Multilingual Students

1
Multilingual Students

• in the University classroom

2
Types of English Language Learners

• International
• Generation 1.5

3
The typical International

• Is more likely to be eye or visual learners
  exposure to English has been formal, delivered
  through books and classroom instruction
• In most cases has a strong English grammar
  foundation usually have a good understanding of
  grammatical terms (morphological, lexical or
  syntactic)

4
AND

• Usually do not bring fully developed oral English
  language systems
• Do bring very well developed first language
  literary skills
• Can articulate grammatical rules
• Not always well transferred to written English or
  speech

5
AND.
Experience culture shock upon arrival Have
difficulty understanding spoken English Want to
learn formal English (usually because of business
English being highly valued in their countries,
or if exchange to learn the lingua franca
6
And usually are exposed to a more rigid
educational system

• Influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism
• Stresses conformity
• Obedience
• Passivity
• Faculty are afforded great respect
• A question for clarification may be regarded as
  an affront to the teacher

7
And.

• Students are prepared for lecture format teacher
  imparts knowledge and students passively absorb
  and memorize
• Class participation and group interaction is
  almost non-existent students may even feel that
  they are not learning anything!
• Weaker in conversation - used to grammar
  translation methods (to pass exams)
• Fear of making a mistake and losing face
• Use cognitive strategies over social and
  affective relying on memorization

8
The Generation 1.5 are usually permanent U.S.
residents or students seeking residency

• Who came to the U.S. prior or during middle
  school, or high school
• who share characteristics of both first and
  second generation immigrants

9
Characteristics

• Gestalt learners that are more auditory in
  learning language because of learning English
  through social settings
• Very verbal with peer language, social slang
• Are more comfortable with spoken English rather
  than written English

10
These 1.5 students.

• may evidence problems that look more like
  developmental or basic readers and writers
• May speak their native language but may not be
  literate in that language
• may not have had enough ESL to have fully
  developed English literacy skills for
  college-level work

11
Resident ESLs

• Resident May still feel uncomfortable responding
  to teacher questions
• However, have had more exposure to the
  flexibility of the American and egalitarian
  system where student ideas are elicited.
• They MAY dominate class discussions, and alienate
  internationals
• May speak a fluid but non-standard English
  learned from Americans and non-native English
  speakers
• Still problems with verbs, prepositions, and
  vocabulary (using wrong word form)
• In formal academic situations, may use
  inappropriate, informal language (sometimes
  reinforced by group work)

12
ESL is for ELLs

• These students do not want to be identified as
  ESL for the stigma that may be attached to this
  label
• In the K-12 Sector and through the Department of
  Education the moniker is ELL English Language
  Learner

13
Research on ESL or Multilingual Writing

• What emerges from existing work is a growing
  sense that learning how to write in a second
  language may involve much more than simply
  learning how to avoid interference from the
  native language. (Matsuda, 2006)

14
In a review of comparative rhetoric
..differences were noted in

• linguistic proficiencies and intuitions about
  language
• learning experiences and classroom expectations
• sense of audience and writer
• preferences for ways of organizing texts

15
Reading Essays and other literature..

• Different understanding of text uses and the
  social value of different text types
• L2 writers are less inhibited by teacher editing
  and feedback
• L2 writers revise more but reflect less on their
  writing
• L1 writing strategies may or may not be
  transferred to L2 contexts

16
Cultural Influences and Writing
17
Western vs Eastern pedagogy

• Voice judgments
• Display ones knowledge
• Express knowledge
• Give personal opinions
• Individual
• Strong voice
• Textual ownership
• Individual status

• Withhold judgment
• Display others knowledge
• Pass on knowledge
• Respect others opinions
• Collectivist
• Absence of voice
• Group ownership
• Hierarchy, age, gender roles

18
Advice for Working with Multilingual Writers

• Prior to working on grammatical or lexical
  problem, think about your own preconceptions of
  how an essay should read and share that with your
  students.
• Gen. 1.5 students do better when they are
  accomplishing a goal through their writing,
  rather than learning about writing The typical
  5 paragraph essay is of limited usefulness for
  them as they learn a limited formulaic response,
  and are unable to adapt the skills from this to
  other forms.

