Working with ESL Students

Myers’ essay is very enlightening because it emphasizes a new dimension of the tutoring world that we have yet to discuss.  Myers identifies the implications of working with second-language writers.  He describes what instructing tactics are beneficial and warns that some progress takes, “years, not months, to achieve” (291).  As I read the essay, I felt very challenged and unsure of how I would handle students with English as their second language.  I do know, however, that I would agree with the need to utilize more directive tutoring as special attention needs to be drawn to sentence-level errors that jeopardize the understanding of an individual’s paper.    

Moreover, Myers underscores that repeated mistakes are neither a fault of the ESL student nor a reflection of the aid given by the tutor.  Think about how long it takes “us” English-speaking students to “master” writing.  Of course our level of reading and writing competency is probably higher than an ESL student, but that is only because of tedious grammar lectures from elementary years to high school, and then reemphasized by lengthy college papers.  The point I am trying to make is that we as native English speakers are continually encouraged to improve our writing abilities and still do not produce perfect papers.  Thus, expecting an ESL student to immediately grasp a concept is unrealistic.  From what I understand, the most important aspect of working with such students is patience.  We as tutors must be patient when we try to explain a grammar and/or literary concept, and patiently wait for the writer to improve.

When I interviewed Kali for our profile assignment, I learned that grammar issues are not the only flaws of non-native speaker’s papers.  Kali explained that cultural differences prompt difficulties as well.  She described how the people of Ecuador for example, have a different sense of time.  If you were to walk by someone you knew on the street and only say “hello,” their feelings would be hurt.  To an Ecuadorian, if you see someone you know, you must have a rather lengthy conversation.  Such interaction is prevalent within their work.  A writer from Ecuador may tell you every detail of a scenario as the bulk of their paper prior to addressing what their purpose is.  Other cultures will pose different understandings of writing that we as tutors must address.  These challenges will be interesting to discuss, and I look forward to learning new tactics to successfully address these scenarios in the Writing Center.