Project # 1, Writers Profile

For my field research, I chose a native Spanish-speaking student so that I could

utilize my L2 background in writing in a second language. As I am a native speaker of
English currently pursuing a Masters in Spanish I am creating a lot of L2 output, in Spanish
academic writing: essays, compositions and papers. I wanted my research participant to
capitalize on my experience with her native language and vice versa. In the process, I also
made a new writing friend as well as discovered that I am adept at recognizing why the
native Spanish -speaking student creates certain errors and as such was able to teach her a
bit of what I would call language correspondence techniques within the grammar and
structure of her essay.
Per the rubric of the Writers Profile assignment I created a short questionnaire for
my research participant to answer. The questionnaire was designed with the intention of
getting to know where my student is coming from, literally. In order to understand and
thus teach my student accordingly, I as the instructor need to know the students English
level in all areas (reading, speaking, writing), socioeconomic background, reading level,
cultural background, writing system, and writing goals or purposes.

Here is a transcript of our interview questionnaire:

1.

Where are you from originally?

I am From Venezuela

2. Could you briefly describe the journey that has brought you to this point of writing
compositions in a second language? (or how did you end up taking English 101 at SIU?)
I came to the United States to do a program of English in Cesl, which I did and successfully
finished. Also, I am taking this course because as an international student is a requirement this
course.
3.

What do/did your parents do to earn a living?

My father is an electrical engineer and my mother is a mathematic teacher.

4. How is writing in English going to help you advance in your career goals? (What will you do
with your degree/What are your career goals/dreams? )
Writing in English is going to help me because it can open many doors when it comes to job
opportunities in The United States. Also, I will know how to write in two different cultures (South
America and America). My major is Exercise Science and my goal is to prepare myself to become
a Physical Therapy and help people to get better and open my own Center of Physical Therapy or
become a Personal Trainer and open my own gym.
5.

Was/Is English ever spoken in your home?

No
6.

How long have you been studying English, and writing in English?
I have been studying English since I was in kinder garden. I have 1 year writing in

English.
7. What would you say your biggest obstacles have been concerning the English language and
writing?
I think that my biggest obstacles is the structure of writing and using the right tenses of
the words.
8. Do you consider yourself to be a reader? Or, do you enjoy reading for pleasure in your
native language?
I do not consider myself a reader.

9. Have you read any texts in English? For assignments? For pleasure? How was that
experience?
Yes, actually started reading a book in English and in was a very good experience because I
realize that I could understand most of the book.
10. Have you noticed any large cultural differences in the way you write in your native
language versus the way that you write in English?
Yes, I have noticed large different because in English writing you have to be direct and have short
sentences. Instead, in my native language I can have long sentences and we kind of tell stories
inside paragraphs

After careful consideration of her responses to the interview questions, I then

analyzed the writing sample which I obtained from the writing student as instructed for the
project research. Overall, considering that the writing student had only been writing for a
year, I was impressed with her writing. But, it was clear that she could definitely increase
her writing fluency. Also, it was interesting that although she did not consider herself a
reader, she enjoyed reading in English. If I were mentoring her, I would suggest that she
analyze short essays and articles on interesting topics to encourage her to read and
increase her overall literacy.
The writers response to the prompt was appropriate and her overall structure and
organization was good. Her points were clear. The writers use of language was not of great
syntactical variety but she stayed on track and proved her point- which illustrated a
cohesiveness in the text. The grammatical errors were not such that the essay was
incomprehensible but they did definitely stand out as there were the same repeated errors
throughout the essay. If these repeating errors were to be corrected, that would greatly
improve her overall writing.

