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Empowering ELL Student Voices Through Writing:
Fostering Culturally Responsive Composition Practices
Joshua Wilwohl
Murray State University
Title slide. Hello, everyone. My name is Joshua Wilwohl. I’m here to talk with you
about Empowering ELL Student Voices Through Writing by Fostering Culturally
Responsive Composition Practices.
“For many students, how their teachers [respond] to
their writing is likely at the geographic center of how
they see themselves as writers.”
- Matthew M. Johnson
Matthew Johnson said, “For many students, how their teachers [respond] to their
writing is likely at the geographic center of how they see themselves as writers”
(Johnson, “How to Cultivate Strong Student Writing Identities”). As a professor in
Cambodia, I see a variety of students with varying levels of English. While all of them
speak English, their confidence wavers in writing the language. For most of the
students, English is their second language, and when it comes to writing, I may be the
first person who has ever provided them with feedback.
Start with the ‘I’ in identity.
Start with the ‘I’ in identity. Defining identity and looking at the question “Who am I?”
is an important first step because students come from various backgrounds and they’re
entering university for the first time, maybe even the first in the family, and they are
just finding themselves. So, exploring writer identity and what identity is is vital for
empowering ELL students’ writing. A study from the National University of Singapore
analyzed the use of the first person pronoun “I” and states that, “[L]anguage does not
merely reflect an existing reality, but actually creates that reality” (Tang and John 24).
This had me wonder about the use of a first-person narrative as an initial assignment to
have students begin firmly to understand themselves. Try to answer the question,
“Who am I?”
Make connections with the ‘I’ in ideology.
Make connections with the ‘I’ in ideology. Once we start to explain identity, we can
make the connection with ideology. As Tony Scott states in Adler-Kassner and
Wardle’s Naming What We Know, “Writing is always ideological because discourses
and instances of language use do not exist independently from cultures and their
ideologies” (Adler-Kassner and Wardle 48).
Culturally Responsive Practices
Culturally Responsive Practices. Culturally responsive pedagogy, adopted for writing,
as Maria Zybina states, “[U]se[s] students’ culture as the basis for helping students
understand themselves and others, structure social interactions, and conceptualize
knowledge” (Zybina 7). These practices value students’ backgrounds and experiences,
ultimately creating an inclusive classroom and fostering student success. In short,
embrace differences. We, as teachers, need to be self-aware, knowledgeable, and
respectful of cultural diversity. We have to recognize and value the cultural
experiences that students bring to the table, and we use that foundation to strengthen
their writing skills. In order to accomplish these, I’ve broken the practices into three
parts: (1) Build Background, (2) Expand Literacy, and (3) Create a Safe Environment.
These three items ultimately help lead to finding and to protecting student voices. You
can visualize this as a house, or a mushroom.
Build Background
Expand literacy
Create a safe
environment
Visualization, Build Background
Build Background
Build Background. We begin with Build Background. Each student is unique, and we
must tap these “funds of knowledge” and apply it to their writing (Moll et. al 133). For
example, a student from Khmer culture may have a storytelling tradition—likely that
of fairy tales and poetry—and they could incorporate that style into their writing.
Build Background
Expand Literacy
Create a safe
environment
Visualization, Expand Literacy
Expand Literacy
Expand Literacy. Introducing students to various forms of storytelling from different
cultures will expose them to different voices and perspectives as well as different
styles. Students I teach are eager to learn more Western forms of storytelling, mostly
from the U.S., UK, and France. A recent Oxford study in March suggested a shift in
Cambodia’s “Khmer-ness” to “English-ness” (Hum and Heng 197). This relates to
what Kathleen Blake Yancey writes in Adler-Kassner and Wardle’s Naming What We
Know that “Writers’ identities vary as well, in part through individual and collective
identity markers such as gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and physical abilities;
in part through individuals’ relationships with family and friends; and in part through
experiences that both attract and influence identity. Writing itself, especially through
genres, also anticipates and, to a certain extent, enforces an identity” (Adler-Kassner
and Wardle 53).
