Blog post 3

I found Crossing Cultures a very useful article. Being "baffled and disempowered" by the US based curriculum has been my personal experience as an international student, albeit one who came here speaking English fluently. I don't recall us having a WC at my college so I had to navigate the cultural gaps myself, which wasn't easy, especially as I was hesitant to ask my peers or speak up in class in the beginning. 

In my last semester's rhetoric class, I had a Chinese ESL student. She definitely struggled with inverted word order, not knowing when to use "a" or "the" and a difficulty distinguishing between l and r. Lack of knowledge of US norms and customs, as remarked on above, also made her reticent to speak in class. 

As far as what is easier or more difficult for second language writers, I think it depends enormously on the person, and the culture of the country they primarily identify with. There isn't just one common mistake or difficulty that all second language writers experience. Some organize ideas logically yet can't really distinguish between summary and analysis. Others will bury the topic sentence in the last graf of their essay. Some have very nuanced ideas but are hampered by things like subject-verb agreement or prepositions. Others have not been taught critical thinking at school, consequently their papers lack depth. Most, however, do suffer a lack of confidence due to all the issues outlined in this week's readings and this must be addressed in order for them to enjoy and do well in their academic life.