Teaching International Students

Teaching International Students

• Dr Valerie Clifford
• [e-mail]

Agenda

• Issues in teaching international students
• What helps
• Language support
• Classroom participation
• Group work
• Assessment
• Academic writing
• Summary
• Evaluation

• What issues does teaching international students raise for you?

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

• Mismatch of expectations and behaviours between students and staff, and students and students

What helps?

• Recognising difference(s) in academic cultures
• Identifying the skills students need to succeed; helping those without to develop those skills
• Support and guidance before, at the start, during
• Support / guidance for all in cross-cultural communication
• Teaching methods to encourage participation
• Identifying and using students’ ‘cultural capital’
• Paying special attention to problem areas

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

• 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