Build Background
Expand Literacy
Create a Safe
Environment
Visualization, Create a Safe Environment
Create a Safe Environment
Create a Safe Environment. Reiterating a version of Johnson’s quote from the
beginning of this presentation: “Teachers are the only serious audience most students
have ever had for their writing” (Johnson, “How to Cultivate Strong Student Writing
Identities”). Because of this, we must foster a classroom environment where they feel
empowered to share their differences and not afraid of feedback. We have to provide
constructive criticism. Newkirk states that Plato compares writing to “sending out your
child into the world, unprotected from misunderstanding and criticism” (Daniels and
Beck 3). Daniels and Beck state, “The traditional culture of teachers pointing out
errors produces feelings of anxiety and inadequacy imparted on the student and can
disable them for future acts of writing” (Daniels and Beck 3). The duo argue, and I
agree, that some teachers who have strong writing identities still struggle in teaching
writing because of a lack of self-efficacy in the subject. But we can reshape this
narrative through experiences and storytelling with a diverse group. Working alongside
students from various backgrounds during in-class exercises, providing group critiques
of not only their work, but also of mine, helps us bridge cultures in writing—moving
toward cultural fluency and creating a safe environment for them to learn. This
empowers ELL students to find their voice and contribute meaningfully to academic
discourse.
Build Background
Expand Literacy
Create a Safe
Environment
Student Voice
Student Voice
Visualization, Student Voice. The practices together hone student voice, with a safe
environment protecting these voices alongside their background and literacy exposure.
But there are challenges.
But there are challenges.
Language Anxiety
Language Anxiety. Language anxiety is a real issue among L2 English speakers. In my
classrooms, there is some hesitation about writing English compared to speaking it.
Sometimes because writing something down is seen as definitive, the students use
caution. As a result, this produces anxiety around whether I’ll be able to interpret what
they write, and so they turn to alternative methods of writing: Artificial Intelligence, or
AI. This is a topic I’ll discuss later. But a study looking at Korean L2 English students
and their writing showed that a “high correlation between foreign language classroom
anxiety and English writing anxiety could imply that reducing classroom anxiety in
general is a prerequisite for easing English writing anxiety” (Choi 19). This relates
back to the culturally responsible practice of creating a safe environment. The same
study also showed that students need to be more well informed about the resources
available to them for writing, such as online assistance, because vocabulary is an issue.
Tapping students’ already-existing knowledge of language for them to overcome their
anxiety is the next step. The Korean study showed that more than half of the students
“worried about making grammatical mistakes in writing because writing assignments
were perceived to be summative assessments to see whether students achieved the
goals of the course” (Choi 21). This made me wonder about how we, as teachers,
could strike a balance between accuracy and fluency in writing assessments? The
study says it’s “not impossible,” but doesn’t go into how (Choi 21).
Cultural Expectations &
Conforming Pressures
Cultural Expectations & Conforming Pressures. Students are held to expectations, and
when we consider their backgrounds and upbringings, there are significant varying
expectations and pressures. Some may be writing for the first time, some may have
been forced to conform to certain guidelines set by their grade schools. In Cambodia,
for example, there are various international (private) schools led by various
nationalities. There are also public schools. Each school may have a certain set of
standards and styles when it comes to writing, especially since the teachers in those
schools are also of various nationalities. As a result, when they reach composition
classes at university, the levels of writing are all over the place. Honing what’s
expected of them and easing the pressure of those expectations is essential. This may
be done, as suggested by Choi, through “balanced evaluation and ask[ing] for support
for developing more effective and reliable evaluation tools from researchers or other
teachers to increase the validity of [students’] assessment of writing” (Choi 21).
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI). These challenges redirect students to one thing: Artificial
Intelligence. AI is the hot topic in academia at the moment, and I see my students turn
to it fast when it comes to writing because it eases all the fears they face—except for
getting caught, a risk they are willing to take because AI checkers are not always valid.
