Non-verbals speak

Let's try to maintain awareness of the messages we send without speaking--possibly without intending to.

For example, what is the difference between sitting across the table from the student and sitting beside or just around the corner from him/her? (If you are sitting on opposite sides, how do you even share the draft, anyway?)

What is the difference between having the paper in front of you, having it in front of the student, and having it somewhere between the two of you?

And how about that pencil--who is holding the pencil, who is making the marks on the draft, and what is the message there?

Tables needn't come between us and our students. We are engaged in a collaborative venture, not a mini-class. We offer choices, but we don't dictate what to do. There are so many variables, so many solutions, so many approaches--why would I think mine is best? We offer choices and then insist that the student take responsibility for making one.

Don't take the paper away from the student, and avoid just silently reading. Read it together. Better yet, spend five minutes asking questions about it and getting the student to tell you about it before you read at all. Make the student take you on a tour of his paper. Make him point to his thesis statement. Make him point to his topic sentences. Ask him why he put his points in this order or whether he considered rearranging them. Ask whether he presented any counterarguments--and make him point to them.

And pencils! If you, like me, need to fiddle with one, either use it as a pointer or write on a piece of scratch paper. Don't line out (the student's) words on the draft and write in (your) other words! Again, the ownership of and responsibility for the paper is the student's. Offer choices, let him choose, and let him write on his own paper.

Drive

With more and more students coming in with English writing assignments it is always useful to know a bit about what they are writing about, or at least be able to touch base on the main topics. These task is sometimes are to complete because we don't always have the time to read each assignments reading when we have our own reading assignments for our own classes.

HELPFUL HINT: In the book "Drive" there is a summary of each chapter in the back of the book, as well as, a glossary defining the key terms used through out the book.

Recently, in the WLDC...

A student walks into a writing center. She is a drop-in student. She asks you to "look at" her essay. You "look at" it. You make some suggestions. She says thank you and goes away. What is missing?

What is missing here is the assignment. What is it? Because if the assignment was to explain why honest news reporting is fundamental to the continuance of a democracy, and she wrote a fine essay about gender roles in television commercials, then she is not responding to the assignment. And right at the top of any requirement for a writing assignment is that it must respond to the assignment.

May I gently remind us all: ask about the assignment. Ask to read the handout (and hope there is one). And if the student doesn't have a handout, doesn't know the assignment, or can't clearly explain it, remember to explain to her that, while she may have written a very fine essay that maybe just needs a little work on the conclusion, that you can't really speak to whether or not she has satisfied that most essential element.

Ask other questions, too, before you "look at" a paper. Ask about the topic, about the writing process, and about the paper (even though you plan to read it in about five minutes!). If you make the student talk about her writing before you read, you will probably learn some things, like what she's most worried about, or what she's confident about, or what she doesn't know, or what she hopes to gain from working with you. When a student asks me to "look at" a paper, for instance, I often ask, "To what purpose? What work do you hope to get done?" I usually learn something useful to the session.

Always on the sunny side

“The first step towards the solution of any problem is optimism.”
- John Baines

I'm sure we have all had moments were it is hard, or close to impossible, to find the sliver lining. This task is even harder when the product of our creation is being graded. I try not to start a tutoring session by pointing out all the things that are wrong in a paper or even what can be done better. I like to start by asking the student what they feel they need to work on, want help on, and what they thing they have completed already. From that I can make a judgement on what to reinforce about the paper. Usually what  they want help with (if already completed) is fine the student just lacks the confidence in their self that the work is good. Now sometimes there is work that needs to be done to a paper and I like to start with some positive feed back first before introducing the negative work.

Another method I like doing is just having the student talk to me. This is useful when they say that they have no clue what to write about. I walk them through it step buy step. As what would you like your essay to cover (thesis). What kind of things help support or prove that point (claims, reasons). And what are some examples for those points. 

I also think that our encouragement before they leave the writing centers does a great deal to relieve the stress that goes hand and hand with a writing assignment. Just looking at the students I have worked with, how they seem when I first meet with them to when they leave is a great deal of difference.

How to write a book about "How to Watch TV News"...

I have been working with several students that are reading "How to Watch TV News". I noticed immediately that this book seems to be a difficult read for most. I decided to start reading it myself to see what everyone was talking about. I have only read the first couple of chapters, but have noticed that it does seem to be a bit awkward. Most students have said that they are having a hard time deciding what information is important. They are having issues deciding what information should be utilized in their writing. I noticed that someone said it comes off more like a "rough draft", instead of a final copy. I agree. It also comes off as fairly bias. It seems like an awkward choice for English 51 text.

The book that I would really like to start reading is "Drive". It seems to have a lot of interesting ideas. Catherine and Rosemary are both reading it right now. Rosemary was reading it last week and talked about it briefly. It seems like an interesting book! I need to find more time to read some of the books available here at the writing center. If I continue to have free time in the early morning, I plan to catch up on "How to Watch TV News" and hopefully start reading "Drive".

The 2 o'clock Hunger

It's that time of day there are not many students in the writing center and all the tasks of a tutor have been completed. So what I ask is there left to do? Well I answer with read. Now I may be the only one that finds this much down time while at the WLDC in the afternoon, but I have made a nice dent in the books "Drive" and " How to Watch T.V. News". One is a much smoother read than the other, just F.Y.I.

ESL Tutoring

Under Rosemary's persuasion, I am blogging for the first time in my life and doing it about my experience with ESL tutoring.  I honestly don't believe I've accomplished as much as I expect I should have.  However, my anxiety about tutoring ESL students has faded. 

I have found, in my life experience, that even in a business relationship an element of personal connection makes for a better work environment. So, I approach the encounters as I would with any person I form a relationship with.  I connect with them in a personal way. What I feel is beneficial about this approach is that I'm learning about their background.  I learn about the languages they have spoken and  have been exposed to.  I learn about the culture they come from.  I learn about what is important to them.  I feel this is significant because it is allowing the client to trust me.  They don't just see me as another college staff person but as someone who is really interested in their life and their success in it.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all college staff are impersonal, many are just busy and overwhelmed.  As a tutor, we have the opportunity to fill in the gap.  This applies to any student receiving tutoring services.  Yet, more so, it applies to the ESL student. 

The anxiety for the ESL client as a learner outweighs the anxiety I have as a tutor.  By acknowledging how they must feel, I realize that worrying about being "perfect" is just pointless.  We are both going through a learning process.  This viewpoint has helped ease up my nerves, which has brought about a more relaxed experience for both the client and me.  The fact that they do not see me being anxious helps them to feel more confident in themselves and me.  I think that combining the previous approach with this one is working.

Grant it, I do have concerns about my performance.  Really though, that's just about refreshing my knowledge regarding the fundamentals about the English language, which I haven't had to think about in years.  I am using resources at the WLDC to assist in that.  One of those is the green book that Rosemary suggested. Studying the materials between clients is advantageous.

The approaches I have taken are what seem to be successful at this point.  It's not technical.  My tendecncy is to overcomplicate.  I don't know if anyone else does this.  But whether you are like me or not in that way,  I think it's best to start where I did and move on from there.