Academic English Support

Amanda Tomanek joined the CSUSM Writing Center as the Academic English Language Specialist in 2019. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Teachers College, Columbia University. Amanda’s background includes experience teaching and designing curriculum for undergraduate writing courses for international students in the US and in Japan. For more assistance with supporting English Language Learners in your course, you can reach out to Amanda on Microsoft Teams or by email at atomanek@csusm.edu

Resources

For students who need extra support for writing topics in your course, these resources are helpful to share with them:

• CSUSM Writing Center Resource Pages
• CSUSM Workshop and Webinar Calendar
• CSUSM Writing Center Webinar Recordings

If you encounter students who may require more direct assistance, consider recommending that they apply for Ongoing Support. Students accepted into the Ongoing Support program will create a specialized support plan for the semester. Learn more about the program by viewing our Ongoing Support description and application.

Antiracist Pedagoy and Equitable Classrooms

As CSUSM moves towards being an antiracist institution, we recognize that we may need to reflect on our ideas of academic writing and grammar. The following are a few resources for anti-racist teaching and student support:

• CSUSM Dominguez Hills Writing Center Antiracist Statement (web)
• International Writing Center Association Readings for Racial Justice (PDF)
• On Writtenness: The Cultural Politics of Academic Writing by Joan Turner (web)
  • Electronic copy available through CSUSM library
• Antiracist Writing Ecologies: Teaching and Assessing Writing for a Socially Just Future by Asao B. Inoue (PDF)
• University of Connecticut English Department Reading List: Anti-Racist Pedagogy (web)
• University of Southern California Center for Urban Education Equity Webinars (web)
• White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun (PDF)