The biggest problem with AI use is that the student’s voice doesn’t exist. Sure, they
write a prompt to produce a result, but that result doesn’t reflect their backgrounds or
skills. Essayist Evan Puschak argues that we cannot stop AI, and instead we must find
a way to co-exist. He suggests that we may be moving toward becoming a culture of
“editors, tweakers, embellishers” versus that of writers. Inserting our voice into what
AI has written for us (Puschak, “The Real Danger Of ChatGPT”). He emphasizes,
however, that the language is vital. “Language is how human beings understand
themselves and the world. Writing is how we understand uniquely. Not to write is to
live according to the language of others or worse to live through edits, tweaks, and
embellishments to language generated by an overconfident AI chatbot. It’s left to
teachers to impassion their students within a system that prioritizes grades over
learning,” he says (Puschak, “The Real Danger Of ChatGPT”). We must do the latter.
Make sure that they learn.
Strategies
Strategies. How can we, as teachers, combat these challenges?
Choice & Voice
Choice & Voice. We can provide writing prompts with options for students to explore
topics through their cultural lens, such as analyzing the impact of globalization on a
specific industry, based on student backgrounds. We also can offer opportunities for
diverse writing formats like personal essays, research papers incorporating cultural
case studies, or even creative writing pieces inspired by cultural traditions.
Affirm Culture
Affirm Culture. We can encourage cultural practices, including code-switching and
exploration of storytelling from different cultures, that reinforce student learning. The
survey I conducted, for example, showed students continue to code-switch.
Feedback
Feedback. Feedback is a key issue brought up earlier when I asked, “Could [we, as
teachers,] strike a balance between accuracy and fluency in writing assessments?” The
studies seem to show it’s possible. We would need to provide specific feedback on
logic, argument structure, and evidence. And offer resources or workshops on
grammar and mechanics, but don’t penalize students for minor grammatical errors. For
my in-class, hand-written final essay, I tell students to ignore the grammar and focus
on the concepts. What matters most is their response to the prompt in terms of
understanding theories and ideas within their cultural context. The grammar,
particularly in its prescriptive sense, can be learned later.
Co-Exist
Co-Exist. AI is here to stay. We must learn to adopt best practices to mitigate the
blending of students’ identities in writing. The University of Pittsburgh offers great
tips on the use of AI when it comes to teaching writing, including focusing on
“assignments with clear learning goals orienting around the processes of writing
primarily, rather than products” (Vee and Laquintano, “How to Talk to Your Students
About AI”). In the past, I tried an assignment where I had students write a 500-word
essay using AI, and then insert another 250 words of their own thoughts, ideas, and
research within what AI produced. They highlighted the 250 words to differentiate. It
was an interesting experiment to introduce them to AI and the importance of
downplaying its use and finding your own voice. The goal of this was to show what
the essayist Puschak said, “I discovered that writing, structuring language of my own,
was the only way to find out [who am I?]” (Puschak, “The Real Danger Of
ChatGPT”).
Pedagogical Application
Pedagogical Application
The American Dream
A Counter-Narrative
The American Dream: A Counter-Narrative. This is an in-class exercise in the form of
a minimum 330-word essay. In-class for two reasons: (1) assistance to ELL students
and (2) less chance of an AI-generated essay.
Empower students by
●Challenging the dominant narrative
●Using their voice and sharing their cultural background
to offer a new perspective
The assignment is meant to empower students by (1) Challenging the dominant
narrative Using their voice and (2) Sharing their cultural background to offer a new
perspective.
Goals
●Develop critical thinking skills
●Leverage various experiences
●Practice effective research skills
●Craft a counter-narrative
The goals of the assignment are to (1) Develop critical thinking skills, (2) Leverage
various experiences, (3) Practice effective research skills, and (4) Craft a
counter-narrative.
