The conference attracted a diverse group of scholars from various universities throughout the nation. Though all the topics were engaging, Elsherif's topic resonated with me because I am interested in the English language and its multiple dialects and vernaculars as well as how it empowers and disempowers speakers and writers of the language. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Elsherif's presentation was her assertion that she discerned the role of writing in her life after she learned how to speak and write in English. As a teacher/researcher, I wanted to understand how and why English played such a pivotal role in Elsherif's life. Consequently, I invited her to engage in discourse with me about her acquisition of the English language and technological skills.

My name is Shirley E. Faulkner-Springfield. I am a third-year doctoral candidate in the Rhetoric and Writing Program at BGSU. Entisar and I invite you to gaze "Through the Eyes of a Writer" and see the affordances of the English language and technology in her roles as a writer, a graduate student, and an educator.

During your presentation [at the 21st Century Englishes Conference], you stated that your “new voice” allowed you to take ownership of the English language, which resulted in a deeper understanding of the role of writing in your life . . . a better understanding of your capability. . . a higher self-esteem.  How and why did these phenomena occur?  Explain your transformation. 

Sorry to say this, but I think that anyone who is a second language user can relate to me when I say that second language users feel discriminated against when they take the IELTS/TOEFL and GRE tests. To be admitted to any U.S. university, international students are requires to take tests that show their language proficiency because they are considered second language users.  However, when they are accepted and enrolled in classes, they are evaluated the same way native speakers are evaluated.  I’ve always thought about it like this:  Ok, since you consider me a second language user, why are you evaluating me as a native user?   As a result, I always felt that this other language doesn’t belong to me.  It belongs to natives.  

However, when I took three courses at IUP, things changed. Taking Dr. David Hanauer’s class and writing the poems that I presented at the conference empowered me and opened my eyes to the power of my words and to the fact that I can write a poem, which was impossible before the assignment.  
 
In Dr. Dan Tannacito’s class, I learned that I don’t need to be native—like to be proficient.  

And in Dr. Claude Hurlbert’s class, especially after writing my narrative, I felt I own my English, and I saw my own voice.  English was no more the academic language I used to write, but my own language that expresses what’s on my mind and in heart.
 
So the most significant point in my transformation is about me as a second language user and writer.  Deep in my heart I always wanted to be as proficient speaker and writer of the English language.  Being considered a second language writer has always made me fear errors and mistakes, especially being a member of a culture that criticizes more than it praises. Writing my narrative and the poems gave me the chance to see myself, my language development, and to believe that I don’t need to be native-like to be able to explain my ideas and myself to others. This is what made me believe in the power of creative writing and that it should be taught in second/foreign language classrooms.