The WRC and EMLS Students

-
(“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” – Aristotle)

Just like with any subject or discipline─ the more you practice, the more you’ll learn. For EMLS students (English for Multi Lingual Students), English was not the first language they practiced. At the Writing and Reading Center, tutors offer different tools and strategies that specifically focus on how to better assist EMLS students.

Strategies WRC Tutors use for EMLS Students:

● One-On-One Sessions: One of the most important characteristics of the Reading and Writing Center is the focus on the individual student with one-on-one sessions. This is especially important for EMLS students because we can get to know them better. Ask questions about not only the assignment, but what is the student’s first language? Where are they from? This firstly builds comfortability with tutor and student. Secondly, this also helps the tutor evaluate the students level of English.

● Be Encouraging and Understanding: We are here to help you succeed! EMLS students may feel shy or discouraged about their level of English. As tutors, we must reinforce our understanding, patience and encouragement. For everyone, with any new subject, we all start learning from the beginning.

● Read Slower: Tutors should read prompts, assignments, papers, homework questions etc. – out loud. Pronunciate and exaggerate important, key words. Also, tutors should use their hands and body language when reading or explaining something.

● Rephrasing Sentences with Simpler Words:  Often with translation, words do not translate correctly. This requires the tutor to rephrase sentences using simpler words, or as many synonyms as possible for the word that the student does not fully understand.

● Draw it Out: The WRC has whiteboards on every table, and they are great tools to help students learn visually.

Overcoming Insecurities with EMLS Students
1.)    Don’t apologize for mistakes. You can’t learn without making mistakes.
2.)    Ask questions and communicate with professors.
3.)    Tell yourself, that any person would struggle with assignments that aren’t written in their first language.
4.)    Keep it up! All you can do is try your best. The WRC is here to encourage and assist you.

Jenna Walther, WRC Tutor, FCC Student

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to the WRC

-
Image
We are excited to announce the start of our blog for the Writing and Reading Center at Fresno City College. We, the staff, tutors, and faculty, who work at the center are excited to share blogs with you weekly about different topics of writing and reading. Our hope is that you find this blog to be inspiring, and that it will push you towards greatness. That being said, I'd like to share with you a little bit about my love of writing and reading and why I work at the WRC I started here as a tutor in 2008 when I was working on my Master's degree. I had the opportunity to work here for 2 years before I chose to move on to a job on my seminary's campus. I came back after 5 years once my M.A. was complete and began work as a supervisor in April of 2015. I have always loved reading and writing. When I was a little girl, my older sister told me that once I started reading, new worlds would be open to me. She was right. From the time I could begin to read, I voraciously attacke...
Read more

Tutoring Students with Cognitive Disabilities

-
Tutoring adults with cognitive and developmental disabilities can be difficult. To me, it is especially hard to figure out if the person is trying to take advantage of you or if they genuinely need more help than the average student. In my experience, people with cognitive and developmental disabilities do not want to take advantage of you, they might even feel embarrassed about asking you many questions. Generally people who continue to ask you questions after a half hour to an hour session with them are the people who are taking advantage of you. It is important to try and stay patient with them but make it clear that you cannot right the paper for them. Now that does not mean that all people with disabilities are perfect angels, they still might try and get you to right the paper for them. The people who try to use thier disabilities as an excuse are the ones that can be the most difficult to tutor. I have actually had a student tell me, “I have a learning disability ...
Read more

Welcome to Spring 2020!

-
Image
          Welcome to the year 2020! We are in a brand new decade as well as a new semester. So this semester remember to consider all of your resources that can ensure your success as a student! There are so many resources you can utilize during this semester, the tutorial center is open and it is free. But I would like to mainly talk to you about the WRC located in the tutorial center. Here at the WRC we love to help students better understand the concepts for writing and reading. If you have a problem understanding your textbook, need help structuring a paper, learning how to take notes efficiently, or even understanding your Canvas the WRC is the place that you can get help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, that’s what we are here for. Let’s start this semester with the intention to succeed! Hope to see you here soon! By Victoria Ford, FCC Student, WRC Tutor
Read more