Represent.

In "Looking at the Whole Text," by Jennifer Staben and Kathryn Nordhaus, they do their best at modeling an ideal ESL tutoring session with sections devoted to specific points a tutor must address in order for the session to have some positive results. Sections like these are all good I guess, but only as a vague example of something to follow if you're having trouble knowing where to begin, or how to handle, parts of the session. But the part of the section that I think they should have elaborated on more was, Talk Before Text.

The direction they hope students take their ESL sessions seems to be direct and focused on the assignment itself. They talk about finding ways to develop a repertoire between the tutor and the ESL student so that the student feels more confident in trying to convey their ideas as well as discuss linguistic choices they make with the tutor. But, the way to build this repetoire is not explored enough.

I recommend that a good starting point for a conversation with an ESL student is to begin a conversation with talk about where they're from and about their families and any other details that are universal. I'm genuinely interested in what other people outside of the United States think about the world and about where they're from. In this type of discussion I can also relate using my own context which helps build a bridge between the ESL student and myself. Once we realize we're not so different, accept for in how we speak English or how I speak Spanish or Japanese or German or etc., we can move on to more specific topics like the assignment at hand.

I don't want to act like a persons country of origin is the only important and only thing worth talking about, but at a base level, an introduction and conversation not revolving around the assignment could help them feel more of an equal to you and also help them open up when talking about the problem at hand. Conversations about their home country is a good way to get them thinking healthily and without hesitance.

Conversations aren't easy but they are an essential part of life. If people are afraid to talk to other people then they are depriving themselves of so much more they could learn about themselves and the world around them and for the purposes of tutoring, the conversation is a good way to get the session going. If they're afraid of you it probably won't work out so good, so care about the person, not just the paper.

In response to the two questions in class:

1. Like I mentioned in class, I value clarity over other cultural writing preferences because it is the easiest place to start from. Reading over somebody's paper in one sitting often has me asking immediate questions about clarity. About what the author meant by this or that, and that is a good jumping point in developing some solid piece of writing. When I write, I start off by trying to get the point across. After that, I make things fancier with descriptions and examples and I think I prefer these stylistic preferences because of journalism and famous writers who cross-applied their journalistic writing approach to their fiction, like Hemingway or Thompson.

2. If I notice a cultural difference in the way an ESL student is writing, or even an American student, I might ask them about why they chose to value one style over another. If they have thought it out and can justify why they choose examples over descriptions, than not only have I learned, but they've proven themselves as a competent writer. If the writing is unreadable even if they can justify it, I might try my best to explain how I don't like the way they've written it, and trade ideas back and forth until they at least see my point-of-view.