Mary-Beth Roberts
Monochromasia is a disorder which is defined as the “complete absence of any perception of colour” (“Monochromasia”). We can therefore diagnose the writing center with “Linguistic Monochromasia,” the complete absence of any perception of the value of a foreign language or the person who speaks it. In my three semesters working at the Writing Center at Bowie State University (BSU), I have not worked with even one tutor who was a non-native English speaker. BSU ranks in the top 30% of popular colleges and universities among international students, who comprise 4% of the student population (“Bowie State University International Student Report”). The Writing Center’s statistics (from August 2018 to mid-February 2020) show that 8% of our clientele are non-native English-speaking students. Of course, a student’s national or international status does not directly parallel the student’s Native English-Speaking (NES) or Non-Native English-Speaking (NNES) status; however, it can be imagined that a fair portion of these international students are NNES. Then, the question is: Why are NNES tutors underrepresented in the writing center?
The minimal research available on NNES tutors shows that these tutors, and their tutees, have (almost universally) contracted Linguistic Monochromasia. There is a complete absence of any perception that NNES tutors can be as effective as NES tutors. These tutors and tutees alike seem to agree that NES tutors are the only appropriate authority on English writing – especially when it comes to lower order concerns like grammar. This idea, known as the “native speaker fallacy,” is mentioned by Tzu-Shan Chang, a PhD student at Southern Illinois University. Chang reports that the Native Speaker Fallacy is strongly believed by NNES tutees. NNES tutors likewise believe in their own inferiority, even when they have not had undesirable tutoring outcomes caused by their NNES status. They also question their own language ability and experience feelings of inadequacy, intimidation, and worry (317-320). This is mirrored by the experiences of Julia (pseudonym), a Russian-American tutor working at another university. She states, “I am not sure if they [NES tutees] expect me to be an expert, but I feel like I sometimes put pressure on myself to look like an expert. It does not happen every time, but I feel like I need to establish myself as someone who can be trusted.”1 Fortunately, she also mentions that this feeling is decreasing with time and experience.
The two concepts – native speaker fallacy and non-native speaker inferiority – can affect the expectations that tutors and tutees have for a session. Tomoyo Okuda, writing for the University of British Columbia, also mentions the fact that NNES tutors can feel inferior, and further reports that these tutors agreed with their tutees that things like grammar should be left to native speakers (Okuda 14-18). The tutees believe that it is not these tutors’ jobs to help them with their language-related errors, but rather their global, writing-related errors. Paradoxically, while these tutees believe that English writing tutors should know the writing norms of North American universities, they assume that NNES tutors do not have this knowledge (Okuda 14-18).
Okuda further points out that tutees generally see tutors as “teacher-like figure[s]” (20). Cynthia Lee from the University of Hong Kong discusses this idea in detail, explaining how tutees’ perceptions of tutors as authority figures and tutees’ perceptions of themselves can influence the level and manner of participation during a consultation. These tutees tend to wait for the tutor to teach them and, in return, give minimal responses to the tutor. This leads to tutors becoming more directive .
Naturally, the perceptions and expectations of those participating in a consultation directly affect the outcome: whether the session can be called “successful” or not. Okuda illustrates this in her report, introducing the case of one student who wanted to work on lower order concerns like his English grammar, but his tutor instead focused on higher order concerns (18). Of course, this is a normal occurrence even among NES tutors and NES tutees; however, this tutee believed that his needs were unmet because the NNES tutor didn’t want to display her English language ability. Okuda also reports that tutees openly show preference for NES tutors, expressing distrust of NNES tutors’ linguistic feedback, leaving in the middle of a session, changing tutors, and expressing that they will only come to the writing center for “less important assignments” (14-20). Chang echoes this, mentioning that all except one of the NNES tutors participating in her research have experienced rejection. Some tutees have insisted on meeting with a NES tutor, even before meeting with the NNES tutor for the first time. Tutees have also been seen leaving a session early or not actively participating in the session. Meanwhile, the NNES tutors are left with feelings of humiliation, helplessness, and frustration (317-18). How long will these tutors be able to endure such feelings before giving up the idea of being a tutor – will these occurrences cause Linguistic Monochromasia to self-perpetuate?
To prevent the spread of this disorder, I propose writing centers start with the following two measures. First, writing centers should actively seek NNES tutors just as they might actively seek graduate tutors. When having at least one NNES tutor becomes the norm, perceptions will naturally shift as these tutors work with more students. Second, writing centers which have NNES tutors should make flyers or handouts available which will quell any misconceptions about NNES tutors. Perhaps something like this: Having trouble with grammar? Did you know: Non-Native English-Speaking tutors can be better at explaining grammar than Native English-Speaking tutors? This is because they learned English formally as adults, not intuitively as children. Come make an appointment with a NNES tutor at the Writing Center! I believe that these measures will help to inoculate NNES tutors from underrepresentation, ameliorate the symptoms caused by perceptions of these tutors, and bring linguistic color into the writing center and into students’ writing – where it absolutely belongs.
Note
“Julia” is a Russian-American tutor working at another university, whom I interviewed via email in February 2020. She wishes to remain anonymous.
Works Cited
“Bowie State University International Student Report.” College Factual, Media Factual, 2020, https://www.collegefactual.com/search/ cx=003938256104927586508% 3Aifej5syvsws&ie=UTF-8&sa=Search&cof=FORID%3A10&siteurl=&q=bowie%20state%20international%20student. Accessed 25 February 2020.
Chang, Tzu-Shan. Whose Voices? Perceptions Concerning Native English Speaking and Non-Native English Speaking Tutors in the Writing Center. 2011. Southern Illinois University, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/876935194?accountid=9683. Accessed 17 February 2020.
Lee, Cynthia. “Second Language Learners’ Self-Perceived Roles and Participation in Face-to-Face English Writing Consultations.” System, vol. 63, Dec. 2016, pp. 51-64. ScienceDirect, doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.08.010. Accessed 7 February 2020.
“Monochromasia.” Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary, 2020. medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/monochromasia. Accessed 19 February 2020.
Okuda, Tomoyo. “Student Perceptions of Non-Native English Speaking Tutors at a Writing Center in Japan.” Journal of Second Language Writing, vol. 44, June 2019, pp. 13-22. ScienceDirect, doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2019.01.002. Accessed 6 February 2020.
About the Author
Mary-Beth Roberts is an undergraduate student at Bowie State University. She is an English major and French minor specializing in linguistics. She is interested in pursuing degrees in linguistics, speech-language pathology, and publishing. She is a member of The National Society of Leadership and Success, a leadership honor society, and ASEZ (Save the Earth from A to Z), an award-winning international group of university student volunteers. She has received an associate’s degree and a certificate for interpretation/translation in community settings from previous universities. She is passionate about writing, reading, and learning – especially as related to languages, linguistics, anthropology, and history.