Strangers in a Strange Land

Zamel, Vivian. “Strangers in Academia: The Experiences of Faculty and ESL Students Across the Curriculum.” CCC 46.4 (1995): 506-21. Rpt. in Writing Across the Curriculum: A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Terry Myers Zawacki and Paul M. Rogers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 246-60. Print.

As the title makes clear, this article’s focus is on both student and instructor perspectives of ESL matters, which, as Zamel argues, is especially useful given greater interest ( some may claim “concern would be a better term in some situations) in matters related to ESL students. As part of developing faculty workshops, Zamel surveyed faculty regarding their experiences with ESL students. What she found was that the main concerns of faculty across the university indicated a deficit view of ESL students, claiming they were “problems” to be “fixed.” She argues that we need to move beyond this deficit view at all levels and in every department in the university to provide more meaningful education to not only ESL students but to all students.

To illustrate the concerns she has, Zamel brings in feedback from both teachers and students. She begins with examples of feedback from two teachers to illustrate the divergent views of ESL students and their needs. The first response challenges the myth that language skills equal abilities to achieve academically, argues for attention to content instead of superficial matters, and relates significant student success in one instance. The second response highlights the deficit model of language, a view focuses on superficial elements of writing, adheres to a belief in the gatekeeping system, and claims language instruction to be someone else’s responsibility thereby separating language skills from course content.

Zamel also addresses student concerns in these matters. Many of the ESL student responses she received discuss classes that made them feel marginal and deficient. These students want recognition for the hard work they put in to learning both content and English, want instructors to view them as capable and intelligent, and want instructors to meet them halfway by working with them in terms of language and reevaluating their classroom practices. Instructors, then, must recognize the need to question their classroom and evaluative practices, which, as Zamel correctly observes, would benefit all students, not only the ESL students.

While this article may have some years on it, it is not dated, for both problematic and promising reasons. Although greater awareness and moves toward focus on student success may be changing faculty views of ESL students, some faculty, unfortunately, may still adhere to variations of the deficit models. In response, Zamel suggests we turn such problematic views into opportunities through educating our colleagues; evaluating our pedagogies through the eyes of our students, including (and perhaps especially) ESL students; and working together to develop practices that improve learning for everyone involved.