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ATD Blog

(Part 1) The Challenge of Diversity: Teaching Non-Native Students

Friday, April 18, 2014
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This blog is part one of two in a series written by Robert Toronto, PhD.

There is diversity in every classroom, of course—age, gender, background, personality. However, all of these are magnified on the campus of the University of Michigan – Dearborn (UM-D). Ethnicity, culture, and language are major diversity factors on the Dearborn campus and in my classes. Because UM-D is a stand-alone, satellite campus (and less expensive), it draws students of many nationalities to an affordable, high-quality education.

Along with undergraduate courses, I teach a graduate-level course called Engineering Management 545 (EMGT-545), which is an amalgamation of organizational behavior (OB) and human resource management (HRM) designed primarily for those interested in engineering and technical skills. Its focus, however, is not on the technical aspects; it’s a course in leadership, human behavior, and human resource practices with attendant labor laws and policies, guidelines, and procedures. It is a survey course covering the human side of management, and one that is required in the engineering management program. It is also a required course in the engineering management program and the only OB/leadership course that engineering students take in their program.

The Breadth of Diversity

Dearborn is located in “Ford Country” (Ford World Headquarters is just down the road), and it is in the center of the largest Arab American community in the United States. Therefore, it draws many students from the auto industry and many students of Middle Eastern, Asian, and Far Eastern backgrounds. There are not just two or three foreign students per class, but judging by name alone, well over half the students are foreign or of immediate foreign extract. In my classes over the past several years, I have had students from Japan, China, Mexico, Columbia, India, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and a few European countries. For most of these students, English was a second language.

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A Whole New Language

At the beginning of the course, I point out that students will learn a whole new language, a whole new vocabulary—the language of organizational behavior and human resource management. I refer students to the last page of each chapter of the textbook, which has a list of key terms—concepts, theories, and ideas. There are 20 to 25 key terms in each chapter, making up 400 new words that they will have to learn. Typically, because engineers have not taken courses in OB, this is a challenge. It is particularly challenging for students for whom English is a second language.

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Students of foreign extraction often find American English, its idioms, contractions, and slang, problematic. For example, “out of juice” has nothing to do with juice; “a dime-a-dozen” has nothing to do with dimes or dozens; “dressed-to-kill”… well … you know. In addition, the verbs “can” and “can’t” are particularly problematic when spoken quickly in conversation or in a lecture. To a foreign ear that is not attuned to English, “can’t” will sound like “can,” thereby changing the entire meaning of a phrase. (For additional information, see The Accent Reduction Institute: www.yelp.com/biz/accent-reduction-institute-ann-arbor.)

I also point out that many of the words I use in class have a different meaning in the social sciences than in the hard sciences and engineering. For example, when I use the term “factors” I am not referring to algebraic factors but to traits and characteristics of people as described in OB theories and research, such as “personality factors” and “leadership factors.” “Derive” has nothing to do with the derivatives of calculus but conclusions stemming from OB theories or research findings. And when I use the term “instruments,” I don’t mean mechanical instruments but social science surveys—ways of collecting subjective information for the study of people, groups, and organizations.

My attempts to be supportive notwithstanding, many foreign students have a shyness and reluctance to approach me and so I must move toward them (engage them) both during class and afterward. Also, in spite of my efforts at clarity, and my pointing out the use of idioms, contractions, and slang, some students still find the course a linguistic challenge. This becomes apparent when some foreign students take two hours to complete a 65-item multiple-choice exam that takes American speakers 35 to 40 minutes. 

Look for part 2 of this blog series to include Practices That Have Paid Big Dividends and What Can You Do?

About the Author

Robert S. Toronto, PhD, is a lecturer in the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Management and a retired internal leadership consultant at the University of Michigan Health System.

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