Supporting the

Transition into FYC

Sarah Elizabeth Snyder, PhD StudentArizona State University

TESOL 2015, Toronto

Approaches to TESOL

The grammar-translation method

The direct method

The audio-lingual method

Suggestopedia

The silent way

Total physical response

The natural approach

The communicative approach

The Predicament

● Any student we have could be coming from an educational

system that utilized any one of those approaches (and more)

● We cannot assume that every student has the same amount of

instruction in or awareness of language issues (e.g., Matsuda,

2012)

● Students may also lack “institutional knowledge” (Vargas, 2004)

We do our best to place students correctly,

● Placement tests are important! (White, 1995)

● Standardized tests are most often not made intentionally for use

as First Year Composition placement tests (Weigle, 2002)

● In house diagnostic/placement tests are extremely difficult,

expensive and time-consuming to make (Bachmann & Palmer,

2010)

● Diagnostic/Placement tests work… sometimes

But we still have many levels in one classroom

● Many international students understand the

importance of awareness of language issues

o Classroom exercise: And then?

● Each student has a different profile

So how do we serve all of these students in

one class?

Individualized Instruction

● ENG 194 Course Outline

o 1-credit “Walk along” course combined with FYC

o Discipline-specific support class design

o Required textbook: Language Power by Dr. Dana Ferris

o Individualized Instruction

o Currently being studied for effectiveness

Course Components

Plan of Study for Individualized Instruction

● Grammar Knowledge Survey

● Coded Instructor Feedback

● Plan of Study

o three chosen tutorials

● Individualized Instruction IN Class

● Reflection on and articulation of

Individualized Instruction

● Reflective Portfolio

Grammar Knowledge

Survey

Coded Feedback

Plan of Study

Special Course Approaches

R-E-S-P-E-CT in Homework

● Honor system + Checks and balances

o Attendance quiz on assigned tutorial

o Mimics the test question that will be given in mid-term quiz

o Turned in to teacher only

● Self-study

Mid-Term Evaluation (Informal, N=25)

● 98% said their “writing has improved”

● 100% said they felt “respected by their

teacher”**

● 28% said that the class is too short

● 28% said that they wouldn’t change anything

about the course

Mid-Term Evaluation (Continued)

What is the best thing about the class?

● “it is a good way to learn how to build a well written paper with

all english structures”

● “We can actually talk in during the class time, and we can focus

the grammar more.”

Are the comments I make on your papers useful?

● “yes, the comments were clearly and I found the mistake I made

most times.”

The Most Important Parts...

● International students understand the consequences of ignoring

language issues and they want to learn more about language

issues

● Focus on the why behind the what (i.e., rhetorical grammar)

● Individualized instruction in language issues is possible in a

short amount of class time!

● The right course design can make it easy to incorporate (or

encourage your colleagues to incorporate) language issues in the

FYC classroom.

Questions that were asked at TESOL:

Q: How did your institution rationalize this class with the presence of a Writing Center?

A: Writing Center (WC) literature has revolved around making the students better writers

overall, instead of making the writing better. As such, this has created a hierarchy of

writing issues to look at, of which sentence-level issues are at the bottom. Many L2

writing students have been frustrated working with the WCs in this regard. There were

also differences in funding for this class that I am not privy to, but know they exist.

Q: How can we better articulate these messages (of the possible need for support for L2

writers) to our colleagues within and outside of our own English department?

A: The best approach I have found is to make friends first. Then, approach this polarized

issue through the message of friendship and helpfulness.