Enhancing Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness in Argument Writing Pedagogy through Effective Adaptations for English Learners: Insights from C3WP Resource Analysis and Three Experienced Teachers’ Practices

Abstract

This article examines recommended adaptations for English Learners (ELs) in the nationally-recognized C3WP argument writing program through the lens of effective EL literacy practices and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy. We present an analysis of C3WP EL tips and EL notices and argue that when evaluated from the second language literacy and linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy perspectives, the C3WP program could be enhanced by adding guidance for 1) specific instructional supports designed to increase ELs’ access to the resources and 2) helping teachers leverage these learners’ multicultural and multilinguistic capital. To help imagine how such effective additional guidance could be enacted pedagogically, we share three experienced ESL teachers’ perspectives on adapting C3WP for ELs. We hope that the insights gleaned from our resource analysis, the interviews with the teachers in our study, and our own experience with teaching argument writing with C3WP can serve as a useful starting point to creating specific, actionable supports for ELs, thus ensuring educational growth and promotion of culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy for all students.