I'm the first to post, with nothing to say

I have not had the opportunity to work with any non-native speakers in this tutoring position. But I think the question can be applied to working with people who do speak the language as well. For example, even if the person you are sitting with understands exactly what you are saying it can still be hard to explain why a sentence is a fragment, or why something is passive. You can demonstrate with examples and try to explain, but sometimes words do not spring to the tip of your tongue to explain something that comes so naturally to you in a way that the student would understand.

And now, jumping to a different but somewhat related idea….The grad students have had a chance to read a couple of essays about the ESL program and an essay from the point of view of someone from a different culture struggling to fit in to academic world. One of the most interesting things about these essays was the concept that the composition department on campus is completely separate from the English department, and this is something that has been institutionalized for a number of years. I think this would be discouraging to non-native speakers, mainly because it seems to send the message that they are not good enough to participate in regular college courses. I do not know if the separation of departments causes frustration or comfort to non-native speakers, but it must be discouraging to have little understanding about your situation from other departments on campus. At the same time it must be nice to go to a place where other students are having the same struggle you are, and there are teachers and people there who can help you with the problems you are facing in class.

Finally, a conclusion that kind of ties in with the first paragraph, but really has nothing to do with the second paragraph. One of the things I really wanted to take away from class on Monday was the fact that most of these students are intelligent and know their stuff; they just do not have a way to communicate it yet. I think sometimes we like to think we know the answers just because we can articulate the answers, but most of these students have far more experience than we do. Giana kept talking about how impressed she was with these students and their willingness to come to a new country and get a degree in a new language. I agree with her. While I have yet to work with any of these students I am sure my opportunity will arise and when it does I want to remember that they have many talents, and they are incredibly brave to come here and do what they do. My job is to help them find a way to communicate what is already in their head in a manner that will strengthen their paper and hopefully teach them how to communicate in English.