Tutoring Second Language Writers (28 page)

JOSE L. REYES MEDINA

Deeply rooted in me is the passion to share knowledge and the determination to help others. As a tutor at the writing center at Bronx Community College, I work with a diverse population of students who come from different places around the world. We have students from Latin America, in particular the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico; West Africa, in particular Ghana and Nigeria; South Asia, in particular Bangladesh and Pakistan; and Eastern Europe, in particular Russia and Albania. You can imagine how many languages are spoken on campus. I specialize in helping L2 writers at the center and work as an imbedded tutor in classrooms assisting English professors in a tutorial intervention program to help developmental students pass their assessment exams. I have also participated in roundtables sharing my frustrations and resilience as an English learner.

My first language is Spanish. I began learning some basic English when I was in high school in the Dominican Republic, my native country. Learning English was important to my family and me because once my mother emigrated to the United States, there was the possibility that I, along with my two sisters, would come to this country. Therefore, I needed to be equipped with the English language.

The English I learned, however, was not adequate when I arrived in this country. Soon I realized that I barely spoke English. Short answers, “Yes, I do” or “No, I don’t,” were the most common words in my nascent vocabulary. Sometimes I thought I had articulated a few complete sentences in a given conversation, but people misunderstood them because in reality I had mispronounced some words or had not organized my ideas in a logical order. Even worse, I did not understand what people said. My listening skills were poor. And I did not write well. When I was in my first ESL class at Bronx Community College
(BCC), my instructor’s correction marks, spread all over my essays, looked like the blacks spots on the skin of a fully ripe banana. I really struggled with the language.

Still, my desire for learning the language was stronger than any shameful moment I experienced for not knowing how to speak or for not understanding what people said, and I kept trying. While trying, I practiced some specific strategies, besides writing and correcting essays in class, to improve my learning experience. The following are some of the “tips” that helped me to be fluent in English.

First was carrying a dictionary (or using an online dictionary) that gave me example sentences. I know many students do not like the idea of carrying a dictionary in their bags the whole day because it’s a little heavy. Plus, they say, “I have to bring my textbooks and food. It’s too much!” I understand that. However, as I was learning English, I needed to look up definitions of words constantly. Looking up definitions was really necessary. When, for instance, I started attending BCC back in 2005, you could see me around campus with a green Barnes & Noble bag, a yellow dictionary inside. I used a dictionary (Longman) for English-language learners in particular because when I began to read novels, textbooks, and articles, I found many idioms (e.g.,
out of the loop
) and phrasal verbs (e.g.,
put up
,
take out
) I did not understand. And unfortunately, my English professor was not around me all the time to tell me the meaning of those words. But I could always grab my dictionary to get the definitions of those idioms and comprehend clearly the phrasal verbs.

There were also some example sentences that showed how to use the words. To illustrate, take the word
respect
. If you look it up, you will find a combination of features that distinguish an English-language learner’s dictionary from a common one. Here are three usages of the first entry.

Right after the definition of the word, there are
examples
(in 2 and 3)
of the most common fixed phrases
in which the word is often used. Next,
there is an
explanation in simple language
of the fixed phrase; then, a
complete example sentence
follows. This threefold format helps non- native speakers not only comprehend the word but also record its different usages in various contexts that are alien to them.

In fact, this threefold format is extremely helpful when it comes to using prepositions (e.g.,
into
,
on
,
up
,
over
) before nouns or after certain verbs because there is no set of specific rules for how to use all prepositions. It all depends on the context. The preposition
on
, for example, always goes after the verb
focus
, as in the sentence
Today we focus
on
that project
. Nevertheless, you cannot use
on
after the verb
invest
. For the verb
invest
, you need the preposition
in
, as in
How much time did we invest
in
that project?
Why do we use
in
instead of
on
with the verb
invest
? Nobody really knows. That is why having a dictionary with examples of the proper usage of prepositions was crucial for me. Nowadays, however, thanks to the latest technological advances, L2 writers and language learners in general do not need to carry a print dictionary all the time. They can download this dictionary (or any other that has the features mentioned above) to their smartphones or tablets, or they can simply access it online.

Next, I listened to an all-news radio station when I had free time at my job. 1010WINS is a 24/7 radio station with a group of female and male anchors, along with a team of reporters, who alternately report news stories, weather forecasts, sports updates, and traffic conditions on the roads of the tristate area around New York City. In the beginning, although uncomfortable and sometimes desperate because I did not understand most of what the reporters were saying, I restrained myself from translating. I just listened to it. After roughly six months of listening to it for approximately forty-five minutes per day, four to five days a week, I started understanding them clearly.

