ESL Students at the Writing Center
I find ‘Affirming diversity’ by Muriel Harris extremely informative and I have a lot to learn from this article. I will pick several sections and show how ESL writers are depicted in Harris’s article; Harris shows support that ESL writers do not need to be tied to their native lands.
He begins the article by discussing how tutors at the center think about the center and imply its pedagogy. “Tutors, then, are trained to move writers into the active role of making decisions, asking questions, spotting problem areas in their writer and finding solutions,” says Harris.
He then introduces his questionnaires and the number of ESL writers who participated in it. Around 85 students, who represented the diversity on Purdue’s campus well, took the questionnaires. These students had lived in America from a few months to many years and had “no formal instruction in English” (Harris). Despite a huge linguistic and cultural barrier, these students’ answers were comparable to native English writers’. Harris’s questionnaires revealed that the ESL students think of their teachers as individuals who “work with large groups, lecturing on general concepts and course content” (Harris). ESL students also stated that teachers are more knowledgeable and have an expertise in their field. ESL students felt that "tutors gave advice," (Harris) and this showed that an ESL student, like native English speakers, enjoy having a one-on-one conversation while they get their specific needs addressed. However, ESL students added that they wanted the opportunity to ask more questions per session.
I plan to incorporate this into a session next time and notice if students want to be lead in a conversation, or want to lead the conversation. Having seen both sides of the spectrum, I will not be surprised if I see a student who likes a mix of both.
Harris’s students stress that they come to the writing center to have their questions answered. They feel that students in America are “more involved in the learning process,” and another ESL student stated that students are “not so active” (Harris). Hence, it’s only obvious to take time to advise consultants to talk politely. Harris suggests not to question students directly by saying “Why” or “How,” but ask them to “please explain” again.
Moving on, Harris talks about the ESL students who responded to his second questionnaire. Most of the students preferred to have a friendly conversation with the consultant before the session began and these students like to work in face-to-face friendly environment. “I like friendly atmosphere while learning as I always have a better result,” (Harris) stated an ESL student. Even thought ESL agreed, with the academic, with views on collaborative learning, many students wanted help to explain to the tutor that ESL students will make mistakes that native writers will never make. “Please do not laugh at what you see,” (Harris) said a student expressing that the ESL group was similar to any other group of writers on campus.