The College Writing Center in the ESOL Community

1
The College Writing Center in the ESOL Community

• Jenny Derksen
• Consultant, The College of Wooster Writing Center
• ESOL Coordinator, Wayne County ABLE

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The Writing Center Mission Statement

• The College of Wooster Writing Center is
  dedicated to close reading, critical inquiry, and
  thoughtful discussion that improve writing
  processes as well as written products. Growth
  and learning are intended outcomes for each and
  every participant in these processes.

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Purpose

• Help students develop their reading and writing
  skills by encouraging them to think critically
  about the processes involved in both.
• Act as educated readers, asking common-sense
  questions and examining problems in mechanics,
  organization, development, and expression.
• The Writing Center Tutor Training Handbook

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Purpose

• Create a more engaged relationship between a
  student and his/her writing.
• Help students learn to examine their own writing
  more critically.
• Foster better writers and better writing.
• The Writing Center Tutor Training
  Handbook

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How all this happens!

• Location
• Appointments
• Consultants and peer tutors
• Reports

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Basic Principles of Writing Tutorials

• Non-directive tutoring
• Students state what to work on
• Minimalist tutoring
• Help develop strategies to improve their own
  papers
• Dialogic tutoring
• Tutor interactive reader, not editor, helps
  develop good writing practices
• The Writing Center Peer Tutor Handbook

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More Principles

• Higher-order Concerns vs. Lower-order Concerns
• Thesis, argument, focus, organization,
  development, tone
• Collaboration vs. Direction
• Encourage students to talk through the writing
  process and bounce ideas off the tutor, engage
  imagination
• Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Grammar Support
• Grammar usage and natural expression of language
• Not Grammar Police
• The Writing Center Peer Tutor Handbook

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Who is studying in the US?

• 2006-2007
• 582,984 international students
• 350,478 students from non-English speaking
  countries
• India, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico,
  Turkey, Thailand, Germany
• http//www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/12/open
  doors

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The College of Wooster

• 2007-2008
• 1,781 students
• 6 non-resident international students
• Most represented countries
• China, India, Pakistan, Jamaica, South Korea,
  Nepal
• Does not include Third Culture Kids or Generation
  1.5
• (Later Bilinguals)
• http//nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?qTheCollege
  ofWoosterallid206589

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What does the ESOL Professional Contribute to the
Writing Center?

• We understand
• Culture
• Language Acquisition Theory
• Grammar
• Language learner frustrations

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ESOL Professionals Understand and have techniques
to address

• Culture
• In writing
• In audience
• In content
• In citation
• Writing Across Borders, Oregon State University

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ESOL Professionals understand and have techniques
to address

• Language Acquisition Theory
• Translation/Interference from L1
• Errors
• Vocabulary

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ESOL Professionals understand and have techniques
to address

• Grammar
• Concerns
• Errors
• Helps

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Areas of Collaboration for ESOL Professionals

• Small Liberal Arts College-The College of Wooster
• ESOL Program House
• Other campus groups
• Education class presentations
• Bridges Program
• Study Table
• Tutorials
• Free writing
• Support for faculty
• Support to ESOL faculty and staff

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The ESOL Professional in the Writing Center
and Campus Community
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Thank You

• Should you like more information or a copy of
  this presentation please see The College of
  Wooster website.
• http//www.wooster.edu/writing_center
• jderksen_at_wooster.edu