Jimalee Sowell is a PhD candidate in Composition and Applied Linguistics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has served as an English Language Fellow and an English Language Specialist. Her research interests include disability studies, teaching writing, peace education, genre analysis, large class pedagogy, and teacher education. Email: hbqy@iup.edu

 

Abstract

In countries around the world, institutions of higher learning have increasingly established writing centres. Writing centres have been important resources for supporting university students in achieving their academic writing needs. Approximately, 10 percent of all learners have a specific learning difficulty (SLD). In addition to the writing challenges English language learners with SLDs might face, some English language learners might come from educational backgrounds where writing instruction was largely absent. Some English language learners with SLDs will visit writing centres for support in developing their writing skills. However, writing centre tutors may not have received any training for working with students with SLDs, and some of the tenets of current-traditional writing centre pedagogy might not be effective for English language learners with SLDs. The purpose of this article is to provide strategies writing centre tutors can use when working with English language learners with SLDs.

 

Introduction

In recent years, writing centres have become more prevalent in institutions of higher education in countries around the world (Ozer, 2021) and have been critical in cultivating the literacy and writing skills needed for academic success (Rafoth, 2015). Approximately 10 percent of all learners have a specific learning difficulty (Butterworth & Kovas, 2013), which may or may not have been diagnosed (Taymans, 2010). In addition to the challenges presented by a specific learning difficulty and writing in an L2, some English language learners may come from contexts where writing instruction was not a key feature of their educational background even in their first language (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014; Ferris, 2018; Schmidt, 2005). Inevitably, some English language learners with specific learning difficulties will visit writing centres for guidance and support on their writing. While the writing centre can be an important resource for struggling writers, writing centre tutors may not be trained in strategies to assist English language learners with specific learning disabilities, and some of the current-traditional writing centre protocols (I use “current-traditional” to refer to principles rooted in traditional writing center pedagogy that are still very much a part of current practice) may not be effective practice for learners with SLDs (Neff, 2011). The purpose of this article is to provide strategies writing centre tutors can utilize when working with English language learners with SLDs. The article starts with a definition of SLD. The article then addresses some of the writing challenges learners with SLDs might face. Subsequently, the article addresses English language learners’ backgrounds. The article then provides specific strategies writing centre tutors can use to help English language learners with SLDs at different stages of the writing process.

 

What Is a Specific Learning Difficulty?

The term learning disability was first introduced by Samuel Kirk (1962) in his book Educating Exceptional Children. Since Kirk introduced this term, there has been a great deal of controversy over definitions of learning disability as well as the terminology used to describe this phenomenon. While learning disability is still used, there are number of other terms, such as specific learning disorder, specific learning disability, learning difference, and learning difficulty. To some degree, terminology might have changed as research and theories have developed. Terms also vary according to the sector and location. For instance, the 5^th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5; APA, 2013) uses specific learning disorder. In the United States, specific learning disorder or learning disorder is a medical term used for diagnostic purposes (APA, n. d.). The term specific learning differences is commonly used in the education sector in the UK (Kormos, 2017) while specific learning disability or learning disability is commonly used in US schools and legal systems (APA, n. d.). The terms learning disability and learning difficulties are used interchangeably in many Canadian provinces (Kozey & Siegel, 2008). Although it might seem that the terms used to refer to the phenomena described are not important and might be easily interchangeable, in fact, the term(s) used are important because they impact the way society views these difficulties and how they affect learning. For this article, I use ‘specific learning difficulty’ (henceforth, SLD) because, as Kormos (2017) has suggested, it is a neutral term, not associated with a specific model nor a specific location nor sector. Furthermore, the term SLD carries with it the assumption that students have difficulties with certain learning tasks rather than a disability (Kormos, 2017). While I use SLD, much of the literature I cite in this article has used different terms.

