I am still thinking about one of the sources that I have used in my literature review.  Thaiss (465) says he appreciates the courtesy of a Greek writer sending something to him in his language even though she could have written better in her own language.  I agree that people raised in another language should be celebrated for trying the English language.  But we should be more generous in judging them, knowing where they come from, and knowing they have had very different experiences with the English language than native speakers have. I know someone who was educated in an elite English-language school in India and is now working in Canada as a professional.  This person has a masters’ degree from India, speaks English very comfortably, always had very good grades in English, and even took an academic English writing course.  When this person had to write a letter in English here, the letter had Grade One spelling and grammar errors, and the sentences changed topic in the middle. I am not sure it is good to hold this person back by expecting the letter to be written in English.  The Indian writer could explain the situation much better in Punjabi, just as the Greek writer could do a much better job writing her argument in her own language.  If these two people are trying to improve their own lives or their own society, we may not be helping them by slowing them down to make sure they get things right in English. 

If they are working in Canada, they will have to write in English on the job. It would be good if we could all write in the same language, but we shouldn’t make learning English a burden or a barrier to other people learning from us or us learning from them. Even if the person’s writing in English is not good, the person’s professional expertise is something we can learn from. What the person did in India or Greece is just as relevant as what the person does in Canada.  It would be interesting to see how we could make our models better by seeing what others have done. They should be teaching us how to improve by adding in their cultural variations. If we can compare models, we can see where their strengths are and where they could help improve our weaknesses. I believe we are more flexible and respectful when we share our voices with others instead of waiting for them to speak in our voice.

Thaiss, Chris. “Afterword: writing globally, right here, right now”.  WAC and Second-Language Writers: Research Towards Linguistically and Culturally Inclusive Programs and Practices. Eds. T.M. Zawacki, & M. Cox. Perspectives on Writing. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor Press. (2014). 465-476. < http://wac.colostate.edu/books/l2/>