Problems of Practice: ESL Students in the University Writing Center

Problems of Practice Inquiry into Tutoring ESL/NNS Students

Leah DeLorenzo and Charlotte Jones

Inquiry Question:

What perceptions do tutors have of non-native speakers and English and how might those perceptions affect teaching and learning in the Writing Center?

According to Thonus (1993) satisfactory scores do not always translate to college-level academic writing. To be admitted to the University of Central Florida as an International Student, students must get 80/120, or approximately 66.7%.. The following is a Level 3 (out of 5) Writing Sample, from the TOEFL iBT website.  

When we were children, we were taught to tell truth. Telling truth and being honest also become

the criteria of judging a person. I do think that most people prefer to live in a world of pure truth

and it is also the best wish of all kind hearted people. However, what we have to face is not the

dream land. Telling truth all the time could only exist in our dreams. In another word, lies could

not be avoided.

I will illustrate my opinion with the following facts. In the business world, always telling

truth equals to commit suicide. For example, when competitor company is asking the content of a tender or the cost of a major product, telling truth is nonsense. Furthermore, we could learn from old collegue that to keep the business secrete is to keep the position.

For those people whose profession is politics, lies is their favorite language. In order to

stablize the mood of anxcious people, some times president has to tell lies to comfort the peolple so that no more serious result will hapen.  Among friends, allways telling truth will also cause lots of avoidable confllicts. For example, when a 49 years old lady ask her froend whether she is beautiful or not. If the answer is No (truth for sure). We could imagine the accompanied results. This is why we are using the term white lie to find the suitable reason to use minor lies.

However, despite all these difficulties, we should always try to be honest and tell truth as

much as we could. In lots of situation, to tell truth can strengthen the relationship and deepen the

communication and understanding among people. Especially among family memers, telling truth

is quite necessary for every one. A family full of lie will bankrupt immediately. In a word, in

different situation, we should tell different words.

What does the research show?

Lyons, G. (1992). Validating cultural difference in the writing center. Writing Center

Journal,12(2), 145-158.

• Learn to understand where the writer is coming from
• Says to “ask tough, honest questions... about his or her own prejudices, commitments, and ethos.” (p. 157)

Blau, S & Hall, J. (2002). Guilt-Free Tutoring: Rethinking how we tutor

non-native-English-speaking students. Writing Center Journal 23(1), 23-44

• It is realistic to alter your practices (p. 29)

Thonus, T. (1993). Tutors as Teachers: Assisting ESL/EFL students in the writing center.

Writing Center Journal, 13(2), 13-26

• Repeat Sessions: Working with students in multiple sessions
• Ask good questions: “How would you write that in your language?” ( p. 20).

Volunteer Challenge: WE WANT YOU!

The University of Central Florida’s IEP program CMMS conducts a Conversation Hour open to students and volunteers who want to help international students improve their English. We challenge you to volunteer an hour of your time (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursday 1:00-3:00 at the Barbara Ying Building next to the Student Center).

Resources for Tutors

• A Guide to Tutoring Non-Native English Speaking Students, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• http://resources.jjay.cuny.edu/erc/tutoring/worksheets.php
• Over 66 worksheets for tutoring ELLs
• Longman Dictionary
• COCA for advanced learners
• http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/
• Keys to Teaching Grammar by Keith Folse
• New Resource: "Articles, Prepositions, and Verb Tenses"
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1URnzDAiz1dJtIJJ9TZC4NXTQzH1JhNsXH6XCvrWDJPk/edit

Calling all English Teachers in Asia!

Greetings all English teachers!

As some of you may know, I am currently working on my Master of Arts in TESOL back home in Orlando at the University of Central Florida. I’m nearly finished, but before my work here is complete I am being asked to conduct some research. My colleagues and I have been examining other areas on native and non-native EFL instruction and have devised a survey eliciting teacher opinions.

