College and Research Libraries ESL Students and American Libraries Gina Macdonald and Elizabeth Sarkodie-Mensah The number of students taking English as a Second Language (ESL), attending American col- leges, and using American libraries is growing rapidly. Because these students represent vari- ous cultures in which English is not the native tongue and because their past library experi- ences differ considerably from those of American students, ESL instructors and library personnel must consider the best way to communicate effectively with them. Too often Ameri- can library professionals have difficulty ''code-switching'' in order to accommodate the stu- dents' needs and resort to familiar but ineffective patterns. Analogy, universal humor, hands- on experience, and an integrated program involving ESL and library personnel can effectively cope with the difficulties and differences, making library use easier and more pleasant. uring the 1983-84 academic year, nearly 339,000 foreign students were enrolled in American institutions of higher learning. This represents an increase of nearly 200 percent over the 125,000 en- rolled just ten years earlier and, up to that time, the largest number ever enrolled in the United States in any single year. 1 More than 60 percent of these students come from countries where English is neither a second/ official language nor a medium of instruction in educational institutions. For these students, learning English is only the first step in the process of achieving the educational goals that brought them to America. In the attempt to help ESL students at- tain technical language proficiency, it is all too easy to forget that the skills required for success in college involve far more than that. While these students struggle to master the intricacies and inconsistencies of basic English, they often do not antici- pate the even greater difficulties they may later encounter when trying to compre- hend fast-moving lectures, take notes, do research, and write papers in a language that is alien, not only linguistically but also culturally. 2 American educators have responded to the special needs of ESL students by pro- viding support through offices and pro- grams, international student advisers, and specialized language classes, particu- larly on campuses where more than 5 per- cent of the student body is foreign. Histor- ically, however, libraries and librarians .have not been directly involved in the cul- tural and educational adjustment process of the foreign student. Although almost every academic library provides some for- mal or informal bibliographic instruction, foreign students have benefited little- mainly because librarians have failed to perceive and respond to their unique cir- cumstances. It is encouraging, however, that a scattering of articles on the problem has appeared in library journals over the past several years, indicating that new in- terest has been generated in teaching li- brary skills to foreign students. 3 These ar- Gina Macdonald is Assistant Professor, English, and Elizabeth Sarkodie-Mensah is Bibliographic Instruction Librarian at Loyola University of the South, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118. 425 426 College & Research Libraries tides suggest that academic librarians, especially those involved in bibliographic instruction, are finally waking to the unique problems faced by foreign stu- dents and beginning to join international student advisers and ESL teachers in re- sponding to the special needs of this growing group. It is the purpose of this paper to encourage that awakening. Most teachers, and certainly all librari- ans, would agree that a good grasp of li- brary and research skills would benefit all students. Too often, however, it is as- sumed that most college freshmen arrive with those skills or will, of necessity, quickly learn them on their own. For the ESL student, learning such skills alone is difficult; for many, it may be impossible. Yet, for these students, such skills are an academic necessity-a matter of classroom survival. An introduction to an American college library and its services can be particularly valuable, especially for advanced students who are often lulled by high scores on grammar tests into expectations of easy success in college, only to be thwarted by complex research projects and papers. Precollege or first-year preparation in li- brary use and research methods can make all the difference in students' academic success or failure. It is up to American teachers and librarians to help them sur- mount a hurdle whose existence they might not even realize until it is almost too late. Cultural differences account for the spe- cial library needs of foreign students. In many countries, the predominant teach- ing method is lecture and recitation; stu- dents learn from rote memory and are ex- pected to recall information rather than analyze, synthesize, critique, or expand on it. This is true even in such fields as law, where the Socratic method of argu- mentative dialogue is standard in our cul- ture. 4 Thus, students may expect their role to be basically passive, since they have not been trained for active participation. In or- der to participate actively in learning, one should have a strong background in the subject area. This is acquired by knowing where to go to get information to support one's intuitions, where to find hard facts, September 1988 and how to marshal them as evidence. Many American . college assignments in- volve forming hypotheses, gathering spe- cialized information to develop and sup- port them, and, in effect, arguing a position rhetorically. ''The very conception of using books and research materials may be quite different in another culture.'' American libraries, like American col- lege classes, may differ significantly from those in ESL students' native cultures. Some have never been exposed to a library as Americans know it. The quantity of books available, the complexity of indexes and catalogs for tracking down informa- tion, the multiplicity of automated tools at one's command, and the basic organiza- tional patterns themselves may be bewil- dering and, perhaps at times, overwhelm- ing and frightening. The very conception of using books and research materials may be quite different in another culture, espe- cially one that, because of its scarcity or a varying attitude toward literacy, regards written materials as special, to be pro- tected at all costs from the depredations of adolescents. Open stacks are far from uni- versal, even in the United States, but abroad the concept may be especially alien. An extreme case is recounted by Rosa- lind Pearson in" An American Teaching in Afghanistan.'' The Peace Corps teacher repeatedly badgers the "keeper of the books" to unlock the storeroom where texts are kept for a seventh-grade class. 