One of the strengths of the UW-Madison is the rich linguistic diversity of our students. The UW enrolls approximately 3000 international students, as well as many students from within the U.S. who speak languages other than English in their communities.

While almost all students find writing at the college level challenging, research suggests that it can often be more difficult for multilingual writers—from gathering materials to organizing ideas to revising the final draft.

So what can we, as instructors, do to serve multilingual writers best? I’ve recently had the pleasure of interviewing three successful undergraduate multilingual writers who offer their answers to this question. Of course, these three students do not represent all multilingual writers on this campus. Yet it is still instructive to hear about their experiences with writing here at UW and their advice for instructors.

Mijung Kim is a junior majoring in communication arts. She moved to the U.S. from Korea for college. Mohamed Yusuf graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in business. Born in Somalia, he completed high school in Egypt and moved to the U.S. for college.Erika Lopez is a senior majoring in political science and economics. She moved to the U.S. from Ecuador at the age of 13.

Questions for Mijung

What was your best experience with writing at the UW?

My best experience was in a Comm-Arts class last semester. When I asked the professor about my topic and argument, she wanted to talk with me more. She asked questions like, “Why do you think this?” and “Why don’t you add a discussion of that?” She listened to my points and really liked my ideas!

Then I asked her if she would mind reading my paper before it was due. She read my paper and said that my ideas made sense, but that the style could be better. She helped me to make certain expressions more idiomatic and told me her opinions about my arguments. It was a very special experience for me, and I learned a lot from it.

What kinds of challenges and talents do you bring to the classroom as a multilingual writer?

My biggest challenge is with time. In essay tests, for example, it seems like native-speakers can think as they are writing, but I don’t have time to think. So I memorize by heart all my notes and even examples. Also, for take-home papers, I have to revise three or four more times than a native speaker.

Learning the American academic writing style was also challenging. Unlike the Korean academic style, it seemed to require repeating points over and over again. I had only read magazines in English before coming here. And they have a very different style—no thesis statement! So I learned to write in the American style through a lot of trial and error.

As for talents, Korean culture helps me to have a different point of view towards everything. For example, in my Comm-Arts major, I had to write a movie script. Because I had learned in class what makes Hollywood films exciting, I based my script on the Hollywood style. But I also added some Korean pop culture to it. I made it more moving because Koreans often like to see some warmth in a film. So I added those kinds of elements to the script, and my TA really liked it.

Questions for Mohamed

What was your best experience with writing at the UW?

My best experiences were in a business communications class and a philosophy class. In the business communications class, the instructor knew that my writing needed special attention and graded it accordingly. For example, we had to correct mistakes in memos. She told me not to worry if I couldn’t get everything, but to try my best. This attitude really encouraged me to work hard in that class, because I knew an “A” was achievable. The professor also told us that she would consider the ways our cultural backgrounds impacted our writing and participation. Her paying attention to my culture was really important because my culture has a great impact on my worldview.

In the philosophy class, I had a chance to express my ideas and write a meaningful argument. We discussed important topics like the duty to reduce starvation, gun ownership, and animal rights. It is easy to argue a point when you are speaking, but writing an argument was challenging. At first, I had a lot to say, and my thoughts weren’t organized, so my argument didn’t make sense. When I started following the rules of writing arguments and learned how to approach and develop certain points, I was better at making myself clear. I think that’s an important tool nowadays to decrease miscommunication between different cultures and to reach a better understanding of others’ points of view.

What recommendations would you give instructors?

Know students’ cultural backgrounds; show empathy; ask students what problems they have with writing; show them examples of successful writing; show them how to polish their drafts; make them love writing by raising their interest level; and don’t put them on the spot unless you forewarn them.

Questions for Erika

What was your best experience with writing at the UW?

In one English class I took, I had assignments that allowed me to express my thoughts. I could write what I wanted to. But the professor was tough! Even if he thought it was a great paper, he would still give me points to work on. Sometimes it made me mad—to work so hard on a paper and still have red marks and criticism. But I appreciated his comments because they were clear.

What are the challenges and talents you bring to a class as a multilingual writer?

My challenge and my talents are the same: I can be very descriptive! Part of the reason I am descriptive is that I continue to be unsure about my English and want to make sure my writing is understandable to the audience. In Spanish, for example, sometimes there is just one word that would explain everything I want to say. But in English, it might take me a whole paragraph to explain.

It can be frustrating, though, when I try very hard to make something clear, and am very descriptive, and the professor still doesn’t understand me. I don’t want professors to kill themselves trying to understand my writing. But they should ask: “Is this person trying to be clear? Is this person trying to communicate?” Of course, if I am being unclear, I want to know. But I also appreciate it when professors understand the effort I am making.