23 March 2023
How is writing in English different from writing in your first language?
In Vietnamese, many words consists of multiple sub-words, because each ‘sub-word’ is its own syllable i.e., there are no multi-syllable words, only compounded 1-syllable words. Furthermore, the adjectives are located after the described noun. That’s all I can remember for now.
What has been your experience with writing at Carleton?
Lots of essays and blogs, very tiring. I feel lucky that there’s the Writing Center to help me proofread since most of the time I’m too mentally drained to do that.
What are some of the benefits of being a multilingual writer/thinker?
I can think of concepts in my known languages and translate them to the other, so I can express concepts in different ways if some words don’t exist in one of the languages, or I can use dictionaries to find words ‘on the tip of my tongue’ if I can think of its translation.
What resources have supported your development as a writer?
The Writing Center, and reading lots of online books.
What strategies have professors used to make writing a positive experience for you?
For Blog-writing, we’re encouraged to be slightly informal, making it more fun to write but that’s default blog-writing anyway.
What kinds of challenges have you faced as a multilingual writer?
Sometimes when I don’t have access to a dictionary (such as during an exam), my brain can think of ideas in a language but have no idea how to write them in English which is quite frustrating.
What advice would you give faculty to help them support multilingual writers?
Allow for dictionary usage under supervision.
If you’re an international student, what advice would you give another student from your country who is coming to study in the U.S.?
Make the best use of your time, don’t just play around all day.