5 The keeper, an uneducated and perhaps illiterate government functionary, stead- fastly refuses on the grounds that the stu- dents will promptly lose, deface, dirty, or even sell the books, and no more are avail- able. Ware housing the texts and allowing the students and teachers to fend for themselves protects the reputation of the school as being well equipped. The story is, of course, atypical, but it captures atti- tudes not unknown in the "first world" and not at all unusual in students from the Third World. Even students familiar with the concept of library may feel alienated from the ac- tual practice of using it on a daily basis, ex- cept as a quiet place to study. Those at the graduate level, accustomed to library work in their own culture, may still have no idea about how American libraries are organized, how to find information amid the unfamiliar stacks, and what variety of services and information is available . Of- ten they will be initially overwhelmed by the immensity of the typical American col- lege library, will have no idea how to be- gin using it, and may give up without try- ing. As Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah points out in "In the Words of a Foreigner," "To many foreign students, the library is only for silent reading .... Sometimes it is not easy for foreign students to realize that certain types of ignorance are acceptable, and that librarians are there to help. ''6 But those students who persistently pursue their newfound freedom to use materials can end up extolling the virtues of the American library system, marveling at the quantity, quality, and variety of sources available, and becoming library aficio- nados, who are praised by their professors for the quality of their work. Commendable efforts to meet the needs of this special group often do not succeed. Many librarians, equipped with good in- tentions, plenty of enthusiasm, and a whole set of erroneous assumptions, initi- ate programs for international students with little or no understanding of cultural and linguistic gaps. They may be beguiled by student smiles and nods7 or, realizing changes must be made, be unsure how to make them. A student response that would be clear assent from an American student may be mere politeness in a for- eign student (as in the Cambodian custom of giving the expected answer the first two times asked, and then the real answer, hesitantly, the third time). 8 The result of such misunderstandings might lead to bibliographic instruction programs that frustrate both librarian and students. Moreover, those students brave enough to attempt to deal with library personnel and to make use of the kind offers of as- sistance still face communication prob- lems. 9 In order to devise more successful ESL Students 427 teaching strategies, librarians and teach- ers must understand more clearly the backgrounds, abilities, and expectations of the foreign students. Erroneous assumptions due in part to language difficulties may undermine li- brarians' most zealous efforts to teach for- eign students library skills. One scenario is the "ostrich" approach, simply to hide one's head and ignore the problem. This librarian (or teacher), while perhaps aware that something is not quite right, nonetheless assumes that the foreign stu- dents have the same level and speed of comprehension as American students. Hence, in conducting the bibliographic in- struction lecture or orientation tour, he or she uses such library jargon as card catalog, indexes and abstracts, periodicals, and cita- tions without explanation. One must re- member that even for American students such unexplained terms can be daunting. How much more intimidating will this be for students from completely different lin- guistic backgrounds, Arabic or Korean, for example? The students may nod po- litely and one or two may ask intelligent questions, but the majority will leave the session more confused than when they started, or, even worse, determined never again to ask a librarian a question. Another approach, the "deaf and dumb" strategy, is for the lecturer to speak more loudly, as if volume alone could enhance clarity, and to ignore stu- dent responses, thus avoiding the diffi- culty of determining what they are not un- derstanding. This error also involves speaking unnaturally slowly, breaking each word into syllables, and mouthing the sounds as if to assist lip-reading. Stu- dent response will be complete incompre- hension of such peculiar behavior, embar- rassment for the librarian (especially if other people are listening in), and a desire to escape as quickly as possible. Politeness would prevent complaints, but the stu- dents would simply not return. Related to this error is the "baby talk" approach, condescending to the students by using oversimplified vocabulary and, most deadly, equating pronunciation and speaking difficulties and a limited sense of English word order with limited intelli- 428 College & Research Libraries gence or understanding. In reality, behind the hesitancy might lurk, for example, a university professor of chemistry from Saigon or a successful Brazilian econo- mist. This is precisely the problem. Often ESL students are a little older and more mature than the average college freshmen to whom similar introductions would be made; they have chosen to travel to a dis- tant country in order