Multilingual Students

Multilingual students have two options for one-on-one writing support:

• Peer Writing and Speaking Tutors
• One-on-One Consultations with the Director of Multilingual Writing 

There are additional resources for support with classes, assignment beyond writing, and academics in general.

Multilingual Writing Specialists

The Writing Center offers professional tutoring with multilingual writing specialists. Look for "Multilingual Specialist" by the tutor's name when scheduling your appointment. Make an Appointment

Peer Writing and Speaking Tutors

Specially trained students are available for one-on-one meetings to help with all your writing projects, as well as your oral presentations, thesis defenses, interviews, poster presentations, class discussion skills, visual aids, and more! Make an appointment or walk-in at the Writing Center. Online appointments are available through the Writing Center's online system. Make an Appointment

One-on-One Consultations

Email the Director (vpetroj@brynmawr.edu) with questions regarding adjustment to the US academic system, multilingual writing, reading strategies, how to participate in class discussion, how to make continued progress in English communication, and any other concerns.

Bryn Mawr College offers specialized writing courses for multilingual students. 

• WRIT 120: Workshop for Multilingual Writers
  • This full-credit course is offered in the fall. It is a good companion course for first year students as they write for their Emily Balch Seminars. The course covers the basics of college level academic writing in English.
  • Diagnostic Essay: Before entering their first semester in college, international students write a diagnostic essay. The writing task is an analytical response to a short reading. Students have 60 minutes to write and no preparation is required. After Writing Program faculty have evaluated the essay, the Program Director will email students advising them as to whether they should take a Workshop for Multilingual Writers (WRIT 120), whether they should be meeting regularly with a Writing Partner, or whether they should only take the Balch Seminar.
  • The deadline to take the Diagnostic Essay test for upcoming international students in the summer 2023 are listed below:
    • Online (Moodle) | Friday (August 4th, 12AM ET) - Monday (August 7th, 8AM ET)
  • WRIT 120 is open to all multilingual students. If you are a multilingual student who is not required to attend International Student Orientation and you would like to be considered for admission to WRIT 120, please email the Director of Multilingual Writing.
• WRIT 210: TBD
  • This full-credit course is offered in the spring. WRIT 220 counts toward CI. Course description and class topics are available here.

Tri-Co Multilingual Workshop Series

• Building and Fostering Community Across Language Backgrounds - Join the Tri-Co Multilingual Specialists and community in connecting and discussing ways in which we can build and foster community across language backgrounds. This workshop is the first out of the three events this academic year hosted by the Tri-Co Multilingual Specialists and supported by the Mellon Tri-College Grant. 

ACADEMIC WRITING CONVENTIONS

•  Writing for Success  "Writing for Success is an open-source text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition."
• A Writer's Guide to Mindful Reading "[This open-source book offers] a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction by focusing on reading and writing, A Writer's Guide to Mindful Reading supports students as they become more reflective, deliberate, and mindful readers and writers by working within a metacognitive framework."
• They Say/I Blog  A companion site to the book They Say/I Say, which is a core text in WRIT 190. Using templates and thinking about logical moves can help you to master academic style. 
• Purdue’s Online Writing Lab General writing, discipline-specific, and ESL-related content
• Sheryl Holt’s YouTube Channel Academic writing video tutorials created by a TESOL specialist 

DOCUMENTING YOUR SOURCES: CITATION & FORMATTING STYLES

•  Purdue's Online Writing Lab: Research and Citation Styles

VOCABULARY & DICTIONARIES

• Merriam-Webster Monolingual Dictionary
• Dictionary.com
• The Idioms
• Online Collocation Dictionary
• Manchester Academic Phrasebank

GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

• English Grammar Guide 
• Grammar Troublespots: An Editing Guide for Student Writers. 3rd Ed. This book gives a good, quick review of the most frequent errors, and can be found in the reference section of Canaday Library. 

US ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS

• Ways to Participate in Class 

If you can't find what you are looking for, please contact us.

Explore information relevant to multilingual and/or international graduate students specifically.

Multilingual graduate students can contact Director of Multilingual Writing, who can provide support with questions regarding adjustment to the US academia as a graduate student, writing in genres for a specific audience and purpose, reading strategies, how to make continued progress in English communication, and any other concerns. In these one-on-one consultations, you can get support with:

• class assignments
• abstract and journal paper writing
• conference presentations
• thesis and dissertation writing
• scholarship essay and grant writing
• preparing material for the job market
• any other concerns you may have as a multilingual writer

Academic Support

• LITS (Library & Information Technology Services) 
• Canday Library
• Registrar
• Writing Center
• Q Center
• Haverford Peer Tutoring 
• Office of Academic Support   
• Peer Mentors
•  Peer Tutors Dean's Office  (Seeing Your Dean)
•  Access Services

Health & Wellness

• Counseling Services 
• Health & Wellness Center 
• Dining Services

International & Multicultural Experience

• International Student and Scholar Advising
• The Impact Center
• Enid Cook '31 Center 
• Global Bryn Mawr Office

Other

• Residential Life 
• Mailroom 
• Campus Safety 
• Career and Civic Engagement Center

Your experiences, opinions, and perspectives matter, and they can help us reshape our practices in the classroom and beyond. Several times during the academic year, there will be opportunities for multilingual students to share their experiences, concerns, and ask questions with various college groups: academic support services, faculty, and staff. 

