Anne Pomerantz
Senior Lecturer, GSE
apomeran@gse.upenn.edu
Advice for faculty who work with international students
As teachers, we all make assumptions about what knowledge, skills, and experiences
our students bring to class. In my extensive interactions with international students
over the years, I’ve come to learn that I’m often wrong. I’m no longer surprised
when a quiet student tells me that she was a champion debater at her
undergraduate institution or when a masters candidate admits that he’s never
written anything longer than two pages in English. As I’ve gotten to know my
students, I’ve learned that they all have a story to tell about how they learned
English, why they want to study at GSE, or what they’ve experienced in their classes.
In our busy lives we don’t necessarily have time or the inclination to hear every
student’s stories, but here are some strategies for structuring your courses that
might make them more supportive and welcoming for international students who
use English as an additional language:
Set clear, detailed expectations and put them in writing
As we all know, teaching practices and the ways of learning that they privilege vary
around the world. For students accustomed to teacher-fronted classrooms that
value memorization and imitation, teamwork, project-based instruction, and
“critical thinking” may feel new or uncomfortable. Consequently, international
students often lament that they are “walking in the dark” in their classes. They don’t
understand what is expected of them. Although you may have covered this
information in class, international students are often too overwhelmed or anxious
(especially on the first day!) to hear-- and then remember-- what you are saying.
Many say that they would benefit from a written account of your expectations
around attendance, participation, written work, classroom etiquette, etc. Likewise,
a frank discussion about what you are looking in terms of reading and writing is
helpful. Do you expect everyone to read every article in great detail? What should
students be paying attention to as they read – theoretical framework? Methodology?
Findings? Rhetorical structure of the text? How do you want students to interact
with the material? Should they be looking to critique arguments? Synthesize
findings? Apply concepts to new cases? The more you can make transparent, the
better your students will be at meeting your expectations.
Slow down when you speak, use visual aides strategically, and repeat
Depending on your students’ linguistic histories, it may take them some time to get
used to your way of speaking. Just as you may have trouble understanding their
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“accents,” they too are struggling to learn your linguistic habits. Few international
students are brave enough to admit to a professor that they are having
comprehension difficulties. Slow your speech down and use visual/ written cues to
make your points more comprehensible. You don’t need to simplify the content, just
make it more accessible by paying attention to the language. Reinforce key
words/phrases by writing them on the board or on a handout. Take some time at
the beginning/end of class to preview/ review essential material. Repeat important
information. Also, watch out for idioms and cultural references. International
students are eager to learn idioms and other colloquial expressions. Use them in
class, but be sensitive to the fact they may need some clarification. Likewise, be sure
to explain cultural references and other context-specific forms of talk – especially
those brought up by domestic students -- that may make comprehension/
participation particularly challenging for international students. As one
international student at GSE told me, “I have a professor who makes a lot of jokes.
My friends and I don’t understand them, but we’ve figured out when to laugh”.
Find out what students can do early in the semester and check back in often
Because international students sometimes come to GSE with educational histories
that differ from domestic students, it is important to get a sense of how they are
doing early in the term on a relatively low-stakes endeavor (i.e. something with
little or no point value attached to it). Many students are too ashamed or
embarrassed to ask for help directly. For example, you might want to do some nongraded writing on a particular topic or do a quick reading assessment. I sometimes
ask students to write down three points or connections that stood out to them in the
week’s readings before we start the discussion just to see where they are. This will
also allow you to give some feedback/ direction early on, without penalizing or
demoralizing students who are still trying to get their bearings.
On-line chat groups, journals, and the writing of discussion questions are also good
ways to assess students’ thinking. These on-going assignments can be mandatory or
not, graded or ungraded. The point is that they allow you to monitor students’
progress without getting too bogged down in grading or lengthy feedback. For
example, I sometimes skim through students’ on-line chats before class and pick out
excerpts that are particularly germane to a point I’d like to highlight in class. This
shows students what I’m looking for and let’s them know that I am paying attention
to what they’re doing in this forum without overburdening me with grading. If you
have a course T.A., this is an excellent way to involve him/her in teaching.
Students often struggle with the reading more than you realize
Next time you walk by a student who still uses paper, notice how many words they
have translated in the margins. Ask you students how long it takes them to do the
reading. You might be very surprised! I recommend letting students know at the
beginning of the semester that they will need to use different strategies as they read.
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Some materials are intended to fill gaps in their background knowledge others
establish theoretical principles or lay out approaches to analysis. Let students know
why they are reading a particular piece for your class. It helps to go over the
homework assignment in advance (or you can put some notes on your syllabus) to
help them budget their time and focus.
Your international students may be struggling with writing AND English
Faculty sometimes complain that international students are poor writers and
attribute this to their identities as users of English as an additional language.