It is not only terminology that is problematic in the field of SLD (scholars and researchers may never agree upon a definition or classification), SLDs are difficult to define because they are an unobservable construct existent on a continuum, often present alongside other developmental disorders (Fletcher et al., 2019). Some definitions of SLDs have emphasized that in the process of determining whether a SLD is present, other factors that could contribute to unexpected underachievement should be ruled out. In this regard, the DSM-5 lists exclusionary criteria as “intellectual disabilities [determined by a below-average IQ], uncorrected visual and auditory acuity, other mental or neurological disorders, psychosocial adversity, lack of proficiency in the language of academic instruction, or inadequate educational instruction” (APA, 2013, p. 67). The medical model of disability (also sometimes called the deficit model) perceives that the problem is with the individual and that is the responsibility of scientific and educational communities to find the underlying cause of the difficulty and offer treatment (Hogan, 2019). The social model believes that problems related to disability are caused by the perspectives of an unaccommodating society rather than problems inherent in the individual (Barnes, 1996; Hogan, 2019; Riddick, 2001). The current interactional perspective of disability recognizes both the role of the environment and the neurobiological and environmental factors (Fletcher et al., 2019; Kormos, 2017).

SLDs comprise three subgroups of difficulties, including difficulties with reading, difficulties concerning written expression, and difficulties related to mathematics. SLD in reading is often realized as dyslexia; SLD in mathematics often relates to dyscalculia; and SLD in writing often results in difficulties with handwriting, challenges achieving accuracy in spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as struggles with organization and overall clarity (Kormos, 2017). There is often considerable overlap among different difficulties, sometimes making it difficult to accurately categorize or diagnose sub-types of difficulty (Kirby & Kaplan, 2003; Pennington & Bishop, 2009). Some learners might have difficulty in only one of the main academic areas while others might struggle with all three (NASET, n.d.). In the next section, I address the common writing challenges that manifest in students with SLDs.  

 

Common writing challenges students with SLDs face

Students with SLDs frequently have difficulties attaining and employing the multiple skills needed to produce good writing. Both the behaviours displayed as students with SLDs write and the writing produced typically differ from the writing processes and products of their peers without SLDs (Connelly & Dockrell, 2016). Students with SLDs often have challenges in four common areas: transcription, sentence-level skills, composition skills, and motivation (Rouse, 2019).

 

Difficulties with transcriptions skills and sentence-level skills

Students with SLDs often face difficulties with transcription and sentence-level skills. Difficulties with transcription skills (handwriting and spelling) might make it hard for SLDs to write (or type) quickly enough to get their ideas on paper (MacArthur & Graham, 2016) or to sustain writing for any length of time (Graham et al., 2013). Because students with SLDs often need to devote extra time and attention to transcription skills, they often fail to adequately attend to higher order skills, such as content and organization (Graham et al., 2002; Schlagal, 2013). As a result, students with SLDs often produce shorter and less complex sentences (Rouse, 2019), and their sentences might also have more grammatical errors than their peers without disabilities (Saddler et al., 2008). As with transcription skills, concentrated attention to sentence development can take attention away from higher order skills and may cause students with SLDs to forget the main ideas of what they are writing (Datchuk & Kubina, 2013; Saddler & Graham, 2005).

 

Difficulties with composition skills

Along with the struggles students with SLDs face regarding transcription and sentence development, these students also face difficulties with overall composition skills. Students with SLDs often produce shorter and less-developed texts (Graham et al., 2013) and tend to have less knowledge of writing genres and text structures than their non-disabled peers (Rouse, 2019). Experienced writers rely on their knowledge of genre to adequately plan and produce writing to meet genre requirements and audience expectations (Santangelo, 2014). Students with SLDs often produce texts that lack key genre elements, such as an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion in a personal narrative (Saddler & Graham, 2007). These students might also fail to include the features needed for certain text structures, such as chronological sequence for an event, and may neglect key words or statements such as transition words or signal phrases, producing texts that lack clear organization and cohesion (Li, 2007).

 

Challenges related to the writing process

Students with SLDs frequently lack strategies for carrying out the writing process—strategies for planning, drafting, and revising. These students often approach writing as a process of content generation (Graham et al., 2013) in which they translate an idea into a sentence and then use that idea to create the next sentence and continue with this until they have finished a text. This approach has been referred to as the knowledge-telling approach (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1987). In the knowledge-telling approach, students create texts that include everything they know about a topic but have few elaborations, details, and connections among ideas (Santangelo, 2014: Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1987).