to further their edu- cation and their self-development; they have, in doing so, made emotional and fi- nancial sacrifices; they have accepted re- sponsibility for themselves. Some areal- ready recognized professionals in their own country; others, though beginners, are highly motivated. The person who chooses the ''baby-talk'' approach will of- ten realize, to his own discomfort, that the level of intelligence of his listeners is higher than his approach implies. He may even compound the error by, amid the over-simplified diction, tossing out unex- plained technical vocabulary that will con- fuse the students. Both extremes will fail. Clearly what is needed instead is a bal- ance: recognition of the foreign student's potential to comprehend the technical ma- terials given adequate explanation of ter- minology, and also clear but interesting, not insultingly simple and condescending language. ''People unaccustomed to addressing non-English speakers often fall back on their previous code-switching ex- perience, with results that can be pa- tronizing or worse, for college-level ESL students are neither childlike nor poorly educated." The above situations require what lin- guists term code-switching, the adjustment of language to accommodate the needs of a listener. We all code-switch naturally when we address children, for example; we consciously or unconsciously code- switch when we perceive our listeners to have little education, or little understand- ing of a technical subject. Reference librar- ians called upon to conduct library tours September 1988 for high school or elementary school chil- dren invariably shift intellectual perspec- tive and mode of presentation to fit their audience; in the same way, they must learn to shift to meet the special perspec- tives and needs of international students. The problem is that people unaccustomed to addressing non-English speakers often fall back on their previous code-switching experience, with results that can be pa- tronizing or worse, for college-level ESL students are neither childlike nor poorly educated. Such erroneous code-switching is often the result of misinterpretations of linguistic and cultural behavior. Proficient code-switching can be learned, however, and is the tool of the trade for all ESL teachers and other inter- national student services professionals. The elements of the appropriate code (re- ally a functional variety of English) are quite simple and obvious: repetition abounds; no particular words are auto- matically taboo, but common sense and experience help eliminate items that are not frequently found in the ESL student's vocabulary (taboo, for example, is a taboo word); technical words that should be mastered are defined in a carefully con- trolled vocabulary; all slang is avoided; there is a distinct preference for the Anglo- Saxon over the Latinate; rate of speech is slowed down and articulation enhanced but not to the point of exaggeration. This code is self-taught, based on a constant self-awareness of language when address- ing foreign students and from trial and er- ror with different groups. Cultural differences may prove just as much a barrier as language difficulties, and sometimes the two may overlap. Typ- ical is the case of an ESL teacher, anxious to introduce her students to the library, but wary of trying to explain what she as- sumed librarians would know so much better. The reference department, in an at- tempt to bridge the cultural and linguistic gap, selected a staff member of foreign ex- traction, who had lived in the U.S. since early childhood. In other words, despite a foreign sounding name, he was as Ameri- can as any other staff member, and en- countered the same difficulties they would all have encountered, resulting from erroneous assumptions about ESL students. One grave error that is directly related to the language problem is the assumption that jokes and allusions are international. The librarian mentioned above was expe- rienced in dealing with American college freshmen who were undecided about their futures and very much involved in the American teenage scene. As a conse- quence, he attempted the same jokes and allusions as before; however, what would suit American teenagers can be either in- comprehensible or insulting to the ESL student. Humor differs widely from cul- ture to culture. Consequently, it should not be attempted except at the most basic level, and even then with caution and with an awareness that, if a joke falls flat, one should move quickly on and not com- pound the problem by attempting expla- nations. The impulse to use jokes derives from a recognition that laughter can bridge dif- ferences and enliven a potentially dull presentation. A comparison of jokes in different American magazines will illumi- nate the problem. What is comic to a reader of Playboy will disturb the audience of Reader's Digest; a New Yorker joke will not seem funny in the hills of South Da- kota. Jokes that depend on local values and local knowledge simply will not be understood by ESL students, but jokes that have broad human appeal, that build on exaggeration or on universal qualities of human nature, may be effective. Such humor should work at a simple level, as in the exaggerated and emphatic repetition of a keyword that may become a theme for the talk. For instance, one might repeat separate in referring to libraries with a sepa- rate catalog for all the authors, separate cat- alog for all titles, and separate catalog for all subjects/topics in contrast to the clearer, simpler, and, by implication, superior, uni- fied "dictionary" listing of one's local li- brary. The humor rests in the tongue-in- cheek braggadocio, the qody language, and the intonation, and the joke could be easily reversed, according to the local situ- ation. Puns should be avoided, along with al- lusions to the exotica of the youth scene. ESL Students 429 Jokes that grow out of language learning or that build on shock at strange new cus- toms usually go over well. Allusions are just as culture-bound, and, while the teacher/librarian might encounter the oc- casional