Please submit the brief form below to apply to become a Multilingual Student Panelist. Once you have expressed interest, our director will contact you with more details. 

Submit form  

The Director of Multilingual Writing will hold monthly informal forums for students to come together and discuss various topics as it pertains to their experiences as multilingual, multicultural, and/or international students in the US. 

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. -- Nelson Mandela 

Do you miss your mother tongue?

Did you know that there are around 100 languages that are spoken on the Bryn Mawr Campus? For those who are multilingual, being surrounded by English only for most of the day can instill a sense of isolation or detachment from their complete identity. This is because hearing or engaging with others through our mother tongue often provides a sense of comfort, a familiar and a safe haven from the everyday routine. 

Join faculty and students for a bi-weekly gathering that nurtures the numerous multilingual identities on campus. Whether you are looking to re-engage with your mother tongue or are interested in nurturing a language other than English, Multilingual Retreats offer the environment for conversations, reading, writing, music, movies, or sharing food recipes, traditions, experiences with each other. 

While some resources will be provided, due to the large numbers of languages on campus, your input is needed to complete the collection of materials in every language and from every culture. Please use the suggestion box below to provide suggestions for reading, music, and movie materials or conversation topics. 

Suggestion Box 

The gathering is on a drop-in basis: you can come for the entire duration or just for a few minutes.  If you are planning to listen to music or watch something on your personal device, please make sure to bring headphones.

Have you ever wondered what kind of influence your native language, culture, and academic background has on your writing in English?

The Director of Multilingual Writing, in collaboration with the Director of the Writing Center, is conducting a research study titled "The Influence of Native Language and Culture on Multilingual Writing in the US Academia" that examines that question from many perspectives. We need your help! If you are a multilingual Bryn Mawr College student and are interested in participating or learning more about the study, read the information below or email the director with any questions! 

What is the purpose of the study?

The purpose of this study is to assess the influence of native language and culture of multilingual students on the development of their academic writing skills at Bryn Mawr College. We are interested in understanding how this influence contributes to their English proficiency with the focus on the written medium. Specifically, we are interested in comparing the syntax and information structure of English and the native language of multilingual students to understand the effects on their writing in English for academic purposes. Based on that, we are looking to spread awareness, create learning and training material, and improve the overall experience of multilingual students in the academic setting. The project is expected to last for four years.  

A secondary purpose of this study is to generate training material for writing faculty, writing center tutor training with general tips, strategies, and best practices for supporting multilingual writers in the classroom and in the writing center. Findings from this project are also intended to be presented at conferences and published in writing-related research journals, manuals, and/or books.  

The study is intended as both longitudinal and cross-sectional. 

It’s important to note that your privacy will be protected and the data from the study will be anonymized. 

Who is eligible to participate in the study? 

This study is for Bryn Mawr College multilingual students (international or domestic) who are non-native English speakers and who are 18 years of age or older. 

What does my participation entail? 

Your participation and time commitment is as follows: 

1. Fill out this form to indicate that you are interested in participating. 

2. After reviewing the form and confirming your eligibility, the PI will contact you and send you a digital consent form that you will be asked to review, ask any clarifying questions, sign, and return.  

3. After receiving your signed consent form, our director will email you with details about the final step, which includes you sharing drafts of your essays from a writing class. 

I want to know more! Who do I contact?

Email the director with questions or a meeting request to further discuss details about the study. 

During the past three years of our Multilingual Tri-Co Seed Grant, our workshops have attracted the interest of over 180 Tri-College faculty, staff, and students, with over 100 unique participants successfully attending at least one of the eight meetings. Together, we have reflected on ways to raise awareness and normalize multilingual approaches as an integral aspect of our institutional practices and increase educational access and parity for multilingual learners. This year (2021-22), we have successfully held three workshops hosted by Haverford College (Fall, in person), Bryn Mawr College (Winter, remote), and Swarthmore College (Spring, in person) respectively. Across these three workshops, members of Tri-Co faculty, staff, and students have expressed interest in attending the workshop and we have successfully engaged with over 50 diverse members across the academic year. This resounding response--along with the dynamic conversations at the Fall, Winter, and Spring meetings between diverse students, staff, and faculty--confirmed the topical, cross-disciplinary importance of our project’s focus.  

Through our workshops, we aim at fostering discussions around matters that affect our multilingual communities in the classroom and beyond. Through selected readings, dynamic discussions, and coming together, we are raising awareness, problem solving, and connecting a vibrant community of out Tri-Co students, faculty, and staff. 

Workshops are open to the Tri-Co community members: faculty, staff, and students. Alumni and friends are also welcome! 

Workshops are held three times a year, hosted by each of the three colleges. Details of the workshops are advertised through various channels: posters across campus, Daily Digest, and on this website. If you would like to be notified about the upcoming workshops, please fill out this quick form. 

You can expect delicious snacks and a vibrant discussion on the theme of the workshop. While we suggest an optional reading in advance, completing the reading is not a pre-requisite to attend the workshop. 

We always welcome community members to get involved and participate beyond attendance only. In fact, we will be offering a paid position for multilingual students who are interested in providing technical and logistical support to the Tri-Co leadership team. Information regarding the application process and position description will be available soon.

For more information, please email Bryn Mawr's director of Multilingual Writing.