As the population of international--and particularly Chinese--students grows in US academic institutions, it is critical that writing center tutors be able to address these students' needs. However, whereas writing tutors at the author's institution are often taught to be indirect and focus on higher order concerns, such strategies are not always…

Writers who do not speak English as a native language perennially have presented unique challenges to the writing center, for these writers, who study English as a second language (ESL), or even as a third or fourth foreign language (EFL), may also be unacquainted with American academic discourse. ESL/EFL writers may face unfamiliarity with…

Writing center tutors play a key role in advancing L2 writers' language learning because the tutorial interaction involves the introduction of new language and vocabulary at the point of need or interest. This tutor-research case study presents a detailed, complex portrait of how a second language writer in a US writing center learned and used…

Writing centers are places not only of practices and policies but also of inquiry. Increasingly, research conducted in writing centers is informing the theoretical bases as well as the day-to-day goings-on in our various local contexts. In turn, the situated daily activity of each writing center as well as the theory or principles behind it…

While writing centers and writing fellows programs have been integral components of many colleges and universities in North America, these models of student-to-student learning are starting to develop in postsecondary institutions in other parts of the world, particularly in the Arabian Gulf. In particular, there are growing number of…

Discusses general issues related to attitudes towards writing, which may be of interest to those working with English-as-a-second-language students, especially students coming from educational settings where writing is not traditionally taught. Presents the practice of the Writing Center at Central uropean University, one of the few centers in…

Claims writing centers of the future will be more reliant on technology, need more second-language acquisition specialists, expand beyond the physical boundaries of a single center, and assume a more prominent role in research. (NH)

Describes how one writing center with many English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students has integrated the "cultural informant" role of tutors with their role of teaching self-editing strategies. Reviews the process of introducing ESL students to use of a learner's dictionary, minimal marking, and error logs. Offers examples of using these…

Proposes that writing centers form relationships with Applied Linguistics/ESL to research cross-cultural and cross-linguistic questions, thus fostering research grounded in the everyday work of the center, but with large cultural and theoretical implications. (SR)

Considers how a writing center can become a place where nonnative writers can receive effective remediation and guidance. Explains how writing center personnel might be trained to deal skillfully with nonnative writers' concerns, including different rhetorical structures. (HB)

Describes the five major problems faced by foreign students in traditional composition classes. Presents types of tutorial activities which may prove beneficial when dealing with the major problems that ESL students have in both reading and writing in English. Discusses the effect of such tutorial activities at the University of Kentucky. (HB)

Presents typical problems encountered by tutors at writing centers when they conference with ESL writers. Discusses processes and ways of adapting collaborative conferencing strategies for second-language writers at the University of Wyoming Writing Center, including a need for intervention, that have proven effective in alleviating these…

Compares native and nonnative speakers of English and the possible ramifications of these differences for the operations of writing centers. Reviews two recent books and their attempts to fill a need for helpful materials on linguistic diversity and the teaching of writing. (HB)