I am going to jump on the bandwagon and agree that my biggest cultural preference is the format and concision of a typical academic essay. Frankly I acquired this taste from getting many returned essays in middles school that said “too wordy, be more concise.” My personal opinion used to be that style and argument were the most important points in writing but now I have become “one of them” and have adapted to my linear ways of writing.
When I see what appears to be a cultural difference in an ESL students writing I usually take note of it and bring it up in discussion. Often times the clients have asked me “how do you say this here?” Generally, I just give them my answer and explain it to them. The decision of whether or not they want to change it is entirely up to them. The biggest thing I have noticed is that in trying to say one thing the ESL students typically end up saying the opposite. In this case I bring it to their attention and ask them to clarify what they are trying to say. If I find that they are in fact trying to describe the opposite I make them aware of it.
The most important things to be aware of and watch for are the differences between a mistake and an error. I believe this to be a very crucial part of not only ESL tutoring but of all writing sessions. I personally am well known for my typos such as “were” instead of “where” or “their” instead of “there”. This clearly does not mean that the tutor should assume I don’t know the difference but perhaps think that it is a typo and double check with the client at the end when the more important subject matter has been dealt with.
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I forgot about the discussion we had about the difference between a mistake and an error. I really liked it so thanks! There is such a fine line between the two, yet they have two completely different feels. That just brought up a question: Is there any way we can expect an ESL student to know the difference between a mistake and an error since they are such similar concepts?
ReplyDeleteTo Amy: A mistake is what a client catches and fixes on their own; an error is a grammar problem they don't recognize as a problem. For instance, you have an ESL client read over a sentence because it has an error in it, and the client says, "Whoops! I typed 'their' when I meant 'there.'" That is a mistake. Problem solved; you remind the client to reread for such mistakes before submitting a paper. On the other hand, the client reads over the sentence and says, "I don't see anything wrong with it," and then you know she doesn't understand the difference between "their" and "there" - that is an error, so you explain the difference to her, and then the client knows the rule and hopefully won't continue to make the same error.
ReplyDeleteErin, you mention that many of your ESL clients are totally focused on writing like an NES writer. I often had this experience as well, but one thing I picked up on in the Writing Across Borders documentary and in talking to ESL writers over the last eight years is that even when they seem very eager to imitate NES writers, many times they are privately annoyed that Americans demand a certain type of writing without even considering the value of another culture's approach. So don't be fooled. Resistance may exist below the surface, and the accomodationist stance (which it sounds like you have assumed quite effectively) can assuage students' feelings that their culture is being dismissed by American ethnocentrism.
I agree with you on the fact that I'm so used to writing a typical academic essay and I am trying my hardest not to push my way of doing things off on other people. When I worked with an ESL student for the first time, I was reading their paper aloud and asking them what they meant because I honestly couldn't understand it. I felt so bad. I think it's good to keep that cultural difference and not try to make people conform to the norm. Next time I get the chance to tutor an ESL student, I'm going to be much less nervous and much more patient. I don't want to transform his/her paper into something that sounds like what I would say. Like you said, we need to also watch out for mistakes and errors. That can be really confusing for all students.
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