Reflection #4 - Kevin Bartz

The most interesting part of our course over the last few weeks was when we discussed grading written assignments from ESL & EFL students.  From my perspective as a college student, and with the ever stricter standards of English that I have developed and been judged by throughout my entire life, it was very difficult for me to not cover the writing sample from class with red ink.  The concept of "choosing your battles" was easier said than done.  I did not know how to sift out what was important, what should be left unmarked, and what should be left unexplained.  Practice appears to be the best remedy for that mindset from what I can tell.  Until I have received a stack of papers and have been asked to give feedback, I cannot discern what is most important for me.  Furthermore, it depends upon the age and goals of the students.  If the kids are young, I will use much more positive feedback and perhaps refuse to use any form of negative feedback in order to build confidence.  Praising their accomplishments would be more beneficial it would seem than highlighting their mistakes.  However, with older students, it may be more acceptable to give constructive criticism since they are less likely to be adversely affected in terms of confidence.  That is obviously a generalization, but it is something that I will consider in my future teaching context. Grammar is important, but perhaps the least important when compared to punctuation, spelling, vocabulary use, and overall presentation.  One tactic to consider when assessing writing from ESL and EFL students is to correct only one example of each type of mistake, and then simply circling or otherwise drawing attention to repeats of the same mistake.  This way, I am not doing all of the corrective work on behalf of the students, but I am not ignoring the responsibility of showing them the correct form either.  Furthermore, meeting with students one on one privately, or using technology to record my thoughts, could benefit students and myself greatly by allowing a comprehensive communication of what I am looking for and what is correct.  Using an audio file, while more convenient and efficient with regard to time, has its problems.  For one, a student may not have access to the technology at home, and it may not be compatible for everyone's computer program or technology systems.  Secondly, the students may be lazy and simply not listen to the file (I know I might do this to be frank).  Using a one on one meeting would ensure that the goal of communication is met.  The students are forced to discuss the assignment, and talk through steps they can make to improve it.   I would definitely utilize personal meetings in the future if I had to assign a writing assignment to ESL or EFL students.