Introduccion:
The language barrier in students who study in a country that has a different language, and whose proficiency of that new language is low, is a major problem for their professional development. When an ESL student comes to a writing center looking for some help to understand what he/she is supposed to do for an assignment or to improve their writing, which in most of the cases is not good, they need to be helped by someone that understands their needs.

The needs of these students can only be understood by someone who speaks the same native language as them. A tutor who has the same native language can help these students to understand what they need to do, to develop their skills and to improve their second language proficiency.

PURPOSE:
With this research, I will explore the impact that the switching between languages has on the progress of the writing skills of a bilingual student with a low English proficiency.

REASEARCH QUESTION:

When is necessary for a bilingual tutor to switch between languages with a bilingual student that has a low level of English proficiency? Sub questions to consider: If the switching of languages is a key strategy for the success of the session, when does the tutor speak Spanish? When does the tutor speak English? How is the switching done and by whom? If the change is done by the tutor, how does the student respond to the change? What language does the student use to respond to the change of language?

Methods:

For this study I tutored 8 sessions with different Kean University students that assisted to the writing center. Every time I tutored a student, I had the obligation of telling him/her that I was conducting a study for my writing tutoring class and explain him/her what this was about and that I am a peer tutor in training, after explaining everything about the study, I need to give them the consent form in which they will officially accept to participate in the study. The consent form is a letter that explains the benefits and the risks of participating in the study; if the student accepts to participate he/she will sign the form, after that I can use the information gathered in the session and publish it but in an anonymous way. Once the student accepted to participate, then the data collection starts. For collecting my data I did a check list so at the end of the session, I could use it as a reminder of what happened in the session. For me to know what data I need to collect, first I need to know what was going to be the focus of my study so that I can put all my attention to collect the information I need. The focus of my study will be the switching between languages in sessions where the tutor is bilingual (in this case Spanish – English) and the student is an ESL student that speaks Spanish as the home language and that have a low level of English proficiency. Because of the focus of my study it was difficult for me to take my own notes, because the switching of the language was spontaneous and many times I did not realized the switching, so I ask my classmates to take notes for me and pay very careful attention to the moment I switch the language, so that I can have a more complete data collection. The switching between languages has to do with the confidence of the student, because the more confident the student feels the more you can talk in the non home language, and this will help student to improve their English proficiency. Because of this I classified my data in …. Categories, one of these categories was the measurement of the confidence of the student based on the body language in three different moments of the session: The first approach, at the climax of the session (middle) and at the closure of the session (end).
For my data collection what I planing to do is more or less this: Data analysis Student # 1 first session Assignment (comparative easy) First 5 minutes (first approach) Body language: The body language at this moment was very good she sat near the table and took out her computer, she gave Me a kiss and a hug, she was moving her hands as she was talking. She looks anxious Tone of voice: Very good tone of voice loudly enough. She was very anxious, she was speaking very fast. Eye contact: Excellent eye contact, she looked at me when I was talking and when she has something to say she will also looked at me. At the middle of the session Body language: She was writing in the computer, she was less anxious, she was talking more. Tone of voice: Same as in the beginning, good tone of voice, she was speaking slower. Eye contact: Excellent eye contact, she looked at me when I was talking and when she has something to say she will also looked at me. At the end of the session Body language: She was anxious again, she was rushing, and she started the hands and arms movement again. Tone of voice: Anxious, she was speaking faster again. Eye contact: Poor she was just seeing the computer and the book to finish the paper. This just an example of how I´m planing to gather and categorize my information, I´m still working on it so I hope It gets better everyday.

List of the information I need to gather: For the information I need to gather I will use the check list below: 1. Data file a. Student´s name b. Why she/he came c. Assignment d. “Get to know you” talk e. Body language f. Student needs 2. Setting goals a. Who sets the goals 3. Coaching strategy a. What worked b. What didn´t work c. Tutoring style d. Body language, silences, eye contact e. What was said and by whom 4. Student attitude a. At the beginning of the session b. During the session c. At the end of the session 5.Coach effectiveness in the session/student satisfaction a. Student response to the work b. What was accomplished c. Student say back 6.Evaluation Plan for gathering your information: For gathering this information, I will print a copy of the check list and fill it in after each session. The switching of the language is spontaneous and many times I did not realize it. I will ask my classmates to take notes for me and pay very careful attention to the moment I switch the language, so that I can have a more complete data collection

Data collection
Cases:
Case #1
Maria is an undergraduate ESL student; she is doing her bachelor’s in Psychology and she came to the writing center to have some help with a paper she needs to be turned in that same day. She started talking in English but the tutor responded in Spanish so she seemed surprised. She was talking in Spanish, very loud and quick; she sat down and started everything out of her bag. I realized with this behavior that she was very anxious. She was rushing because she needed to finish the paper so she can turn it in that day. The assignment was to do a comparison between two readings. When she came she already has most of the paper done and revised by the professor. What she was missing was the conclusion, so she set the agenda for the session; she wanted to work on the conclusion. The tutor (Sandra) started reading the paper, and asked her if she had an assignment sheet, but she didn´t. After Sandra read the paper she noticed that even though she talks about the two stories there was not a comparison of them. So she gave Maria a sheet of paper so she can start writing some of the answers that Sandra was about to ask. One of the faculty members of the university came into the room were the session was taking place just to see in Sandra was doing ok (Sandra is a peer tutor in training). After the teacher left the room, Maria took out a paper graded by her professor and that said what Maria needed to work on. The curious thing here was that Maria told Sandra that she didn´t took out that paper before because she was afraid of the teacher. After Sandra explain what Maria was asked to do, she started asking some questions so Maria could understand what she needed to do. Sandra asked questions such as what were the values of the hero en in the first story and in the second one. To describe the hero´s personalities, etc. At that point Maria started writing.