I am proud and delighted to say that I have been working as a language and writing tutor at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia for 1 year. I wrote this article as a way of reflecting on my own work and informing others of how impactful reflection is for improving and developing oneself. Tutoring English language learners (ELLs) has been the most efficient way I have combined my passion for helping people through international exchanges of multilingual students and experiencing diversity.

Coming from the hospitality management discipline, tutoring writing was a new experience for me, and it was intimidating even though I have always thought I excelled at writing. Through my reflections on my tutoring, I can see that I have taken the most valuable opportunities available to me to improve my tutoring work and professional development. By training in writing and language disciplines as a means to enhance my skills, I have grown into an expert who is capable of working with ELLs. Throughout my practice, I have also been able to apply Dewey’s principle of “[fostering] a love of learning and a desire for more education” (Rafoth, 2016, p. 5). As I have grown, I have been able to experience and transfer my skills into a tutoring method for language learners.

The Beginning

After taking a three-credit semester course in the fall of 2014, I learned about tutoring writing practices and strategies to best approach clients based on their general concerns and identified needs. My growth as a tutor increased through the process of critically analyzing, addressing needs, and explaining clients’ concerns during 45-minute consultations. At the end of my sessions, when I evaluated my skills as a tutor and whether the client’s concerns were identified and successfully addressed, I constantly thought about how I could improve my practice as a tutor.

As much as I enjoyed helping students at the University Writing Center (UWC) with papers, assignments, and brainstorming, I felt as if I could add more value to my tutoring sessions; I felt as if I was not doing enough. My experiences studying in China and working in Spain helped narrow my interests in working with international students. Remembering the struggle of interpreting, translating, and learning another language increased my empathy for multilingual students who come to an American school for education. As Rafoth (2016) states, ELLs develop their writing education by “[their] want for themselves” (p. 6). The constant battle of learning in another language is overpowered by the thought of being successful in the future. I sympathized with those putting in effort to improve themselves in learning English, and this experience made me want to see if I could do anything more to help them with their education.

After this realization, I trained both at the UWC and English Language Learner Services (ELLS), our language support center. Through seminal readings, observations, and discussions with the ELLS coordinator, I learned more about how to help ELLs. By taking a linguistic approach that looks at all holistic differences between English and the writer’s native language, I became metacognitively aware of when to provide either more language or writing support during each consultation and how to devote personal attention to each learner. Through facilitating rather than controlling the language of each session (Bell & Elledge, 2008), I focused on global concerns that emphasized lower-level structures (e.g., verb tenses and frequent adverbs). This strategy helped the learners establish their language autonomy and understand their needs to improve their writing and language in English.

After this training, my title became “ESL Specialist,” and language learners could seek me out for assistance at both centers so they could receive specialized help from me. I started to become a resource to other writing tutors and gained additional employment as a language tutor at ELLS. At the same time, my confidence as a tutor grew, as well as my ability to adapt and solve problems while working with all students. I started to be more assertive in my tutoring because I was more aware of what I was doing. As a capable guide, each session in ELLS or UWC improved my practice as a tutor and added value.

Development

Although I learned a lot, there were areas in my practice as a language and writing tutor that I noticed could be improved. For instance, ELLs might discern certain grammar rules and explanations, along with exceptions to these rules, that I was not able to successfully explain. Because I was the specialist in both centers, I started noticing patterns and techniques in all language learner sessions. Reflecting on my practice helped me know specifically what I could do to refine my skills and better serve all students.

In the fall of 2015, the coordinator of ELLS and I compiled an electronic exit survey for my clients and a tutor log for me. For all my sessions in which I tutored an ELL, whether in the UWC or ELLS, the student would address their concerns prior to the consultation. While working, I noticed the concerns they addressed were sometimes different or more general than the ones we worked on throughout the consultation. As an example, some students would discuss grammar or organization concerns when they actually needed more specific subject-verb agreement help. I asked them to also complete the presurvey to ask about their confidence on the assignment we’d be discussing prior to working with me. After the consultation, the clients would then take the posttest part of the survey, which helped me elicit information about their confidence and perception of how helpful I was during the session. In correlation with the client’s survey, I recorded my observations in my tutor log. This would note the concerns they addressed as well as what I thought each session identified as a student’s concern. I also recorded what I would like to develop and what I gained from each session. Therefore, looking at the questions in the log, I was able to evaluate and think about my practice after each session.

Looking at the results from the semester’s logs and surveys, there were areas that I wanted to improve, including grammar rules, explanations of verb tenses, and lexical differences between native languages. Through resources, topical readings, and discussions with the ELLS coordinator, I would try to improve these skills. After I felt confident enough, I tried to apply what I learned to future sessions. These consistent reflections and surveying processes improved my professional development and knowledge.

Universal Future Development

With my extensive training, I realized that the questions I continued to have were likely relevant to other tutors. The apprehension tutors that face when approached with a language learner is often discussed between tutors but rarely resolved; my questions and experience could help. The learning centers at JMU provide tutoring to the whole student population in various disciplines including writing, communication, math, science, language, and digital communication. In partnership with the ELLS coordinator, we combined my concerns, questions, and observations into a seminar to inform peer educators on to how to work with linguistically diverse students.

In the spring of 2015, 1 year after I trained to become a language tutor, I cotaught an 8-week seminar addressing my identified concerns as universal topics that peer educators share when tutoring linguistic differences. This seminar was designed to enhance tutor confidence, comfort, and capability when working with ELLs. Through my training in writing and specialization with ESL students, I was able to find resonance with the universal practice of peer education across disciplines. From the place of a peer educator myself, I facilitated discussions about grammar and plagiarism, and provided various examples for tutoring multilingual students. The seminar participants discovered that with language as a main component all disciplines share, there were similarities in cross-disciplinary practices. This recognition expanded all of our thinking as to how to work with language learners in our centers.

Conclusion

I wrote this reflection to serve as an evaluation of my professional development in teaching and tutoring language and writing. There is true value in cross-disciplinary collaboration among various centers because peer educators across campus work with linguistically diverse populations. There are pedagogical differences; however, language serves as a foundation that unites disciplines. My experience has created a major impact on my work and my disposition today. I want continue to help language learners to be successful in their academic pursuits, and if I can help in some way, then I have achieved my purpose. As Rafoth (2016) noted, learning “is driven by curiosity and the desire to discover new things through research and inquiry. It tries to make a positive difference” (p. 6). I strive to make that positive difference. By methodically reflecting on my resources and opportunities, I will continue to serve language learners to the best of my ability and improve my practice for the future.

References

Bell, D. C., & Elledge, S. R. (2008). Dominance and peer tutoring sessions with English language learners. Learning Assistance Review, 13(1), 17–30.

Rafoth, B. (2016). Second language writers, writing centers, and reflection. In S. Bruce & B. Rafoth, (Eds.),  Tutoring second language writers (pp. 5-23). Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.

Kassandra (KC) Collazo is a senior undergraduate at James Madison University working toward the change she wishes to see in the world through her aspirations and academics in hospitality management, international affairs, and Spanish. She works as a language and writing tutor for ESL students and hopes to continue with these skills in her professional life beyond college.