ESL students in the classroom

Strangers in Academia:
The Experiences of Faculty and
ESL Students Across the Curriculum
~Vivian Zamel

§ Tensions and conflict are becoming prevalent in institutions of higher education as student populations become more diverse
§ Clear indication that faculty are concerned about the extent to which diverse student populations constrain their work is the number of workshops and seminars that have been organized
§ Some faculty saw ESL students, because of their experience and motivation, as a positive presence in their classes but this pattern of responses did not represent the attitudes revealed by all
§ One professor referred to both silent students, and “vocal but incomprehensible students”
§ Greatest concern by far had to do with students’ writing and language, which faculty saw as deficient and inadequate for undertaking the work in their courses

Two selected faculty responses:

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