Practices That Have Paid Big Dividends
As an instructor, I find myself surrounded by bright, very motivated, and very interesting students, who must learn a new, nontechnical language. I use a variety of teaching techniques, writing requirements, and testing practices to help them get by the language barrier. While all foreign students must pass the English Proficiency Exam to be accepted into the program, they lack the native sense of how American English flows and how it is used. Some of the practices detailed below have made the transition for these students a little easier.
Relating to Foreign Born Students
Having earned a technical degree myself, I can relate to the engineering students in class. Having lived in two foreign countries and having learned two foreign languages, I can readily relate to the challenges that foreign students face. They appreciate that I understand their situations, linguistic struggles, and the difficulty of being in this country. I mention my experiences to them and use my own stories to draw out their concerns and anxieties. I invite them to ask about the meaning of words and my use of English, especially when I use idioms or words that are not clear to them.
Taking Tests
Because this is a survey course covering the whole gamut of OB and HRM, I give multiple-choice exams with organizational scenarios that can be answered in a multiple-choice format. This approach tests both their grasp of the material and also their ability to read and understand the way American English is used. During the test, I invite them to come ask questions if they do not understand an item or one of the alternatives. Many take advantage of that invitation. While I take great pains to make the questions and alternatives clear, they are often not clear to the foreign born or to those of foreign extract.
I do not set time limits for my exams. I assure students that I am more interested in their grasp of concepts than I am in how rapidly they can read English. Typically, American-born students take 35 to 40 minutes to complete an exam. Those for whom English is a second language typically take over an hour. In a few cases, I’ve watched (with empathy) as very bright, foreign students read the questions word for word, again and again, taking up to two hours to complete an exam. After grading exams, I do an item analysis of the questions. If 80 percent or more of the students miss an item, I assume that it was unclear, confusing, or just a bad question. As a result, I add one point to every student’s score and no one is disadvantaged.
Writing Papers
In each course, I assign three to six short, two-page papers as well as a term paper. The short papers are self-evaluations of a student’s experience with leadership assessment instruments or in-class group exercises. The length is limited to two double-spaced pages, compelling students to be concise and to the point. I ask them to answer three questions:
- What was your reaction to the assignment?
- What have you learned about yourself?
- What have you learned about leadership?
In essence, they are to use the concepts and terminology learned in the course to explore their own affective experience, personal insights, and leadership practices. I often find that a shy student, who has a hard time speaking, is very articulate when writing. Here again, I am far more interested in students gaining an understanding of concepts and ideas than writing in perfect English. Non-American speakers often have difficulty with the correct use of “the” and “a,” the correct use of verb tenses, and I will often see English sentences written in the structure of a student’s native language.
I invite students to get help at the UM-D Writing Center (www.casl.umd.umich.edu/ 171801/). On the center’s website it says: “Undergraduate and graduate peer consultants… can provide extra sets of eyes and ears for students working on research and writing projects.” As an alternative, I invite them to have a native, American-born speaker read their papers and help them with spelling and grammar.
What Can You Do?
What can you do… really? The answer is actually, quite a bit! When facing a class of mostly English-as-a-second-language students, you can draw on experiences that are uniquely your own. For example draw on any foreign travel for business or pleasure, experience with learning another language, experience as an expat working in a foreign country, semester abroad programs, or ecclesiastical or missionary experience abroad. You can also read up on cultures about which you know little; but most importantly, be sure you engage your students. If nothing else, listen to their stories of leaving the security of home, of escaping war, of an arranged marriage, of company assignments abroad, of their ethnic community here, of job experiences here, and so forth. It is good for them, and it will be most interesting to you. Foreign students appreciate and welcome support in any way that an instructor can provide it, even if it is only listening.
