Continuing to Close My Eyes as I Write: Yet another Jumbled Bunch of Notes I Call a Draft – My Tutoring Philosophy: Working One-on-One with ESL Students

Warning: I do not write normal first drafts. My first drafts are usually a jumble of bulleted lists, random paragraphs, notes to myself, and temporary headings. It probably will not make sense to readers! I have done what Peter Elbow has suggested in his essay, “Closing my Eyes as I Speak” – I am attempting to ignore my audience as I write my first draft… with the exception of this disclaimer! 🙂

With the exception of some techniques, I use a similar tutoring style with ESL students as I do with NES students. Essentially, it is my job as a tutor to listen to the student and discover what he knows, what he needs additional education on, what he is concerned about, and of course, which classes he is taking. I go about learning these details by taking the time to talk with the student. During these “icebreaking sessions,” I will ask students questions such as, “What do you think about your class so far? What concerns you most about your paper? What do you like most about your paper?” Also, I ask students how she would like to proceed with tutoring sessions. I have found that it is important to write down these plans in order to help guide the tutoring session.

There is one thing that differs in my work with ESL students: It is important for me to balance my desire to give the students the same access to writing education as NES students while avoiding forcing their writing to sound exactly like NES students’ writing. In other words, I want to avoid appropriating students’ writing. How do I go about this? First and foremost, I ask the student what her teacher’s expectations are for her writing: Does her teacher focus more on grammar, the organization of ideas, or something else? Second, I ask the student how NES-like she would like her prose to be. Depending on the student’s answer, I tailor my instruction. However, despite this tailoring of instruction, it is still important for me to give the student as much access to U.S. academic writing conventions in English grammar as possible. After all, I understand that one day this student will graduate college and would like to be prepared for either graduate school or a career. Although it is not possible for me to help relatively new English speakers (or even native English speakes) to write like Hemingway in a semester’s time, I will do my best to help them learn as much as possible in the time we have together.

In addition, when working with ESL students, I will tailor my lessons depending on whether the student is a Generation 1.5 student or an international student. International students often arrive in the United States having learned the grammar conventions of their native language. Therefore, these students tend to do quite well when attending college in the United States. “The academic knowledge they build in their high schools at home helps compensate for potential lack of L2 proficiency” (Leki 2009). Generation 1.5 students tend to speak English well, but due to their being ear learners, they may have trouble with grammar and spelling. “On the one hand [Generation 1.5 students] might have learned the grammar, but what they learned is based on what they heard or thought they heard” (Ritter and Sandvik 2009). When working with Generation 1.5 students, I offer indirect guidance and corrective feedback. Ritter and Sandvik recommend that when offering this type of feedback, tutors avoid referring to complex grammatical rules (2009). Even though I am often been tempted to give detailed explanations about grammar, I will refrain from doing so. Instead, I will ask questions, such as, “Is this the correct verb form?” or, when addressing clarity issues, I will make a comment such as, “Your introduction has a great opener, but I am confused as to what your point of view.” Looking back, I realize I’ve used this technique a lot with NES students as well, and I have found it to be very effective. After all, it helps students think carefully about their papers: Are they answering their readers’ questions? Are there any grammatical issues that are obscuring meaning?

Tutoring Techniques

• I begin the session by “breaking the ice.” I asked the student how are week is gone, and if she’s enjoying her classes. I also said way into asking her if there is anything that she is especially concerned about. Is there paper coming up? Does she have a draft she would like us to review?
• Assuming the student has a paper to review: Review the prompt with the student.
• I read the entire paper.
• Ask the student if she believes that her paper answers the prompt. Variation: ask the student if she likes her paper. If so, what does she like about it? If not, what is she think needs improvement?
• Work through higher-order concerns first – address the thesis, organization, and flow of the essay.
• Grammar matters, particularly when it gets in the way of understanding what the student has written. First, I focus on the grammatical errors that are impeding the paper’s message. I pay attention to whether these are repeating errors. If they are repeating errors, I work with the student to take note of the pattern. I suggest that the student take notes in order to note that this is a pattern in her writing – this way, she will be able to look over these notes at home. Last, I focus on the more minor grammar issues (the ones that don’t prevent the reader from understanding the student’s message).

Closing My Eyes as I Write: A Jumbled Bunch of Notes I Call a Draft – My Tutoring Philosophy: Working One-on-One with Students

Disclaimer: I do not write normal first drafts. My first drafts are usually a jumble of bulleted lists, random paragraphs, notes to myself, and temporary headings. It probably will not make sense to readers! I have done what Peter Elbow has suggested in his essay, “Closing my Eyes as I Speak” – I am attempting to ignore my audience as I write my first draft… with the exception of this disclaimer! 🙂

My Tutoring Style

When I am working one-on-one with students, I ask them a lot of questions about their texts, their writing processes, and their experiences in class, and then guide them towards a deeper understanding of how to express their thoughts on paper. In addition, I share some of my own experiences as an undergraduate student, as well as my struggles as a writer. In the process, I always approach tutoring with enthusiasm and humor; after all, tutoring students is my opportunity to do something that is rewarding, fun, and engaging for both the student and me.

