- Eye contact or physical contact may be culturally different and it is something we need to be aware of.
- Level of respect to a teacher.
- In many cultures, helping a friend may be of higher value than avoiding cheating; also, different cultures have very different ideas about appropriate citation and documentation of source material. In addition, international students usually work very hard and are pressured by their parents to get good grades. Thus, what we would call cheating and plagiarism may occur when the international student has no real intention of being dishonest.
- Sharing homework or copying during tests are some things we should look for.
- In some cultures ‘yes’ means, “I hear you” more than “I agree”
- Some cultures never stand in line for anything and it isn’t rude to cut
In Russia, when offering a banana and you peel it halfway before you give it to a lady, it means you are romantically interested in them – moral is - anything can be different, don't make assumptions!
Monday, November 9, 2009
When making an Exam, keep the following in mind.
- Wherever possible, use simpler sentence structure and vocabulary in place of more complex structure and vocab.
-In directions and elsewhere, telegraphic writing is hard for nonnative speakers to understand. For example items on right used only once could leave the nonnative speaker wondering, “What did the items on the right use only once???”
-Typographical errors or misspellings cause undue trouble for nonnative speakers. They will assume that the typo or misspelled word is a legitimate English word and will spend inordinate time trying to figure it out.
International students will probably read more slowly and write more slowly than US students because they are processing the information in a second language. Depending on the subject matter that you are testing and your own beliefs about fair testing, you may wish to:
-Allow extra time for reading the test questions and/or writing the answers.
- Allow international students to ask you the meanings of words that are not explicitly being tested.
Some teachers allow international students to use dictionaries or electronic translators during exams, but whether this is appropriate for your exam will depend on the nature of the exam:
-If spelling and vocabulary are not being explicitly tested, allow international students to use dictionaries.
-Most international students have electronic translators; depending on the program, some are reasonable dictionary substitutes, while others are not terribly useful. Be aware, though, that electronic translators can be programmed with other information.
-In directions and elsewhere, telegraphic writing is hard for nonnative speakers to understand. For example items on right used only once could leave the nonnative speaker wondering, “What did the items on the right use only once???”
-Typographical errors or misspellings cause undue trouble for nonnative speakers. They will assume that the typo or misspelled word is a legitimate English word and will spend inordinate time trying to figure it out.
International students will probably read more slowly and write more slowly than US students because they are processing the information in a second language. Depending on the subject matter that you are testing and your own beliefs about fair testing, you may wish to:
-Allow extra time for reading the test questions and/or writing the answers.
- Allow international students to ask you the meanings of words that are not explicitly being tested.
Some teachers allow international students to use dictionaries or electronic translators during exams, but whether this is appropriate for your exam will depend on the nature of the exam:
-If spelling and vocabulary are not being explicitly tested, allow international students to use dictionaries.
-Most international students have electronic translators; depending on the program, some are reasonable dictionary substitutes, while others are not terribly useful. Be aware, though, that electronic translators can be programmed with other information.
Tips for note taking and listening:
-Speak clearly and at a reasonable pace.
-Avoid inaccessible vocabulary, culture specific words, or slang.
-Make good non-verbal communication strategies (ie: gestures, eye contact)
- Encourage students to copy note from other peers and to discuss those notes with them.
- Write key-terms on the board and ask comprehension check questions.
- Use visual aids to help advance students comprehension.
- Use legible handwriting (No scribbly or cursive!)
- If you are using PowerPoint slides, give the slides to students as a handout; when a professor is lecturing from PowerPoint, the information actually goes much more quickly than in the chalk-n-talk mode, and international students may have a difficult time processing information and getting it down in notes.
- Encourage students to ask questions and seek to converse with them informally as often as possible to help them learn the dialect!
-Avoid inaccessible vocabulary, culture specific words, or slang.
-Make good non-verbal communication strategies (ie: gestures, eye contact)
- Encourage students to copy note from other peers and to discuss those notes with them.
- Write key-terms on the board and ask comprehension check questions.
- Use visual aids to help advance students comprehension.
- Use legible handwriting (No scribbly or cursive!)
- If you are using PowerPoint slides, give the slides to students as a handout; when a professor is lecturing from PowerPoint, the information actually goes much more quickly than in the chalk-n-talk mode, and international students may have a difficult time processing information and getting it down in notes.
- Encourage students to ask questions and seek to converse with them informally as often as possible to help them learn the dialect!
Tips for Lack of Second Language Confidence:
- Make sure to be patient! Language learning is a slow process.
- Give student significant wait time before having them answer a question.
- Design low-anxiety small group discussions then report to the class as whole afterwards.
- Ask culturally relevant questions without asking culture specific questions.
- Give feedback the emphasizes the value of the student’s contribution.
- Create a blog or class wiki on which all students must post. This gives students an opportunity to speak when their voice may remain mostly hidden by anxiety or shyness.
- Give student significant wait time before having them answer a question.
- Design low-anxiety small group discussions then report to the class as whole afterwards.
- Ask culturally relevant questions without asking culture specific questions.
- Give feedback the emphasizes the value of the student’s contribution.
- Create a blog or class wiki on which all students must post. This gives students an opportunity to speak when their voice may remain mostly hidden by anxiety or shyness.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Welcome!
Welcome! At one point in our careers, we as educators will most likely have the opportunity to have an international student in either our classes or our schools. International students can give us the opportunity to bring enrichment to the lives of our other students. We need to make sure that we as educators are prepared to fully include these international students into our classroom community. This blog is meant to be a way for educators to share their experiences and their ideas about how to better include international students into our classrooms and our schools.
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