“teacher, i don’t understand!” chizu matsubara, ph.d. department of education “teacher, i...
TRANSCRIPT
“Teacher, I don’t
understand!”
Chizu Matsubara, Ph.D. Department of Education
“Teacher, I don’t
understand!”
Chizu Matsubara, Ph.D. Department of Education
Let’s Explore:
• How the international students are feeling in the classrooms.
• Why there seem to be misconnections between the instructors and the students.
• What are the international students saying about their experiences?
This Presentation:
• Will not provide teaching strategies• BUT, will provide instructors ideas on what the
international students are hearing, seeing, and feeling as they attend their classes.
Who are international students?
• “An international student is defined as anyone studying at an institution of higher education in the United States on a temporary visa that allows for academic coursework. These include primarily holders of F (student)visas and J (exchange visitor) visas.”
(Open Doors, Institute of International Education)
2014 Open Doors Report on International Exchange
• Eight percent increase of international students in the 2013/2014 academic year
• 886,052 students • International students make up just over 4% of the
total U.S. graduate and undergraduate enrollment combined
• International students contributed more than $27 billion to the U.S. economy in 2013
• (2014 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange)
International Students at DSU* Numbers based on Fall Semester Enrollment
(Source: DSU International Student Services (ISS))
Academic Year Enrollment
2011-2012 73
2012-2013 114
2013-2014 185
2014-2015 249
Where are they from?Top 5
Fall 2014 (Source: DSU ISS)
Country of Origin Number of Students
Mainland China 76
Nigeria 53
Hong Kong 27
Ukraine 17
Brazil/Japan 13
Other countries(Source: DSU ISS)
• Azerbaijan, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, France, Germany, India, Ivory Coast, Macau, Mali, Mongolia, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Venezuela, Vietnam
• = 249 students (Fall 2014)
What’s happening in their minds?
• Culture• Adjustment• Communicative competence
"CU L T U R E I S L I K E A N I CE BE R G"
LA N G U A G EH O LI DA Y S A R TS H I S TO R Y FO O D
FO LK LO R E
CO M M U N I CA T I O N S B E L I E FS A TT I TU DE S
V A LU E S P E R CE P T I O N S
Four Stages of Cultural Adjustment(Trivonovitch)
• The Honeymoon Stage
• The Hostility Stage
• The Integration/Acceptance Stage
• The Home Stage
Four Stages
• “these four stages are cyclic in nature, not linear, and a person will encounter periods of adjustment continuously as he or she moves from one situation to another."
• (Trivonovitch)
Communicative Competence (Hymes, 1966)
• Linguistic competence is knowing how to use the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of a language. Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into phrases and sentences?
• Sociolinguistic competence is knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately, given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating. Sociolinguistic competence asks: Which words and phrases fit this setting and this topic? How can I express a specific attitude (courtesy, authority, friendliness, respect) when I need to? How do I know what attitude another person is expressing
Communicative Competence• Discourse competence is knowing how to interpret the larger
context and how to construct longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a coherent whole. Discourse competence asks: How are words, phrases and sentences put together to create conversations, speeches, email messages, newspaper articles?
• Strategic competence is knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns, how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about the language and in the context. Strategic competence asks: How do I know when I’ve misunderstood or when someone has misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use?
Where are your international students at?
• Based on some of the theories introduced to you, do you know where your international students are at?
What are the international students saying about their learning experiences?
• Overwhelmed• “I’m responsible for everything!”• “I didn’t know I had assignments.”• “Why are there so many assignments?”• “Syllabus?”
What are the international students saying about their learning experiences?
• Group work• “Why do we have group work?”• “I have studied together with a friend for a
test. But I haven’t done a project together with a classmate for a grade.”
What are the international students saying about their learning experiences?
• Asking questions in class• “Why do American students ask so many
questions in class? This makes the class chaotic.”
• “I don’t ask questions in class because that means I’m challenging my professor.”
What are the international students saying about writing assignments?
• “Why is intellectual property important?”• “When I write, it’s the reader’s responsibility
to understand what I’m writing about.”• “Beauty and imagination is what my culture
looks for in an academic paper.”• “I don’t know what a persuasive paper is. In
my culture, to persuade another, brings attention.”
Teacher, can you:
• Help me “reset” my mind?• Help me learn how to do collaborative
learning?• Help me how to be effective in group
projects?• Help me understand the expectations of a
student?
A quote from an international student
• “I always want to do the best I can. But because of the barrier, I can’t.”
SHELL Tutoring Program
• Students Helping English Language Learners Tutoring Program
• @ISS OfficeMON 3:30-4:30pm Lindsey
TUE 3:00-5:00pm Rachel
WED 3:00-5:00pm Noelle
THU 3:00-5:00pm RachelEdward