 

English language learners’ backgrounds regarding writing instruction

While it is important to avoid essentializing English language learners, it is also important to recognize that some English language learners come from educational backgrounds that had little focus on the development of writing skills. In addition to the difficulties of writing in an L2 and the challenges of an SLD, some English language learners who visit writing centres may not be familiar with the rhetorical patterns of English (Ferris, 2011; Manchón, Roca de Larios, & Murphy, 2009; Ortega, 2009; Paltridge et al., 2009; Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014; Ferris, 2018). Some English language learners might come from educational backgrounds in which writing was not a key component of their secondary school curriculum, even in the first language (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014; Ferris, 2018; Schmitt, 2005), and while some English language learners will have had some writing practice in previous language courses, some may not have taken any courses that specifically focused on writing in English (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014; Liu, 2009; Manchón et al., 2009; Siczek, 2018). For some English language learners, the purpose of previous writing instruction was to reinforce grammar and vocabulary skills rather than the development of writing or composition skills per se (Lee & Wong, 2014; Manchón, 2011; Reichelt, 2009; Seloni & Lee, 2020). As such, some English language learners may not have had much practice with writing beyond one- or two-page or sentence-level assignments (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014; Schmidt, 2005) and may not be familiar with the academic genres they are expected to write in. However, some of principles of current-traditional writing centre pedagogy may not constitute the most suitable practices for consultations with English language learners with SLDs, and may, in fact, preclude these learners from receiving the very kind of assistance they seek from writing centre visits. In the next section, I outline some of the key principles of writing centre pedagogy that might be counter to the needs of English language learners with SLDs.

 

Writing centre pedagogy, English language learners, and SLDs

The common tenets of writing centre pedagogy may not constitute effective practice for English language learners with SLDs. Current-traditional writing centre pedagogy typically emphasizes student-directed dialogic conferencing, a preferred focus on higher-order concerns (such as content and organization) over lower-order concerns (such as grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics), and a dismissive approach to editing (Moussu & David, 2015). While implementation of these principles might underpin effective tutoring strategies with some students, these principles may not be effective tutoring strategies for English language learners with SLDs. Because of the many writing challenges English language learners with SLDs typically face, these learners often benefit from approaches that break policy-as-pedagogy traditions of writing centre consultations. The agency intended to be provided to students through non-directive conferencing (often approached by a tutor asking the tutee a series of questions to help them find their own answers) may not work with English language learners because it assumes knowledge of rhetorical patterns and conventions of writing that English language learners may not have (Blau et al., 2002; Moussu & David, 2013). Additionally, English language learners with SLDs often need more guidance in topic development, more assistance with organization, more modelling, and more help with editing (Neff, 2011). Tutors can be more effective by responding to the specific challenges these students are struggling with rather than adhering to principles of writing centre pedagogy.

 

Responding to specific challenges 

Writing centre directors and tutors may or may not be aware that a student who visits the writing centre has an SLD. Some students with SLDs who visit writing centres may choose to disclose their SLD to the writing centre director and tutors; some tutees in the writing centre may have been diagnosed but may choose not to disclose; and some learners with SLDs may not be aware that they have a SLD (Taymans, 2010). Tutors and writing centre directors are not expected to diagnose SLDs and should not view diagnosis as their responsibility. However, writing centre directors and tutors can strengthen their practice by having a toolkit of strategies for assisting students who present with certain challenges. Whether those challenges are the result of an SLD, struggles in the L2, a general lack of familiarity with rhetorical patterns of English, lack of practice or experience writing in English, or a combination of these factors, many of the strategies tutors can use with struggling writers are the same (Neff, 2011). The next section focuses on strategies writing centre tutors can use to meet the needs of English language learners with SLDs in tutoring sessions.

