(SSeS RBG HR 0 A EN GREE RESTA SS 8 RISER RAREST AMAR MAE SAE Et RNR, Pairing ESL and College Writers A pairing project at DeKalb College provides for structured writing opportunities in which students in ESL Advance Writing classes and Freshman Composition classes become writing partners. The goals of the project are to promote social interaction between the native-born and foreign-born students and to strengthen the writing skills of both groups. The Pairing Project Each quarter an ESL Advanced Writing class is paired with an English Freshman Composition section. Native- born and foreign-born students collaborate on joint assignments. ESL and English department instructors volunteer to participate if they teach at the same hours and elect to include joint writing activities in their syllabi. Recommended Activities for the Pairing Project * The teaching team pairs the students, and they write letters of introduction to each other. e The team arranges a social gathering at which students meet their partners. e Each student writes a narrative theme on a personal topic. ¢ First collaboration: The ESL teacher addresses the combined classes on the topic of special needs of ESL students. The students are then paired with new partners. The new pairs spend 30-45 minutes editing each other’s narrative themes. ¢ Second collaboration: New partnerships are formed, and the new pairs gather biographical information. The students write biographies of their partners. ¢ Third collaboration: The two classes meet; partners read and edit each other’s biographies. ¢ Fourth collaboration: New partnerships are formed. These new partners interview each other concerning some customs, educational practices, or religious folkways of their culture and use this information to write a comparison/contrast theme. * Fifth collaboration: The partners edit each other’s comparison/ contrast themes. e The two classes share an end-of-term “native dish” meal. Conclusions Student evaluations of the pairing project over four terms have been extremely favorable. As one Chinese student stated: “T liked the activities that gave me more time and chances to talk to my partner and understand him.” An Indonesian student remarked: “Working with English 101 students really helped give me some ideas eo about their class, such as what kinds of essays they are writing and the details they use.” An American student commented: “I had a wonderful opportunity to learn about a culture that I have not been able to experience firsthand. Involvement with foreign students helped open my eyes to other viewpoints.” Students from both groups commented that they focused more carefully on editing, format, and composition development when they knew they had a peer audience. One tangible result of the pairing project was identi- fied by an ESL instructor: “When we match students, the percentages of ESL students passing the writing exit exam are higher than the norm. Increased contact with the English language and its speakers, especially in an editing relationship, has had a critical effect on ESL students’ writing abilities.” Barbara Jean Hall, Assistant Professor, ESL/English Harris Green, Professor, English For further information, contact the authors at DeKalb College, 555 North Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston, GA 30021. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor January 21, 1994, Vol. XVI, No. 1 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1994 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), Department of Educational Administration, College of Education, EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms. ISSN 0199-106X.