discussion questions

I've taken a lot of Lit courses that cover all kinds of ethnic backgrounds but I don't necessarily think I have a favorite. I judge a piece of writing based on the quality of the writing. If I had to pick a favorite, I would say I prefer to read Jewish literature (is this correct?) because since before I can remember when, I have been fascinated by the holocaust: why it happened, how it happened, the stories of the people in the concentration camps. These stories are very inspirational to me considering the amazing amount of resiliance and tenacity of spirit it took to live this way. As far as the students I prefer to tutor are concerned, I have to say I have a soft spot for the Asians. They are patient, sweet, and very eager to learn.

The second question is tricky. I have noticed cultural differences in the way that some other races sometimes write the way the would speak. I just talk to them about the type of language used in a paper as opposed to being used while speaking. Everyone, including myself, has to polish up the way they write things so that they read better. This is not to say the way we talk is wrong, only that scholarly writing is a little more serious.

class 10/28

I have found the readings over the past two weeks that we've had to be so amazingly invaluable! It's seriously feel like they have been written just for me. The two readings this week, as opposed to last week don't only focus on ESL students, but students in general. That being said however, I felt like some of the things that were mentioned in the Staben and Nordhaus article were repetetive of what we've read before. Talking to the student, purposefully reading their paper, and not directing correction after correction are just a few of the things that have been discussed a lot and are dully noted. This is not to say that they aren't great pointers at all, I'm just saying that some of these suggestions seem second nature by now, although I don't know if they always were or if I've learned that much since the beginning of the semester? I would like to think the latter is true, always.

The article by Linville is written as a guide, which I very much appreciate and will probably incorporate into my sessions from now on, should these problems arise (they almost always do). The writing about the tutoring session with Tang is kind of unrealistic. I would love to focus on more pressing matters in a paper than grammar all the time, but I can't because that's not what the client wants. Linville writes about Tang possibly becoming "angry, depressed, or difficult (120)", but still conceding to doing what the tutor wants. This may be true, but what are the chances Tang will come back? I think there is a fine line here, and I know that all the authors are careful to address that not all methods work on everyone all the time and that there is no wrong method as long as the session is effective, but I have a hard time picturing some of the scenarios unfolding in the articles the way they do. Sorry if I seem ultra critical today. Its been long and arduous! Also, it seems as though I've done a complete 180 in my opinion of the articles from the beginning of my post. I do think that most of the points discussed are invaluable.

I was helping a girl the other day and I felt like the only thing she needed to do was proofread better. I could tell this isn't what she wanted to hear, but otherwise I would have just been fixing silly mistakes for the next twenty minutes that I knew she was capable of fixing. Any thoughts on this? I was super nice and encouraging but she didn't seem pleased.

class 10/21

The assigned readings for this week were definitely up my ally for what I have been experiencing in the writing center recently. For every 1 NES student I tutor, I tutor 2 ESL students. I have found this week as opposed to last week, that I am more comfortable than I was, which is nice because I project what I'm feeling a lot and if I'm nervous, I know they are. The readings suggested that there are certain ESL students that may be more apprehensive about going to the writing center than NES students because of cultural differences, particularly pertaining to men. I have not found this to be the case, however, I don't discount the possibility that this may happen in the future. I do believe very much in breaking the ice, which is true for anyone, but especially ESL students because they are out their element entirely. On the other hand, I don't want to discount their resilience because if they weren't extremely bright and independent thinking, they wouldn't be studying here in the first place. This is to say that I think there is a fine line between how differently we treat ESL students from NES ones. Dr. Shaw brought up something very important the other day in class when he said that a lot of ESL students have better vocabularies and rudimentary grammar skills than NES students; they can just have a hard time with their verb tense and placement. This is spot on to what I've been seeing lately and directly in accordance with Matsuda and Cox's idea about avoiding taking an assimilationist's stance. One girl in particular that I was helping with a paper used unusual, yet very poignant ways to describe things that I would never use because I have been using and repeating the same words for so long in the same way. These authors encourage tutors to praise ESL students on their word choice, as long as its correct, because it is often so unique and displays more of the student's personality. Also, I found it refreshing when I read that professors often don't penalize ESL students for minor article and tense issues as long as their ideas are understandable and well conveyed. I hope this is true, as it would make tutoring these students even more effective if I know that I don't have to focus on the small errors.

class 10/14

For my tutoring analysis and response this week, I decided to go with the session that gave me the most trouble as an observer, but I don't feel like I had any control over what happened in that session, so it was hard for me to expound on the experience. More specifically, I reported on everything that happened, which was easy enough, but when I started thinking about how I would have improved the session to make it the most positive experience for client and consultant alike, I had some trouble. I don't think that it was difficult for me to say what I think the consultant should have done, but what I would have done in the same situation. It is really easy to sit on the outside and say, in any venue, what one would do in a situation, but when the tables are turned and you're in the hot seat, its a different story. I find it intimidating sometimes to tell people what they don't want to hear, or use a different method than a client is used to because I fear they think I'm wasting their time. This is off the subject of my analysis, but has anyone been having a hard time helping the ESL students? I don't have a problem understanding them when they're speaking but I have a really hard time helping them with their papers, as they are difficult to read and understand what they're really trying to say. For these students, it isn't laziness in proofreading, but a legitimate language barrier. I think this should be discussed more in class.

class 10/07

Crystal picked our super tutor picture and I named him "Captain Ironic" because as Dr. Hoeness-Crupsaw pointed out, Dr. Octopus is a villain, which is how teachers and tutors in general are perceived at times, however, we are really only there to help. I guess we're really the anti-villain, which would be a good surname for him. Captain Ironic: the Anti-Villain. I no longer have the superpowers in front of me, so I don't remember everything that was chosen, but I remember that being patient and multicultural were the two biggest attributes I found to be useful. In legitimately tutoring for the first time this week, having patience is definitely going to be the most challenging for me, especially with the way we are supposed to consult, unlike that which the clients have become accustomed.