The Writing Center hopes to hire a specialist in English as a Second Language by July 2011 to meet an increasing demand for writing support, especially among international students.
This year, the center has already held 2,300 appointments, 34 percent of them requested by students who do not speak English as a first language. Ten years ago, the center held about 1,200 individual conferences with students per year, according to Director of the Writing Center Douglas Brown. This increase, along with the University's announcement in March 2010 that it would require all seniors to show writing competency, led to the decision to create the specialist position.
Despite an increase in demand for the center's writing fellows among international students, the center currently does not have an ESL specialist. "We all feel strongly that you can't say writing matters, so much so that it's actually going to be a graduation requirement, and then not provide adequate support," Brown said.
Brown said non-native speakers come to the center with a unique set of challenges. "There is a terrible pressure to turn in work that is completely idiomatically correct," Brown said. "What we end up doing out of necessity is helping them with these smaller-scale concerns because, if we don't, they're … turning in work that will be graded poorly regardless of content."
To address challenges faced by students who do not speak English as a first language, the specialist will take on various tasks, including holding conferences with students, conducting workshops and teaching other writing fellows how to better help internationals, Brown said. The specialist will also work in conjunction with professors. "We're inviting all of these international students to our campus," Brown said, "but do faculty actually appreciate the challenges they face in the classroom?"
The specialist will begin the upcoming school year by enhancing the pre-orientation programs. For the past few years, the University has offered Excellence at Brown — a week-long academic preparation program for students whose high schools may not have provided them with adequate college preparation — and the International Mentoring Program to help new students transition to life at Brown.
Adwoa Hinson '14, who is from Ghana, said she attended Excellence at Brown, where she received a writing fellow who has helped her considerably this year.
"It's easier when you have someone there for you one-on-one," Hinson said.
Brown said he hopes to expand these programs through the addition of the ESL specialist.
"What I'm looking at doing next summer is working with (the Office of Student Life) to integrate an academic component to the IMP program. It's really important that they get an introduction to academic culture," he said.
Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron said the new specialist will also be a resource for graduate students. "We have graduate students who need to undergo further training to improve their language skills when they are here as (teaching assistants)," she said.
TAs can use the Writing Center to improve their written English and can also take courses in spoken English through the Center for Language Studies.
With the addition of an ESL specialist, the language center hopes to increase collaboration with the Writing Center, said Barbara Gourlay, coordinator of the English for International Teaching Assistants Program.
Hiring a specialist is only the initial step in expanding resources for ESL students, said Jose Rodriguez '12, a receptionist at the center whose first language is Spanish.
He recommended that, in addition to support through the Writing Center, the University establish an official undergraduate course for ESL learning. "No class is specifically tailored for ESL students," Rodriguez said. "Brown is really lacking in that sense in terms of addressing the needs of ESL students." Rodriguez said he felt compelled to take a summer course at Columbia, where there is an entire American Language Program that offers classes specifically for non-native students.
International students accepted to the University have a "sophisticated understanding of English," Gourlay said. But true understanding requires much more than mastery of grammar and vocabulary. For example, students must know idiomatic expressions and the cultural assumptions behind them.
"We thought the position would have a nice home in the Writing Center," Bergeron said. "It would give it a certain visibility, and there are lots of undergraduate needs that it would serve."
The ESL specialist will also aim to help international students outside the classroom, Brown said. "I very much want this person to play a prominent role on campus," he said. "I want international students to be completely aware of who this person is and to feel comfortable turning to him or her."
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