ESL students & non-tutorial resources

[96BANDY@wmich.edu]

Dear List-
	Sounds kind of like dear diary, huh?  I feel like I can confide my
insecurities.
	
	The tuttors in our WC seem to be waging a constant battle against
insecurity in regards to tutoring the ESL student.  As writing center tutors
they have been trained not to lead directly, not to "give" answers or
"correct" student "mistakes" and yet, in the face of a discouraged or
frustrated ESL student, who may have been told by their instructor that they
needed to go to the WC because he or she did not have the time or experience
to deal with the ESL problem, our tutors feel enormous pressure to  break the
rules of the book.  Tutoring by the book becomes a slow painful process
yeilding little sign of improvement week to week.  I am sure I have taken
much space to say what all have experienced.  I will get along to my
question.
	It seems to me that the problems for which our ESL students frequently
come looking for help (articles, word endings, agreement) are the sorts of
problems whose corrections are best assimilated through exposure over time to
written and spoken English, rather than one on one instruction over a piece
of writing.  In other words, these are the mistake these students aren't
"hearing".  We're trying to address the problem in a writing tutorial when it
comes from another sector of language acquisition entirely, speech and
listening.  Now, I know the lines can get fuzzy here, we could say that many
of the problems we deal with in other non-ESL students could be described the
same way, but they have acquired the language differently, by and large.
	What I am curious about is this (and I said I was getting to my
question earlier)--there are many web-sites out there, and I am sure there is
other software available as well, where ESL students can sit down by
themselves for whatever length of time is comfortable and get in some good
practice.  I have begun to bookmark some of these web sites in our wc computer
lab.  Some of these sites have short quizzes that target particular problems. 
Students can self administer these and they are checked in a matter of
seconds.  Now the problem comes with WC theory.  In theory, as I understand
it, we are not supposed to be in the business of "drilling" students,
assigning or recommending busy work.  I suppose this is in part because we do
not look at our function as "remedial".  Something with which I agree whole
heartedly.  However, when we have students coming in largely to have their
papers proffed for the same repeated mistakes, would it be permissable for us
to recommend that these students get practice on these problems elsewhere so
that more time can be spent in the tutorila on other, hopefully higher order,
concerns?
	This bookmarking of web-sites is one of my primary projects right
now.  Before I get to far into it I would like to know if I am venturing into
territory from which I will return branded a heretic.  
	
James Bandy, GA
WMU Writing Center
1042 Moore Hall
Western Michigan Univeristy
Kalamazoo, MI 49007

96BANDY@wmich.edu