ABSTRACT
Virtually every U.S. college and university faces the challenges and opportunities entailed in adapting to an increasingly diverse student body. A growing number of students are bi-or multilingual and speak a home language other than English. Although skill in using English in academic writing is often a key criterion for gaining entry to collegiate academic studies and exiting a college degree program, these students’ presence in academia has raised political and ethical dilemmas for universities regarding college writing requirements. For example, can or should students from bilingual backgrounds be held to the same writing standards as monolingual speakers of standard English, and if not, how do we establish different but equivalent and appropriate standards? What forms of writing instruction are appropriate for bilingual students? How well do nonnative language writers need to be able to function in written English in order to thrive in the academy, and when is it appropriate to impose a prerequisite threshold of proficiency to participate in college?
