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Directorate of Human Resources
Teaching International Students
Dr Valerie Clifford
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
Agenda• Issues in teaching international students
• What helps
• Language support
• Classroom participation
• Group work
• Assessment
• Academic writing
• Summary
• Evaluation
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
What issues does teaching international students raise
for you?
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
Areas of difficulty encountered by international students studying in Britain
• English language experience• Homesickness/culture shock• Educational experience• Housing• Social relationships• Managing finances• Fitting into UK student life
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
Mismatch of expectations and behaviours between students and staff, and students and students
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
What helps?
1. Recognising difference(s) in academic cultures2. Identifying the skills students need to succeed; helping
those without to develop those skills3. Support and guidance before, at the start, during 4. Support / guidance for all in cross-cultural
communication5. Teaching methods to encourage participation6. 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
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
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
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
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…. 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]
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
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
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
Classroom participation
• Language-based reasons for reticence
• Process-based reasons for reticence
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
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.
Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development
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• 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 youI hope that you have found
some gems for you in the day