Listening to 1010WINS sharpened my listening skills significantly. How did that happen? Let me explain. Every time I listened to these anchors and reporters, I developed two important skills that strengthened my fluency. The first one I call
acoustic discernment of different tones of voice
. As I listened more and more, my sense of hearing was getting better, and I was able to understand other people more clearly, including my high-pitched history professor and my manager who was a rapid speaker with a bass vocal timbre. The second skill was recognizing various ways to explain coherently the same event. That means that I learned reporters’ distinct styles—different ways to say the same news—and absorbed well-organized sentences because every single sentence anchors say is edited carefully so listeners can get a clear and concise message.

Furthermore, listening to an all-news radio station was highly beneficial because it forced me to rely on meaning to process the news. For example, when I listened to a reporter describing a car accident, I had to construct mentally an image of the accident based on the description I heard. This was a productive, yet painful, cognitive process for me because, first of all, my brain had to get the meaning of the word and then search for an image that matched the meaning. Because I did not know the different words one anchor used in the description of the car accident, I had to listen to other words other anchors used to describe the same accident. As I listened repeatedly to a variety of words with the same or similar meanings, I expanded my vocabulary and created a more accurate mental image of the accident.

This process is different from watching television. On television, we can easily know about the car accident because we not only hear about the accident but also see images of it. Once we L2 speakers see the images, we do not make any effort to know the meaning of words used by the reporter in order to create a mental image. Why? Because our eyes decode those images for us, using vocabulary from our native language, NOT English. Consequently, we learn less English when we watch news on television than when we listen to it on the radio.

Besides carrying a dictionary and listening to an all-news radio station, I spent time on RIC—
R
eading,
I
ncorporating and
C
ontemplating. I was eager to learn more about how the English language works. So, I basically read two books that taught me how to structure and develop my writing better and correct my grammatical mistakes. The first is a concise handbook by Ann
Raimes (2011)
that focuses on the process of writing, research documentation styles, and grammar. The sections titled “Style,” “Common Sentence Problems,” and “Writing across Cultures” are particularly helpful for L2 students. The second is a booklet by David
Blot (2007)
with a set of exercises that deal with some of the most common grammatical mistakes L2 writers make. Both of these texts helped me become proficient in English.

Once I had read these books, it was time to (1) incorporate knowledge while contemplating or (2) contemplate while incorporating knowledge (it works both ways).

Incorporating knowledge meant applying knowledge (e.g., using grammatical rules) as I wrote the first draft of my essay or as I revised other drafts. At the same time, I thought seriously for some time (fifteen to twenty minutes) about my writing and how to enhance it. I know I may be just describing what a natural process of writing and revising is, but I do not think many L2 writers actually take time to look closely at
what they write and how they write it. But, as an L2 writer, I know that every time I spent time contemplating a piece of my writing for twenty minutes or more, I was able to provide relevant supporting details, come up with more concise and coherent ways to structure my sentences, and get rid of unnecessary repetitions. Simultaneously, I incorporated some knowledge about grammar, correcting fragments and mixed constructions.

Further, I read the
New York Times
. I bought it on one day of the week and then read one and sometimes two articles of that same issue the other days of the week. I did not have time to read the whole paper. Still, whenever I needed up-to-date information, I checked the paper’s website. The importance of reading a newspaper such as the
New York Times
is that the information you get in those pages is diverse and well written. A group of experienced journalists write different columns in different styles, using a sea of vocabulary that was challenging for me, as I’m sure it would be for most L2 speakers and even for some native speakers, but once I began to read it constantly, the vocabulary became less of an issue.

Finally, I decided to speak up. I participated in conversation circles and spoke a lot with my ESL instructor. I am grateful I had such an attentive and humble professor. I gossiped (oh yeah!) with my English-speaking friends, telling them about my culture, interesting incidents at my job, and issues from my personal life. While I did so, I constantly reminded myself that I need not be afraid of my accent. I needed to Speak Up. At the same time, I was mindful of the areas I needed to improve. For example, I sometimes did not pronounce the
t
sound of the
ed
ending of some past-tense verbs (e.g.,
talked
); therefore, I practiced pronouncing it out loud. If anybody corrected me when I mispronounced a word, I listened to them and made an effort to repeat the correct pronunciation they gave me. I have also practiced the pronunciation of words online dictionaries provide.

Becoming fluent in a second language is not easy, but if one has hunger for learning and tenacity to keep studying, one will master the language. These strategies helped me build and solidify the foundation upon which my fluency in English stands. They are powerful tools anyone can use in language acquisition. English-language learners will certainly develop and strengthen their language skills should they practice these tips. They have helped me to know how to write.