I was able to meet with the student and treat her to a coffee and feedback on her
essay. If I were to mentor her continuously I would have her keep a notebook or e-doc with
a common error table as such:
Error
Agreement
Verb Tense
Verb Tense
Agreement
Verb Tense
Ortografa
Agreement
Prep/article
Verb Tense + Vocab +
Agreement +Agreement
Agreement + Ortografa
Vocab
Agreement
Agreement + Vocab
Agreement + Ortografa
Acnto + Agreement

Old Sentence
el invasin
haba empezado
traten

New Sentence
la invasin
empez
tratan

I showed her this example of the error chart that my Spanish 300 Comp. teacher had given
me to use for correction of my essays in Spanish. I thought that this would be a good way to
relate to the student as an L2 writer and as a Spanish speaker. I suggested that the writing
student make a similar table in English. Throughout that course from which the above
error chart came, I was able to learn from my repeated errors utilizing the table and
eventually produce an error free essay three-quarters of the way through the course. This
is one way in which I have found that tables really aid in a process. I suggested to her that
she could also create a handwritten table in a writing notebook with her repeated essay
errors. Before we met, I had reviewed the students essay for all errors and marked them
as v.t., prep., etc. in order that she would be able to look at her errors and discover for
herself the correct answer.

Specifically for her repeated patterns, I helped her identify her repeated
misusage/confusion with the past participle and her non-capitalization of the subject
pronoun, I. In regard to her misusage of the past participle, she misused it/confused it as
an adjective, gerund, as well as with the simple past tense. I was able to teach her that when
she thinks ido/ado (past participle endings in Spanish) as an adjective it translates to an
ed ending using the example of bendecida to blessed. We also discussed that when she
thinks in an infinitive in Spanish that it will 95% of the time be a gerund in English. For
example when she wanted to use study as a subject for a sentence, she put, Finally, study
is not an obligation A correct way would be to write: Finally, studying is not an
obligation.
Overall it was an excellent process for both my self as a writing teacher/researcher
as well as for the writing student. She seemed very enthusiastic about the thought of
eliminating these errors and remembered that she was committing the same errors last
semester. I think she was relieved to have help with her first essay after a long summer
break (not speaking English). It was a new academic joy for me to combine my TESL skills
with my freshly acquired writing-in-Spanish skills. I also enjoyed the process of
interviewing the student and getting to know her. I do this with my Spanish 140a students
via the note cards that I have them fill out on the first day of class but it was more enjoyable
and beneficial to get to know the student in a more extensive manner.

Appendix one contains the students writing sample and Appendix two contains photos of
the students corrected essay with the error chart that we completed together during our
tutor session.

Appendix 1: Writing Sample

Rubric:
Write an essay in response to this writing prompt: How does family pressure + culture play
important roles in career decision? How important are these factors in your country? To what
extent have they influenced your choice of career?
Writing Students Response:

Family pressure and culture can be important factor when it comes to career decisions.
Generally, in Venezuela people are free to choose the career they want without any problem.
Normally, they choose similar patterns from other people, and study careers such as Engineering
and Law. However, people have the freedom to choose their own career, they do not have to
follow a family pattern and study is not and obligation.

First at all, people have the freedom to choose their career. For instance, i had the
freedom to change my career path one time. I started to study Law but i realize that this was not
my passion. Then, i change my career and started to study Physical Education and i loved it.
Moreover, my parents always advice me when i was undecided. In addition, they did forced me
to study something they i did not wanted to. Instead, they always support me and encourage me
when i needed it.

Secondly, people do not have to follow family pattern. For example, in my family i am
the only one studying a career related with health. It is not disrespectful to choose a different
path from your family. My mother is a math teacher, my dad and my brother are electrical
engineers. Not following family pattern is not something that affect parents because they know
that this is a personal decision and they have to respect it.

Finally, study is not an obligation for people. For example, a lot of people instead of
studying a career they take control of family businesses. Parents teach their childrens how the
family business works in an early age so something they decide to pursue their family business.
Furthermore. some of the childrens when they finish high school they start working instead of
studying.

To sum up, Venezuelans can decide for themselves which path they want to pursue when
it comes to their careers. I am proud and bless for the family i have. They always support and
encourage me when i chose my career path. On the other hand, people are allow to do what they
think is the best for them. They have the freedom to change and choose whatever they want to
follow in life.

Appendix 2: Essay with correction/discussion marks and part of the error-correction table (Figure 1)

Figure 2

Figure 3