Components
●Analyze the topic, and consider the voice(s) represented
and stereotype(s) presented
●Research to support argument(s)
●Write a minimum 330-word counter-narrative that
challenges the main perspective, based on their own (or
another’s) cultural background
The components include: (1) Analyze the topic, and consider the voice(s) represented
and stereotype(s) presented (2) Research to support argument(s), and (3) Write a
minimum 330-word counter-narrative that challenges the main perspective, based on
their own (or another’s) cultural background.
Integration of AI
●Identification of relevant sources for research
●Highlight possible biases in sources and their own work
●Helping with sentence structure and intended meaning
of phrases in native language(s)
●Helping understand cultural references and clarifying
them to move toward cultural fluency
Integration of AI into the assignment can (1) Identification of relevant sources for
research, (2) Highlight possible biases in sources and their own work, (3) Help with
sentence structure and intended meaning of phrases in native language(s), and (4) Help
understand cultural references and clarifying them to move toward cultural fluency.
Questions
Questions
PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATION
1. What are your thoughts on the use of AI?
2. Do you think the component is too much for a
one-time, in-class assignment? Shorten it? Or
lengthen it over a period of multiple classes?
In terms of the pedagogical application: (1) What are your thoughts on the use of AI?
(2) Do you think the component is too much for a one-time, in-class assignment?
Shorten it? Or lengthen it over a period of multiple classes?
FURTHER THINKING
1. How can we minimize language anxiety in the
classroom when it comes to writing, but also fairly
assess students and avoid bias based on language
fluency?
2. How can we measure the impact of these culturally
responsive composition practices, balancing their
need to develop English language skills but also
respecting their native language(s) in their writing?
In terms of further thinking: (1) How can we minimize language anxiety in the
classroom when it comes to writing, but also fairly assess students and avoid bias
based on language fluency? (2) Is there a true way to measure the impact of these
culturally responsive composition practices, balancing their need to develop English
language skills but also respecting their native language(s) in their writing?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Empowering ELL Student Voices Through Writing: Fostering Culturally Responsive
Composition Practices
Joshua Wilwohl
Murray State University
Presentation Script
1. Title slide. Hello, everyone. My name is Joshua Wilwohl. I’m here to talk with you about
Empowering ELL Student Voices Through Writing by Fostering Culturally Responsive
Composition Practices.
2. Matthew Johnson said, “For many students, how their teachers [respond] to their writing
is likely at the geographic center of how they see themselves as writers” (Johnson, “How
to Cultivate Strong Student Writing Identities”). As a professor in Cambodia, I see a
variety of students with varying levels of English. While all of them speak English, their
confidence wavers in writing the language. For most of the students, English is their
second language, and when it comes to writing, I may be the first person who has ever
provided them with feedback.
3. Start with the ‘I’ in identity. Defining identity and looking at the question “Who am I?” is
an important first step because students come from various backgrounds and they’re
entering university for the first time, maybe even the first in the family, and they are just
finding themselves. So, exploring writer identity and what identity is is vital for
empowering ELL students’ writing. A study from the National University of Singapore
analyzed the use of the first person pronoun “I” and states that, “[L]anguage does not
merely reflect an existing reality, but actually creates that reality” (Tang and John 24).
This had me wonder about the use of a first-person narrative as an initial assignment to
1
have students begin firmly to understand themselves. Try to answer the question, “Who
am I?”
4. Make connections with the ‘I’ in ideology. Once we start to explain identity, we can make
the connection with ideology. As Tony Scott states in Adler-Kassner and Wardle’s
Naming What We Know, “Writing is always ideological because discourses and instances
of language use do not exist independently from cultures and their ideologies”
(Adler-Kassner and Wardle 48).
