Mastering the Schol Connecting with English Language Learners Through Shared Linguistic Backgrounds
Award-Winning Research I’ve fallen in love with my biology major which I didn’t expect…Through my experiences at UCSD, I’ve realized that I can achieve more than I previously thought I could.
SHERRY ZHENG | Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities 1st Place On any given day, you’ll find Sherry Zheng wearing a white coat staring intently into a microscope at a lab on campus, organizing the undergraduate concert forum at the Conrad Prebys Music Center, or serving on the Board of Directors for the San Diego-based nonprofit, Center for World Music. The last place you’d think to find the third-year molecular biology and music major would be mentoring students at the Teaching + Learning Commons (the Commons) located in Geisel Library; however, Zheng describes it as a second home. As a writing consultant, she particularly enjoys engaging in one-on-one tutoring sessions with English language learners (ELL). ELL students, she says, are a growing part of the undergraduate student body and they come to the Writing + Critical Expression Hub — one of the Commons’ six programs — with their own specific writing needs. “Even though I was born in the U.S., my first language was Chinese. Starting school in English was challenging for me,” said Zheng. “Not knowing how 2
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to communicate in the way you want can be extremely frustrating, scary and isolating.” This observation motivated her to author an exhaustive report on linguistic identity. Her research was grounded in a content analysis of library books, magazines, databases and online content and found that shared linguistic backgrounds create otherwise unavailable rapport-building and tutoring opportunities. Zheng’s project, titled “Connecting with English Language Learners Through Shared Linguistic Backgrounds” helped her better understand how she could approach tutoring with ELL students. “I wanted to figure out different ways to support scholars during their communication transition and become a better tutor in the process,” reflected Zheng. Zheng is one of four undergraduates who were presented with the annual Undergraduate Library Research Prize (ULRP) last summer (see page 3 for profiles on the other recipients). Co-spon-
sored by the Alumni Association and the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the prize celebrates original and creative thinking among students who have demonstrated excellence in library research. Zheng’s top undergraduate work in the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities category won her first place and $1,000 cash award. By surveying literature reviews as well as audio and video recordings of tutoring sessions, Zheng was able to critically evaluate the rapport-building and tutoring techniques used by tutors at other institutions. She came to the conclusion that her background as an ELL set her apart from monolingual tutors and was able to test her theory in her own tutoring sessions. She discovered she was able to empathize with her clients in a way that monolingual tutors couldn’t, resulting in more productive tutoring sessions. In her ULRP essay, Zheng reflected on the challenges of writing social science research which is extremely different from the experiments she conducts in her biology classes. “The Library exposed me to resources I otherwise would have not known about,” said