 

Strategies for different stages of the writing process

This section of the article offers strategies tutors can employ with English language learners with SLDs at the planning, drafting, and revision stages of the writing process. At every stage, these students might need direct instruction and support to bolster their knowledge of the writing process and knowledge of different writing genres (MacArthur & Graham, 2016). While the strategies in this section are organized according to the stages of the writing process, it is understood that the writing process is recursive and that, accordingly, the suggested strategies may not always fit neatly into each stage. For instance, while working in the drafting stage, students might need to return to a planning process or undertake some editing work. At all stages of the writing process, English language learners with SLDs will need specific feedback on what they are doing well and how they can improve (Neff, 2011; Rouse, 2019).

 

Planning stages of the writing process

Experienced writers typically start the writing process with planning. They think about what they will write, the intended audience, and how they will go about a task. Even when prompted, however, students with SLDs, often have difficulty planning (Rouse, 2019). When these students visit the writing centre, they may need more help planning their writing than students who do not have SLDs. One of the first steps tutors can take to help tutees plan is to make sure that the tutee clearly understands the writing assignment they are working on or expected to carry out (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018). The student might share their assignment sheet with the tutor. Once the expectations of the writing assignment are clear, tutor and tutee can then work together to develop a plan that includes topic choice, information to include, and how the paper will be organized (Hauth et al., 2013) as well as a timeline for getting the work done.

 

Make use of direct conversation for planning

Some pre-writing discovery activities such as freewriting might not work well with students with SLDs and might even frustrate them. Students with language retrieval difficulties might not be able to put much on paper during a freewriting exercise. Other students with SLDs might struggle to sift through a freewriting exercise to narrow down a topic. For these students, directed conversation is often a better way for them to get started on a project (Neff, 2011). The tutor might ask a series of questions to elicit the students’ ideas and help them find direction for their paper. For instance, after learning about the parameters of the assignment, the tutor might start a session by asking a general question, such as ‘So, what topic do you plan to focus on?’ If, for example, the student answers, ‘the environment’, the tutor might then ask: ‘What about the environment do you want to focus on?’ The tutor can continue asking questions as the student approaches more detailed ideas about their project. During this process, the tutor can take notes if notetaking would be cumbersome for the student. Once the tutee has a general idea of what they plan to write about, the tutor can direct the tutee to a subsequent step, such as crafting a thesis statement and putting main points of the project into a graphic organizer.

 

Use graphic organizers

Students with SLDs may have trouble distinguishing between main ideas and supporting points (Neff, 2011). A graphic organizer could help these students visualize the structure of their paper. The tutor might help the writer talk through their ideas and put them into a graphic organizer. Evmenova et al. (2016) found that computer-based graphic organizers helped improve planning and writing for struggling writers. Computer-based graphic organizers can be created through websites, such as Canva, Coggle, and Popplet. However, graphic organizer printed on paper can also be effective.

 

Make use of dictation software

Voice-to-text software can help students who have difficulty writing fast enough to get their thoughts on paper. Voice-to-text software can also benefit students who might struggle with spelling as they can say words and then see how they are spelled. Voice-to-text software might be especially beneficial in the planning stages. Tutees can use voice-to-text software to get their ideas on a document. Tutors can then help tutees organize and develop their ideas. Many current devices, such as laptops and smart phones, have built-in dictation tools. In addition, Microsoft Word, Google Docs Voice Typing, and Speechnote offer free voice-to-text dictation tools.  

 

Help students develop a schedule to complete writing tasks and assignments

While many students struggle to organize their time to effectively meet their writing assignment deadlines, students with SLDs might find it even more challenging to map out a project and create realistic goals and deadlines (Neff, 2011). For many students, developing a realistic work timeline might prove more difficult with longer assignments, such as research papers (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018). Writing centre tutors can help tutees by working with them to create a schedule from beginning to completion of a writing task or project. The tutor can help the tutee organize the assignment into manageable tasks and goals, which could include visits to the writing centre at certain stages in the process. For instance, during a preliminary tutoring session, a tutor might help a student decide upon a topic and create an outline with a thesis statement and main supporting ideas. Tutor and tutee might then work together to plan a schedule that includes the subsequent steps, such as finding relevant sources, reading and taking notes, and developing a draft. A study planning sheet with small but reasonable tasks and deadlines that lead to assignment completion might be useful (Neff, 2011). In the process of planning the overall timeline for an assignment, the tutor can also work with the tutee to plan a schedule for writing centre visits at different stages of completion, such as following a draft and for a final round of revision and editing before paper submission.

