strategies for esol writers
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Strategies for ESOL Writers. Writing Across the Curriculum ( WAC) Program Melanie Lorek Justina Oliveira. Roadmap. Challenges ESOL students face Strategies to help ESOL students Create a positive learning environment Create assignments that help (ESOL) students succeed - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Strategies for ESOL Writers
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM (WAC) PROGRAM
MELANIE LOREKJUSTINA OLIVEIRA
Roadmap
Challenges ESOL students faceStrategies to help ESOL students
1. Create a positive learning environment
2. Create assignments that help (ESOL) students succeed
3. Use effective teaching strategies and approaches
4. Reduce the language load
5. Potentially allow use of native language in some contexts
Issues You May Have Encountered:• Limited lecture comprehension
• Limited class participation
• Reluctance to use office hours
• Saying they understand something when it’s clear they don’t
• Writing that doesn’t meet expectations (strangely organized, lacking expected elements, etc.)
• Odd vocabulary usage
• Grammatical errors (either minor or serious)
• Potential plagiarism
• Poor test performance
Exercise
Write a paragraph or two explaining what your profession does(e.g., Architecture, Law) following these three rules: All adjectives have to be followed by a verb. All prepositions must be placed at the beginning of
the sentence. All pronouns must be placed at the end of the
sentence.
Traditional Writing Assignments Ask Students to:
“Do the Discipline”
Write in finished prose
Develop and demonstrate critical
thinking skills
Comprehend an academic text and concepts
Challenges Students are Faced with When Entering College
Stuck between 2 differing teaching philosophies (Moussu, 2013)1. Instructor feedback often focuses on
grammar (lower order concerns)
Told to go to Writing Center to “fix” this2. Writing Centers often have philosophy to
focus on global understanding and critical thinking of texts
Strategies to Help ESOL Students:
1. Create a positive learning environment
2. Create assignments that help (ESOL) students succeed
3. Use effective teaching strategies and approaches
4. Reduce the language load
5. Potentially allow use of native language in some contexts
Strategy#1: Create a positive learning environment
Express interest in their homes and communities, their primary languages and cultures
Pronounce students’ names correctlyGather information about your students that
aids in understanding their point of view/experiences
Strategy#1: Create a positive learning environment
Provide support outside of classroom Discussion about cultural norms in
learning, teaching environments, etc.Acknowledge students are experts in
their own language
Strategy #2: Creating assignments that help (ESOL) students succeed Provide detailed assignments - clear
expectations Provide examples (models of good student
work) Allow for discussion of students’ ideas (one-
on-one or with students) Scaffold & require a draft
Strategy #2: Creating assignments that help (ESOL) students succeed Respond thoughtfully and respectfully
Activities/assignments that allow students to draw on their prior knowledge & life experience Microthemes, Exploratory Essays, Reflection Papers
Expect and accept written accents Correct serious patterns of errors, but not all
errors Teach citation very carefully
Strategy#3: Use effective teaching strategies/approaches
Communicate with students individually Avoid limiting student efforts solely to
verbal performance Allow students to record lectures Provide an outline of your lecture Post lecture notes
Strategy#3: Use effective teaching strategies/approaches
Consider varying teaching styles: Implement self- (journal writing), peer, &
teacher assessment regarding feedback to writing (Birjandi & Tamjid, 2012)
Reciprocal teaching: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting strategies during reading improve students’ writing (Ghorbani, Gangeraj, & Alavi, 2013)
Strategy#4: Reduce the language load
Break up complex sentences into smaller sentences
Point out difficult words and define themOffer various sources on one topic with
varying levels of linguistic difficultyConsider using visuals along with your
lecture or readings
Strategy#5: Allowing use of native language
Using native language during idea generation, initial phases of assignments, critical thinking stages (Huh, Lee, & Lee, 2013) These stages are cognitively demanding &
stressful Unrealistic to ask ESL students to solely use &
think in English (Cohen, 1998) Allow students to use readings in their native
language for initial stages of brainstorming
Activity 2 – last section of handout
References Birjandi, P., & Tamjid, N.H. (2012). The role of self-, peer and teacher
assessment in promoting Iranian EFL learners’ writing performance. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 37, 513-533.
Cohen, A.D. (1998). Strategies in learning and using a second language. New York: Longman.
Ghorbani, M.R., Gangeraj, A.A., & Alavi, S.Z. (2013). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension strategies improves EFL learners’ writing ability. Current Issues in Education, 16, 1-12.
Huh, M-H., Lee, Y-S., Lee, N. (2013). Mediation through the first language during the second language writing: A sociocultural approach. English Teaching, 68, 69-84.
Moussu, L. (2013). Let’s talk! ESL students’ needs and writing centre philosophy. TESL Canada Journal, 30, 55-68.
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/faculty-resources/tips-on-teaching-esl-students/tips-on-teaching-esl-students/
http://faculty.weber.edu/mtungmala/Hybrid4270/Articles/MeetNeeds.pdf