“Understanding and accommodating cultural differences is, to a great extent, what ESL instruction is all about. . . . Tutors are there to help with the whole spectrum of writing processes, not to be talking grammar handbooks” (Harris & Silva, 1993, pp. 528 & 530).
“There is also a tendency among humans to see their own social and cultural group as highly nuanced and differentiated but to be less able to fully grasp that all social and cultural groups are equally nuanced and differentiated. . . . The most effective way for writing center tutors to experience these nuances firsthand is to take advantage of the visits of these multilingual,
multicultural individuals to the writing center and show interest . . . and so get to know them one by one” (Leki, 2009, p.13).
“[Native English Speaking] tutors who make an effort to understand English from a linguistic perspective and bring this understanding to the writing conference will be better tutors than those who do not make this effort” (Rafoth, 2009, p.209).
Although training programs often include reading and discussing scholarly articles, tutor education for working with L2 writers should transcend the theoretical. Tutors benefit greatly from the chance to work directly with sample papers, to speak directly to actual writers, and to reflect not only on readings but also on experiences. The activities in the next few chapters are divided by type of materials used or work completed: sample papers, observations, videos, interactions, and a miscellaneous category which includes both online resources and the production of useful materials. This organization allows for quick comparison of activities within each division. For instance, if a staff member conducting training wants to work with sample papers, he or she can easily skim through all sample paper options to choose the one best suited to current objectives.
The drawback to this approach is that a staff member planning training might not know which sort of material is best suited to the objectives. Will it be more beneficial for tutors to work with actual texts or with actual people? Should the activity involve interaction or merely observation? Is the aim for tutors to produce or to reflect? A listing of activities for training might also be usefully divided into categories such as these, so that the one setting the goals and making the plans can choose between general goals rather than between specific materials. In order to remedy this deficiency, the chart in Table 2 divides all of the activities into the following categories: text-based, people-based, materials-based, and mixed (some combination of the others).
Table 2: Activities divided by mode of interaction
Text-Based People-Based Materials-Based Mixed
Examining the Reader’s Assumptions (133) Reverse Template Application (143) Organization and Reverse Outlines (147) Reconstructing Organization (150) Types of Error Correction and Analysis (161) Grammar Practice (166) Error Marking Checklist (170) Sentence Structure and Subordination (173) Sample Paper Vocabulary Exercise (175) Comparison Checklist (183) Mirroring Observations I & II (186 & 190) Discourse Analysis (195) Second Language Acquisition in Action (200) Video—Record and Reflect (227) Interviews (235) Small Group Discussions (238) Self-Reflections (248) Cultural Aspects of Assignment Sheets (137) Citation Exercises I & II (154 & 157) Using Existing Videos (221) Producing Documents (240) Developing Presentations (240) Exploring Online Resources (244) Tutorial Transcripts (202) Comparing Tutorial Video with Writer’s Paper (217) Producing Videos (225) Long-term Projects (240) Tutoring Narrative (253)
Chapter Seven: Sample Papers, Chapter Eight: Observations, Chapter Nine: Videos, and Chapter Ten: Personal Interactions & Other Options all follow similar formats. Each chapter opens
with any relevant general information about working with that chapter’s material type. For instance, the chapter on sample papers opens by discussing methods of and issues related to building a library of sample papers for use in training activities. This introductory material is followed by the activities themselves. Figure 16 shows the general format of each activity. Each activity starts with a very brief explanation of potential goals followed by a list of necessary materials, a description of activity directions, some suggested discussion and reflection
questions, a more in-depth discussion of expected outcomes, and, where available, sample tutor Activity Name
This activity will help tutors [brief explanation of goals]. Required Materials:
Figure 16: General Format of Individual Activities in Chapters Seven through Ten • A video clip of [details about subject, location, etc.]
• Copy of [observation form] [available in Appendix . . . ] • Etcetera
Activity Directions:
1. Watch the video and pay attention to [the focus of the form being used] 2. Write a brief note indicating [something about the focus]
3. Etcetera
Questions for Discussion and Reflection:
• To what extent did tutor and writer [do whatever the focus indicated]? • Could you tell anything about [facets of the focus]?
• Etcetera Expected Outcomes:
Tutors must often work with writers who [details of what tutors gain from this activity].
• “I do feel a lot of tension in the fact that I was willing to ignore minor mistakes . . . . [continued details of what tutor learned from the experience.]” (Tutor
responses drawn from our training program. In addition, an appendix for each category includes reproducible materials for the activities in that section.
The Activity Directions section of each activity contains a stripped-down version of whatever directions I provide our tutors. Sometimes I provide them an actual document, a direction sheet they can download from Blackboard; sometimes the directions are minimal enough that they can be included in the Blackboard item itself. Figure 17 shows the direction sheet I provide with the Reconstructing Organization activity (see page 150 to see how the list of activity directions compares). I have annotated the sheet in Figure 17 with bold text in brackets to demonstrate my thought process when creating such a document. Generally, the direction sheet is intended to clarify things that might be confusing, to circumvent errors that previous tutors have made when using the activity in question, and to allay tutor fears (e.g., “I can’t finish that amount of work in one hour!”). Lack of clarity, types of errors, and particulars of anxiety will all be context-specific, which is why I did not include my versions of direction sheets with this book. The Activity Directions section for each activity is sufficient for carrying out that activity; local context will determine whether or not additional information needs to be provided for tutors.
Figure 17: Sample Direction Sheet with Annotations in Bold Paragraph Structure Activity
1. Collect the folder labeled “Paragraph Structure Activity” from the top shelf of the L2 bookshelf in room 224. [Clarity of location for any items that may not be obvious to tutors.]
2. Inside you will find two smaller envelopes, each containing one 106 essay cut into individual sentences. [Description of material ensures that if pieces are missing, tutors will realize that.] It is your task to reconstruct the sentences for each paper into an organized essay. You may need to work on each essay during different weeks.
[Explanation of expected time frame, especially if it will span multiple training hours.] Points a, b, and c below may help, but it is not necessary to work on this task in that order. [Hints, especially if previous tutors had certain types of difficulties with this activity.]
a. Identify a thesis statement, if you can.
b. Group the sentences by topic. This will give you some idea of what paragraphs you will have.
c. Within paragraphs, arrange the sentences into some logical order. d. Decide where paragraph breaks should be.
e. Move to Step 3 only after you have the essay completely arranged. 3. In the Blackboard course, open the Complete_Paper.pdf or Complete_Paper_2.pdf
document. These are the original versions of the papers. [Explanation of material they will be using; it is sometimes surprising how tutors will interpret something (see the Cautionary Tales for details of that). If there is any chance of confusion, an explanation ensures tutors interpret materials correctly.] Compare your version to the appropriate original version. Jot some notes on any of the following questions. You will use these notes to write a reflection of this activity. [Highlight what is coming next, in order to allow tutors to be adequately prepared for the upcoming portion of the activity.]
a. Did your reconstructions match the originals closely, a little, not at all? What was similar or different between the originals and your reconstructions?
b. How easy or hard was it to reconstruct the essays? What factors in the essays themselves made it easy or hard? What sort of clues did you use as you ordered sentences?
c. [Continue with the rest of the Questions for Discussion and Reflection.] 4. When you are finished, please mix the strips of paper back up, return them to their
individual envelopes, and place the envelopes into the larger activity envelope for the next person to use. [Explanation of how you want them to leave materials that other tutors may need to use—only necessary for something that may not be clear or that needs to be left in a certain order (e.g., in this case, mixing up the sentences again).]