At the Writers Workshop we tutor ELL writers every day, and every hour. We all have developed techniques for helping them without actually writing the paper, but we still struggle with the balance between collaborating with the writer (what we’re supposed to do) and giving explicit directions. Most of us who are native English speakers also are at a loss to explain the reason for a phrase or word choice. Students who learn English in other countries know the rules (when there are rules) and often believe that there is a rule for everything. We don’t like to say “It just sounds better this way” but we often can’t explain any better than that.
I’ve been working on developing more materials to help tutors explain English grammar and wording to ELL writers, but it’s hard.
working with ELL writers
June 22, 2010 by libbiemorley
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As I explain grammar rules to my little ones, i usually use the term “crazy”. It is hard to know all the rules and follow them. Young learners really want to get it right just as I am sure our ELL adult students do too.
In the classroom with young learners (4th gr.) we had fun with homophones and homographs. Sarah M. came to visit on a wriitng day. As she interviewed me, she asked if I taught my grammar lessons intermingled with my writing lessons. As the purist, I said no! But during my demonstration piece, I used one of the homophones unknowingly. The students pointed it out so we circled it on the chart paper. It became a game for me to add more to my story about my mom. So I guess I do teach words, grammar and writing all together. That’s how it should be isn’t it? I also show over and over again that I need a dictionary to help me with spelling. I want to model but it is the truth. I am a poor speller.
This class has opened up new words to me. I think I was stuck in my first grade language still teaching my fourth graders. I need to pursue word choice and make it an important part of my writing. UIWP is allowing me to do that with my daily blogging. Thanks!
I have always been interested in this part of our wonderful language. I have been told(because I do not speak another language) that most other languages have pretty clear ‘rules’ in place. It seems to me that English has rules, lots and lots of them, but just when you think you have a handle on them, they change. Or depending on how you use words, the rules also change. In English, it gets so complicated, and yet maybe helps us be more precise, because we have so many words that mean the same thing, essentially. Other languages don’t have the variety English has, and I think that is good and bad. (Maybe good and bad are the wrong words in this situation??) Just my thoughts on a Friday morning…