Hey,
I met with Colin the week prior to spring break but we didn't have much to talk about. For the week or two leading up to the break we both had a lot of no-shows, but he had an appointment later in the week with somebody who had neglected to show up for both of us on multiple occasions. I guess she did end up showing, because when I spoke to Colin this week he had a lot to say about their session. This is his third ESL session since he started, and as a result we had a very valuable discussion on techniques he's discovered that really help make working with ESL students easier. It's always something that I, myself, have struggled with.
Firstly, we talked a little about "letting things slide" in an ESL session. Colin said that he was a little frustrated because if he had focused on correcting every single language issue in the paper, he would've been there for hours. I've always tried to focus more on improving communication in ESL sessions rather than grammar. What I pay most attention to with these students is what point they're getting across and whether or not their idea is understood, not whether every single grammar issue is resolved.
The biggest technique we discussed was trying to find a visual idea to represent a grammatical idea that we weren't sure how to describe. The example he gave was his student using the phrase "by my opinion". He tried to explain to her that in English it's proper to say "in my opinion", but when she asked why he wasn't exactly sure what to tell her. Instead, he made up a visual idea to help her remember. He told her to imagine that her "opinion" is a big bucket and in order to give her argument, she has to reach into it and pull out her ideas. He said using little things like this really helped her improve her writing as well as her grasp on the language. We discussed our own experiences with speaking foreign languages, and how we came up with similar techniques, ideas, illustrations, etc. to help us learn all the little minute details. This is something I will definitely apply to future work with ESL students.
After we talked about ESL, our discussion sort of slid into Learning Disabilities. I think a lot of the things we discussed about ESL students would apply to helping students with disabilities as well. I have a student who has identified as dyslexic, and we talked about how similar the difficulties are with ESL and LD students. I feel as if I really struggle every week to help my student improve his writing, but despite this he seems to keep wanting to work with me. I often use the same technique of "letting things slide" with him, trying to get his point across and not focus so much on his spelling errors. I think the visual illustration idea would be a big help and I might try it next time.
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Hi Coco,
ReplyDeleteLet me once again compliment you on another excellent post. Here you deal with two very complex but important issues we have here at the WC; working with ESL and LD students. Indeed, "letting things slide" may be an effective way of getting major stuff done on a student's writing. Of course having open communication and a caring attitude both go a long way in making sure these students are comfortable working with you at the WC, even if all the issues in the writing are not resolved during one session. Part of this communication you mention is having the capacity to at least attempt to understand their ideas i.e. "where they're coming from" as we're so found of saying. I would also add here that working on grammar may play an important role here in making meaning clearer--it doesn't have to be exclusively worked on during a session but perhaps dealt with in certain sections. Certainly, visual ideas or forms of learning could also be incorporated into the session when needed-another excellent idea.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when working with ESL students:
*Rhetorical Conventions-different cultures have unique forms of rhetoric that don't always correspond to the type of expository writing expected of US college students.
*The Nature of Collaboration-cultural notions regarding learning, both in the classroom and the 'non-classroom' (WC). i.e. how they see you-
*Negotiating a non-native language, and a different and strange culture--this also applies to the campus itself.
I suggest that when confronted with issues related to such students, all of you should consult some of the readings from your WCTP class dealing with ESL and LD issues. There's also some good stuff on The Writing Center Newsletter online. Another good source is specialized tutors in these areas--whether you work at the same times these people do or reach them with your concerns by e-mail.
*Sorry if I sort of neglected LD students but my experience with them has not been as extensive as with ESL students.
Steve