My Job as a Tutor

As a tutor, I am direct, but not directive. It is not my job to take over a student’s assignment and shape it into what I believe it should be. Instead, I am there to listen carefully to students and act as their academic coach.

Although I have had many students arrive at tutoring sessions, hoping that I would edit their papers, my aim is to help students gain skills that they can use for future writing endeavors. Like my philosophy with ESL students, I aim not to appropriate students’ work; instead, I want to guide them through their own writing processes. I believe that, as a tutor, it is my responsibility to give students the tools they will need for future writing tasks. In other words, I believe that it is important for students learn the conventions of writing. Although I am interested in helping students to develop a strong voice, I believe that voice is something that develops within the framework of writing conventions (format, proper use of punctuation, organization of ideas, etc.). By contrast, learning writing conventions is not something that develops organically. I believe instructors and tutors do students a disservice when they failed to teach them these conventions.  In fact, the reason so many students arrive at college not knowing how to write rhetorically, organize their essays, and evaluate sources is because (most likely) they did not learn these things as K-12 students. Thereforeit only makes sense that instructors and tutors help them learn these skills.

However, some scholars have expressed concern that teaching students U.S. writing conventions is “constricting” or “oppressive.” Actually, I think it is oppressive to deny students access to the same writing conventions that open doors for them (further education and jobs, for example). At the same time, however, I think that once students learn these conventions, it is important for them to be encouraged to experiment with different styles of writing. For instance, when I was in college, I had a really terrific professor who allowed students to get very creative with their essays. I had a lot of fun in that class – I got to break those conventions! Not only was this fun for me (what is more fun than writing a play with Ayn Rand and Karl Marx arguing with each other?), but it also allowed me to think more deeply about what I was writing. As I wrote, I thought to myself, “What would Ayn Rand say in a debate with Karl Marx? Would they agree on anything? If so, why do I believe this?” I found myself looking back through my text, just to be sure that I would be able to represent both Rand and Marx appropriately (their voices and their views). I would like my students to have enough knowledge of academic writing conventions that they will have the opportunity to break these conventions without losing their ability to effectively express their arguments.

Tutoring Techniques

• I begin the session by “breaking the ice.” I asked the student how are week is gone, and if she’s enjoying her classes. I also said way into asking her if there is anything that she is especially concerned about. Is there paper coming up? Does she have a draft she would like us to review?
• Assuming the student has a paper to review: Review the prompt with the student.
• Have the student to read her paper aloud.
• Ask the student if she believes that her paper answers the prompt. Variation: ask the student if she likes her paper. If so, what does she like about it? If not, what is she think needs improvement?
• Work through higher-order concerns first – address the thesis, organization, and flow of the essay.
• Grammar matters, particularly when it gets in the way of understanding what the student has written. First, I focus on the grammatical errors that are impeding the paper’s message. I pay attention to whether these are repeating errors. If they are repeating errors, I work with the student to take note of the pattern. I suggest that the student take notes in order to note that this is a pattern in her writing – this way, she will be able to look over these notes at home. Last, I focus on the more minor grammar issues (the ones that don’t prevent the reader from understanding the student’s message).

A Tutor’s Guide, Chapter 17: Using Others’ words: Quoting, Summarizing, and Documenting Sources

Although plagiarism is often seen as a moral failing, most of the time, students plagiarize because they do not understand how and when to cite sources. Also, some students may come from countries that have a different views of plagiarism. In China, for example, copying classic authors’ texts is considered virtuous (this is seen as an homage to classic writers). Plagiarism has been seen differently during different time periods as well (during Shakespeare’s time, there was no such thing as plagiarism – taking others’ work was typical, and seen as just “plain ol’ writing”). These days, engaging in plagiarism is easier than ever due to widespread Internet access. As a result, many professors are subscribing to Internet services designed to spot plagiarized material.

According to Dossin, college writing centers can help prevent plagiarism by helping students learn how to collect, analyze, and synthesize information. After all, many students plagiarize when they find themselves rushing at the last minute to complete an assignment. Also, some students run out of time to complete papers because they don’t know how to research efficiently. Others may plagiarize because they are bored with their paper topics. For this reason, tutors and instructors should encourage students to select topics they are interested in.

