This is my last quarter as an undergraduate student at DePaul, a peer tutor, and a Collaborative for Multilingual Writing and Research (CMWR) team member. Throughout my time working at The UCWbL, one of the most important things I have learned is the value of reflection. When you take time to reflect on your experiences and how they have impacted you, you form a better understanding of where to go next. As this is my last blog post for the foreseeable future, I’d like to leave you all with three of the most valuable things I’ve learned working at The UCWbL with the CMWR over the last three years.
1. Cultural Competency Matters
The CMWR works with writers from all cultural and lingual backgrounds. Working with international students requires CMWR team members to develop a nuanced understanding of cultural differences and the ability to navigate these differences in writing and speaking. Sometimes, because of cultural differences, writers engage differently with the structure of written work and may produce writing that reflects the expectations of their own cultural context rather than the cultural context they are working in. Situations marked by cultural diversity call for both an awareness of these differences and the ability to clearly explain the expectations of the working cultural context in relation to a writer’s work. This is essential in forming relationships with writers and providing them with a space to blend their own understanding of writing with the sometimes culturally-different expectations of their professors or employers.
2. Language is Fluid
Language is something that is changing all the time. The way we use language in our everyday lives is likely very different from prescribed formalities, and whenever we speak, we can create new ways to use words. In the context of the CMWR, it is incredibly important to remember that effective communication does not always have to be within the prescribed lines of someone else’s “correct English.” Our duty as CMWR members and tutors is to help writers understand genre and audience and explain how specific genres and audiences call for specific uses of the English language. However, it is not our place to be prescriptive and suggest there is a universally “right” and “wrong” way to speak and write. Understanding language is fluid and that it is genre and audience that require specific practices helps the writer feel more comfortable with the English language as well as actively combats the English-language hierarchy.
3. Empathy is a Skill
When I applied to work at The UCWbL, I wrote in my cover letter, “my passion for writing, coupled with the desire to help others” is what brought me to the doors of The UCWbL. I didn’t realize how true that statement was, or how much my desire to help others would play a role in my tutoring. After struggling to learn Spanish as an international student abroad in the fall of 2016, I came back to the CMWR with a new love of language-learning and a new understanding of the difficulties of living somewhere with limited language skills. Working with international students facing a similar situation, I was able to empathize with them and share my experiences in a way that was helpful to their development as English-language learners and international students. My ability to empathize made people feel more comfortable about speaking and sharing their writing with me, which naturally helped me facilitate more productive and rewarding tutoring sessions and events. Empathy is a skill that is developed over time, and it has the potential to drastically improve relationships with writers and people.
For the most part, these three things were already present in the way I tutored and interacted with writers. However, it took a long time to understand the importance of thinking critically about language and the way it is used. As I get ready to leave The UCWbL, I am content knowing I will take the lessons I learned here with me wherever I go. If you haven’t already thought about what you’ve learned and where it can take you, I guarantee it is worth the time.