Apart from linguistic and, to some extent, cultural barriers, what are other differences between NES and ESL students using the Writing Center? What is it about the Writing Center that NES knows while ESL does not know? I have asked my American roommate what she knows about the writing center, and her answer is no different from my other non-American friend that Writing Center is where they get their grammar checked. They have the same “fix-it workshop” misconception about the Writing Center, but why the way authors in our class reading create an impression that ESL writers are somehow weaker or not-so-confident than their NES counterparts? Is it only ESL students who feel “intimidated”, fear of “being judged”, worry about “taking risk”, or are “unfamiliar with the assignment” when getting started? (Bruce 33). As an ESL writer, I somehow feel that many native speakers look upon us, ESL students, as inferior, at least in writing. This is particularly the case when I work with American students at the Writing Center.

Anyway, I found these week reading particularly interesting especially the part about reading ESL text. Shanti Bruce said that getting a tutorial start is one of the hardest jobs and I have to agree with her. I usually find it awkward at first talking to client at the Writing Center. Sometimes, I do not understand what the client really wants until after few minutes talking to him/her. But once, the tutorial get started, thing is fine as time goes on. Bruce stresses that making plan at the beginning of the tutorial is important because not does it reduce student’s anxiety but also foster a share of responsibility between tutor and writer (34). Planning thus helps to use our time effectively. Though I know about and agree with this so-called “Western” way of working, I don’t usually follow this step when working with client. Oftentimes, clients would just tell me what their concerns are and I jump right to working on it. It is probably why my sessions sometimes start with lots confusions between me and clients. I think I will have to focus on planning, though awkward as it may, because I do not want my clients to spend their time going nowhere.

The next article, co-written by Matsuda and Cox, relates three major stances on how to approach ESL writer’s text. The assimilationist try to make ESL’s text sound as native as possible by focusing on language usage, wordings, etc. Seeing the differences as “deficiencies”, an assimilationist corrects every error or word he/she finds unfamiliar or weird (45). The accommodationist aims to make the writers aware of the differences but not necessarily to change those differences. It depends on the extent to which an ESL writer wants his/her paper to sound “native” (45). The last one—separatist—emphasizes more on the cultural aspect of the text rather than the language itself. It is funny when it comes to which stance I should adapt because I am not a native speaker myself, so there is no way that I can create a native-like version of student’s paper like the assimilationist. That leaves the accommodationist and separatist. The former is a pretty good option because it’s up to the writer to decide. But it reminded me of the time when I joined a workshop on speaking and pronunciation at my home university. When asked how many students wanted to speak like the native speaker of English, almost all of us raised our hand. Then our speaker who was a Norwegian native in English said if she could, she would love to keep her English accent as a Norwegian. Thus I wonder if by being able to write like a native writer, using the same idiomatic expressions as the native writer usually does, an ESL writer loses his/her ethnical identity or not.

The last thing I want to comment on is the part about tutor showing too much interest on ESL culture. Matsuda and Cox said “…readers of ESL texts can get distracted by their own curiosity about certain details…they can also lead the tutor away from the writer’s goals and more toward their own goals, which could include asking the writer about their cultures or experiences, leading the reader to become more a tourist than a tutor” (49). Just today, a Chinese student who I helped with his personal statement applying for a program told me that he also brought his paper earlier that morning. But the tutor showed too much interest in his culture that he did not get much from that session. That's why he decided to visit the center again at noon. I was very happy working with this student because I was able to apply those theories we learnt in class in the session. I shared my experience on writing personal statement for my exchange program application. Together, we brainstormed the ideas and planned what to write. After the session, he asked for my schedule and said he would bring his draft back for me to comment. I am excited about this though I am kind of afraid that I might jeopardize his chance of getting admitted to the program.

References:

Bruce, Shanti. “Breaking Ice and Setting Goals.” ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. 2nd ed. Eds. Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 2009. 33-41.

Matsuda, Paul Kei and Michelle Cox. "Reading an ESL Writer's Text." ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. 2nd ed. Eds. Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 2009. 42-50.