Melissa Capece
December 6, 2011
Eng. 3029
Draft of Research Project
“Bilingual Education”
My chosen focus for this Research Project reflects on the question, “How can Writing Centers or Tutors help Bilingual Students with their writing?” In everyday life, we come across College students who are exposed to the fear of having to compose essays, papers, or simple assignments in Standard English formats. These types of tasks can be very difficult for anyone who is new in the school, coming from other Countries. Initially, it is complicating enough for a Bilingual student to have to grasp the understanding of speaking in English however; they might also need to learn the process of writing in English. Bilingual Education is not seen as a widely conversed topic, even though, when someone really thinks about it, it becomes interesting and controversial, as well.
The problem connects to existing research in ways of how one text mentions, “…schools don’t seem to be providing student’s with “essential tools” for their writing.” (Farr and Daniels, 3) They also note how “Less than 3 percent of student’s time for classwork or homework was devoted or writing a paragraph or more.” (Farr and Daniels, 3) Upon these Author’s expressions, it seems apparent how most American schools are seen as not devoting enough time to generally explain the standards of English, such as composing simple essays or paragraphs. In addition, by not being able to correctly learn the procedures of such tasks, it will become even harder and more strenuous for students to learn how to perform the correct duties. In order to conduct assignments, you have to know the proper processes, as well as understanding how the words are pronounced in the English language.
Additionally, Farr and Daniels mention that, “…of the time spent “writing” in English and other classes, students primarily were involved in multiple-choice and short-answer tasks. (p.3) As they say, it seems as if this is true, considering most people these days seem to have a more difficult time grasping the ideas of how English derives from concepts. For instance, the American system consists of consonants, vowels, silent letters, etc. There are a lot of “rules” in the English language, which someone might have trouble with grasping initially, especially if they need to incorporate them in a piece of writing. Also, by simply circling letters as in multiple-choice activities, students are not learning how to understand the actual process of actually writing out letters, words, or phrases. Therefore, their capability to develop well-written documents might not perform to a sufficient stage later on.
Moreover, in a further study, the Authors express how Applebee’s states that, “…students with poor writing skills are no more likely to receive help from their instructors than better writers; and teachers spend more time criticizing student’s writing than teaching writing skills.” (p. 4) With this approach, it seems as if the text refers to how teacher’s believe in teaching their student’s all equal, whether the student be strong in the learning aspect or weak in the learning material. I believe that teachers and professors should be willing to help every one of their student’s. It is obvious, however, how there are hundreds of students per class, which creates a difficulty for teachers to meet with every single individual, meanwhile they should still be opened to offer assistance to those in need. Additionally, it is especially important for professors to provide support for students who are bilingual, considering they most likely need the most guidance. At times, when professors cannot help certain students who do not speak their language, this is where a Writing Center or Tutors come in.
Throughout a Campus, students should be able to find a Writing Center. Writing centers are not only places to go for writing purposes, however, some of them also offer the assistance of having tutors. The tutors there are usually fully trained in various subject areas, as well as most of them are Bilingual Educators. The positives regarding Writing Centers revolve around how students can go there to have a quiet place to study and write, while also receiving assistance from the trained peers. Additionally, most Campuses offer Tutoring, which refers to professionally paid students who are available to help other students with their studies, such as composing a piece of writing. Most tutors are bilingually educated these days, which is beneficial, especially for those students who are in coming from other Countries by their first Semester at a new University.
While the concern with Bilingual Education is being settled, readers of this essay can learn how there are two methods that we focus on. First, “Ethnography” reflects on how everyday people in the Society are studied based on something they are doing. Second, we will express how “Interviewing” comes into the role of a useful method based on our study of Bilingual Education. Let’s start by discussing the initial method of “Ethnography.” This one can be used throughout a Campus or a University by seeing how all kinds of people interact with one another. The ways of how fluent people speak English can sound different to someone who has never heard English before. Some would believe we have “accents” in the range of our voices, while others might not have any understanding of our words. The importance of learning English is high, considering first, someone needs to be able to say their phrases or sentences in Standard English before they begin writing something in English. The idea of “Ethnography” would be used as a way to gather data on a Campus or Community to find out how people come together as an experiment in determining how they feel when it comes to writing courses or assignments in English for College. In addition, I would use the process of “Interviewing” to go to a Writing Center or find a tutor who I could speak with to find out how they feel about assisting those students who have trouble in pronouncing English, as well as to ask them how difficult it would be to work with a Bilingual student.
Along the book of “A Tutor’s Guide”, reads of this paper can learn how …”experienced writing center tutors are accustomed to working with undergraduate, graduate, traditional, and nontraditional students.” (Ritter, p. 54) Based on this quote, we can reflect how we are able to learn to assist others, whether they are in College or not. We also learn from Ritter that, “…when working with English as a Second Language students, we encounter yet another layer of differences. ESL students bring different cultural backgrounds, writing experiences, and English language proficiency to the English writing context.” (p, 54) I believe it is important to be able to assist ESL students in any way possible to help them succeed in their classes, considering it is difficult for those students to grasp the understanding of English in a quickly manner. Additionally, with the concern of learning how to write a well-developed paper or essay in English, there is also the situation of learning the correct ways of using accurate punctuation marks in the piece of writing. For instance, most professors look for specific question marks, periods, and exclamation marks, as well as commas, apostrophes, etc. These can be hard for new ESL students at first, however with the help or Writing Centers and tutors, the students can learn how to conduct a proper essay or paragraph, while learning how to succeed in class.
Furthermore, another reference states how …”effective teachers are people who have learned to present themselves well and to stage their classroom activities.” (Anson, p. 78) This quote relates to the thought of how teachers, tutors, Writing Centers, and professors all should provide a positive atmosphere for their students. Having a “welcoming” and positive environment can help promote a good feeling in the area or room. Also, by being patient and supportive can show the person that you are there to be of guidance and not just to “be there”; Being truly supportive can make someone feel as if they can succeed.
In conclusion, we have come to discover …”How Writing Centers and Tutors can help Bilingual Students with their writing”. It is important to realize just how many people in our world, especially today, have difficulty in speaking English, as well as having to compose a piece of writing. Not only can certain services, such as the Writing Centers or going to a Tutor ne helpful, however everyday people can also be of assistance to these students, as well. Providing guidance along with support is helpful for ESL students, while leading towards succeeding in their classes. Imagine yourself coming from a new Country, not knowing any English, and being put in the situation of having to compose an essay for your new College class. In these cases, the thought of being able to go somewhere for assistance to learn the proper techniques of Standard English would most likely be highly appreciated!
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