Handout 1
Noticing and Using Surprises
(from Carroll, J. and Ryan, J., 2005)
What do international students do that you don’t expect from
home students?
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Giving presents
Answering all question with ‘yes’
Calling me Dr X even when I have said ‘call me John’
Complaining about wasting time on seminars rather
than me teaching
Handing in 4,000 words for an essay with a 2,500 limit
Writing very personal coursework with the main point
on page 3 and lots of unnecessary background
Repeating verbatim my lecture notes in the coursework
Coming into my office after I have given the marks to
argue loudly that I should give them higher marks –
several times
Remaining silent in seminars even when I ask a direct
question
Coming up after the lecture for a 1:1 discussion and
seeming to expect me to stay for as long as it takes
even though I said ‘Any questions?’ in the lecture
Deferring to my opinion even when a preference would
be appropriate (e.g. Me: ’Which essay will you do as
course work?’ Student, ‘Please, as you say’.)
Talking loudly in lectures
Can you come up with cultural ‘rules’ to explain to your
students the appropriate way to approach the situation in
a British university?
Handout 3
Rethinking Seminars for Culturally Diverse Groups
Reasons International Students give for remaining silent
 Little experience with this kind of method (feeling “shy” and
“embarrassed”)
 Insecurity about their listening comprehension
 Worries about pronunciation or “a face-threatening linguistic error”
(Jones, 1999)
 Difficulty quickly choosing words; choosing the right words
 Not feeling confident of appropriate interaction strategies e.g.
interrupting, taking turns, disagreeing, offering opinions, signaling the
wish to speak
 Taking time to shape an answer … by which time, it’s too late.
Lack of familiarity with the process:
Previous education may have stressed:
 no value on challenging authority (e.g. the teacher’s or the theory’s or
the text’s)
 an assumption that there is “nothing to discuss”. The task is to fully
understand what is transmitted.
 not speaking thereby maintaining harmony and truthfulness (“Silence is
better than speech”); value placed on empathic understanding rather
than ‘chat’
 large social and power distance between student and teacher and
deference expressed by listening.
Strategies to encourage all to participate
Create the climate
Make sure everyone talks in turn. Model listening actively to whoever is
speaking. Don’t allow students to interrupt each other. Offer assistance to
a speaker, rather than finishing what they are saying (as this could show
impatience), use non-verbal encouragement – waiting patiently, smiling,
nodding approval.
Explain what you expect from students and how the discussion aids
learning.
Build a group, not an audience.
Tell students what you want them to do in explicit terms, especially at first;
say why you want it and how they are expected to participate.
Invite or organise participation rather than using informal, general
discussion
Use structured discussion formats such as rounds, asking the same
question to a series of students, calling on students by name (see next
point), setting up buzz groups with feedback, setting up a fishbowl etc.
Build in rehearsal and preparation time.
Slow things down. Increase “wait time” to allow processing [average time
3 seconds – try for 9].
Encourage paired discussion of key themes or questions before seeking a
response from the group. Pairing can be “same language” to rehearse
ideas before shaping an English response or “mixed language” where
less confident English speakers can hopefully clarify vocabulary and
instructions with a classmate.
Monitor your attention and seek to allocate it equitably
Move about the classroom to allow all students to be in close proximity –
this often encourages students to be more alert and willing to answer.
Pay attention to who answers. Is it only confident or impulsive students?
Discourage students from interrupting or ignoring less confident English
speakers.
When asking a direct question, change the pattern to encourage less
confident English speakers
Ask the question, make eye contact with the student stating his/her name,
pause for a few seconds, and then ask exactly the same question again.
Once the student starts to answer, do not pose supplementary/follow-up
questions.
If a student does not understand the question, repeat it verbatim.
Paraphrases often confuse rather than assist non-native English
speakers.
Frequently use conversational features to check understanding and
model appropriate communication styles for all students
Kinsella (1993 p. 16) suggests
confirmation checks: Is this what you are saying?
So you think that …..
Clarification requests Will you explain your point so that I am sure I
understand?
Could you give me an example of that?
Comprehension checks
Interrupting
Is my use of the language understandable?
Excuse me, but….