 

Drafting stages

English language learners with SLDs may arrive at the writing centre with drafts that are disorganized and lack cohesiveness. Even after these students have written a few pages, they may have difficulty distinguishing between main points and supporting details (Neff, 2011). When these students have written their paper through a knowledge-telling approach where they provide all they know about the given topic, they may also have difficulties understanding how to shape their paper and why certain details may not be relevant and other points might need expansion. These students can benefit from direct guidance from the tutor to understand the main point of the paper and how they can organize their ideas.

 

Reverse outline

When a student already has a draft, reverse outlining is a technique tutors can use with tutees to help them examine their paper’s organization. Reverse outlining can help the writer determine whether the paper has met the writer’s goals, analyse the organization of the paper, decide whether all included information is relevant to the paper, and identify information that still might be missing. To reverse outline, students take the main parts of their paper, including the thesis statement and topic sentences and construct an outline. Once the outline has been created, the tutor can help the tutee analyse the structure of their paper by asking questions such as the following: Do all paragraphs support the thesis statement? Are there any points where the reader might have difficulty following the sequence (of supporting paragraphs or sentences)? Do any of the paragraphs deal with more than one idea? Do any of the paragraphs repeat the same idea? Are there any paragraphs that lack development? Does the paper seem to be missing relevant support?

 

Provide models to students

Students struggling to understand the expectations of a writing task can benefit from writing models in the assigned or chosen genre. Models can help students understand the typical features of the genre they are expected to produce. While it is often beneficial to present models as whole texts to show how all aspects of writing work together (Hyland, 2004), models might also be used to demonstrate certain features of a text (Sowell, 2019). At the macro-level (organization as well as content), for instance, a model might be used to demonstrate the key features of the genre the student is writing in. Models might also be used at the micro-level (sentences and paragraphs) to examine, for example, sentence structure. When a model is needed at the phrase- or sentence-level, the tutor might sometimes craft a model on spot in the tutoring session. For example, if the tutee is struggling with sentence fragments, the tutor can write out examples of fragments and ways to fix them for the tutee. Appropriate models of full texts can often be found in textbooks or through online sources. Tutees themselves might have access to models in their assigned course books or class materials but could benefit from understanding how to make use of those models in a tutoring session. So that tutees see models as guides rather than templates to plug their information in, it is often beneficial to show students more than one model of the kind of text they are expected to produce (Harmer, 2004: Hyland, 2004; Scrivener, 2011).

 

Provide some feedback on lower-order concerns (LOCs)

Writing centre pedagogy has often advocated for a process of addressing higher-order concerns (HOCs) before lower-order concerns (LOCs). HOCs relate to macro-level features of writing, such as topic, organization, and credible support of an argument while lower-order concerns, (LOCs), are micro-level features of language, such as spelling, grammar, word choice, and punctuation. Advocates for HOCs over LOCs (e.g., Anderson, 2018; Bean, 2011; Berne & Degener, 2015; Reynolds, 2009) have expressed concern that providing feedback on LOCs in a first draft could be counter-productive as much of the text in an early draft might be significantly altered or may not even exist in a later draft. While some parts of a text might not survive from first to final draft, feedback on LOCs on a draft could be productive and even important for English language learners with SLDs. Gains on language concerns realized through feedback on LOCs could impact language development and improvement of composition skills even with text that is eventually discarded. With some drafts, it might be necessary to work on some LOCs before moving to HOCs (Fitzgerald & Ianetta, 2016), and a tutor’s guidance could help learners prioritize concerns. If a draft has numerous micro-level issues, the content of a paper might not be clear. Generally, a tutor should not provide comprehensive feedback on LOCs while giving feedback on a draft. However, attention to some patterns of language errors that students can attend to in their revisions could be helpful at the drafting stage (Ferris, 2011).