Remember, however, that many native speakers of English also lack familiarity with
the conventions of academic/ professional writing. In both cases, the argument may
be absent/ disorganized, the grammar may seem “sloppy,” and the writer may use
words in odd or unconventional ways. Although you may not have the time or
desire to work closely with your students on their writing, international students
who are struggling in your classes generally face two issues. Some have done very
little academic/professional writing in English, save for the GRE and other
standardized tests. They associate “good writing” with the kind of 5 paragraph
essay that is required on such assessments and thus they control a very limited
repertoire of genres. Others lack experience with academic writing in any language
and still others (sometimes the very same people) are still struggling with various
linguistic elements. The GSE Writing Coaches can be very useful in identifying why
a particular student is struggling with writing and recommending some concrete
actions.
Just as it is important to be clear about your course expectations, so too does it help
to spell out what you’d like to see in students’ written work. Phrases like “term
paper” and “critical essay” are often lost on students who are new to U.S. academic
contexts. International students frequently visit the Writing Coaches for help in
interpreting assignment prompts. The more information you offer (in writing), the
better able the Writing Coaches are to help your students.
If you require a final paper, consider assigning at least one piece of short writing
earlier in the semester. Short pieces of writing require students to be precise and
concise. This helps you to quickly get a sense of where they are without wading
through a whole bunch of “dreck.” It also helps you to turn the assignments around
quickly so that students get timely feedback that they can then use to inform their
subsequent coursework.
When you do give feedback to international students, don’t comment on every little
thing. Pick 2-3 focal points and direct your feedback to them. Comments about
students needing proof-readers or editors are not particularly helpful. If there is a
feature of a student’s writing that is troublesome, try to identify it by name and
point out a few examples (you don’t have to find every instance of the problem –
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students can do this on their own). More importantly, try to give as much detail as
possible about what you are responding to and why it’s an issue. Also, include some
positive comments – a little praise can make all the difference in the world.
Let students know how they will be evaluated BEFORE they do the assignment.
When you hand back the first assignment, show examples of actual student work
(anonymously, of course) that was excellent or needed help. I’m not a huge fan of
model papers (students tend to copy or get paralyzed), but concrete examples are
very useful.
Finally, much has been said about international students and plagiarism. Some
students may not fully grasp the distinction between “learning by imitation” and
“copying.” As with domestic students, setting clear expectations and breaking
assignments into smaller pieces often helps to circumvent plagiarism. At the same
time, it is important to hold international students accountable to the university’s
rules regarding academic integrity. GSE’s orientation for international students
includes a detailed workshop on what constitutes plagiarism. It can be difficult to
separate instances of intentional and accidental plagiarism. Look to on-campus
resources for support in handling such cases (at GSE, Lois McNamara is an excellent
resource; at Penn, consider speaking to someone at the Office of Student Conduct).
Consider the interactional patterns in your classroom and set some rules
There is a lot of talk on campus about international students being shy or reticent to
participate in class. Threatening students will not help, nor will raising the bar on
class participation. Cold calling, too, just promotes anxiety. What can you do? Craft
assignments that require students to think through and articulate some of their
ideas before they get to class. Encourage/ require students to bring lists of key
points, questions, and /or observations with them. Give sufficient wait time. It’s
hard for non-native speakers to break into the conversation – they may need more
time to formulate their utterances or they may struggle with the norms for getting a
turn at talk. Find ways shift the interactional structure of your class so that it gives
more people a chance to participate. Don’t always have it be an instructor led
session with students volunteering answers in a competitive fashion. Do some small
groups. Give people in the groups special roles (facilitator, note taker, reporter).
International students often feel more confident or compelled to speak when they
have a particular role to play in the conversation.
Another issue that often comes up in my conversations with international students
is the fear that they have inadvertently offended the domestic students. Racial
terms that are heavily charged for US speakers of English, for example, don’t carry
the same weight for international users of English. You can pre-empt this by
modeling language for students or setting the ground rules for how to talk
professionally in your classroom. This may sound like an example of language
policing (and, frankly, it is), but international students often appreciate the explicit
guidance. Likewise, it’s important to recognize that international students, too, may
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be shocked or offended by what you or the other students take to be “normal” or
“common sense.” Let your classroom be a place to explore these points of conflict.
Be sensitive to students’ changing identities.
For six years I taught in the undergraduate Spanish program at Penn. Every fall at
least one freshman came to my office holding a quiz with a “B” on it, choking back
tears and perhaps even indignant because he/she was always an “A student.” Be
sensitive to the changes your students are experiencing. Many international
students were academic or linguistic stars in their home countries and may have
negative feelings about the positions they occupy in their classes here, particularly if
they are consistently being positioned as less capable by you and/or their peers.
Be honest when assessing student work
Be honest with yourself and with students about how they are doing in your course.
Students will not know there is a problem unless you point it out. When they get a
good grade, they assume everything is fine. Clear expectations around preparation,
participation, and writing can help to make assessment feel more objective.
At the same time, it is important to take a stance about how much language matters
in your particular course/ program/ disciplinary community. What are your
language learning/ language use goals for international students? How does your
course help to support the achievement of these goals? Some attention to where
you want students to be linguistically at the end of your course/ program will help
you to find pedagogical approaches and assessment methods that feel “right” in your
teaching context.
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