He seemed to know his English well and had only minor problems with idioms, but his main concern was trying to decipher the assignment given to him by the professors. Getting him to collaborate wasn't a problem as he was
more than willing to tell me his thoughts or to answer any questions
I had for him. I used his willingness to talk in order to help him work
through his own confusions. He was very willing to read his paper aloud,
but when he had parts that confused him, he would ask me to read to
help find the problem. After finding the problem, I would ask him what
he thought sounded wrong. He was usually able to tell me what was wrong
with it, and he would write down what he really meant. Ultimately, I
feel like the job of the tutor is to have tutors help the students help
themselves. Students that are diligent such as this Burmese student
made tutoring not only a pleasure, but made it easy. Identifying Global Problems: Dave N's Story At one point in time, most, if not all tutors, will experience something like this: While working with one student’s paper (after rapport
and such jazz as that), I found it quite obvious that the paper wasn’t
focusing on the topic. However, it was quite easy to go through the
paper without concern for the local issues and to conclude that there
were no problems. After asking about the assignment and then analyzing
paragraph-by-paragraph, it was evident that the writer was more than
off track. This just goes to show that no matter how well an ESL student
can write, the problem many times lies within the structure and overall
flow of the paper instead of the articles and identifiers. So, as a
warning, be sure to check out the assignment. Sometimes ESL writers
misinterpret the assignment and needs help unpacking the language of
an assignment. Identifying Local Problems: Jennifer's Story In most cases, sentence level problems should only be
discussed after all global issues have been taken care of; however,
sometimes a single word choice error can be a global issue and should
come up earlier. Take for example the English phrase "Last night
I ate rice instead of bread." A Korean student might write that
in one of two ways, depending on their familiarity with English: 1)
"Yesterday evening in rice instead bread of ate" or 2)"Yesterday
I ate the rice instead of the bread." The first sentence is confusing
to the reader and could change the content of what the student says
while the second only involves use of the word "the" and is
a local issue that does not directly change the meaning of the sentence.
If the student expresses a need for grammatical correctness
when you discuss their expectations, you can always spend the last part
of the session to identify and model correcting some recurring sentence-level
errors throughout the piece. This makes the student feel like they have
accomplished something and gives them a defined direction to work on
until the next session. However, sometimes tutors need to go from local
to global with ESL students to gain students’ trust, and then tutors
can attend to global concerns. Preparing For Next Session, Being Creative, and Making Sure Nothing Has Been Lost In Translation: Danielle's Story To encourage an ESL student I had only just worked with
to make another appointment, I asked the student. "Would you like
to come at this same time next week to go over another draft or assignment?"
The student said "No." I was perplexed because the session
had gone well and so, not wanting to dictate the student’s answer
by offering a reason why I thought she said this, I simply asked "Why
is that?" She replied that the time did not work for her. I had
hoped this was the case and not that my tutoring had not been helpful,
so I created a new time slot when I could meet with her weekly. Also, I was working with this one international student about two days a week who needed a lot of help with her English. Although she did not have enough new assignments each meeting, we worked very diligently on each paper. When we were not working on a paper for class, I would have her write narrative or descriptive writing for fifteen minutes, and then we would go over mistakes. I would also give her error patterns to look for in her own writing, or in fellow students’ and friends’ writing. This helped her to start thinking about her errors in other contexts, not just for class. At the end of each session, we would discuss how the class was going and whether or not she had talked with the professor that week. I would always praise her for a job well done and then we would end with me attempting to learn some form of salutation in French. This was a good way for her to feel connected to me, and allowed her to teach me, instead of me always teaching her. There are many creative ways of ending and preparing for the next session. Be creative and have fun. Works Cited Blau, Susan and John Hall. Guilt-Free Tutoring: Rethinking
How We Tutor Non-Native-English- Clark, Irene. Writing in the Center: Teaching in a Writing
Center Setting. 3rd Ed. Dubuque, Fox, Helen. Listening to the World: Cultural Issues in Academic Writing. National Council of Teachers of English: 1994. Fu, Danling. My Trouble is My English: Asian Students and the American Dream. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1995. North, Stephen."The Idea of a Writing Center."
College English, September 1984. Copyright 1984 by the National Council
of Teachers of English.
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