Rachel LaMance Abstracts

     Rachel LaMance
     Ph.D. Student
     Second Language Acquisition & Teaching

     Conference Summary
     Conference on College Composition and Communication
     Portland, Oregon 

Lay Audience Abstract
This study determines the effectiveness of a new English composition course aimed at
international students who are underprepared in terms of English proficiency and familiarity with
American academic environments. It begins to determine whether the course successfully prepares its
students for subsequent courses, both within the writing program and in other disciplines. The
increasing numbers of international students enrolling in American universities means that writing
programs must change their courses and curricula to accommodate this new population. The writing
program at a large Southwestern university was not prepared to accommodate the surge in
international students. To more effectively meet the needs of this population of English language
learners, the writing program recently reintroduced a basic writing course designed specifically for
English as a second language writers as a precursor to the existing year of required English
composition. The goal of the new course is to prepare international students not only linguistically for
academic writing, but also culturally for life in an American academic environment.
When a university program decides to create a new curriculum, the design often comes from
the administration. Evaluation of the effectiveness of curricula often happens at the administrative
level as well. Administrators aren’t necessarily aware of what happens in the classroom, where the
curriculum is implemented. This study examines the writing program’s new curriculum from the
perspective of the people who deal with the curriculum on a daily basis, students and instructors.
Through surveys and interviews with students enrolled in the new basic writing course, I was able to
hear their voice. They told me about their successes and struggles in the course, as well as how the
course prepared them for future university courses. To hear the voice of instructors, I administered
surveys and observed collaborative meetings. They told me what was successful in the curriculum and
what needed improvement. By analyzing these viewpoints, I am able to suggest improvements that
will make this course more effective next semester and beyond. This project can also serve as a model
for curricular assessment that starts from the bottom up, listening to the perspectives of the people
who are directly impacted by a curriculum.

Conference Abstract
This research examines the effectiveness of a basic writing course to ensure that second
language (L2) students are sufficiently prepared for subsequent courses in the writing program
and beyond. Given the rapidly growing number of international students studying at U.S.
universities, writing programs must adapt curricula to support this population’s unique needs
(Matsuda, 2006; Preto-Bay & Hansen, 2006). For example, the writing program at a large
Southwestern university was not prepared to accommodate the rapid influx of L2 speaking
English composition students. To more effectively meet the needs of this L2 population, the
writing program recently reintroduced a basic writing course designed specifically for L2 writers
as a precursor to the existing year of required English composition. The goal of the new course
is to prepare international students not only linguistically for academic writing, but also
culturally for life in an American academic environment.
Following Leki’s (2000) suggestion of listening to student voices, this project adopts a
ground-up approach. It focuses on students while also including the views of instructors, the
other major stakeholders in the course. Through surveys and interviews, students reveal their
problems and successes in the basic writing curriculum, their perceived level of comfort within
the academic environment, and their perceived preparedness for subsequent composition
courses. Surveys and collaborative meetings with instructors yield insight into their problems
and successes with the curriculum design and teacher support materials. Instructors also
provide their own perspectives on student preparedness.
This systematic analysis determines strengths and weaknesses of the current curriculum
and will inform future iterations of the course. It can likewise inform instructors and
administrators in other writing programs facing similar challenges, in addition to providing a
model for L2 curricular assessment.