Implementing Writing Workshop With ESOL Students: Visions and Realities

Teachers implementing writing workshop with ESOL students often find that the realities of their teaching situation do not match their original vision of what writing workshop could or should be. Constraints of the school context and students' English language and literacy proficiency and cultural backgrounds present challenges that they need to address in innovative ways. In this article we describe the visions, challenges, strategies, and successes of ESOL teachers involved in The Books Project, in which they learn about writing workshop in a semester‐ or year‐long course and are supported as they implement it. They have found that they are particularly constrained by limited time, space, and resources, as well as conflicts between the approach they are attempting and other school‐ or districtwide demands. In the classroom they struggle with the dynamics of student writing fluency, conferencing and sharing, revising, and preoccupations with correctness. Their experiences have implications for other ESOL teachers and for teacher development. Teachers need much more than models of innovations, which they are to adapt and replicate. In addition, they need time, support, and resources to understand underlying theories and processes and to develop their own teaching practice, informed by the models.