College Writing Teachers’ Perceptions of Multilingual Writers’ Presence and Needs

Abstract

There is very little research on writing teachers’ perceptions of multilingual writers’ needs and the teachers’ preparation in working with L2 writers in first year composition courses. This present study was conducted to identify the extent to which first year writing teachers recognize the presence and needs of multilingual writers and the preparation those teachers need to have to better work with multilingual writers. A total of 22 writing teachers completed a 21- item survey. The 22 participants were teaching English writing courses at the university. The participants include graduate teaching assistants with different educational backgrounds, currently pursuing their master degree in English and full-time and part-time adjunct teachers with master's or Ph.D. degrees. The participants completed a survey to identify: 1) to what extent do teachers recognize the needs of multilingual writers and 2) what preparation (professional development needs) that those teachers need to better work with multilingual writers. The research reveals that teachers recognize multilingual writers’ presence and needs, and suggest external professional preparation opportunities to address the unique needs of L2 writers. The findings of the study serve as an informative source for college writing programs to identify the existing shortcomings and devise administrative and training plans to address them.