Blog Post #4 (Darius Stewart)

The material on diverse writing center populations was of particular interest to me. I currently have a student who is multilingual, with English being the third language he speaks. I'm not sure what that means since I have not discussed how the languages he speaks are triaged. I'm aware that the student is very nervous about taking my literature class for this reason, but also because he is a slow reader. Again, I'm not sure what this means. Does he read slowly in general, or is it due to the challenges of the English language? He articulates himself well in English and only sometimes does he become confused by certain idiomatic phrases or conventions of grammar, etc. In helping him during our one-to-one meetings outside of class, usually during office hours, I'm not always sure whether these confusions stem from language barriers or from the typical shortcomings  I find common in most of my GEL students. We haven't discussed what it is that poses a certain linguistic problem for him. Therefore, I engage with him as I would any native-English speaking student. I suppose that because he contacted me for help even before the semester began I should have inquired more about his needs as a multilingual student. After reading this chapter, I think it might help to get a better sense from him about the areas he seems to struggle with most as he engages with the language. For instance, how do the other two languages he speaks inform or distract from his facility with English?

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2019 at 3:17 PM

    For me, your post emphasizes the many questions that writing tutors and teachers need to ask students in order to assess their needs. Many native speakers describe themselves as slow readers and would be nervous about taking a literature class that required extensive reading. Thus, it seems like it would be important to get clear on precisely why the student is nervous. This also makes me think of universal design and how methods of inquiry can apply to native and nonnative speakers.

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