5. Culturally Responsive Practices. Culturally responsive pedagogy, adopted for writing, as
Maria Zybina states, “[U]se[s] students’ culture as the basis for helping students
understand themselves and others, structure social interactions, and conceptualize
knowledge” (Zybina 7). These practices value students’ backgrounds and experiences,
ultimately creating an inclusive classroom and fostering student success. In short,
embrace differences. We, as teachers, need to be self-aware, knowledgeable, and
respectful of cultural diversity. We have to recognize and value the cultural experiences
that students bring to the table, and we use that foundation to strengthen their writing
skills. In order to accomplish these, I’ve broken the practices into three parts: (1) Build
Background, (2) Expand Literacy, and (3) Create a Safe Environment. These three items
ultimately help lead to finding and to protecting student voices. You can visualize this as
a house, or a mushroom.
6. Visualization, Build Background
7. Build Background. We begin with Build Background. Each student is unique, and we
must tap these “funds of knowledge” and apply it to their writing (Moll et. al 133). For
Wilwohl - 2
example, a student from Khmer culture may have a storytelling tradition—likely that of
fairy tales and poetry—and they could incorporate that style into their writing.
8. Visualization, Expand Literacy
9. Expand Literacy. Introducing students to various forms of storytelling from different
cultures will expose them to different voices and perspectives as well as different styles.
Students I teach are eager to learn more Western forms of storytelling, mostly from the
U.S., UK, and France. A recent Oxford study in March suggested a shift in Cambodia’s
“Khmer-ness” to “English-ness” (Hum and Heng 197). This relates to what Kathleen
Blake Yancey writes in Adler-Kassner and Wardle’s Naming What We Know that
“Writers’ identities vary as well, in part through individual and collective identity
markers such as gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and physical abilities; in part
through individuals’ relationships with family and friends; and in part through
experiences that both attract and influence identity. Writing itself, especially through
genres, also anticipates and, to a certain extent, enforces an identity” (Adler-Kassner and
Wardle 53).
10. Visualization, Create a Safe Environment
11. Create a Safe Environment. Reiterating a version of Johnson’s quote from the beginning
of this presentation: “Teachers are the only serious audience most students have ever had
for their writing” (Johnson, “How to Cultivate Strong Student Writing Identities”).
Because of this, we must foster a classroom environment where they feel empowered to
share their differences and not afraid of feedback. We have to provide constructive
criticism. Newkirk states that Plato compares writing to “sending out your child into the
world, unprotected from misunderstanding and criticism” (Daniels and Beck 3). Daniels
Wilwohl - 3
and Beck state, “The traditional culture of teachers pointing out errors produces feelings
of anxiety and inadequacy imparted on the student and can disable them for future acts of
writing” (Daniels and Beck 3). The duo argue, and I agree, that some teachers who have
strong writing identities still struggle in teaching writing because of a lack of self-efficacy
in the subject. But we can reshape this narrative through experiences and storytelling with
a diverse group. Working alongside students from various backgrounds during in-class
exercises, providing group critiques of not only their work, but also of mine, helps us
bridge cultures in writing—moving toward cultural fluency and creating a safe
environment for them to learn. This empowers ELL students to find their voice and
contribute meaningfully to academic discourse.
12. Visualization, Student Voice. The practices together hone student voice, with a safe
environment protecting these voices alongside their background and literacy exposure.
13. But there are challenges.
14. Language Anxiety. Language anxiety is a real issue among L2 English speakers. In my
classrooms, there is some hesitation about writing English compared to speaking it.
Sometimes because writing something down is seen as definitive, the students use
caution. As a result, this produces anxiety around whether I’ll be able to interpret what
they write, and so they turn to alternative methods of writing: Artificial Intelligence, or
AI. This is a topic I’ll discuss later. But a study looking at Korean L2 English students
and their writing showed that a “high correlation between foreign language classroom
anxiety and English writing anxiety could imply that reducing classroom anxiety in
general is a prerequisite for easing English writing anxiety” (Choi 19). This relates back
to the culturally responsible practice of creating a safe environment. The same study also
Wilwohl - 4
showed that students need to be more well informed about the resources available to them
for writing, such as online assistance, because vocabulary is an issue. Tapping students’
already-existing knowledge of language for them to overcome their anxiety is the next
step. The Korean study showed that more than half of the students “worried about
making grammatical mistakes in writing because writing assignments were perceived to
be summative assessments to see whether students achieved the goals of the course”
(Choi 21). This made me wonder about how we, as teachers, could strike a balance
between accuracy and fluency in writing assessments? The study says it’s “not
impossible,” but doesn’t go into how (Choi 21).
