Remembering the English language learning trajectory of L2 students in ENG 101 A response to: John Beaumont’s (Vol. 2, No. 1, 2015) “ENG 101 instructors’ perspectives on the ESL experience”

Abstract

Before my appointment at John Jay College, I taught writing for six years at Shenandoah University, a small school in rural Virginia. Because I was the only ESL instructor on campus, I worked with first-year freshmen all the way up to those in graduate school. This gave me a unique perspective on how L2 students gain in English language skill over a period of years as they push higher in their education. Once I experienced this ESL trajectory first hand, I was able to relax more in my freshman composition courses, knowing that over time and with hard work, L2 students would develop the skills they needed to be successful in English.