Restructuring a Developmental ESL Course at an Urban Community College: Asking the Right Questions

Authors

Deniz Gokcora, Borough of Manhattan Community CollegeFollow
Raymond Oenbring, University of The BahamasFollow

Abstract

This article provides an example of the integration of topics of race and racial awareness and anti-racist pedagogy into an ESL developmental writing course in a community college setting. The study describes how the lead author has redesigned an ESL developmental writing course at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to include an explicit focus on critical racial pedagogy and social justice topics to foster students’ critical thinking and encourage students to be socially responsible individuals in a challenging global world. The manuscript offers insights into how an advanced ESL remedial writing course can be a suitable setting to discuss these sensitive topics and makes students aware of their own experiences as well as be able to make meaning others’ experiences through writing.

Author Bio

Dr. Deniz Gokcora is an Associate Professor in the Department of Academic Literacy and Linguistics at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/ CUNY. She has published papers in the Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning, the Journal of Virtual Exchange, and the International Journal of Academic Development.

Dr. Raymond Oenbring is a Professor of English at the University of the Bahamas. He is interested in composition and linguistics. He can be reached at raymond. oenbring@ub.edu.bs.

Recommended Citation

Gokcora, Deniz and Oenbring, Raymond (2023) "Restructuring a Developmental ESL Course at an Urban Community College: Asking the Right Questions," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 56: Iss. 1, Article 12.
Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol56/iss1/12