Passages into College Writing: Listening to the Experiences of International Students - From the Editors - Composition Forum 40 - Fall 2018

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

Enrollments of international students are very high in the U.S., reshaping demographics in first-year composition classes while leaving many instructors and administrators unfamiliar with students’ backgrounds. Drawing on a qualitative, longitudinal study of nine undergraduate international students, the article examines precollege writing experiences, key challenges and discoveries as students enter U.S. academic writing culture, and pedagogic interventions to better support their transitions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Precollege writing experiences

Challenges and discovery in U.S. writing culture

Pedagogic interventions

Framing question: transitions into higher education

Current Issue From the Editors Weblog Editorial Board Editorial Policy Submissions Archives Accessibility Search Composition Forum 40, Fall 2018 Passages into College Writing: Listening to the Experiences of International Students Jason Schneider Abstract: Enrollments of international students are at very high levels in the U.S. , a development that has altered the demographics of first-year composition classes in recent years. Nonetheless, writing instructors and administrators often know little about these students’ backgrounds, which can make it difficult to design pedagogies that are responsive to their specific needs. Drawing on data from a qualitative, longitudinal study with a cohort of undergraduate international students, this article addresses three interrelated issues: 1) precollege writing experiences of international students in both their first languages and English; 2) key points of challenge and discovery for international students as they enter the culture of U.S. academic writing; and 3) possible pedagogic interventions designed to better support international students. Situating findings in relation to recent scholarship on students’ transitions from high school to college, the article explores ways in which the experiences of international students are both similar to and different than those of their U.S.-educated peers. Introduction A few years ago, two colleagues and I who teach first-year composition (FYC) for international students organized an event for writing faculty at our institution. The goal was to provide guidance for instructors who do not have expertise in teaching international students, but who often have these students in their classes. We talked about teaching strategies, and then we invited three international students to talk about their experiences and answer questions. What ensued was inspiring: a room of faculty members sat enraptured as these students described their successes, challenges, and grievances as emerging international [student writers at a U.S. university. Then](student writers at a U.S. university. Then), when it was time for questions, multiple hands went up. By the end of the event, all of us were wiser, and perhaps a little humbler, too. I walked away with two key insights. First, I realized that I rarely take the time to listen to my students. That is, I am attentive to them during class discussions and office conferences, when we usually talk about their papers. However, I rarely offer discursive spaces in which they might reflect on their broader experiences as students, writers, and young adults who are working to succeed in the sometimes-opaque environment of the university. Second, I learned that international students enter my composition classes with little or no experience in the academic genres that Iteach. Most pointedly, I learned that nearly all of these students arrive at college with no knowledge of research writing in English or any other language. As an instructor, these insights altered my approach to FYC with international students, in that I now carefully scaffold the entrée into research writing, starting with introductory discussions about research as a discourse. As a scholar, the experience inspired an interest in international students’ encounters with writing and rhetoric before they arrive in the U.S. , and their evolving relationships with writing as they move through college—or their passages, as I will call them in this article. In response, I began a four-year research project that employs a qualitative case study approach with a small cohort of international undergraduate students (nine) . Through this work, I have created a dedicated framework through which to listen to and learn from students. As I will argue, it is only through this kind of attentive listening that writing professionals can appreciate the ways in which students understand and articulate their own college passages—and, in turn, recognize opport

FAQs

What problem does the article address about international students in first-year composition?

Instructors and administrators often know little about international students’ backgrounds, which makes it hard to design instruction responsive to students’ needs during early composition courses.

What does the study investigate about students’ writing experiences?

It focuses on precollege writing experiences in both first languages and English, students’ challenges and discoveries when entering U.S. academic writing culture, and interventions that could better support those transitions.

How does the author position listening in the pedagogic approach?

The author argues that attentive listening enables writing professionals to understand how students articulate their own college “passages” and to recognize opportunities for pedagogic interventions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay