SLWIS Newsletter - March 2013 (Plain Text Version)

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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
•  LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
•  WRITING CENTERS AND SLWIS: A NEW COLUMN
ARTICLES
•  INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK AND STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THEIR IMPROVEMENT IN A FRESHMAN COMPOSITION CLASS: A RECIPE FOR REFLECTIVE TEACHING
•  BEGINNING COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH WRITING
•  INTEREST AND AUTONOMY IN EFL WRITING CLASSROOMS
REVIEWS
•  REVIEW OF PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FOR RESPONSE IN SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING: DEVELOPING SELF-REGULATED LEARNERS
•  REVIEW OF TEACHING GRAMMAR: WHAT REALLY WORKS
TESOL Preview
•  SLWIS SPECIAL SESSIONS AT TESOL 2013
•  TESOL 2013: SESSIONS RELATED TO SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING
ABOUT THIS MEMBER COMMUNITY
•  SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING IS CONTACT INFORMATION
•  SLW NEWS: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

WRITING CENTERS AND SLWIS: A NEW COLUMN

Helena Hall, Writing Center Director, Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, USA and Margi Wald, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Margi Wald

Helena Hall

Although an increasing number of multilingual students enroll at U.S. colleges and universities, institutions of higher learning are often underprepared to handle the additional academic support these students require. Because many of these students need (and want) more individualized or in-depth assistance with their writing than instructors can understandably provide, ESL students tend to flock to the writing center. This phenomenon has been reflected in the increasing number of writing center–related sessions at TESOL and CCCC, as well as discussions on various e-lists.

Of course, writing center/tutorial programs and approaches have been implemented in other contexts—specifically EFL, secondary education, and adult education—as well. And perhaps with (even) less support or institutional history than found in higher education contexts.

How do writing centers handle the growing international and immigrant populations? To share some possible answers to this question with TESOLers, we are looking for articles (research, programming/administration, best practices) about, for example, tutor development, one-on-one tutoring sessions, writing groups, and workshops.

Please see our full Call for Submissions for a list of specifications and information on our other columns: Book/Media Reviews, Action Research Projects, CALL, and EFL.