Writers

Before I attend to James Madison University I was in an English school in Houston, TX, to improve my English and to be able to attend an American university. I stayed for 9 months learning English then I moved to Harrisonburg, VA, to start my bachelor degree in computer science at JMU. My first week was hard. I felt I didn’t understand what is going on around me so, I was concerned about my English very much. I went to my academic advisor office and told her that I will not be able to be a good academic student in my classes because my English and especially my writing is not good. I want be in English school for more time. She saw that my English while we are talking is not that bad and that might be just fear about being an academic student.  She recommend me to visit the Multilingual Writers’ Community and there my writing will improve.

There are many reasons for me to come to the Multilingual Writers’ Community.  The English that I learned in my country or in the English school in Houston  helped me to understand most of what other people are saying and helped me to know how to write.  In fact, as an academic student it is important not only to know how to write, but it is to know how to write academically. In the Multilingual Writers’ Community I really learned how to write academically and I really found that my way in writing is informal and is not the type of writing that I should hand in to my professors. Not all these previous reasons for me to come to the Multilingual Writers’ Community, But also here I am learning how American people write a good paper and this is important. For example in my country and in my old school I learned to write a general information in any introduction for any essay, but in the Multilingual Writers’ Community I learned that is what professors expect from students in America is to get to the point directly and not to write obvious things.

It is nice to post what I am writing in the blog for many reasons.  First, it is good to show my family how their son is working hard and his writing skills are improving in time. Second, when you are writing and thinking that what you write will be in the blog that makes me write much better than if I knew that I will just write to show one person.  By thinking about writing better makes me ask a lot of questions about spelling and grammar and here I learn more.  Finally, it is also good to write in the blog because you are posting different kind of topics and these topic might help people who have the same fear that I had before first I came to Harrisonburg.

Also, I want to mention that in the Multilingual Writers’ Community I work with a professional and other students and this is one of the greatest things that help me to learn how to write better. Working with partners is such a good thing because my partners and I can learn from each other and what I mean by that is to give advice to each other.

Language is not just a tool to connect with others. It has the cultural definition in it. As an English language learner pursuing college, how to master second language effectively is a challenge. For example, I want to describe a pulley or truck traveling on an overhead track and serving to support and move a suspended object. If you ask this to an American, they will answer you, cart. But the British may say trolley. That would be very confusing for an English language learner. When this language comes to a paper in an academic form, the mistakes are exposed everywhere. After all, it is not our first language, sometimes I don’t know why I should write “can” instead of “could”? They are so similar.

Before I came here, I need to pass an English language test. I took IELTS test which is the International English Language Testing System. It tests on four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. Overall, I think writing is always considered as a barrier because it needs correction from others. I can practice listening and reading by more individual practice, such as listening to news or even listening to others talk. In the same way for reading, sitting on the couch with a newspaper in hand would be ideal way to practice. Speaking, it may sound like you need other people to practice with, but I don’t care about too many details, the listeners may ignore the small mistakes as long as the conversation goes smoothly. However, when practicing writing, you need a person to read it so he or she can point out which parts you are weak in; it needs practice and correction. People have to sit down and look at what you wrote. That is not easy and it is hard to find this place.

Actually, there is a place that writing can be practiced. Multilingual Writers’ Community is not just one person who can look at the writing. It is a community where writers share about their writing based on a certain topic. The topic can vary from daily life or even the favorite food. It is a relaxing environment and no grade will be given. It is just practice without stress. What writers need is only pen, paper and a willingness to write. Practice always makes perfect; no one will improve ability without frequent practice.

So, don’t hesitate and finding an excuse anymore. Writing Community is an ideal place to improve our academic achievement.

Writing in College:

A New Change for Us

BY Shirley Yang

       As we get off the airplane, carrying our heavy luggage into this new country, we know everything will be different from our home country. What we hear, read, speak, and write will be changed from our native language to English. Since our first language is not English, the grammar and sentences structure is so different. The ways we use English tend to be rigid, especially when we put the language to written expression. Thus, writing in college may become a potential problem for international students. But from the experience I have gained in my writing class my first semester, I have found that writing is not too complicated as long as we can find effective solutions to handle the issues.

      In college, many classes require a high process of writing. When we did our writing in the English-learning Center to prepare us for studying in a university, only one final version can decide a person’s writing ability. However, the process of writing in a university setting is a way to show how writing can build up step by step. When I prepare my writing, I just randomly write anything on a piece of paper not worrying about grammar at that time. This beginning stage is called “free writing,” which is just a spew of any thoughts on a given topic. After the first stage, we can build up a basic structure, organizing the essay. Then we begin writing the first rough drafts. This process can be problematic, messy, or even shitty. The process is usually tedious and even frustrating, especially if it has been revised several times. But we should believe that every time drafts are refined, it means it’s getting closer to the final fine-tuned version. In terms of language and grammar, I usually stress about it in the final stage of drafting an essay, because the focus of writing first drafts should be the process of formulating ideas and organization rather than the language proficiency.

      Before we start the writing process, consider the intentional audience who will be influenced by your writing. That is the biggest difference from our previous writing experiences as international students. The purpose of writing has changed. We are no longer using English sentences to impress teachers with our proficient writing skills we have obtained. Instead, it is important to make those sentences work together to let people who read your essay think. In other words, we put our skills to the test. When I write my essay about studying abroad, I assume that my intentional audience is the young students who are planning study abroad after they graduate from high school. However, after discussing with the faculty of the Writing Center, I realized that I only argued about how studying abroad will benefit students of all ages. Thus, when writing an essay, establishing a bridge with the people who will read my essay is highly essential to college writing.

