The Writing and Language Studio (WLS), hosted by the Language and Culture Center at Duke Kunshan University, provides guidance and support to students, faculty, and staff in the Duke Kunshan community as they develop their language and communication skills. We provide the services of a traditional university writing center as well as coaching in language learning.
Introduction
The Writing and Language Studio aims to contribute to the Duke Kunshan University mission by supporting writing and building a community that values and engages in the learning and use of multiple languages and the development of (intercultural) communication skills. We are staffed by experienced LCC faculty, dedicated staff, and trained student workers who are committed to our mission.
Independent Language Learning
The Writing and Language Studio aims to foster an environment for independent language learning at Duke Kunshan. Independent language learning (ILL) involves designing and carrying out your own language learning plan. Some people do this while they are taking a language course in order to get extra practice and speed up their progress. Other people do this when they are not taking any languages courses.
There are two important things to know about independent language learning (ILL):
- In ILL, you need to make your own decisions about goals, methods, materials, and so on. In other words, you need to learn how to learn a language. (In contrast, when you take a language course, you don’t need to make many choices of your own—most choices are made for you by teachers, textbooks, and tests.)
- In ILL, you need to rely on yourself to sustain your motivation. (In contrast, when you take a language course, you have to keep studying whether you want to or not because of pressure from things like tests, homework assignments, and peer pressure.) This means that, in ILL, you need to find strategies for sustaining your motivation; you also need to learn how to design language learning plans that are as easy as possible to sustain.
Our language learning coaches can help you set goals, select materials and learning activities, and create learning plans that meet your needs. We also provide coaching for writing.
Supporting Writing
The Writing and Language Studio is an important source of support for the development of writing skills in English—particularly academic writing. We help writers reflect on their writing, apply skills they learn in their courses to their various writing tasks, and equip them with additional strategies they can continue to use to strengthen their writing. Writers can seek assistance at any stage of writing, from prewriting through drafting, revising, and editing. Our focus on these stages helps writers develop their writing process.
Coaching Services
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