(Our) Native Language

One thing that I honestly fear as a teacher is helping ESL students. It just seems like something that is impossible to prepare for. But the main thing I took away was that it is best to teach these students according to their individual needs just like any other student with an IEP, or whatever the case. Weaver says that the terms ELL and ESL are somewhat condescending or offensive to those with a different native language. So, what should the new term be? She doesn't really give any alternatives. On the same topic is the distinction between studying English v. acquiring English. The book keeps saying that we learn English as children by seeing, hearing and imitating, so this is how we must teach it to our students. Later, Weaver talks about "break[ing] some of the time-honored rules" of writing. She seems to suggest combining different writing genres, like creative and informative to give an essay pizzazz and engage its readers. I like this approach because it would probably make students, like the ones that were polled, feel less restricted even in their formal writing. Also, the creative element really does what Weaver and others keep stressing: gets the point across and adds meaning. I love the Stephen King quote: "Must you write complete sentences each time, every time? Perish the thought." The point was made that sentence fragments often give the tone of the text some identification, as in the example of Bruno Maddox's sarcasm that comes through his writing. Some would view fragments, beginning a sentence with a conjunction, or maybe use of slang as errors, but at times these are used deliberately as stylistic devices. As Weaver says earlier, it is important that a writer has a reason for what they're writing, especially if using these types of style modifiers.