The CATESOL Journal

Teachers of students from sociocultural backgrounds different from their own must, on the one hand, recognize sociocultural influences on their students and, on the other, remember that students are also individuals. This article examines the role of individual differences in the journal writing of adult ESL students. The study was conducted in an extended education ESL writing class team-taught for two 10-week semesters at a large urban university. The primary writing activity of the class was personal journal writing requiring description and examination of the writers’ past experiences. Case studies were conducted of nine students from six countries. Data for the study consisted of student questionnaires, fieldnotes, and audiotapes of classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and teacher and student journal writing. After describing the conventions of the genre and the backgrounds of the nine subjects and summarizing students’ responses to the journal writing, the article focuses on influences on those responses. The findings illuminate the roles of past writing experiences, personality, and cultural background in influencing students’ responses to classroom writing.

This paper examines the potential for teachers to act as researchers within their own classrooms. It utilizes a four-step process for such classroombased research: observation, reflection, planning, and action. The focus of the research described is the creation of a Communicative Writing Framework (CWF) to aid in the examination and evaluation of linguistically diverse children’s writing. Research by James Cummins, Katherine Perera, and Linda Flower provide the theoretical basis for such a framework. Application of the CWF is made to (a) data from the Language Assessment Scales-Writing, a national assessment tool, and (b) writing activities of students in a first-grade Spanish-English bilingual classroom. Suggestions are provided for teachers interested in implementing and adapting the CWF model to their own writing classes.

This paper discusses part of a study conducted recently in which the patterns of learner strategy use of university-level, Asian ESL students were examined, here specifically in relation to the students’ level of ESL proficiency. Strategy use was assessed through the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL), and proficiency was determined by TOEFL scores. It was the purpose of this part of the study to investigate both the frequency of use and the choice of strategies by students at intermediate and advanced levels of ESL proficiency. Research in the identification and application of successful learner strategies—research in learning not only what but how to learn—can help lead educators and students toward the goal of learner autonomy.

Recognizing the impact of the changing population on the community college campuses of our nation and the requirement for more attention to the special linguistic needs of nonnative speakers, the author proposes that campus-produced publications and written materials be adapted to encourage and facilitate equal access for all. The author further argues that recruitment, participation, and retention of nonnative speakers can be fostered through not only modified campus-produced materials, but also more explicit registration and support-service procedures. The focus is on adaptation of materials by trained staff in lieu of the provision of bilingual or multilingual materials. A list of recommendations is included.