Good note-taking techniques (quoting and paraphrasing) are also important for students to learn – in order for them to avoid plagiarism, they must learn to present information using their own words. In order to help students analyze and synthesize what they have read, tutors can ask them a number of questions in order to help them think through what they have read. Tutors need to be engaged and have genuine curiosity about what students have read; this way, the questions they ask will be effective. Plus, an engaged tutor makes the writing process much more fun.

While the aforementioned ideas are very effective with students who have come into the writing center well before their papers are due, if a student rushes into the center with a “patchwork quilt” paper due the next day, the amount of help a tutor can provide is limited.

A Tutor’s Guide, Chapter 12: Helping Writers to Write Analytically

I have definitely found that my biggest challenge as a tutor has been helping students analyze texts. Many times, when I have asked students their opinions about texts, they have told me, “I don’t know!” Rafoth says that in order to help students more effectively analyze their writing, tutors should be well-versed in analysis themselves. This way, tutors can forge intellectual partnerships with their students. Tutors can ask students number of rhetorical questions, such as “What is the writer’s strategy? What moves is the writer using to convey her points?” Tutors can even ask their students why they believe their teachers have assigned a particular writing assignment. Tutors should encourage your students to examine perspective (from which perspective is the author writing?), add complexity to the issue (instead of trying to solve problems, define and explain them), and remember that outside sources are the backup singers for the author’s voice (think about why and how outside sources strengthen an argument).

A Tutor’s Guide, Chapter 11: Organizing Ideas: Focus Is the Key

Organization is very important in writing: It helps both the reader and writer to find their way through the text. However,Trupe warns that “a review of the writing of established professional writers has revealed that organization is not a function of clearly defined topic sentences that control subordinate sentences” (Trupe 98). For this reason, Trupe suggests that tutors help their students think through the goals of their essays instead of concentrating on meeting teacher expectations or adding as much information as possible to their essays. By shifting their orientation from “What do I want to say?” to “What does the reader need to know?” student writers can better organize and express their ideas (Trupe 101). In addition, it is important for tutors to help students see that sometimes their final drafts are actually “discovery drafts.” These discovery drafts may need to be reworked or even entirely rewritten due to not addressing the prompt or thoroughly fleshing out an argument. Despite the appearance the contrary, this is not a waste of the students’ time; after all, these drafts of help students discover what they really wanted to say after all.

Question about the reading: I find Trupe’s suggestions very valuable, but I can’t help but wonder why she made mention of the writing of established professional writers. These writers break conventions, as they are familiar enough with writing conventions to do so. Their writing, of course, is going to vary quite a bit from the writing students are expected to complete in college. Therefore, using professional writers’ techniques to help us guide student writers is a bit dubious.

ESL Writers, Chapter 18: Listening to and Learning from ESL Writers

Sometimes, tutors don’t realize some students’ culture-based expectations and barriers to receiving help. This chapter discusses various students, their culture-based expectations, and the effect these expectations have on their experiences with college writing centers. For instance, Sami, an ESL student from Saudi Arabia, was embarrassed about being seen in the college writing center. He worried that he would appear to be “weak” for needing help. In addition, his tutor had to do some detective work in order to learn about Sami’s culture-based barriers. His review of his college’s writing center gave no indication of her barriers; instead, he had merely reported that the tutors were underqualified and ineffective. Another student, Yoshi, is from Japan. In Japan, it is common to reserve comment out of politeness. How does one address situations such as these? This chapter touches on these issues, but I would like to get some more in-depth advice and suggestions.

Random note: interestingly, this essay mentions that Uganda is in West Africa… has it relocated itself from East Africa? 🙂

ESL Writers, Chapter 17: English for Those Who (Think They) Already Know It

About one in six people on earth speak English. However, there are numerous styles of English, including Spanglish, Appalachian English, and Indian English. However, learning Standard American English can be challenging, even for those who already speak another version of English. However, despite these challenges English is not necessarily harder to learn than other languages. Even so, English has more than 500,000 words, as well is a large lexicon. In addition, English has borrowed from other languages since the first millennium. Often, native English speakers find it challenging to explain to non-native English speakers why certain phrases are correct; after all, English is so intuitive to native speakers that they do not think about grammar rules often.

ESL Writers, Chapter 14: Writing Activities for ESL Writers

This chapter mainly focuses on interesting and creative writing activities for ESL students. Unlike most of the writing activities ESL students work on, these activities focus on the creation of writing, rather than already-written texts. These activities also offer students rare opportunities to work in collaborative writing environments.

The Alphabet Exercise: Have the student write the alphabet on the left side of a sheet of paper. Then, ask her to think of phrases or words related to her assignment that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Students can use what they write for free-writing topics or even outlines.

Computer-Based White-Write: Have the tutee sit down at a computer, open a word processing program, and change the typeface color to white. Then, have the her free-write. This helps students produce a lot of text without the distraction of worrying about their grammar or spelling.

