Directorate of Human Resources
Teaching International
Students
Dr Valerie Clifford
vclifford@brookes.ac.uk
Oxford Centre for Staff and
Learning Development
Agenda
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Issues in teaching international students
What helps
Language support
Classroom participation
Group work
Assessment
Academic writing
Summary
Evaluation
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What issues does teaching
international students raise
for you?
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Areas of difficulty encountered by
international students studying in Britain
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English language experience
Homesickness/culture shock
Educational experience
Housing
Social relationships
Managing finances
Fitting into UK student life
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Mismatch of expectations
and behaviours between
students and staff, and
students and students
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What helps?
1. Recognising difference(s) in academic cultures
2. Identifying the skills students need to succeed; helping
those without to develop those skills
3. Support and guidance before, at the start, during
4. Support / guidance for all in cross-cultural
communication
5. Teaching methods to encourage participation
6. Identifying and using students’ ‘cultural capital’
7. Paying special attention to problem areas
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Academic cultures ‘new game, new rules’
All students find University hard at first
Some find it hard and strange
Some ….hard, strange and in a new language
A few … hard, strange, in English and
unacceptably wrong
Nearly all succeed
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When I am in class and the professor asks
questions and we have to discuss, I never say
anything. Often I think of answers, but I cannot
express my ideas well, so I wait for someone to
speak for me. I have never asked a question. The
other students ask many questions and even
argue with the professor. I could never do that,
because I do not think that is right behaviour. I do
not wanr to be like Australian students.
2nd year Thai undergraduate
Ballard and Clanchy, 1991
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Making academic culture visible…..
Using surprises and unexpected assumptions/behaviours
Turning the spotlight on ourselves …. What do we expect?
Helping others become ‘meta’ aware: what might work?
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Being explicit: about what?
Relationships and expectations of teachers
Teaching methods (purpose, behaviour expected,
how it contributes to learning)
Writing and reading
Assessment
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Student Voices
• What do students find really different when they came
here, socially and academically?
• What really helps them, socially and academically?
• What is/was unhelpful?
• What they would like their teachers to know and do for
them, or for future students coming to the university, to
help them succeed?
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Support for English language
Experiencing what it’s like to translate……
Understanding what test scores actually mean
Taking into account the impact of new arrival
Being realistic about how long it takes to learn…..
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Speaking
Listening
LANGUAGE
Reading
Writing
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Lighten the language load: some tips
• Plain English
• Straightforward language (common word,
subject-verb-object sentences, plain texts)
• Finishing sentences
• Avoiding jargon, jokes and metaphors
• Using non-”yes” checking strategies
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Every student likes….
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Pre-warning and pre-reading
Handouts and gapped notes
Allowing tape recording
In seminars, rehearsal in pairs before telling whole group
Native-tongue discussion of ideas
Early, safe feedback on academic writing
Grammar “buddies”
Creating a running glossary of discipline-specific terms
[The less students have to think about process the more
they can think about content]
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What are we aiming to achieve with
our teaching for all students?
To facilitate and enhance student
learning, to move from reproductive
to analytic and speculative
knowledge as appropriate
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Learning Development
Classroom participation
• Language-based reasons for
reticence
• Process-based reasons for reticence
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Language-based reasons for some to remain
silent
• Little idea how to react or to be sure of doing themselves
justice (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
• Taking time to shape an answer … by which time, it’s too late
• Not feeling confident of appropriate interaction strategies
e.g. interrupting, taking turns, disagreeing, offering opinions,
signaling the wish to speak.
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Process-based reasons for some to remain silent
• 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.
• Assuming a large social and power distance between student
and teacher and deference expressed by listening.
• Not speaking thereby maintaining harmony and truthfulness
(“Silence is better than speech”); value placed on empathic
under-standing rather than ‘chat’.
• Value studying first and then asking questions, not asking
questions first.
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Encourage participation
 Create a safe environment:
- ensure students know each other
- create opportunity for everyone to speak in front of class e.g.
introduce themselves
- make sure students are clear on the ground rules for the
session
 Model good listening and responding skills
 Be aware of group dynamics
- provide warning and rehearsal
- use structured discussion formats
- do not allow the fast talking, confident ones to dominate
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Being explicit about assessment
1. Look at the list of students’ previous
assessment experiences
2. Identify where such students will have
difficulties or surprises in UK universities
3. Task: Write explicit statements to explain to
your students what they will have to do for
assessments in your course (describe each
activity).
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Managing assessed group work
• Is the task really a group task? What makes it a group, and not an
individual task?
• On what basis are you going to form the groups and why?
• What induction into group work have the students had?
• What induction into group work are you going to give the students?
• If the groups don’t work what plans do you have in place to resolve
conflict?
• How will you be monitoring the group task/progress?
• What is the division of marks between group work and individual effort?
• What are the assessment criteria?
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Academic Writing
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Get students writing early and often
Refer to specialists early if needed
Don’t tackle everything at once
Start with structure
 What is the argument/story
 Sequencing - logical order
 Paragraph theme sentences
• Now for the details
 Short sentences
 Punctuation
 Let some things go!
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Muddled writing is a clear indication
of muddled thoughts!
[Robert Brown]
Get students to talk through what they want to say
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Summary
Get to know your students and what
is different/difficult for them and work
out ways of helping them to
understand ‘How the West is done’.
[Singh and Doherty, 200x]
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Any Questions?
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Thank you
I hope that you have found
some gems for you in the day