Faculty are important mentors for international graduate and professional students as writers, speakers, and language users.
The ELSO faculty are available to support you in your efforts to support multilingual domestic and international graduate students. We are happy to meet with individual faculty as well as departments to discuss:
- the linguistic and cultural challenges that multilingual and international graduate and professional students face, and share resources on second language acquisition, writing strategies, and speaking strategies
- effective ways to mentor multilingual and international graduate and professional student writing, including commenting on drafts, guiding students during the writing process, and knowing when and how to address language issues
- effective ways to mentor multilingual and international graduate and professional student speaking, including being inclusive during classroom discussions, guiding students in giving presentations, and developing inclusive team projects
- resources available to support your students as writers, speakers, and language users
- approaches for developing linguistically and culturally inclusive assignments and assessment practices
Questions about ELSO support for faculty may be sent to the ELSO email account.
Schedule a Consultation
To schedule a consultation for an individual faculty member or a department, email us using the ELSO program email account.
ELSO Listserv and Canvas Site
Faculty are welcome to join the ELSO listserv to receive announcements about ELSO programs, which they can pass on to students.
To join the listserv, email ELSO.
Faculty are also welcome to join the ELSO program Canvas site ("English Support for Multilingual Graduate and Professional Students"), which contains sample syllabi for ELSO courses, handouts on writing and speaking created by ELSO faculty, and links to vetted writing and speaking resources.
To join the ELSO Canvas site, click here.
Bibliography on Supporting International Graduate Students
Supporting Graduate Students as Writers
Campbell, M. M. & Kennell, V. R. (2018). Working with Graduate Student Writers: Faculty Guide. Purdue Writing Lab. Available here.
Paltridge, B. & Starfield, S. (2007). Thesis and dissertation writing in a second language: A handbook for supervisors. New York: Routledge.
Phillips, T. & Ryerson, R. (2022). Supporting the growth of graduate writers: A film. University of Michigan Press. Available here.
* For a bibliography of textbooks and readings on course and materials development, see the bibliography compiled by the Consortium on Graduate Communication here.
Supporting Graduate Students as International Students
Shapiro, S., Farrelly, R., & Tomas, Z. (2014). Fostering International Student Success in Higher Education. TESOL Publications.
Research on Graduate Communication Support
Aitchison, C. & Guerin, C. (Eds.) (2014). Writing groups for doctoral education and beyond: Innovations in theory and practice. London, UK: Routledge.
Lawrence, S. & Zawacki, T. M. (Eds.) (2018). Re/writing the center: Pedagogies, practices, partnerships to support graduate students in the writing center. Louisville, CO: Utah State University Press.
McAlpine, L. & Amundson, C. (Eds.) (2011). Supporting the doctoral process: Research-based strategies. New York: Springer.
Sharma, S. (2018). Writing support for international graduate students: Enhancing transition and success. New York: Routledge.
Simpson, S., Caplan, N. A., Cox, M., & Phillips, T. (Eds.) (2016). Supporting graduate writers: Research, curriculum, and program design. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Professional Organizations
Consortium on Graduate Communication (https://www.gradconsortium.org)
The Consortium on Graduate Communication is an international association whose members provide professional development in written, oral, and multimodal communication to students before and during their (post-)graduate academic and professional programs. CGC members work with graduate students in their first and second/additional languages.
Bibliography on Supporting Multilingual Writing
Bruce, Shanti & Rafoth, Ben. (Eds.). (2009). ESL writers: A guide for writing center tutors, 2nd ed. Heinemann.
Though written for writing center tutors, this is the book I most often recommend to faculty interested in better supporting multilingual writers. The chapters are clear and concise, and focus on different aspects of reading and responding to multilingual writing.
Conference on College Composition and Communication. (2010). CCCC Statement on Second Language Writing and Writers.
http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/secondlangwriting
Written by the CCCC Committee on Second Language Writing and Writers and endorsed by Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), this useful statement provides an overview of second language writing and guidelines for writing programs and instructors.
Cox, Michelle. (2020). Adapting pedagogy for multilingual writers. Available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b02Q_CPQGX_PrHhJXS574MdBn0qg22ys/view?usp=sharing.
This set of tips was developed by Michelle Cox to guide writing faculty and faculty across the curriculum in creating linguistically and culturally inclusive teaching practices. Included are tips for designing writing assignments, scaffolding reading, inviting students to draw on multiple language skills, among other topics. Further, a sample syllabus statement is included for creating a linguistically inclusive classroom climate.
George Mason University. Valuing Written Accents. http://writtenaccents.gmu.edu/
This website provides data from an ongoing investigation into the experiences of multilingual students and their instructors at George Mason University.
Global Cornell. (2020). Teaching International Students: Tips for Online Instruction. Available at https://global.cornell.edu/teaching-international-students-tips-online-instruction
Global Cornell, Cornell University's office focused on international scholars and international education, developed a useful set of tips for teaching international and multilingual students in socially-distanced and virtual classes.
Leki, Ilona. (1992). Understanding ESL writers: A guide for teachers. Heinemann-Boynton/Cook.
Though dated, this concise book provides useful guidance for instructors working with international multilingual students.
Robertson, Wayne (Director). (2005). Writing Across Borders. Oregon State University.
This valuable film features the voices of second language writing scholars, instructors, and multilingual students from across the curriculum, and provides a useful overview of several issues relevant to second language writing, such as cultural notions of textual ownership, contrastive rhetoric, and responding to and assessing the writing of multilingual students. The short film can be ordered for a nominal fee from Oregon State University, or viewed through YouTube.
Part I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv3uRPsskv0
Part II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vabyE1a2I7E
Part III: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wbDcfltIU
Savini, Catherine. (2021, Jan. 27). 10 ways to tackle linguistic bias in your classroom. Inside Higher Education. Available here.
This article explores how an emphasis on Standard Written English leads to discrimination against multilingual students and provides ten strategies for creating a linguistically and culturally inclusive class. Savini includes a syllabus statement that can be used to set an inclusive tone in a class.
Shapiro, Shawna, Farrelly, Raichle & Zuzana, Tomas. (2016). Fostering international student success in higher education. TESOL Press.
Though not focused on writing, this book can help faculty create more linguistically and culturally inclusive pedagogy. After providing an overview of international enrollment trends in US higher education, the authors discuss how students’ cultural backgrounds impact success, how course content can be more comprehensible to international students, how learning can be more fairly measured through assignments and assessment, and how instructors can help international students become more a part of the institution and feel more valued.