Spring 2020 witnessed an unprecedented global crisis—the COVID-19 pandemic—that has wreaked unprecedented havoc on tens of millions of people’s wellbeing, healthcare systems, and economies around the globe. As I’m writing this piece, COVID-19 has claimed more than a million lives worldwide, among which more than 200,000 are from the United States. The still developing (worsening) situation has posed grave challenges to international multilingual students pursuing higher education degrees in the United States.

First, as schools across the country shut down campuses and transition to online teaching, domestic students have the choice to take sanctuary at home, but international students typically lack such mobility and may be confined to their dorms. Flying restrictions, separation from family, and social isolation take a severe emotional toll on them. Second, international students in need of immediate financial support, when seeking campus resources, may be disadvantaged, if not disqualified, because of their immigration status or unfamiliarity with the available aids. The most dreadful circumstance that they are likely to encounter in this time of crisis, however, is the resurgence of institutionalized xenophobia as well as anti-immigrant and racist sentiments that oftentimes result in discrimination and even violence. Notorious examples include the U.S. President Donald Trump calling coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu” in high-profile events, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s policy change that would affect international students’ legal status if their universities switch to online-only courses in Fall 2020 (rescinded later), and numerous incidents of Asian students being verbally insulted or physically attacked in public spaces.

International students are confronted with these additional challenges on a regular basis, all the while dealing with the risk of contracting the virus. Struggling to make sense of this chaos, I, a writing teacher and scholar of Chinese descent living in the United States, find it irresponsible to downplay our role as students’ advocates, particularly in this time of crisis.

Advocating for Students

The crisis and its ensuing political responses are a wake-up call for educators, especially those of us working directly with international multilingual students. Perhaps it’s kairotic to reassert our role as advocates for students. Introducing the concept of “teacher-scholar-activist,” writing studies scholar Sullivan (2015) proposes a deliberate framing of writing teachers’ professional identity as activists, which has since sparked a series of conversations around developing and sustaining a social justice movement and challenging policies that reinforce hegemonic and exclusionary practices within writing studies. In bilingual and multilingual education, research on social justice and activism has also been growing, championed by, to name a few prominent scholars, Ofelia García and Ryuko Kubota.

Standing on the shoulders of these leaders, I would like to reiterate that we are by default international multilingual students’ advocates by signing up to teach them. We are uniquely positioned in students’ socioacademic space to build a community of advocacy and mutual support for two reasons. First, the relatively small size of a multilingual writing class, be it housed in a writing program, English/writing department, or an English language institute, allows for more intimate and meaningful interactions among community members than a large instructor-centered lecture. A teacher-advocate would have more flexibility to attend to individual students’ challenges. Second, a multilingual writing curriculum naturally stimulates and invites explicit and extended discussions on language, culture, identity, diversity, and power—concepts that would lay a theoretical foundation for the type of self-advocacy students need to continue to do beyond the class. In what follows, I outline a few suggestions for multilingual writing teachers who consider making advocacy a highlighted part of their role in this time of crisis.

1. Distinguish Meaningful Advocacy

First and foremost, distinguish meaningful advocacy from “feel-good” advocacy and move beyond the latter. Advocacy is all about action. Recognizing unjust situations regarding international multilingual students and expressing compassion are merely the first steps. Taking action in our various capacities and bringing about meaningful changes ultimately defines advocacy. Advocacy may take the form of challenging the current programmatic assessment philosophy and practices that, in a time of crisis, further disadvantage multilingual students. Advocacy may also manifest itself in a carefully designed curriculum that provides students with resources to advocate on their own behalf.

2. Provide Emotional and Legal Support

Second, in light of students’ extraordinary emotional toll caused by the pandemic, immigration policy changes, and social isolation, it’s our responsibility as teacher-advocates to provide students with emotional and legal support (Tardy & Whittig, 2017). This includes actively listening to students’ concerns not only through conversations but also through their writing (especially when remote learning is becoming the new normal). Students may be unlikely to share their frustrations, insecurity, or outright fear directly in their writing; yet we may proactively listen to traces of such emotional disturbance, for example, inconsistent quality of writing or missing assignments, and promptly initiate intervention.

3. Be Literacy Sponsors

Third, be our students’ literacy sponsor (Brandt, 2001) and assist them in navigating institutional and organizational resources. Many universities across the United States have quickly created various support programs or funds to alleviate students’ distress or help them through financial predicaments. However, because of most international multilingual students’ lack of familiarity with the bureaucratic procedures one needs to go through, information may get lost in translation (sometimes literally). As literacy sponsors, writing teachers are in a unique position to help students make sense of these textually constructed resources that may bear serious implications for students’ well-being. Again, advocacy means action; we need to offer before students ask, because they may never ask us.

4. Consider Curriculum

Fourth, modify, and if possible, redesign our curriculum, and allow space (time) for students to share and reflect on their experiences through writing and about writing in a time of crisis. As xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and racist sentiments continue to circulate through the current political discourse, reaffirming the value of our students’ diverse linguistic and cultural identities has, rightfully, become a crucial component in a multilingual writing class (Dubetz & de Jong, 2011). This can be done through explicitly reading about, discussing, and writing about language, power, linguicism, and political rhetoric pertaining to anti-immigrant policies. Meanwhile, we may highlight multilingual realities by inviting students to share their idiosyncratic linguistic experiences through autoethnographic writing (Wang, 2019).

Conclusion

Teacher-administrators may consult professional or nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups when requesting additional resources and support from upper level administrations. Notable examples include NAFSA: Association of International Educators, NABE (National Association for Bilingual Education), and NEA (National Education Association). These organizations publish research reports and position statements that help to justify the importance of educational equity regarding international, bilingual, and multilingual students.

References

Brandt, D. (2001). Literacy in American lives. Cambridge University Press.

Dubetz, N. E., & de Jong, E. J. (2011). Teacher advocacy in bilingual programs. Bilingual Research Journal, 34(3), 248–262.

Sullivan, P. (2015). The two-year college teacher-scholar-activist. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 42(4), 327–350.

Tardy, C. M., & Whittig, E. (2017). On the ethical treatment of EAL writers: An update. TESOL Quarterly, 51(4), 920–930.

Wang, Z. (2019). Relive differences through a material flashback. College Composition and Communication, 70(3), 380–412.