The barriers between undergraduates and international teaching assistants are slowly being broken since students have the opportunity this semester to take an active part in preparing international teaching Assistants for the classroom.
Students are being asked to come into Speech Communication 118G (English as a Second Language for Teaching Assistants II) to work with ITAs. This is the final speech communication class that ITAs take before entering the classroom. Students and ITAs can discuss how to work with students and ways to develop skills and techniques for the classroom.
Students also role play as part of a classroom simulation, said Paula Golombek, ITA program coordinator.
Last semester, several students from the Undergraduate Student Government came into classes and gave feedback on ITAs' oral proficiency during the post-evaluation at the end of the course.
"In a sense, it's kind of too late. It's certainly valuable feedback but we are trying to get people into the classroom earlier," Golombek said.
Benjamin Tu (sophomore-biology) was one of the undergraduates who helped with post-evaluations and is working with Golombek this year in recruiting more students to help.
The program is open to everyone and encourages students with different backgrounds, Tu said. Students would only have to come into the classes two or three times a month, he said.
"We're trying to enlarge the pool of students doing this," Golombek said. Next week, she will be going to fraternities and sororities to find students to help.
Dave Summers, instructor of speech communication for ITAs, agrees with finding more diverse students.
"If we get a broader range of representation, I think it will be better for both groups," he said.
Students who participate will watch presentations by ITAs and then offer their comments. They will also partake in discussions on current events or on specific topics related to teaching. One discussion last semester focused on techniques ITAs can use to make their lessons more understandable.
Before undergraduates participated in these classes, the other ITAs in the class and the instructor would give comments but Summers finds that student feedback is more valuable.
"It's really helpful to have the voice of the undergraduates because that's what it's really for. Otherwise it's like me guessing what undergraduates might think," Summers said.
The interaction between undergraduates and ITAs is also beneficial because many ITAs don't have any contact with undergraduates outside of classes, Golombek said.
"They really know very little about undergraduate life in the U.S. They don't have experience with some of the language and some of the attitudes that undergraduates have towards ITAs and in general," she added.
Summers said she feels it's a good idea to have contact between ITAs and students before getting into the classroom to address some of the concerns of undergraduates. Often there are negative feelings and frustrations between the two groups before classes even start, he said.
This semester, one of Golombek's objectives is to have students meet with ITAs in situations outside of the classroom. This way, students can learn something about the ITA's culture and develop and understanding of what they go through.
"See, it isn't only language affecting communication, in this type of situation the students are more open to seeing that," Golombek said. "ITAs have a lot to gain from this experience, on the other hand, students have a lot to gain as well."