student who will recognize the al- lusion, most will not. Allusions to things basically American or local simply will not work most of the time, but reference to re- cent international events (the Lebanese kidnappings, the Korean demonstrations, the Olympics), to internationally famous people, to sports (but not individual na- tional athletes) are best. 10 Both humor and allusions should be used to make dull ma- terials more interesting, to help make the students feel at ease, to clarify rather than obscure. Since the composition of the in- ternational student body varies widely from college to college, trial and error is the best approach. Analogies work far better with ESL stu- dents than either jokes or allusions. Be- cause of their graphic nature, analogies can transcend language limitations and cultural differences and make language more interesting. They assume intelli- gence and are associated with adult think- ing; therefore, they are perfect for bridg- ing the gap and clarifying research concepts. For example, one might com- pare the card catalog to the catalog of a de- partment store; both contain items that might be obtained once the listing system is understood and the items' particular numbers recorded. A comparison to a dic- tionary might help differentiate the single alphabet catalog from the divided one. The author-title-subject approach to locat- ing the same book could be likened to us- ing different routes to arrive at the same destination. In New Orleans, for example, to illustrate the multiple possibilities of a library search, we might ask the students if they have already been to the French Quarter, if they know how to get there, and by how many routes or modes of transportation they could reach their des- tination. A two-volume subject index could be likened to two bottles; if you fill one up, then you start on another. A to K may fill up one volume, so L to Z will fill up the next. A citation or a call number could be com- 430 College & Research Libraries pared to an address. If a student is looking for a friend and has only his or her first name, the task will be impossible. With the last name and a street name, he or she can come closer but will still have trouble. Only with the street number and the name can the student locate his or her friend. In like manner, part of a citation or call num- ber is not very helpful; the whole number is the only guarantee of success in finding a book or article. ESL students relate well to such explanations, which put them at ease within the learning situation. Com- parisons that are universal, obvious, and dramatic work best, and extending and exaggerating them heightens the stu- dents' pleasure, interest, and understand- ing. "Written and oral explanations are the least effective ways to communi- cate information about library use.'' Hands-on experience helps break down barriers. It also gives the librarian/teacher a better sense of what students are and are not understanding than does simple lec- ture or lecture with student response. Written and oral explanations are the least effective ways to communicate informa- tion about library use. What receives nods of understanding when described may prove perplexingly difficult when at- tempted. Therefore, an introductory ses- sion should consist of 20 to 40 percent ex- planation and 60 to 80 percent activity. Participation and immediate feedback must be encouraged by directing ques- tions at individual students and drawing examples, whenever possible, from their backgrounds and experiences. Knowl- edge of the latter, of course, comes with the empathy that develops over time through continued contact with students from another culture. Activities to accom- pany a guided tour of the library might in- clude looking up particular authors, books, or subjects in the card catalog, tracking down a subject in the Library of Congress Subject Headings, filling out a questionnaire that calls for specific biblio- September 1988 graphic information from a citation. Stu- dents might also be asked to look up the same topic in a 1929, a 1950, and a 1980 Readers' Guide to see how listings can change, find a particular article on micro- fiche and microfilm, check out and return a book, fill out an interlibrary loan request, and so forth. Clearly, such activities would consume far more time than is usually allotted to li- brary tours, which leads to our most im- portant suggestion for improving student library use: an arrangement between the intensive English program or the English department's ESL program and the li- brary reference department or biblio- graphic instruction program for an inte- grated approach that would allow part of the English class time to be spent in an ex- tended introduction. This would involve no more than ten students at a time (a larger number becomes unwieldy and some students may be excluded from dis- cussions and activities) and would consist of a hands-on introduction by librarians with short exercises over six to eight class periods. To enhance its relevance to the students' work, the language teachers would make assignments that would re- quire library support. For example, in the grammar class the section on noun clauses could be followed up with an assignment requiring students to find quotations on a subject and change them to indirect quotes; in the composition class these quotes could then be integrated into themes. At Loyola the Intensive English pro- gram includes a research course at the ad- vanced level that is integrated with the . composition class and the library pro- gram. Thus students begin papers in com- position, read about the card catalog and indexes in their research textbook, are in- troduced to library opportunities and strategies by the librarian (with the coop- eration of the research course teacher), learn how to support arguments and cite sources in the research class, and track down potential sources in the library. The final product is a research paper that is judged by the composition teacher for skills in writing and rhetoric, and by the research teacher for the ability to find use-