19
Role of the Professor

• In some cultures the teacher is the authority
• They may not realize that they can ask for
  assistance
• Make class a safe place to ask questions
• Model good interactions with ESL speakers
• Remember the roles gender may play
• Perhaps a female student is uncomfortable being
  alone in an office with a male professor

20
Language Learning

• No special or magical techniques use
  resources and remember these students benefit
  from what is used normally reading, writing,
  revision
• They DO need more time for exposure to the
  language
• More time for reading and perhaps more revisions

21
Reading Essays and other Literature

• studies indicate they will read as well as NS and
  in fact may pay more attention to shades of
  meaning
• Speed take longer to read an assignment
• Cultural references (difficult if the assignment
  is dependent on a specific set of attitudes or
  background knowledge

22
Writing Essays

• Diagnostic look at essay for clues
• What language did they speak as a child?
• ESLs require more time so look at the revision
  done with more time
• We must understand how these students compose and
  think critically in their native language

23
Rhetorical structures are cultural

• Thesis statement is very natural to our
  unidirectional monolingualism
• So are ideas of logos, pathos, ethos, and
  evidence
• Some cultures value indirectness, believing that
  a thesis is an insult to the readers
  intelligence
• They may feel the same way about clearly stated
  transitions and conclusions

24
Linear VS Symbolic/Conceptual

• Remember that some Multilinguals are not
  accustomed to a linear structure, they may come
  from a model that encourages deducing the thesis
  from the argumentby
• placing it at the end of the essay
• implying and never stating the main point. Or
  conversely
• putting all of the main points in the beginning
  section of the essay with the rest allowing the
  audience to interpret.

25
In some rhetorical traditions

• Proof of a statement is done by repetitions or by
  citing proverbs..
• Elaboration and commentary on ideas is valued
  over specificity and conciseness
• In other words, their metacognition and
  information processing are different from NS

26
Our Writing Placement test will

• Place most students in SLA sections
• So they receive direct instruction in Western
  rhetorical traditions..
• IT WILL NOT
• Take just one course to change patterns of
  learning.

27
Models for Education

• Use models and sample papers in your curriculum
  and teach students to emulate form
• Thesis driven papers
• Lab reports
• Editorials
• Articles
• Literature reviews
• Previous student samples
• Sample exam questions

28
AND. RUBRICS
29
In the Classroom

• They need to learn about citing sources and the
  format you want them to use.
• Convey expectations with every assignment. (You
  may even quiz them on the assignment to make sure
  they understand the task.)
• Talk frequently with your students and allow them
  to do a lot of talking to make sure they
  understand and have a good start on the writing
  assignment.

30
Responding to Student Error

• Stages of Error Correction -
• Understand the types of errors that are most
  common to ESL writers.
• Understand the need to prioritize error patterns
  for students
• Help them develop Strategies for self-correction
  and regulation

31
Know that different students may make distinct
types of errors

• Depending upon English language learning
  background
• The influence of the L1 will make a difference in
  error patterns

32

• Japanese writers struggle with articles and word
  endings
• Arabic and Chinese writers struggle with the verb
  tense system and linking verbs
• Russian writers have trouble with word order
• Spanish speakers may have difficulty with errors
  in sentence boundaries and lack of stated subject
• European languages are similar but may evidence
  false cognates in vocabulary

33
Vocabulary

• Collocations- words that are frequently used
  together.
• Phrasal verbs-making out vs making up
• Synonyms
• And constant need to expand.

34
Prepositions

• Most have clear meanings under/on
• But some are overlapping at/to
• At the store vs to the store

35
Verb Forms

• Present vs progressive tense I study now vs I am
  studying now
• Modals can vs could
• Some languages that do not show time may take
  longer to understand this (Chinese, Korean)
• Some languages transpose (Spanish, French)

36
Complex sentences

• Using clauses as the object of the preposition
  (I am late because of my care broke down)
• Relative pronouns may not be dropped (This is
  the test which I took it last week)

37
Punctuation

• Many language use the same punctuation marks,
  however the rules for using them are very
  different.
• A comma may be used between two sentences in many
  languages,

38
Articles

• Rules governing article use is complex and
  difficult to master, and students use their own
  rules when in doubt.
• (we must protect the nature vs, we must protect
  the environment)
• Explain a book vs the book (one of many or
  just one)

39
Responding to Writing

• Time requirements more time required
• Feedback from you is essential
• Beware of stereotypes overly dependent people
  exist in all cultures
• REVISION
• Do not re-write for them
• Allow to revise
• Help the student identify specific problems so
  the student assumes responsibility to change

40
Editing

• Initially show the problem
• Then underline or circle
• Show examples of correct use
• Remember internationals usually have a good
  concept of grammar, but not the idiomatic usage
  or exceptions to the rules.
• Focus on greatest firstthen on to others

41
Group work

• Excellent to work together for listening and
  speaking skills
• Provide clear instructions for structures
  responses rather than free-floating discussions
• Have the students write about a topic first, and
  then group together

42
Peer Editing

• Excellent for all students
• Provide rubrics and specific directions as to
  what they should be editing

43
Finally..

• Resources are available on the Writing Program
  website
• We will have more support for Multilingual
  Learners