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Below are resources that University Writing has developed to support students and instructors across the disciplines in their writing and writing instruction. We define writing broadly, so you will find resources on ePortfolios, visual design, professional communication, and presentations in addition to traditional writing tasks like reflective writing, literature reviews, peer review, and editing and proofing.
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If you are a tutor or instructor who wants to improve your teaching of international and multilingual students, these six lessons are for you. You will learn how culture and home language influence writing, and you will consider how to make U.S. academic writing conventions more transparent for diverse learners. The materials were created for the Miller Writing Center’s peer consultants; you are encouraged to adapt them to your own context.
Materials designed by Layli Miron
Lesson 1 covers patterns in multilingual learners' educational experiences and asks you to reflect on your experiences with learning languages and/or with teaching multilingual students
Lesson 2 identifies the dominant language groups at the Miller Writing Center and invites you to learn about how the features of a student's home language can transfer to English
Lesson 3 explores how culture influences approaches to learning and writing and asks you to uncover some cultural assumptions of U.S. higher education
Lesson 4 considers how global educational systems and the U.S. academy can differently define "good writing," including concepts of audience, structure, and correctness
Lesson 5 grapples with how to balance assimilation to U.S. academic writing conventions with respect for writers' diverse voices
Lesson 5: Assimilation? Empowerment? Writing Conventions and Linguistic Diversity Word Document
Lesson 5: Assimilation? Empowerment? Writing Conventions and Linguistic Diversity PDF
Lesson 6 encourages you to extend your learning about multilingual writers and present it to a broader audience
