Workshop 2/3: Understanding Language Transfer

How Your First Language Shapes Your English

This workshop explores how the structure of a writer’s native language influences English use, a process known as language transfer. Participants examine key differences between English and their first language(s), gaining insight into why certain patterns, confusions, or habits emerge in their writing.

Rather than treating errors as weaknesses, the session reframes them as logical outcomes of linguistic systems interacting. By building metalinguistic awareness, participants gain tools to better diagnose challenges and approach grammar and writing decisions more intentionally.

This workshop pairs especially well with the Grammar Workshop, providing the conceptual foundation that explains recurring patterns.

Participants will:

• Compare structural features of English and their native language(s)

• Understand how language transfer affects grammar and usage

• Recognize predictable sources of difficulty in English writing

• Build awareness that supports long-term language development

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This workshop is part of a three-part E3SL workshop series designed to support multilingual writers by addressing grammar patterns, linguistic structure, and cross-cultural writing expectations—moving from awareness to application and confidence.