So, I am in need of your help! If you are currently (or have previously been) teaching English as a foreign language in Asia and could spare five minutes (at your desk) to complete this short survey, I would be incredibly grateful. The survey is fairly straightforward and, of course, completely confidential. There's a short section for you to add your comments as well. :)

Please share the survey with their native/non-native English teacher friends/colleagues as well. The link is provided below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dFc5VmRURXlnQl80aWtBWTd4RHNTdGc6MQ

The more participants, the merrier, so tell a friend! Most of our respondents will have experience in South Korea, but if you know anyone with experience in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or southeast Asia that would be very helpful as well.

Thank you so much, your responses are immensely appreciated!

All the best,
Charlotte :)

My Top 5 (Generalizable) Games to Supplement Lessons

Fun, customizable, quick-prep games!

When teaching elementary level EFL in South Korea, I rarely found worksheets useful. My students usually had difficulty getting up the courage to speak, so incorporating games that utilized their participation and speaking helped students gain courage in class.


5. Jenga

If ever I found myself at the end of a lesson with five minutes to spare, my students knew there would be a review game to pull out of a hat. My favorite was undoubtedly Jenga. Jenga isn't an English game you say? Not so! I've found Jenga remarkably helpful while reviewing vocabulary at the end of a lesson, and is a great way to informally assess how even the quiet students have grasped the material.

Materials: Jenga game

Target Vocabulary: Customizable
The teacher situates his or herself at a desk
Have students to line up in front of your desk.
Ask question to the student at the front of the line. If they get it correct, they are able to take a turn with the Jenga piece. If they are incorrect, they must go to the back of the line.

This usually takes between 5-10 minutes for all the pieces to fall.


4. Go Fish




Go Fish is a great way to get students to write, speak and communicate with target vocabulary.

Materials: Notecards (cut in half)

Target Vocabulary: Customizable / "Do you have..." "Yes I do." "No, Go Fish."

Write the vocabulary on the board and have the students copy them onto their notecards
Have students group into pairs (or have them work in threes if you want to) and shuffle the cards
Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who goes first
The first person asks the runner-up if they have any of the cards they need to complete their pairs
If the person has them, they say "Yes I do" and give player 1 the card. If they don't, they say "No, go fish." and player 1 takes a card from the deck
This continues until all cards are matched and the winner has the most cards!



3. Golden Bell

"Golden Bell" is a famous game show in South Korea. It is also the name I learned this review game under. The two, upon revision, are remarkably un-related, but it's still a great final review.

Materials: Dry erase boards (or a piece of paper each)

Target Vocabulary: Customizable
Give each student a dry erase board and have them draw three stars at the top
Ask a question, and require the students to write the correct answer on the board
If the student answered incorrectly, mark the star off the board with a red/green marker
The last man standing wins



2. Read - Speak - Write Relay Races

Materials: Paper, Chalk/white board

Target Vocabulary: Customizable
Divide classes into two teams
Assign roles to each student (Reader, Speaker , Writer). These roles will rotate
Write a sentence (or word, or paragraph depending on level) on a piece of paper and tape it outside the classroom door.
Choose a student from each team to be the reader of the paper
Count off for them to read it, then release them to the listener
The speaker then runs to the writer at the board, who writes the sentence correctly
The first team to get the phrase/sentence/paragraph correct gets a point


1. Powerpoint Template Games

Prior to coming to Korea, I had only heard of Powerpoint Jeopardy Games. Then, I found out about Waygook.org and the amazing work done with Powerpoint template games. My favorite stand-bys are:

• Pass the Pencilcase: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mod83-1271462-pass-the-pencil-case/
• Super Mario Classroom Blast: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mod83-1271360-template-quiz-super-mario-classroom-blast/
• Robots vs. Aliens: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mod83-1271345-template-quiz-robots-vs-aliens/

Pass the Pencilcase is essentially "Hot Potato" with the Benny Hill Theme playing. Super Mario and Robots vs. Aliens are versions of the bomb game. They incorporate sound, animation and are highly customizable. The kids absolutely love them.