“Teaching International Students: English Language Acquisition and Classroom Participation”
September 16, 2014 Conversation Summary
The following is a summary of useful points remembered by participants attending the September 16th "Teaching International Students" lunch and conversation.
Try asking all students to complete a very brief questionnaire, either in hard copy or in LATTE, with questions about their background that would be useful to you.
Consider putting students in small groups, created by you to ensure the diversity of each group. Give each student a defined role, including reporting back to the entire class. Make sure that non-native English speakers have opportunities to report back.
Encourage all students, especially non-native English speakers, to speak during the first week of class to facilitate future classroom participation. In small classes, create opportunities for every student to introduce themselves or to say something. Help them understand that asking a question is also classroom participation.
Get quiet students to contribute to the discussion by inviting them by name; more often than not, they are pleased to be asked and have thoughtful reflections. They might tend to be silent without such an overture not because they lack language skills but because jumping into the discussion is a nerve-wracking novelty.
Aim to foster a classroom culture where it is safe to make mistakes throughout the learning process. Take time to discuss this throughout the semester.
Classroom participation might help international students become more willing and able to interact with students not-from-their-country-of-origin outside the classroom, as well. Have students work in dyads, and begin by asking them to "introduce yourselves and tell the person where you're from, or what you did this summer (or a different prompt)."
Use "think, pair, share" as a way to encourage brief conversations between matched (non-native English speakers with native English speakers) students in your class.
Ask students to"write in your own words" for writing assignments, to help them avoid "mosaic plagiarism" (taking quotes from different, much admired "beautiful sentences" authored by experts in the field).
Students may seem to understand what plagiarism is, but they are still surprised at seeing real-life illustrations of how "minor" lifting of phrases and contexts are indeed violations of academic honesty--all this richly illustrated in the press coverage onHow OpalMehtaGot Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life...
Explain the definition and purpose of evidence in writing assignments.
Explain clearly what your classroom participation expectations are. Students in some east-Asian secondary school classrooms are not expected to speak in class. They may have been chastised for wrong answers or raising their hands in classes.
Faculty members should encourage international (and other) studentsto meet with them in their office hours, even in small groups of three or more, depending on class size.
Faculty encouragement during office hours can have a strong influence on an international student's confidence and comfort level. Office hours are also an opportunity to recommend other helpfulBrandeis resources (such as Psychological Counseling Center programs) or healthy lifestyle choices.
Consider reinforcing important spoken messages or teaching points in writing so that students have a second way of understanding and retaining this information.
Help international students understand that critical thinking and analysis are skills that all students, even native English speakers, need to develop.
International students sometimes find it difficult to understand metaphors and irony. Faculty may need to discover what their international students don't know and then figure out ways for themto acquire necessary background knowledge for your class.
American students need to be encouraged to interact with international students in friendly, inclusive ways.
If possible, encourage international students to share their cultural understandings of course topics. Can gaps in their knowledge be turned to your advantage?
International students need to be reminded to engage with native English speakers to the greatest extent possible. They also need to understand that listening to spoken English on television and radio can be a more useful tool to improve their listening and comprehension skills than studying lists of vocabulary words. They may be hesitant to engage in such "fun" activities, while not realizing their utility.
When grading papers with many grammatical mistakes, focus on the ideas first, and comment on one main grammatical writing error, asking student to revise all such mistakes in the paper. Refer students to the Writing Center, but help them understand that the Writing Center is not an editing service, but a means of helping students learn how to understand and revise their own weaknesses in grammar, structure and argumentation.
The Writing Center offers free writing tutorial services to Brandeis University undergraduate and graduate students, and in conjunction with the English Language Program, is now offering a special set of appointments for students who want to concentrate on improving their English grammar. The service is aimed at students for whom English is not their first language, but anyone is welcome to sign up. To make an appointment, click on one of the 45-minute slots that are listed as "Grammar."
For free English language tutoring, students can download an English Language Tutor Request Form here. Please note that it must be returnedin person to the ELP office (Rabb Graduate Center, room 340). If there is a wait list, students will be given tutors on a first come, first serve basis.
Dr. Aileen Lee will join the Psychological Counseling Center staff in early October. Dr. Lee is a clinical psychologist with an expertise in cross cultural psychology. She has a specific interest in working with Asian populations. Dr. Lee is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.