Article
Mitigating obstacles for multilingual populations in first-year writing: Observations and suggestions from a multi-institutional study on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Publication Date
July 2015
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Council of Writing Program Administrators
Abstract
In this presentation, we will report on several semesters of survey data collected from 200 students enrolled in first-year composition courses at two universities on the U.S.-Mexico border. These students represent a range of language proficiencies and socioeconomic backgrounds, though all self-identified as multilingual to some degree. In addition to collecting information about students’ backgrounds, the survey asked students to reflect on the particular challenges of their writing class and on their sense of control in determining their final grade. The survey analysis compared the responses from students who received high grades in the course with those who received lower grades. Preliminary results showed significant differences in students’ self-reported strengths and challenges in areas such as access to technology and confidence in using English. [KM1]How many students total? [KM2]Is this true?