15. Cultural Expectations & Conforming Pressures. Students are held to expectations, and
when we consider their backgrounds and upbringings, there are significant varying
expectations and pressures. Some may be writing for the first time, some may have been
forced to conform to certain guidelines set by their grade schools. In Cambodia, for
example, there are various international (private) schools led by various nationalities.
There are also public schools. Each school may have a certain set of standards and styles
when it comes to writing, especially since the teachers in those schools are also of various
nationalities. As a result, when they reach composition classes at university, the levels of
writing are all over the place. Honing what’s expected of them and easing the pressure of
those expectations is essential. This may be done, as suggested by Choi, through
“balanced evaluation and ask[ing] for support for developing more effective and reliable
evaluation tools from researchers or other teachers to increase the validity of [students’]
assessment of writing” (Choi 21).
Wilwohl - 5
16. Artificial Intelligence (AI). These challenges redirect students to one thing: Artificial
Intelligence. AI is the hot topic in academia at the moment, and I see my students turn to
it fast when it comes to writing because it eases all the fears they face—except for getting
caught, a risk they are willing to take because AI checkers are not always valid. The
biggest problem with AI use is that the student’s voice doesn’t exist. Sure, they write a
prompt to produce a result, but that result doesn’t reflect their backgrounds or skills.
Essayist Evan Puschak argues that we cannot stop AI, and instead we must find a way to
co-exist. He suggests that we may be moving toward becoming a culture of “editors,
tweakers, embellishers” versus that of writers. Inserting our voice into what AI has
written for us (Puschak, “The Real Danger Of ChatGPT”). He emphasizes, however, that
the language is vital. “Language is how human beings understand themselves and the
world. Writing is how we understand uniquely. Not to write is to live according to the
language of others or worse to live through edits, tweaks, and embellishments to
language generated by an overconfident AI chatbot. It’s left to teachers to impassion their
students within a system that prioritizes grades over learning,” he says (Puschak, “The
Real Danger Of ChatGPT”). We must do the latter. Make sure that they learn.
17. Strategies. How can we, as teachers, combat these challenges?
18. Choice & Voice. We can provide writing prompts with options for students to explore
topics through their cultural lens, such as analyzing the impact of globalization on a
specific industry, based on student backgrounds. We also can offer opportunities for
diverse writing formats like personal essays, research papers incorporating cultural case
studies, or even creative writing pieces inspired by cultural traditions.
Wilwohl - 6
19. Affirm Culture. We can encourage cultural practices, including code-switching and
exploration of storytelling from different cultures, that reinforce student learning. The
survey I conducted, for example, showed students continue to code-switch.
20. Feedback. Feedback is a key issue brought up earlier when I asked, “Could [we, as
teachers,] strike a balance between accuracy and fluency in writing assessments?” The
studies seem to show it’s possible. We would need to provide specific feedback on logic,
argument structure, and evidence. And offer resources or workshops on grammar and
mechanics, but don’t penalize students for minor grammatical errors. For my in-class,
hand-written final essay, I tell students to ignore the grammar and focus on the concepts.
What matters most is their response to the prompt in terms of understanding theories and
ideas within their cultural context. The grammar, particularly in its prescriptive sense, can
be learned later.
