ESL Tutoring Articles

Although I have been taking Spanish for quite some time now, I have just recently begun writing lengthy essays in the language (yikes!). I am used to writing short compositions, but writing an academic essay in another language is proving to be very difficult. I wonder how are we supposed to help the students who are like me, who are non-native speakers. I thought the approaches suggested in the articles were very helpful and could even be applied to my own writing in Spanish.
In the article "Influence of cultural and linguistic backgrounds on the writing on Arabic and Japanese students of English," the author discussed how different common expressions could be in other language. Although the author uses examples of Arabic and Japanese, because of my knowledge of Spanish I will use common expressions from Spanish instead. In Spanish, you're welcome is said "de nada" which literally means of/from nothing. Of course if we try to literally translate anything from one language to another, we can end up making a mess. Just like not being able to literally translate, we cannot expect as writing tutors to just be able to translate the paper correctly for ESL students.
As "Tutoring ESL Students: Issues and Options" discusses, it is likely that the students will not only have issues with vocabulary and verb tense, but also with the meaning itself. Our job as writing tutors is to help them with what they want to say, which is similar to the consultation of any writer, English speaking or not. These articles stress the importance that ESL tutoring is different, but that the students are looking for the same thing as non-ESL students, and that is to improve their writing.

Boys and Girls Club

Last Monday, we went to the Boys and Girls Club to help the students with their DSTs. As I have already blogged, I think the DST process can be very frustrating when trying to figure out what to include in the narrative. Luckily, our student had already done her interview and had a list of information written out about what she could include in her narrative. The students had to interview someone who was over the age of 50 who lived in the Richmond area, and as they interviewed their person, they were supposed to find out about their lives and take from the interview their "Pearl of Wisdom." This "Pearl of Wisdom" is the advice/experience that they have learned throughout their lives that has shaped who they have become. Our student had someone whose "Pearl of Wisdom" could be applied to any person who has ever struggled to overcome what seemed to be like impossible obstacles.
The person our student interviewed had come from extreme poverty--he lived in the projects most of his life and he had several brothers and sisters. Although he was not allotted all the opportunities of a child who was rich, he always had the one opportunity that he knew could rely on. Education was this man's way to rise above the obstacles that he faced everyday. He valued his education greatly and his "Pearl of Wisdom" was to stay and school and continue to strive to be better. I think our student really respected what he had to say and I'm interested in seeing how her narrative turns out.

Shadowing Experience-What to do when no one is there

Last week I went to the writing center to shadow as I usually do, but no one showed up for a consultation. The person I shadowed talked to me about how when this happens he usually takes some time to do homework or sees if someone will show up. Because no one was there I left a bit early, but I had time to start thinking about my classmate consultation and doing that during the shadowing time instead. I began to think about how he typically does his consultations and what parts of his sessions are more effective than others. As I wrote my plan for the classmate consultation, I realized that my idea of how to run a consultation was quite comparable to his.
He usually reads over the essay first, asks questions about the assignment and then questions the student about what they want to get out of the session. Because the paper I'm consulting is actually a creative work in the form of a letter, I have different concerns about what the letter is supposed to convey. Unlike an essay, there is no argument or thesis, so I think I have to approach it differently; however, his consultations are a good foundation as to how I can begin to consult this work.

Struggling with the DST

As we already saw everyone's DSTs in class, I was wondering if anyone else felt like they just couldn't get their story just right. I think my professor had a very different take on the writing process because she never really struggled with writing, whereas many other professors didn't have the same experience. I wanted to show that good writing isn't necessarily trying to make every word perfect or mulling over every single quote in the paper. Good writing can be achieved by having a valid argument and supporting that argument, which is an important part of the political science discipline.

