WAC & English Language Learners Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) April 11, 2019

Workshop Goals Become familiar with the diverse, multilingual student body at City Tech Understand challenges that ELL writers face Learn how WAC principles can support these writers

@City Tech As of Fall 2018, 73% of City Tech students report speaking a language other than English at home* *Data from City Tech Fact Sheet, 2018-19

"What would you like to do better for your ELL writers?" Snowball Activity On a piece of paper, write an answer to the following question:  "What would you like to do better for your ELL writers?"

Snowball Activity Pick up a snowball and respond to your colleague's comment

Students at Oregon State University discuss writing and cultural differences Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI0vq9VF-c Part Two: https://youtu.be/koViA1gqiUs?t=119 Part Three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wbDcfltIU

Some things to consider Cultural backgrounds influence academic expectations (style, citations, collaboration, and plagiarism) Academic discourse is a language that requires instruction and practice "Writing with an accent" doesn’t necessarily obscure meaning

How can WAC help? Main goals should be writing-to-learn, proficiency with course material, and prioritizing higher order concerns

WAC principles Scaffolding Detailed, written assignment prompts Models of good work One-on-one meetings about writing (incentivize office hours, get creative) Writing-to-learn activities (low-stakes writing practice is key)

Supporting English Language Learners Assignments Classroom activities Evaluation

1. Assignments Low-Stakes Have students post on Blackboard or OpenLab and respond to each other's work  Provide a grade-free occasion for your students to explore course content High-Stakes Assign multiple drafts Include a detailed grading rubric Provide feedback selectively rather than comprehensively

2. In-class activities Encourage participation: use questions to guide reading Use online tools (such as Poll Everywhere) If doing peer review, ask students to exchange papers before class (rather than during class) Review the difference between higher and lower-order concerns

3. Evaluation and assessment Low-Stakes Start this early in the semester to see which students might need more support Consider letting ELL students do low-stakes writing in their native language (Huh, Lee & Lee 2013) before sharing in English with their classmates High-Stakes Emphasize higher-order rather than lower-order concerns (though for ELL writers, these concepts can overlap) Focus on improvement (effort) rather than an "ideal" outcome Explain to your students that you will not correct every error

References and Resources Cox, Michelle. (2014). "In Response to Today's 'Felt Need': WAC, Faculty Development, and Second Language Writers." In WAC and Second-Language Writers: Research Towards Linguistically and Culturally Inclusive Programs and Practices, ed. Terry Myers Zawacki and Michelle Cox (The WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor Press): 299-326.  Huh, M-H., Lee, Y-S., Lee, N. (2013). Mediation through the first language during the second language writing: A sociocultural approach. English Teaching (68): 69-84.  McMartin-Miller. (2014). "How much feedback is enough?: Instructor practices and student attitudes toward error treatment in second language writing." In Assessing Writing (19): 24-35.  https://writingcenter.unc.edu/faculty-resources/tips-on-teaching-esl-students/tips-on-teaching-esl-students/  http://www.cws.illinois.edu/wac/resources/WorkingwithESLWriters.html 

Visit WAC's OpenLab site! https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/writingacrossthecurriculum/best-practices/