ESL 7500: Teaching at the University for International GTAs

Many international graduate students are expected to teach at theuniversity, yet few have a clear understanding of U.S. undergraduate classroom culture or the communication strategies that can assist them in performing comfortably in their roles as teaching assistants. As an international student, Teaching at the University for International GTAs (ESL 7500) can help you gain the valuable classroom language and intercultural skills to make your teaching experience a success—not only for yourself, but for your undergraduate students as well.

In order to achieve these goals, students:

1. Develop effective classroom and lab communication strategies

a. Question & answer patterns of the classroom

b. Compensation strategies (strategies to use when you don’t understand your students’ questions/comments or vice versa)

c. Strategies to aid effective classroom management (e.g., body language, tone, direct/indirect language)

d. Basic presentation skills: audience awareness, culturally expected organization of lectures, discourse markers (e.g., language of coherence), use of visuals to support your language

2. Become familiar with the expectations of the university, regarding

a. Syllabus preparation

b. Meeting with students during office hours

c. Methods of evaluation and feedback to improve learning

c. Types of classroom activities and out-of-classroom requirements

3. Become familiar with the culture of the U.S. classroom, including

a. Student expectations and attitudes

b. Differences in cultural styles of teaching and learning

c. Appropriate interaction with students in and out of class

Students complete the following specific tasks:

  • Design and teach short lessons about content in your field.
  • Analyze and discuss your teaching with peers and instructor (note that some of your short lessons are videotaped so that you can review them later)
  • Complete guided observation tasks. That is, you observe undergraduate courses you are likely to teach, focusing on classroom interactions, lesson presentation, or instructor’s communication with students to confirm understanding.
  • Serve as a facilitator for small group and/or whole class discussions on various class topics, such as student feedback and interacting with students. Facilitators are responsible for developing discussion questions and fostering participation from classmates.

The International GTA course can stand alone as a general foundation course for new teachers or serve as a vital supplement to departments’ pedagogy courses often designed for native English speakers.

Prerequisite: If you are recommended to complete ESL 7250 per your GSTEP evaluation, you must successfully complete that course before registering for ESL 7500.

Seats are limited, so register soon! For more information or questions, contact Sarah Kegley, Department of Applied Linguistics, ESL Director, 404-413-5191 or .