The teaching librarian: ESL and the academic library

The line between librarian and teacher has become increasingly blurred, and never is this more apparent than in the academic library. A further layer of complexity is added when working with students who have English as a second language (ESL). These students’ grasp of language and culture does not always compare to that of a ‘local’ student, and so we cannot make the same assumptions as to their pre-existing knowledge and abilities when engaging them in information literacy (IL) training. This paper discusses IL from an ESL perspective and as a form of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It offers a pedagogical (i.e., method- rather than content-based) approach to the provision of IL to international students and includes suggestions for best practice and examples taken from the author’s own experience