 

Read aloud 

A common feature of writing centre pedagogy is reading the tutee’s text aloud. The reading aloud process can help students become aware of errors, redundancies, or missing information they may not see in their papers when they read silently. In a writing centre session, students are often encouraged to read their own texts. However, students struggling with SLDs and learning to write in an additional language might not feel comfortable reading their own papers (Murphy, 2020). In this case, the tutor can read the student’s paper aloud or have it read with text-to-speech software. Voice-to-text programs convert text into spoken words. With voice-to-text programs, such as Natural Reader, users can read along with highlighted text, change the speed of reading, and select from a variety of voice options.

 

Editing Stage

The importance of providing editing assistance

Current-traditional writing centre pedagogy has often insisted that writing centres are not proofreading or editing services (Lerner, 2014). However, research has shown that errors related to LOCs matter and deserve attention in writing instruction and feedback because they affect readers’ perceptions of the quality of a piece of writing. In a meta-analysis, Graham, Harris, and Hebert (2011) found that presentation effects (handwriting, grammar, and spelling) influenced a reader’s judgement about a text whether the writer had a disability or not. Sizeck’s (2018) research on English language learners found that at least some professors at US universities marked L2 writers as harshly on their LOCs as they did L1 writers. English language learners themselves might want help with LOCs in conferencing sessions. Maliborska and You (2016)’s study showed that the feedback English language learners most desired in conferencing sessions related to LOCs. Participants in Liu’s (2009) study on student-teacher writing conferences with second language writers showed that students are often concerned about accuracy on their papers and viewed the writing conference as an opportunity to get help with their grammatical errors. In the editing stages, English language learners with SLDs will often want and need specific help correcting errors related to LOCs.

 

Generally favour selective error correction

On a final draft, a round of proofreading directed by a writing centre tutor might be needed. However, this should not be a passive process. The tutor should work with the student to help them recognize and understand how to correct their errors (Neff, 2011). Since correcting every error in a piece of writing is often overwhelming for both tutor and tutee, selective error correction, which prioritizes the most frequent and serious errors, is generally favourable (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014). However, tutees might sometimes desire comprehensive correction on their papers, aware that frequent or serious errors can affect their grades. It can sometimes be helpful to ask students what they would like feedback on (Rapp & Ardnt, 2012), including the degree to which they want help with LOCs. High-stakes assignments, such as a thesis or a CV, will often need more attention to extensive editing help.

 

Work with patterns of error or a section of text

Writers often have consistent patterns of error. A tutor can correct patterns of error on a portion of the student’s paper, helping the tutee understand the patterns and how to correct them. Alternatively, the tutor might work with one section of a writer’s text—such as a paragraph, but not more than a page. The tutor can point out a range of errors and work with the tutee on how they can correct them. Programs like Microsoft Spell Check and Grammar Checker can assist students in locating errors, and students should be encouraged to make use of these tools. However, English language learners with SLDs might need help understanding errors indicated by a software program and how they can be corrected (Neff, 2011).

 

Conclusion

English language learners with SLDs typically face many writing challenges. The writing centre can be an important resource for these students as they carry out writing assignments in higher education institutions. This population of students might even need more frequent and sustained support from writing centres than other populations of students. It is important, however, for writing centre directors and tutors to recognize that some of the principles of current-traditional writing centre pedagogy might not constitute effective practice with these students. While current-traditional writing centre pedagogy is often indirect, aimed at helping tutees find their own answers, English language learners with SLDs usually need more direct help and support than their non-disabled peers. Although writing centre directors and students may or may not be aware of the source of a struggling student’s difficulties, they can still employ strategies that address the particular challenges tutees present with. In this article, I have provided several strategies tutors at writing centres can use when working with struggling writers in tutoring sessions. These strategies are meant to provide guidance but are not intended to be codified. Tutors should exercise flexibility in tutoring strategies with a willingness to continue to learn effective strategies for working with English language learners with SLDs. When carrying out these strategies, it is, furthermore, important that tutors are patient, understanding, and encouraging. With direct support and encouragement, English language learners with SLDs can successfully complete the writing tasks they seek help on in writing centre sessions and develop as skilled writers.

 

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