Sorry for interrupting but
A final point
“Adaptation is what is expected of the two parties [students and teacher] –
significant development in the case of the students, a greater awareness and
sensitivity in the case of the teachers. It is an important caveat that one seeks
to develop or adapt the students, not transform them. Underlying the
interactional ethos of the academic discussion … is a system of beliefs and
values deeply rooted in the host culture, a system certainly different from and
in some respects hostile to the world view most non-native English speakers
hold. …[T]o prepare students, it must be plain (and perhaps made plain to
students) that the students’ own cultural values are not being challenged or
threatened. Students who find that their notion of social role or their native
conversational style is being dismissed are not going to develop a positive
attitude towards new pragmatic and discourse norms.” (Jones, 1999, p. 251)
Handout 4
Assessment
Before coming to the UK, many students experienced assessment with some
or all of these characteristics
 Exams only
 Exams that only ask questions about students’ knowledge
 Questions on examinations are only about curriculum content, all examination
questions could be predicted
 All students’ answers require only a short statement of knowledge or
selecting the answer from a ‘multiple choice’-type list
 High value on speed
 High value on accuracy of student’s recall
 All marks norm-referenced (that is adjusted so the marks are well spread out)
 Marks are only for ranking within the cohort or comparing between students
 Marks are between 75-100%
 No failures
 Teachers’ performance is linked to students’ marks; sometimes, teachers are
present during examinations, helping and correcting students’ answers
 Students are given lots of formative homework (that is, homework that is for
practice rather than a grade), homework is marked orally in class
 Examinations are widely-spaced in time (sometimes, several years)
 Examinations are almost all ‘high-stakes’ (that is, the consequences for
failure are serious or life-changing)
Do students from your university or college experience any of these?
Almost none of these statements are true of the UK. What difficulties and differences might
these students who have these previous experiences find when they meet UK assessment
practices and beliefs?
TASK: Devise some explicit statements that will help such students recognize the
new UK rules and the new UK learning ‘game’. Statements might start with ‘In the UK,
…….’. For example, ‘In the UK, students are assessed with a large range of activities:
exams, coursework, placement reports, group projects’.
Handout 4a
Understanding Assignment Titles
During your time as a student, you will be expected to write on a vast variety
of topics; with them will come a bewildering range of instructions. The list
below will help you interpret what the lecturer means. However, if you are not
sure what any assignment you are given is asking you to do, you must ask the
teacher concerned. Remember, he has set you the assignment to find out
what you know about the subject – not to find out if you understand how to
answer assignments.
1
2
Account for
Give an account of
3
Analyse
4
Compare
5
Contrast
6
7
Compare and
contrast
Define
8
9
Describe
Discuss
10
Elaborate on
11
Evaluate
12
Evaluate the validity
of (statement X)
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Examine
14
Explain
Explain why X is as it is
Give a statement of facts in sequence, or in
report form
Describe the various parts of X and explain
how they work together, or whether they work
together. Give points for and against.
Describe the major similarities between two or
more things
Describe the major differences between two or
more things
Describe the first major similarities between
two or more things
Write a brief paragraph explaining the meaning
of …….
If there is more than one thing to define,
explain any similarities or differences
Give a detailed account of …….
Write about the various opinions you have
been reading about on the subject. Give points
for and against and draw a conclusion from the
points presented
Write about a statement or a quotation that is
apart of the question. Explain the statement or
quotation in more detail and then state your
point of view concerning it
Give an opinion supported by evidence on the
worth or value of something
Same as ‘Evaluate’, but the statement X is
probably not accurate in some way. You must
explain what is wrong with the statement
before going on to state your opinion.
Divide into parts and describe each part
critically.
Write out in detail, make clearer, examine
reasons and causes
15
Illustrate
16
17
Justify
List
18
19
Outline
Relate X to Y
20
21
22
Show
State
Suggest
23
24
Summarise
Trace
Use a figure, a diagram, or specific examples
to make the meaning clear
Give reasons for your conclusions or opinions
Present a group of items in the required order
without comment unless asked for
Describe the essential parts only
Show what the connections are: discuss the
similarities an differences
Give reasons and causes
Present clearly and concisely
Propose a theory and defend it by showing
how it could work
Give the main points omitting details
Follow the development from its starting point
Smith, M & G. (1990) A Study Skills Handbook. Oxford: OUP.
Handout 5
Teaching Culturally Diverse Groups: Managing Assessed
Group Work
These suggestions are designed to make group work more effective where
students are working in culturally diverse groups and where the result is
assessed. They are based on a chapter in a book, Teaching International
Students: improving learning for all (eds Carroll and Ryan, 2005) published
by Routledge. The full text includes references to studies and research to
support the recommendations, and another chapter by Glauco de Vita in the
Brookes Business School about using groupwork where the cultural
differences themselves form part of the assessment. Here, the focus is on
ensuring discipline-specific tasks which result in good learning for all when
tackled in a group where different cultural groups are working together.
Resolve generic issues about assessed group work
Difficulties in group work may reflect inappropriate use of the method per se
such as
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Using groups to manage large classes rather than to encourage
learning
Setting tasks that are better done individually than in a group
Not planning ways to deal with conflicts
Assessing the group as if they were generating individual work, taking
no account of individual effort
Resolving these generic problems lessens the danger that resentment arising
from (mis) management are directed by one group of students at another or
misinterpreted as arising from language competence or cultural
misunderstandings.
Explain the purpose of using group work and interactive learning
Help students see group work as a legitimate learning method and encourage
them to see interaction as valuable, since cross cultural interaction outside of
the classroom is often very limited.
Think carefully about how you set group membership
Letting students choose who will be in ‘their’ group might be the best way to
set membership if:
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You do not know them well
It is relatively early in the programme
They need to work within familiar rules and behaviours
The task is relatively short-lived and/or straightforward
Assessment stresses the final product. (This is because a diverse
group will take longer to achieve the result compared to a monocultural
group so allowing self-selection is fairer).
