<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The increasing number of international students enrolled in higher education in English-speaking countries has presented the growing need to support their academic writing development. It, however, has often led to the hasty assumption that English language learner (ELL) writers need to quickly adopt the dominant academic writing conventions in order to succeed in an English-speaking academic community. Even though the growing number of scholars have started to pay attention to ELL writers’ diverse writing styles and multiple identities, little research and discussion have taken place on how language practitioners could engage ELL writers in developing their voices as multilingual and multicultural writers. By analyzing a qualitative interview with ten experienced writing consultants and instructors, this paper explores major challenges that ELL writers experience and different strategies that could effectively help them develop their voices as writers in the academic context where English is dominantly used as the medium of instruction. Findings show that while many colleges and universities in English-speaking countries still adopt a monolithic view and label ELL writers as ‘a troubled non-native writer’, it is crucial for writing consultants and instructors to acknowledge ELL writers’ multilingual background and help them to develop their unique voices and achieve sustainable development and progress.</p>
</abstract>

The increasing number of international students enrolled in higher education in English-speaking countries has presented the growing need to support their academic writing development. It, however, has often led to the hasty assumption that English language learner (ELL) writers need to quickly adopt the dominant academic writing conventions in order to succeed in an English-speaking academic community. Even though the growing number of scholars have started to pay attention to ELL writers’ diverse writing styles and multiple identities, little research and discussion have taken place on how language practitioners could engage ELL writers in developing their voices as multilingual and multicultural writers. By analyzing a qualitative interview with ten experienced writing consultants and instructors, this paper explores major challenges that ELL writers experience and different strategies that could effectively help them develop their voices as writers in the academic context where English is dominantly used as the medium of instruction. Findings show that while many colleges and universities in English-speaking countries still adopt a monolithic view and label ELL writers as ‘a troubled non-native writer’, it is crucial for writing consultants and instructors to acknowledge ELL writers’ multilingual background and help them to develop their unique voices and achieve sustainable development and progress.

Preparing Ell Writers for Becoming Multilingual Writers: Challenges and Strategies

Sustainable Multilingualism

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The increasing number of international students enrolled in higher education in English-speaking countries has presented the growing need to support their...

Preparing Ell Writers for Becoming Multilingual Writers: Challenges and Strategies

Published Online: Nov 15, 2021

Page range: 125 - 140

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2021-0016

Keywords
English language learners, multilingual sustainability, multilingual writers, second language writing, writer agency

© 2021 Lee Jin Choi, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Preparing Ell Writers for Becoming Multilingual Writers: Challenges and Strategies

Published Online: Nov 15, 2021

Page range: 125 - 140

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sm-2021-0016

KeywordsEnglish language learners, multilingual sustainability, multilingual writers, second language writing, writer agency

© 2021 Lee Jin Choi, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
English language learners, multilingual sustainability, multilingual writers, second language writing, writer agency