Defense Date

7-1-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Degree Name

Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media

First Advisor

Molly Scanlon

Second Advisor

Kelly Concannon

Keywords

Multilingual Students, International Students, NSU students, Language Limitations, Multilingual Learning

Abstract

For decades, scholars in Rhetoric and Composition, like Matsuda, Braine, Lieb, Ferris, and Hedgecock, among others, have argued the importance of second language learners in heterogeneous college writing classrooms. This thesis, in the form of a recommendation report, examines the best practices for multilingual international students in the college writing classroom and the current institutional efforts of Nova Southeastern University to help them. The study identifies the importance of multilingual learners in the international community of NSU, and looks at how the OIA (Office of International Affairs), QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan), the School of Communication, Media, and the Arts (SCMA) interact to aid international students. An analysis of the needs, curriculum, faculty development, and writing program administration surrounding multilingual international students works as the foundation for the recommendations in the report. Overall, the report offers NSU leadership opportunities of improvement in academic practices in order to provide multilingual international students stronger resources and institutional systems to support academic success, including: 1) a revision to the system of classification for multilingual international students; 2) a reexamination of learners' academic writing needs; 3) a formalized collaborative relationship between academic departments and student affairs offices; and 4) an expansion of the college writing curriculum with professional development for those who teach multilingual international students.

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