Perhaps it sounded as if in my DST that she thought writing was a simple process, but this is definitely not what she meant. When I ended the DST in saying that "if the ideas are there and if they are developed, then good writing will follow." I simply meant that having a core group of ideas and evidence is essential for a good paper. She stressed the importance that maybe a student may not have the best vocabulary or the most eloquent sentence structure, but they can still be good writers. She looks for writing that you would see in academic journals which is clear and concise. I think good writing is different to her than many other writers, so I'm glad I was able to add a new perspective to the class.

What do we learn from the students we can't help?

In Steve Sherwood's article, "Apprenticed to Failure: Learning from the Students We Can't Help," he discusses his experience with trying to help a student who had learning troubles. Byron had been in a car accident and suffered from short term memory so he asked if he could bring a recorder to help him remember what the consultant said. Byron would rewind and listen to different parts of the tape, which proved to be difficult for the consultant, as he would lose his train of thought frequently, and he began to struggle with helping him in the writing process.

I was confused as to why he felt like he couldn't help this student. In class, we talked about teaching at a beginner level. I gave the example of my algebra 2 teacher in high school who had a brilliant mind for math and literature, but because she understood it so well she often had difficulty explaining to us "beginners." She certainly had numeracy, but her numeracy was so complex we couldn't understand her. So if we couldn't understand her numeracy, she would have to teach us with literacy. Her literacy, however, was also too complex for us and we were lost in translation.

The students in my algebra 2 class were like Byron. We needed a different way of understanding. I think the consultant should have asked him to write notes, rather than to record what he was saying. Byron needed a clear process that started with a simple idea. I believe he could've been helped if a step by step process were established for him to use. I don't think there is a student you actually "can't" help, there are just students that take more time and effort to help. That is what we should take out of these experiences.

The Concept of Failure: Applicable to the Mindset of a College Student?

We commonly hear the phrase, "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again." We are reminded of people who achieved greatness like Abraham Lincoln, who failed several times before becoming President, and Milton Hershey, the U.S. pioneer of chocolate who went bankrupt three times before he became a millionaire (I had to know the history of Milton Hershey when I worked at the Hotel Hershey, so that's why I know that). The point is, we are taught all throughout grade school and into high school that failure is not a bad thing, and it can teach us how to gain character while learning from mistakes. An interesting point was brought up today in class about failure; someone asked "With the stress on getting good grades, how are we supposed to allow ourselves to fail?"

Although we say that it's important to fail in order to learn from our mistakes to achieve later in life, I think it's important to know why we failed. If we understand the mistakes we made, we can learn and then achieve. However, I understand why the student would make the point about not being able to fail because of worrying about grades. Having that 4.0 GPA is what everyone desires but can be nearly impossible to achieve. Literally one "mistake" or "failure" can prevent a student's near perfect work from showing. Although grades are important when an employer is looking to hire, the knowledge we gain, whether we fail or not, should be what is stressed in school. Perhaps getting that "A" grade shouldn't be defined as having the perfect paper or test. While it is difficult to get into a different mindset about grades, we should focus on our knowledge and less on our GPAs.

Teacher Response: Constructive Criticism or Preference

I remember talking in class one day about what makes good writing, and what grade a particular essay would receive. One of the several criterion we discussed about a good paper was the ability for the reader to challenge his/her views and taking something away from the conclusion. Even if you didn't agree with what the author was saying, there was supposed to be some aspect that challenged your own beliefs. As we continued our conversation, someone in the class said that one of her professors wrote "so what?" on the student's paper after the professor read it. There was a general consensus in the room that we thought the professor was overly harsh and rude. When reading the article about a teacher's response, I began to think of that story. What did writing the words "so what" achieve; was she really supposed to be able to improve her writing if she didn't know what was flawed?
An important part of a teacher's response is his/her ability to tell the student exactly how their writing could be improved. Simply writing "so what" would only infuriate me and make me less likely to talk to that professor about how I could improve. Critiquing an essay is different than tearing it apart, which was what this professor did. Professors should also not critique style--every professor has his/her own style--but should make sure that the argument holds up. Being able to be an editor of your own work will, in the end, prove to be what makes you write more effectively.