Essay Draft: 25 Minutes, More or Less: First, sit with the student and draw the traditional academic essay format (and introductory paragraph with the thesis, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion). Next, ask him to come up with three ideas related to his assignment. Then, ask him to write a general topic sentence, followed by a more specific follow-up sentence (this will help direct the student towards a thesis). If the student is having trouble, engage in conversation with him and offer suggestions. Direct him to write a statement using the three ideas they thought of earlier in the exercise. Next, the student can draft his thesis statement. Be sure to encourage students to work quickly in order to keep their focus on producing writing, rather than worrying about the quality of the writing. Repeat this exercise for the rest of the essay.

Dvorak concludes to chapter by discussing creative writing workshops. Creative writing is an underutilized tool for helping ESL students become more proficient writers. Unlike so much of academic writing, creative writing allows students to be less formal and more experimental. In addition, creative writing workshops help students see that writing can be very fun. The writing in creative writing workshops is not meant to be refined, but rather rough.

I really appreciate this chapter. It really offers a lot of interesting activities that I will try with my own tutees.

ESL Writers, A Tutor’s Guide, Chapter 16: Can You Proofread This?

Often, ESL students arrive at college writing centers looking for someone to proofread their papers. Most of the time, these students express concern about their grammar. Many college writing centers avoid providing proofreading, as it takes a focus off of helping students learn how to write and instead places a focus on “fixing” students’ papers. However, even though college writing centers are not proofreading mills, they can help students learn to proofread their own papers.

Effective ESL tutors negotiate with their students about which errors are top priority. In order to discover which errors are most important to a student, the tutor and student should have a conversation addressing this issue. In addition, ESL tutors would do best to focus on error patterns, rather than every single error in the paper. Finally, tutors should be open to consulting a handbook for grammatical issues they are having trouble addressing. Even though many tutors worry that this will make them appear to be unqualified; instead, it may actually enhance their credibility with their students.

Out-of-Order Postings: ESL Writers, Chapter 8: Meeting in the Middle and Chapter 10: Editing Line by Line

Chapter 8

This chapter gives readers a snapshot of the University of Alaska – Anchorage (UAA) Writing Center. Ritter and Sandvik focus on Generation 1.5 students and their unique challenges in learning to read and write in English. Victor, a Generation 1.5 student, is one of the subjects of the chapter. He is Mexican-American, has been through the United States high school system, and Spanish is his first language. Although his formal schooling has been in English, and he has a high competency with spoken English, Victor finds it challenging to understand United States grammar and writing conventions.

Like many Generation 1.5 learners, Victor makes ear-learning errors – these are the errors students make when they mishear English-language phrases. Students make these errors due to having learned most of their English through listening to it, rather than formal grammar instruction (many K-12 schools do not focus on grammar instruction). Ritter and Sandvik offer a number of solutions for tutors who work with Generation 1.5 students who make ear-learning errors:

• It is useful for tutors to provide corrective feedback to Generation 1.5 students. Asking questions such as, “Is this the right verb form?” will often lead students to self-correct without further direction.
• Provide feedback to Generation 1.5 students that does not involve knowledge of complex grammatical rules or the intuition of a native English speaker.
• Model academic writing by using rhetorical questioning in response to students’ essays.
• Reverse outlining is a very good method, as it helps students see if their essays are well-organized.

Chapter 10

Since expectations for academic writing vary from teacher to teacher (and from discipline to discipline), many students view their teachers’ expectations as unpredictable and random. For instance, some professors are very serious about grammar, while others are much more focused on students’ thought processes. In light of this, how should tutors help students learn to edit their papers? Here is a snapshot of some of Cynthia Linville’s suggestions:

• Spot patterns of recurring errors. Show these patterns to the students, and educate them about rules about how to address these errors.
  • Note: the error types ESL tutors are likely to encounter the most are subject-verb agreement errors, verb tense errors, singular and plural errors, word form errors, and sentence structure errors.
• Tutors must be able to recognize and correct errors. For this reason, native English-speaking tutors may need to review grammar rules, especially since grammar has become intuitive for them.
• Inform your students that it is important for them to be effective self editors.
• If you find that you encounter some grammar issues that are “over your head,” be sure to direct the student to other resources.
• Focus first on the errors that are the most serious, frequent, and treatable. Remember: you have encountered a serious error if it obscures what a student is trying to write.
• Be sure to inform students that, during your tutoring session, you are not likely to address all errors in the student’s paper.
• Most of all, resist the urge to correct students’ errors for them. Instead, walk them through their essays, and allow them opportunities to self-correct. Remember, if students do not have enough knowledge to edit their own papers, direct them to other resources on campus.

I found this chapter to be very interesting and informative, and I don’t have any questions about it.