To Make an Appointment:
1. Contact one of the full-time ESL faculty members to arrange an appointment:

* Rosa Brefeld by phone at 935-4813 or by e-mail at rbrefeld@wustl.edu or 

*David Braasch by phone at 935-7402or by email at dbraasch@wustl.edu 

* Larenda Mielke by phone at 935-5046 or 362-0997 or by e-mail at lmielke@artsci.wustl.edu

* Karen Schwelle by phone at 935-5966 or by e-mail at kschwelle@wustl.edu

2. If your paper is longer than two pages, you should e-mail or drop off your paper 24 hours before your appointment to give the staff time to read and make comments about your paper and to gather any instructional material needed for the one-on-one consultation.

3. In your appointment time, the ELP staff member will give you feedback on your writing and help you improve your writing skills by discussing the paper with you and instructing you on any problem areas you might have. The purpose is for you to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are and to learn how to avoid future problems in your writing. Learning how to find your own problem areas and correct them is a valuable skill for your future success in writing in English.

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Article Use Workshop

The Article use workshop will next be given in Januray 2009. Anyone who has a lot of trouble with article use might consider taking one of the writing courses given each semester by the ELP.

Using the articles “a,” “an,” or “the” correctly can be difficult. Even advanced learners who have been here for many years can feel challenged when trying to use articles correctly. Although the articles “a,” “an,” or “the” are among the most frequently used words in the English language, difficulty with correct usage persists because the rules governing them are affected by the context in which they are used and because in spoken English, they are unstressed and often barely audible. Incorrect usage in spoken English may not even be noticed. In written English, however, incorrect usage becomes quite noticeable, often distracting readers from the intended meaning of a text. Knowledge of the complex rules governing correct usage, then, becomes helpful for editing written texts.

The 2-session workshop will be offered by the English Language Programs February 1 and February 8 at 5:30 p.m. on the MedicalCampus in Farrell Teaching and Learning Center, Room 205. Rules governing article usage will be described, controlled practice in using the articles will be offered, and help editing participant's own writing will be available.

Each session builds upon the knowledge and skills learned in the previous session. The first session addresses article use with proper nouns. Session 2 focuses on article use with common nouns and editing teacher-prepared and student-prepared texts. These hour-and-a-half sessions give participants a basic article-editing strategy which can be applied in any writing situation.

There are no real tests or grades, but homework is given and, of course, satisfactory skill building rests on how much the participants practice. Register at Stix House in the main office of the Office for International Students and Scholars, Room 203, or call 935-5910 by January 27 or e-mail oiss@wustl.edu. The fee is $30 for the whole workshop. Enrollment is limited.

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