Ways to Help Young ESL Writers

For many students, the language spoken in the classroom is not their first language. Lessons are taught in English, while students' home language is Spanish, French, Mandarin, Russian — any one of the hundreds of languages that make the United States such a vibrant place in which to live. For ESL (English as a Second Language) students, the "ordinary" challenges of curriculum can be compounded by an unfamiliarity with the language in which that curriculum is written and spoken.

If you are tutoring an ESL student, it is important to keep in mind the unique challenges that she faces. This is particularly true when you are helping with a writing assignment. In order to help an ESL student write a clear paper — and to boost her confidence in her own English-writing abilities — consider implementing the following advice.

Before you begin the session, discuss goals. This piece of advice is applicable to any tutoring session, of course. But it's particularly important when working with a student whose first language is not English. Just diving into the paper can be overwhelming; instead of jumping into the assignment without any preface or context, explain what you hope to accomplish together. For example, if you plan to help the student restructure her paper, let her know that. If you are just proofreading for grammar (and thereby helping her understand English grammar rules), let her know that, too. Having this discussion at the outset allows the two of you to set a clear goal, and to make certain that the goal has been accomplished by the end of the session.

Ask the student to tell you what his paper is about. Don't read through the paper and then tell the student, "I think your paper is about ________." If you do this, you won't be giving the student the opportunity to share with you his intended purpose for the paper. Additionally a student with limited English proficiency may just accept what you think the paper is about, rather than trying to express his intended meaning. If the actual content of the paper seems divergent from what the student says the paper is about, the two of you can work together to better align the written content with the proposed idea.

Focus on the "big picture." If a student is writing in a language other than her first (home) language, the likelihood of small errors is very good. Unless she is asking help for a grammar assignment, however, don't spend time going over the minutiae of every single stray punctuation mark or misspelled word. This sort of micro-focus can be discouraging to a student who is in the process of acquiring English as a second language. Focus on the big ideas of the paper instead. If you read the paper aloud to the student, do not hesitate or stumble over small errors. Your fluent reading will help the student "hear" her ideas and make sure that they sound right to her.

There are many resources available to ESL students and their tutors. To find an expert in your area (or online), take a look at the information here.