A Tutor's Guide Main Take-Away Points - Chapters 6 & 7: ESL Writers
Chapter 6
- Texts and assignments can be very U.S.-centric and created without ESL writers in mind
- International students commonly enter the process of doing an assignment at a disadvantage (but not necessarily a blank slate)
- Courses possess a "hidden curriculum"
- The "contact zone" is a place where cultures meet, clash, grapple...and tutors can act as cultural mediators
- Try to answer and predict questions
- Create reading guides together
- Find a "way in" to the assignment topic and relate it to the writer's relevant experiences
- Fill in context instead of giving a history lesson
- Brainstorm, use personal experiences
- Culturally informing is a two-way street and a collaborative process
Chapter 7
- Be aware of your role when it shifts from tutor to informant
- Local errors like use of prepositions may not have much meaning to negotiate, and it's sometimes best just to tell the writer which words to use
- Negotiation allows the tutor to understand the message more clearly and provides an opportunity for growth of the speaker's language proficiency
- Start sessions by discussing how tutor and writer can confront language problems and grammar together
- Ask questions to clarify the writer's message and point out any issues
- Focus on meaning
You noted that in Chapter 6 the tutor is regarded as somewhat of a mediator of the contact zone. I was really struck by this as well. I think I’m still figuring out the tutor’s role, but this was also a take-away for me.
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