Our class on Wednesday was a bit different from our regular classes. Dr. Grove immediately began the class speaking Turkish and I could tell that everyone, including me, was a bit startled by it. She went on for about 10 minutes trying to teach us basic Turkish and eventually switched to English. I thought it was an interesting way to show how people are uncomfortable in settings where a different language is spoken and they do not understand what is going on around them.
Dr. Grove explained to us the different kinds of international students on campus and the differing levels of English proficiency that they have. She also mentioned the correlation between TOEFL scores (or lack thereof) and how well students speak English, saying that although most students have very high TOEFL scores they do not speak or write English as well as they should based on these scores. It was interesting to hear her talk about what techniques we should use as writing consultants to help ESL students with their writing. Perhaps what struck me most is that she said we basically have to act as teachers and mentors rather than simply consultants. I do agree with the notion that we actually have to teach these students some basic grammar ideas and concepts, otherwise we cannot effectively do our job and help ESL students become better writers.
I found that her advice to be more directive and take the power position of a teacher with ESL students was very interesting, especially in contrast to what we are supposed to do with other students. We have talked for long time about the necessity of taking a collaborative approach, but now we're supposed to e directive? It's an interesting switch.
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