How do I grade a "good" paper for an ESL student with writing problems?
Issue:
Professor Essel has a student whose first language is not English is having serious difficulty with grammatical and usage issues such as subject/verb disagreement, articles, plurals, and faulty diction. However, the content of her essays is quite good; she demonstrates an excellent grasp of the material and writes about it with insight. On the basis of the content of her papers, Professor Essel is tempted to give her an A or A-. But there are so many errors that he wonders if he should give her a C to be fair to other students (whom he is grading down for errors) and to convey to her the importance of mastering English grammar and usage if she is to succeed at Northwestern. How should he think through his grading policy in situations like this?
Discussion -- advice from J. Herrick, the Writing Program
Professor Essel’s dilemma is a common one for teachers working non-native speakers of English, and this student is fortunate to have a professor who can see past surface errors and recognize the quality of her thinking. While there is no clear agreement on how best to grade the writing of ESL students, experts do agree that teacher should keep the student engaged in both learning the course content and mastering written English by responding to content and organization as well as grammar and usage errors. Non-native speakers are often especially sensitive to criticism and respond well to encouragement. They also often expect and want clear and specific feedback on their errors.
Here are a several different approaches, Professor Essel might consider.
Give a holistic grade—The relationship between mechanical control and depth and sophistication of thinking exists in all writing, including that of native English writers. Some instructors prefer to give a holistic grade, usually rewarding analysis, critical thinking, idea development and smooth and logical organization more than control of writing mechanics, spelling, and punctuation. This can be done for both native and non-native English writers, but the importance of the more intellectual elements of a student’s writing might be weighed more heavily when determining the holistic grade than for a native English writer.
Give a split grade--One part of the grade, probably the larger percentage, would be based on the more important concerns of content and organization, with the second grade based on the student’s control of writing mechanics, grammar and usage. Some instructors shift ratio during the quarter, with mechanical control weighing more heavily in later assignments.
Base grade on progress—Some other instructors, especially in lower level courses taken by freshmen and sophomores, prefer to grade a student’s progress in improving her writing over the term. Working with the student, the instructor can set specific goals for the students, emphasizing global concerns (content development, organization, clarity, etc.) and also identifying serious grammatical errors for the student to work on. Other instructors prefer to grade on how well a student improves her final version after receiving feedback and guidance from the instructors and perhaps also her peers.
Whatever approach Professor Essel chooses, he should keep in mind that mastery of written English, just like the mastery of writing in any new language, takes time and patience for both the student and the instructor. Keeping students encouraged and recognizing the quality of their thinking will keep them engaged in learning how to communicate their thoughts in clear and compelling English.
Additional advice:
It's a good idea to divide the errors into those that interfere with a reader comprehending the writer’s intended meaning and the more superficial errors. Have a student focus on only one or two errors at a time, until they are mastered, starting with the most serious errors. A teacher might also choose to have the student focus on one more serious error and also one less serious error. It is also important to distinguish those errors that even a native English writer would make (e.g. omitting a comma after an introductory element) from those errors that are specific to ESL (using the wrong preposition).
NOTE: the control of the correct use of articles (a, an, and the)is usually the last to be masters, so be careful not to focus on these errors. They will begin to disappear more from the student reading and listening to native speaker use English than focusing on these as errors to be corrected.
