ucwbl final presentation.pdf

8/14/2019 UCWbL Final Presentation.pdf

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Emma

Rubenstein

DEVELOPING ESL

TUTOR

TRAINING AT THE

UCWBL


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Within the UCWbL there is a serious lack oftraining when it comes to working on written

feedback face to face and fellowing appointmentswith writers who do not speak and write English astheir native language.

By increasing the intensity of this training for Tutors andFellows, the Writing Center has the potential to transform this

facet of the UCWbL into something much more tangible,

developed, and thorough.

THE PROBLEM


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1. Broader tutoring abilities2. Greater sense of confidence and decreased

anxiety

3. More productive appointments4. Diverse student body5. Less room for appropriation

WHY DOES THIS MATTER FOR FELLOWS?


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1. Rooted in academia2. Valuable third party3. Distinct differences between working

with native English speakers and ESL

students

THE BIGGER PICTURE


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Article: What are the differences? Tutor interactions

with first- and second-language writers

!Study of transcripts!Findings:1. Tutors will give in during NNS2. Much more direct and authoritative with NNS

(rejection of self-evaluations of NNS students)

3. Rigid agenda4. Less conversation and laughter

TERESE THONUS


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! My personal approach to training tutors to work withNNS students is to demonstrate what isbasically, thesummary of findings aboveand then ask tutors toimagine why we might interact as we do with NNSs.Tutors must be reassured that there are reasons for theirfrustrationfirst and foremost, they (and theirsupervisors) must be willing to relinquish the or thodoxyof the collaborative frame and permit more realistic andappropriate contact zones for tutorials with NNSs.

!There is no easy way to achieve a paradigm shift inwriting center theory that promotes more than a one-size fits all tutoring frame. But as our centers fill withNNSs of diverse backgrounds, we can ill af ford to ignoreour tutors frustrations.

TERESE THONUS CONCLUSIONS


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Article: Novice tutors and their ESL tutees: Three case studies oftutor roles and perceptions

of tutorial success

! Experience similar to that of Writing Fellows! For administrators and teachers concerned with providing

effective tutoring for non- native speakers (NNS) of English at theuniversity, the tutor training literature often falls short ofexpectations. Some scholars (Hall, 2001; Harris & Silva 1993;Thonus, 1999b) have pointed out that the advice given to writingtutors who deal mostly with native speakers (NS) may not alwayswork for NNS tutees. For the most part, there is littleconsideration given to the issue of native language in tutor

training manuals. In fact, several studies of tutoring intraditional campus writing centers have found that evenexperienced writing tutors frequently feel unprepared to dealwith the writing needs of NNSs (Cogie, Strain, & Lorinskas, 1999;Harris & Silva, 1993; Szapara, 1994).

SARAH CUSHING WEIGLE


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Article: A review of ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center

Tutors

! Like any university, we saw our share of students for whomstandard English was not their first language. It was hard

finding resources to help my tutors avoid giving purelyprescriptive feedback since most training guides, journals,

and newsletters tended to overlook the essential dif ferences

lin- guistic as well as culturalbetween tutoring an immigrant,

international, or an American-born s tudent of color. Since

each of these groups was implicitly lumped together as ESL inthe literature, the advice was rarely useful across those lines,

especially for tutors.

AMANDA ESPINOSA-AGUILAR


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!Acknowledge the differences in a vast number ofcultures

!Tutors must be aware of cultural expectat ions!Tutors must understand the differences and the

difficulties/barriers that non native English speakers

are facing when learning the language

!Many of the same tutoring strategies can apply tonon-native English speakers

!Offering choices (Evades appropriation and alsoinstills the tutor with authority)

AMANDA ESPINOSA-AGUILAR

(CONTINUED)


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! Mandatory Seminar1. When: On the third Saturday of Fall quarter, from 10:00am to

4:00pm.

2. Why: To intensify ESL training and promote tutor flexibility inan efficient and supportive environment.

3. How: Through discussion, presentations from experiencedUCWbLers, group activities, exploration of transcripts (Thonus),

and feedback from a panel of student experts.

! Added Section to the Handbook1. Supplemental, written medium (Aguilar)2. Permanent and simple source of reference! Separate Collaborative Observation1. First hand experience2. Increased sense of flexibility

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?


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ACTIVITY TIME!


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Thonus, Terese. "What Are the Dif ferences? Tutor Interactions

with First- and Second-language Writers."Journal ofSecond Language Writing(2004): 227-42.EBSCO Host.Web.

Weigle, Sarah C. "Novice Tutors and Their ESL Tutees: Three

Case Studies of Tutor Roles and Perceptions of Tutorial

Success."Journal of Second Language Writing(2004):203-25.EBSCO Host. Web.

Espinosa-A guilar, Amanda. "Review." Rev. of ESL Writers: AGuide for Writing Center Tutors . (n.d.): n. pag. EBSCOHost. Web.

SOURCES

ucwbl final presentation.pdf

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