21. Co-Exist. AI is here to stay. We must learn to adopt best practices to mitigate the blending
of students’ identities in writing. The University of Pittsburgh offers great tips on the use
of AI when it comes to teaching writing, including focusing on “assignments with clear
learning goals orienting around the processes of writing primarily, rather than products”
(Vee and Laquintano, “How to Talk to Your Students About AI”). In the past, I tried an
assignment where I had students write a 500-word essay using AI, and then insert another
250 words of their own thoughts, ideas, and research within what AI produced. They
highlighted the 250 words to differentiate. It was an interesting experiment to introduce
them to AI and the importance of downplaying its use and finding your own voice. The
goal of this was to show what the essayist Puschak said, “I discovered that writing,
Wilwohl - 7
structuring language of my own, was the only way to find out [who am I?]” (Puschak,
“The Real Danger Of ChatGPT”).
22. Pedagogical Application
23. The American Dream: A Counter-Narrative. This is an in-class exercise in the form of a
minimum 330-word essay. In-class for two reasons: (1) assistance as ELL students and
(2) less chance of an AI-generated essay.
24. Video. I got this idea from Scott Galloway’s recent (and controversial) TED Talk, “The
U.S. is Destroying Young People’s Future.” You can watch it on your own.
25. The assignment is meant to empower students by (1) Challenging the dominant narrative
Using their voice and (2) Sharing their cultural background to offer a new perspective.
26. The goals of the assignment are to (1) Develop critical thinking skills, (2) Leverage
various experiences, (3) Practice effective research skills, and (4) Craft a
counter-narrative.
27. The components include: (1) Analyze the topic, and consider the voice(s) represented and
stereotype(s) presented (2) Research to support argument(s), and (3) Write a minimum
330-word counter-narrative that challenges the main perspective, based on their own (or
another’s) cultural background.
28. Integration of AI into the assignment can (1) Identification of relevant sources for
research, (2) Highlight possible biases in sources and their own work, (3) Help with
sentence structure and intended meaning of phrases in native language(s), and (4) Help
understand cultural references and clarifying them to move toward cultural fluency.
29. Questions
Wilwohl - 8
30. In terms of the pedagogical application: (1) What are your thoughts on the use of AI?
(2) Do you think the component is too much for a one-time, in-class assignment? Shorten
it? Or lengthen it over a period of multiple classes?
31. In terms of further thinking: (1) How can we minimize language anxiety in the classroom
when it comes to writing, but also fairly assess students and avoid bias based on language
fluency? (2) Is there a true way to measure the impact of these culturally responsive
composition practices, balancing their need to develop English language skills but also
respecting their native language(s) in their writing?
32. Thank you.
Wilwohl - 9
Works Cited
Adler-Kassner, Linda and Elizabeth Wardle. “Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of
Writing Studies.” Utah State University Press. 2015.
Briner, Esther. “Fostering Learning through Culturally Responsive Practice.” Carleton
University. Jan. 4, 2016. https://carleton.ca/tls/2016/
fostering-learning-through-culturally-responsive-practice/.
Brauer, Alexander. “Responsiveness to culture through literature: Creative writing as culturally
responsive pedagogy.” Educare. Malmo University. February 2024.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
377941981_Responsiveness_to_culture_through_literature_Creative
_writing_as_culturally_responsive_pedagogy.
Choi, Sujeong. “Language Anxiety In Second Language Writing: Is It Really A Stumbling
Block?” University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Date Unknown.
https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/
core/bitstreams/1ef2798f-2ad4-44d0-8315-de6ac7dbe304/content.
Cheng, Yuh-show. “Factors Associated with Foreign Language Writing Anxiety.” Foreign
Language Annals. Vo. 35, No. 5. September/October 2002.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ys-Cheng/publication/
229695536_Factors_Associated_with_Foreign_Language_Writing_Anxiety/
links/5a032d58aca2720c326775a2/Factors-Associated-with-Foreign-Language-Writing-
Anxiety.pdf?_sg%5B0%5D=started_experiment_milestone&origin=journalDetail.
Wilwohl - 10
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