Thoughts on Writing in English from International Students

Monday was day one for my composition class for visiting international students.

I asked them to hand write a brief statement about their experiences writing in a second language.

The results were so great that I started typing excepts into my teaching journal.

The quote that got me most was one of the first I read. It's from a biology student:

The English that I learned in school before going to university is very different from the one I started to learn as a college student, because even if it is the same language, they are in different contexts, demanding different knowledges.

I read that and had to pause to take a deep breath.

Here's the thing, that quote articulates the rational for one of the more important chapters in my dissertation. Sure, I'm working on the dissertation all the time lately, so it makes sense that I would see it in everything I read, but the spot-on nature of that quote is uncanny. 

I have an entire chapter dedicated to the idea that second-language students in biology are working with language conventions and scientific concepts that force them to reassess their own knowledge of English. But I didn't tell that to this student. 

So, I read the rest of my students' writing histories with my researcher's hat on, and it proved to be an enriching exercise. 

Take a look at some of the sentences I pulled from writing history texts generated by visiting international students at a research university. 

Writing in English is one action which makes me really nervous.

As I wrote papers more and more, I feel comfortable to write in English. 

I also write in English sometimes to connect with people in the internet.

Sometimes I cannot find the exact word to express myself. 

I wrote my first essay in English when I was preparing for the TOEFL test. 

Korea’s [English] education system only focuses on reading and listening. 

I memorize a lot of sentences which called ‘template.’ The reason I did this is only for getting a good grade. 

My experience writing in a second language makes me feel a little nervous, because writing essays is not a great skill that I have even in my native language.

It was difficult in the beginning because American writing rules are different from Brazilian’s. 

I feel like I was basically translating Chinese essay writing skills. 

I had to write an application […] but it was very hard to me, because I had to write my experience.

Writing an essay in English was one of my favorite activity when I was in middle school […] In recent times, however […] I feel nothing. I cannot have that excitement and feelings of freedom I had in the past. 

I suppose it is pretty difficult to write in a foreign language. 

I’m not the perfect writer in English. 

I started to learn the way of writing an argument essays for an university entrance exam. It was a good opportunity for me to improve my writing skills because my English teacher checked my essay again and again. 

I’ve always listened to music and watched movies in English. 

Through the years I started doing more writings and feeling a little less afraid of doing them. 

The quotes paint an interesting picture of the way international students think about writing in the English language.

Oh, and if you are concerned about the errors in these quotes, don't be. Why you shouldn't be is a conversation for another time, but I will say this: These are very articulate statements, errors and all, coming from students writing in a second language without time to prep, without digital tools, and without time to revise.