tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post2790882209984803167..comments2024-03-27T08:11:29.257-06:00Comments on PeerCentered: ESL student's need more time...Clint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671508034667904543noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-83533163915506253492007-11-26T09:14:00.000-07:002007-11-26T09:14:00.000-07:00Everyone is bringing up really valid issues. I ag...Everyone is bringing up really valid issues. I agree with Alisha that it can be helpful to invite every student to schedule another session. It helps build our image of wanting to see the writer again, and making him feel welcome and comfortable in the center. I would also agree that the verbal invitation is especially important for ELL students. These sessions may be especially stressful, wading through social and language barriers, and an invitation to come back seems like a positive opportunity to extend and deepen the conversation.<BR/><BR/>I see the validity in Jen's comment about the benefits of a writer working with the same tutor for an entire semester. However, I feel that the shifting staff/personalities/points of view of writing center consultations as a strength that keeps it in the realm of chaos, and out from under the wing of classroom teaching. Writers come to the center usually after receiving feedback from a single teacher, maybe having workshopped the piece with the same class. The Writing Center is a great place to go to get well-rounded multiple perspectives. Every tutor has a good reason for being a tutor--if the writer openly communicates his goals, he can have productive sessions with many consultants.ecpowershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03439744288615544149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-52925694972961142632007-11-24T13:05:00.000-07:002007-11-24T13:05:00.000-07:00Time has certainly been an issue for me this semes...Time has certainly been an issue for me this semester with my ELL sessions, so I understand how you're feeling, Jenny. A few weeks ago I had a session with a delightful student who was struggling with the use of "you" in her BusComm paper. She was so scared to rewrite the sentences herself, we spent nearly an hour rephrasing all of the sentences. It seemed worth the time, however, because as we neared the end of the paper she began to revise them herself. <BR/><BR/>On the whole, ELL sessions seem to require more time, but I have had a couple that are more established in the English language and actually go more efficiently than native speakers. How do we make sure we are giving them the time they deserve while keeping to our schedules?<BR/><BR/>In a perfect world (where consultants worked the writing center like a full-time job), I think it would be beneficial to have students sign up for one consultant each semester, sort of like a family practice doctor's office. Of course, students could also switch "providers" if the relationship didn't fit well for them. While this scenario would probably not work in our center for several reasons, I can't help but think there could be great work done between student and consultant if they had a continual working relationship rather than just a one-timer. <BR/><BR/>In sessions where extensive time is spent on one issue that clearly needs attention based on the questions of the student and those issues evident on the paper, it seems our responsibility as writing center consultants also includes language tutor.<BR/><BR/>It seems my student who struggled with her "you's" could have benefited from an English language tutor as well--maybe that's what she thought I was. <BR/><BR/>While it is rewarding to help an ELL student reach a grammatcial AHA moment, I worry that such sporadic sessions across the course of a semester is not enough for the lessons to sink in.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05008490483165044376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-76994065057285471052007-11-20T10:18:00.000-07:002007-11-20T10:18:00.000-07:00Hi Jenny,I really like the issues that you address...Hi Jenny,<BR/><BR/>I really like the issues that you address here. I have also felt frustrated after sessions with ELL students. Quite often I find myself zeroing-in-on a single grammar issue or on larger HOC issues, simply because those topics are ones that I feel we can throughly discuss before the sessions up. <BR/><BR/>Although I feel this works, and is something the student can benefit from, I often feel really bad because I know the student left the Center with an entire paper full of potential conversations. So often they leave with only getting to half of what they wanted to talk about.<BR/><BR/>I think that it's a great idea to suggest making another appointment to every writer, yet perhaps it's even more so with ELL students--especially if they're leaving with issues unaddressed.<BR/><BR/>AlishaAlisha Kamphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03021863287095747457noreply@blogger.com