      After considering the importance of the audience, using personal experiences to support an argument is another international difference from our previous writing classes. In college writing, using personal experience by using “I” is more convincing and it is an approach to build the relationship with the audience. For example, the second essay that I wrote for the writing center, I used my own experiences as one of the reliable resources to support my ideas in order to encourage my readers to take action. The research was conducted by Jia-Ying Lee, which shows the learning differences due to cultural variety. The students from Asian areas usually regard themselves as part of a group. Therefore, their work is usually operated in an interdependent form. Personal opinion or experiences are less mentioned in group working (76). Since we are here, American culture proves to be very different. Individual opinion is highly encouraged as long as it comes with the strong argument opposed to collective understanding.

      Even though using personal experiences is beneficial for a persuasive essay, finding credible information by conducting extensive research can make an argument even more effective. Doing research on a specific area or topic is not as simple as typing the main topic into Google. As a freshman, making full use of the library resources is an ideal way to explore points. Asking the reference table or chatting with the librarians throughout the library website is really helpful when you feel confused with different types of citation styles or feel get lost when it comes to locating a book effectively. From my annotated bibliography assignment, I have talked to a librarian who works in the writing center. She has extensive knowledge about different references and even has recommended books to me on occasion. These learning resources are useful for many different areas of study.

      After doing a thorough research, citing references correctly is a crucial requirement for any research assignment. But before we came here, no matter which educational level we are at, we had no idea that incorrect usage of resources may lead to academic plagiarism. However, the reason why we were confused about citation style is because of the culture we belong to. In Western culture, the importance of intellectual property is highlighted. Once you use someone else’s thoughts, be sure to cite it correctly by the required citation styles in various style manuals. I was confused and lost when I saw the MLA requirements for my resources. It became even more puzzling when I used a variety of sources. However, after I finished all my writing, citation is a normal and easy procedure to add with help from manuals and librarians.

      During the different writing stages, you are not alone. The first time, you may feel that the new learning style and new requirements are puzzling and confusing. It takes time to adapt to a new environment. International students may have unexpected culture shock when it comes to learning a style that is very different from their own. According to Jia-Ying Lee who works in the department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Iowa, the relationship between teachers and students in Asian culture are hierarchical where teachers are highly respected by students (76). We can’t ask the teacher questions in class, because that is regarded as disrespectful and rude. Asking questions in front of the class means interrupting the learning time of others. When I received feedback from my professor, she commented on the paper: “Be sure to “ask” if you have any concerns”. The way of learning changed dramatically. In class, interaction between students and teachers is encouraged. Different professors have their own requirements for students and in order to fulfill the requirement, it is important to talk with the teacher, express your concern, and discuss writing ideas in order to adjust to the new learning style.

      As second language users, we don’t know if American teachers know what our exact meaning is. In American colleges, there are numerous learning resources here to help students succeed. In my writing process, the writing center and the English Language Learner Services have been my life savers. Some international students may feel embarrassed or afraid of their imperfect English writing being exposed in front of an English-speaking tutor. I had the same feeling at the beginning, but after I visited there several times I felt that the way they work with international students was different from native students. But when we studied in our home country, we tended to get information in a passive way. According to Featherstone, who is a coordinator at the Writing Center at James Madison University, tutors in writing center concentrate on the process of writing so most of them will ask you what stages writers want to work on and then work to solve the problem together. Therefore, don’t expect tutors to take over your paper or help with your grammar mistakes. They’re there for structure and organization.

      Studying abroad is a hectic situation. We may suffer different language barriers since the way we have learned English in our home country has been quite different. Wendy Green pointed out that Asian students learn information under exam pressure which could be a reason why writing in college may pose obstacles (330). However, having an optimistic attitude and the willingness to change the old ways of writing, such as following an exam-oriented formula, are the keys to success. Be confident to face new challenges in a new environment and feel open-minded to seek help.

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Writing – the MWC is a group that brings people together for many reasons and at many stages as writers.  I am consistently surprised about how my students get here and what they want to do.  This morning I am happy to have a native English speaker here, a bilingual student who wants to be a better writer to “impress” her professors, and a writer new to this culture.  Seeing interest in writing as a community brings me great joy as I try to meet the needs of students and to offer them something different from their traditional academic pursuits.  I also appreciate the opportunity to dialogue with other student writers as I realize that in my doctoral pursuits I am also a student writer.

Getting to the heart of writing without teachers is what this effort is all about.  I see myself as a third party, a guide.  I am neither these writers’ teacher nor peer, but a facilitator of academic life experience.  So, what do I do?  I share my life experience and lessons acquired over years of trials and joys.  One fact that I want to think about further is that I was not a stellar student when I was in high school and undergraduate study.  Yet here I am mediating learning experiences and skills development for students seeking to cultivate their own learning.  It could be that I am now someone I wish I had met in 1996 when I started college.  How would my school life – my life – have been different?

For one thing, I probably would have benefitted from feeling like I belonged to an academic community.  To have the attention of an experienced learner, an expert would have guided me through rough patches.  Of course, most of my undergraduate experience was spent searching for community, so an academic focused community would have played to different interests and strengths than where I ended up finding community.  As it was, I found a social community which I would be remiss not to acknowledge for the benefits of learning how to be a leader among friends and peers.  I learned to listen to what people really need and to organize relevant events.  Both of those skills have provided stones in the foundation of my career.

My time with writers in the Multilingual Writers’ Community setting has been primarily satisfying as a witness to the depth, breadth and motivation of the writers’ interests.  Coming from diverse backgrounds, the writers met her by way of writing – arguably one of the most critical skills in academic self-expression in US education.  The role I see for myself is cheerleader and developer. Developer sounds like I shape some untouched landscape into my own vision – so I will revise to claim that I caretake.  The writer has a unique vision and bring experiences, tools and goals.  I caretake the process of actualization.