“Helping International Students Thrive…”
Challenges
• All the usual adjustments, plus…
• Unfamiliar cultural values
• Visa status, immigration, SSNs,
driver’s licenses, taxes
• English proficiency/comfort level
• Unfamiliar educational
system/philosophy (speaking in
class, sharing opinions)
• Differences regarding Academic
Integrity (plagiarism,
collaboration)
• Unfamiliar healthcare system
• Distance from friends and family
• Homesickness
Support
• Network of faculty advisors,
resources, etc.
• International student office,
support centers
• Orientation days
• Workshops throughout the
semester, topical retreats
• Courses like “Intro to College”
• Assignments that help students
reflect on cultural differences
• Peer counseling, pairing with
mentors
• Globalization of campus
• Creating a climate of engagement
International Student Population, 2014-2015
• Freshmen degree-seeking students, exchange
students
• Grew up speaking English, studied English as a
foreign language in high school, studied in United
World College, completed college-level
coursework with native, English-speaking
professors
• From Jordan, Kazakhstan, India, Palestine,
Uganda, Germany, Vietnam, China, South Korea,
Norway, Burundi, Russia, Serbia, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Italy, Egypt, Thailand, etc.
Where is this individual in the process?
…the process of…
• …learning to write in an academic context in the U.S.
• …understanding the expectations of his/her professors
• …learning to communicate effectively in English
• …understanding how writing centers and speaking
centers work, etc.
“Talk Before Text” (ESL Writers, Ch. 7, p. 81)
“Choose your battles”
Writing 107, Objectives
• Help incoming international students understand the
conventions U.S. academic culture and discourse with
emphasis on liberal arts education
• Provide opportunities to learn about and practice reading,
writing, listening and speaking in that context
• Help students develop confidence in college-level writing
(constructing arguments, locating and documenting
sources, etc.) by offering writing strategies and by using a
systematic process that includes ample feedback
• Impress upon students the importance of academic
integrity and responsible use of information, and help
students have a full understanding of what that means at
St. Olaf
Writing 107, Objectives
• Help incoming international students understand the
conventions U.S. academic culture and discourse with
emphasis on liberal arts education
• Provide opportunities to learn about and practice reading,
writing, listening and speaking in that context
• Help students develop confidence in college-level writing
(constructing arguments, locating and documenting
sources, etc.) by offering writing strategies and by using a
systematic process that includes ample feedback
• Impress upon students the importance of academic
integrity and responsible use of information, and help
students have a full understanding of what that means at
St. Olaf
Writing 107, Objectives
• Help incoming international students understand the
conventions U.S. academic culture and discourse with
emphasis on liberal arts education
• Provide opportunities to learn about and practice reading,
writing, listening and speaking in that context
• Help students develop confidence in college-level writing
(constructing arguments, locating and documenting
sources, etc.) by offering writing strategies and by using a
systematic process that includes ample feedback
• Impress upon students the importance of academic
integrity and responsible use of information, and help
students have a full understanding of what that means at
St. Olaf
Writing 107, Objectives
• Help incoming international students understand the
conventions U.S. academic culture and discourse with
emphasis on liberal arts education
• Provide opportunities to learn about and practice reading,
writing, listening and speaking in that context
• Help students develop confidence in college-level writing
(constructing arguments, locating and documenting
sources, etc.) by offering writing strategies and by using a
systematic process that includes ample feedback
• Impress upon students the importance of academic
integrity and responsible use of information, and help
students have a full understanding of what that means at
St. Olaf
Writing 107, Objectives
• Help incoming international students understand the
conventions U.S. academic culture and discourse with
emphasis on liberal arts education
The roles a tutor plays
-ally
-coach
-commentator
-collaborator
-writing “expert”
-learner
-counselor
Writing 107, Objectives
• Help incoming international students understand the
conventions U.S. academic culture and discourse with
emphasis on liberal arts education
The roles a tutor plays
-ally
-coach
-commentator
-collaborator
-writing “expert”
-learner
-counselor
-role model
-peer
-confidant
-intermediary
-coach for college life
The Assignments
Compare/Contrast Essay
Write an essay in which you compare two of the
narratives from The Kindness of Strangers. Begin
by outlining your chosen narratives. Then write
an analytic essay in which you compare the texts
in terms of how they relate to the title and/or
the preface of the book. Your essay should
include a thesis based on your comparative
analysis.
The Assignments
Textual Analysis
Write an essay in which you analyze a
section/chapter/theme from our class text, Overbooked.
Your essay should include a thesis that makes a claim
about the class text. For example, you could address a
bias in the text; you could make a claim about how the
author uses research to support her arguments; you
could analyze the word choice, writing style, or use of
narrative in the text. You should not merely summarize or
restate the major points of the text; rather you should
use critical summary to support your analytical argument.
Use this assignment to demonstrate your ability to
analyze a text. This analysis will not require outside
research.
The Assignments
Researched Argument Essay
Choose an idea or topic from Overbooked that interests you. Ask a question about that
topic that can be answered through research. (An effective research question should
be complicated enough to have more than one simple answer, and it should be openended, meaning that it does not have a “right” answer.) When your research question
has been “approved,” look for library-based resources that help to answer your
question.
You will need to read more texts than you will use in your essay. As you read, take
notes on what you learn, and assemble an annotated bibliography containing seven
sources (see below). Then select the most interesting and useful texts for answering
your research question.
Finally, write a researched, academic essay that explains the different answers to your
research question. Your essay should include a thesis that argues for one (or more) of
these answers and a clear presentation of how the research supports that
interpretation. Use this assignment to demonstrate your ability (1) to conduct
preliminary research, (2) incorporate source material, and (3) synthesize sources to
support a sustained argument in response to an essential question.