Bridging the Gap

1. Bridging the Gap Enhancing Learning Outcomes for International Students

2. Overview • International students • Classroom expectations • Specific problems areas • Academic Writing and Plagiarism • Resources

3. Who are our International Students? • Graduate vs. Undergraduate • Native English Speaking vs. Non-Native English Speaking • Exchange vs. International

4. International StudentsUndergraduate vs. Graduate

5. Undergraduate Students

6. Graduate Students

7. International Students:Challenges • May not be used to continuous assessment, class participation, group work • May not approach their professor with problems, questions or concerns – not necessarily because they are shy but because of culture • May feel excluded from Canadian groups • Generally stick together • May chat with other students during class – common in some cultures • Pressure to do well

8. Graduate vs. UndergraduateDifferences

9. Faculty Experiences • How do you find out who in your class is an international student? • What are some of the difficulties you have encountered international students? • What is the most critical issue for you in helping international students be successful in the classroom? • If we cannot directly address your question/problem during this session, we will provide follow-up via email.

10. Differences in expectations These generalizations are meant to offer a basis for comparison purposes only.

11. Acculturation Issues “When I left my country I wasblue, and everyone in the new country wasyellow…now I’ve returned to my country, I amgreen.” • The sojourner experience – voluntary displacement with intention to return home. How much should we expect students to adapt? “There is no way to achieve academically unless personal issues are OK.” • Students cannot speak to their families about problems – academic, cultural, or personal. They have to pretend everything is going positively to comfort parents. • Setting the tone – can we make the classroom a more supportive environment? Profs are the real “front-line” people – seeing the students more regularly than any other staff members. • Striving for balance – what is our responsibility? Know and use the university resources.

12. Time Management “I don’t know what is important to study”. • Students may devote all their time to their course work, yet lag behind. • Vital background knowledge on topics is often non-existent: not only due to the cultural difference, but sometimes due to narrow experience (limited practical and extracurricular opportunities). “Canadian teachers don’t push us to study.” • The “memorize and cram” method only works if the material is comprehensible. • Students may not realize until too late that they need to demonstrate a fairly sophisticated understanding of material on exams – not simple regurgitation of unrelated facts. “Rhythm of work” here is stressful – compressed.” • Students who do not perceive time as linear or a commodity to be “spent” may become bewildered by the pace of our semesters. • Multitasking may be problematic – students may concentrate on one difficult course to the exclusion of others.

13. Group Work “Why is group work always individual work for me?” • Int’l students feel they are perceived as a liability to the group. • How are groups divided? Integration vs. ghettoization. • Isolation - can we design group assignments so that Canadian students will value the contributions of int’l students? “What is the point of group work/presentations/class discussions?” • When the professor is seen as the fountain of all knowledge – any time s/he is not speaking is wasting valuable lecture time. • Since int’l students may place no value on the contributions of classmates, they may chat with each other while other students are speaking – to us this is extremely rude behaviour. • Try to frame this use of class time to clearly demonstrate that you value student contributions.

14. Assessment “I spent hours working on my assignment, but still failed.” • What do we do when language inhibits clarity? …when the student obviously missed the point of the assignment yet still did a great deal of work? “I don’t even know where to begin correcting my international students’ assignments” • You are not an editor – yet that is what some students may need. Their ideas may be fine, but they need help with language and organization. • Offer students the opportunity to visit the Writing Center before you correct their work. See if your department would be willing to hire a dedicated MUCEP student tutor. • Offer to look at a draft of the assignment prior to the due date. “My professor told me that she would pass my group no matter what, because we are all international students.” • Universities in the UK and Australia, which are further ahead in the internationalization thrust, are currently bemoaning the watering down of academic standards.

15. Academic Writing Issues • Acquisition of Academic Literacy: “I had falsely assumed that the students had academic writing knowledge and never even asked myself where they got it”  academic interaction that is heavily dependent on previous experience and background knowledge (Silva, Leki, & Carson, 1997)  paper writing is not a common practice in many educational institutions outside North America • Provide specific guidelines in written form of the organization and style of particular assignments • Provide students with exemplary writing • Raise students awareness about appropriate field-related terminology

16. Academic Writing Issues (Cont.) • Language Issues: “ English is writer responsible, the reader wants to know where the paper is going”  Differences in rhetoric and structure “ You can’t really help it, it does influence your grading of the papers” • Disruptive influence of surface-level problems • Use process-oriented approach to student writing • Provide students option of submitting early drafts for revision • Encourage students to ask questions about their written assignments throughout the course

17. Western World View “There was a teacher from Europe, who said you mustn’t do it. His friends all agreed, Plagiarism is evil indeed, now everyone obey and rue it.” (Pickering, 2002) Eastern World View “ There was a devotee of Confucius, who was very conscientious. Never did write a word He’d not before heard So as not be thought presumptuous.” (Pickering, 2002) Academic Writing Issues (Cont.)Plagiarism

18. Academic Writing Issues (Cont.) • Plagiarism: • authorship and ownership as cultural and historical tradition • reliance on quoting and paraphrasing in developing language proficiency • Provide verbal and written explanation of your definition of plagiarism. Illustrate the concept with specific examples • Engage students in discussion on ownership of ideas • Inform students of the consequences of plagiarizing • If plagiarism is suspected, meet with student in private and, if possible, provide student with an opportunity to rewrite.

19. CampusResources • Writing Centre - SN 2053 • www.mun.ca/writingcentre • ESL Program • SN 4065 / SN 4069 elss@mun.ca • International Student Advising • Corte Real, 1st floor isa@mun.ca • Counselling Centre - UC 5000