Arguments against self-selection include:
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Some students’ preference for multicultural groups, perhaps as a
chance to interact with fellow students and to practise using informal,
discipline-specific English
Providing early, low-stakes practice with formative feedback to prepare
for later summative assessment that includes cross-cultural
competence.
Teachers may decide to allocate group membership where:
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The group process is being assessed as well as the product
Students are expected to develop group skills
Tasks clearly warrant a global perspective
The programme is producing graduates with cross-cultural competence
Teachers know individual students’ skills and competence
When you are ‘engineering’ group membership, bear in mind:
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Distribution of international students. Ensure at least two in groups
where home students predominate. If some students share a language,
ensure the issue is addressed and the group reaches agreement about
its management.
Global conflicts. Students from some areas will not necessarily find it
easy to work together. If you know your students, you could explore
this aspect with them.
The size of the group and the relative diversity of membership. Five to
seven is considered optimal; very diverse groups (however you define
this) may need to be smaller.
Group-work tasks
A suitable task involves all group members, rewards use of members’ skills
and previous experience, and (ideally) encourages the kind of synergy that
turns students’ diverse skills and knowledge into an asset rather than a
liability. You could do this by:
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Choosing a collaborative verb (compile a catalogue, comment on
others’ contribution, collect applications of a theory and compare their
significance, assemble a portfolio of examples, prepare positions on an
issue or prepare for a debate by first documenting and justifying a wide
range of possible positions).
Setting a complex problem requiring joint effort (eg prepare for a
product launch, redesign a nearby derelict urban site or role-play a
public enquiry)
Requiring roles (chair, note taker etc)
Asking students to draw on skills in the group (for example, a
strong organiser who finds oral presentations difficult or someone with
statistical skills who writes grammatically incorrect English) and provide
evidence they have done so.
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Making all students equally unsure via ‘fuzzy’ tasks (with clear task
briefs) or unusual contexts such as finding a solution that would work in
Antarctica so everyone starts with an unfamiliar context.
If cultural knowledge is essential, (eg how UK adoption law works or what is
normally included in a UK publisher’s marketing plan), state this explicitly (‘I
am assuming you know about xx’) and provide advice on filling general
knowledge gaps.
Adapt the context in which the task is set to recognise all students’
sensitivities. For example, one UK management course set a case study in a
brewery which meant students with religious reasons to avoid alcohol had to
set aside strongly held views before they could engage with the task. Of
course, if you are teaching a course on managing breweries or any of a range
of issues where students are likely to hold strong beliefs, then these become
part of the learning outcomes. If this is not the case, choosing another
industry would work equally well.
Rethink assessment
Multicultural groups will take longer to achieve the final outcome compared
with monocultural ones because the group must first find ways to
communicate effectively. Unless the task lasts for many weeks, if you are only
assessing the final result, you may be inadvertently making diversity a
disadvantage. If you assess both the product (ie what they must do) and the
process (ie how they do it), you are telling students to put effort into both
rather than aiming for a ‘perfect’ final artefact.
Assessing multicultural group work is more effective if
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All students know what will be assessed and how marks will be
allocated.
Difficult aspects such as cross-cultural communication or managing
conflict effectively attract a percentage of the final mark that reflects the
effort involved .
It is clear how students track and record their own and others’ efforts.
Marks are allocated to reflect individual effort. Judging individual effort
is problematic in all group work and even more so where multicultural
membership is involved, especially if peer assessment is used. Criteria
for a ‘good performance’ needs to address the relative importance of
English language competence. In general, both home students and
international students over-estimate the impact of English on a
student’s ability to contribute though students with low English
competence will struggle with all aspects of group work, especially in
the early months.
Novel or unusual methods (eg a poster or oral exam) are rehearsed.
with formative feedback on how to improve.
Helping and intervening
Despite students’ and teachers’ best efforts, conflict in group work is virtually
inevitable. In multicultural group work, the differences that often cause the
conflict will also often prevent students from drawing on shared assumptions
and communication styles to resolve them. The teacher, therefore, needs to
intervene by:
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setting ground rules for participation and discussing how the group will
manage conflict .
making clear what the group will do should conflict arise
planning ahead for addressing conflict. For example, one UK teacher
uses a red or yellow card to ‘stop play’ before a given date then seek
his involvement in resolving problems.
observing or tracking group activity to spot the signs, if possible, before
the situation becomes serious.
Managing ‘difficult moments’ in a diverse group will never be easy but if the
emphasis remains on learning from the experience and gaining useful crosscultural communication skills, students can develop skills they can use next
time. As they will probably encounter many such groups during their university
career, it may be that enhanced group skills are the most useful outcome of
assessed, subject-specific independent group work.
Teaching International Students: improving learning for all edited by Jude
Carroll and Janette Ryan, 2005, RouteledgeFalmer, ISBN: 0415350654.
Handout 6
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