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Teaching International and Non-English speaking background (NESB) students in lectures and tutorials
This page provides some simple strategies to enhance learning for International students and other students from a non-English speaking background in lectures and tutorials. The intention of this guide is to provide a quick, simple reference for academic staff who teach international and NESB students in lectures and tutorials.
Introduction
Learning and Teaching Unit provides a range of services to support student learning on each metropolitan campus and online. Learning and Teaching Unit also conducts workshops and provides resources on other topics related to teaching International and NESB students - you are encouraged to explore these and other resources and to develop and apply your own strategies to assist international and NESB students to get the most from your teaching. Some references and contacts to assist you in this are included in the Further Information section at the end of this
guide.
Context—towards 2010
In 2005, the number of International students at UniSA has grown to over 10,000 —around 34% were studying on campus and around 66% were enrolled offshore. One of UniSA’s strategic intentions is to continue to increase the number and range of International students studying with UniSA, and become a distinctive, internationally competitive institution in a global market for students and research contracts by the year 2010.
International students come from a wide range of countries and cultural backgrounds. In 2001, the ‘Top-5’ countries were: Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia and Thailand. The largest number of Australian students who come from a non-English speaking background are from Vietnam.
The diversity of the cultural and linguistic background of the student body has many implications for teaching - it requires the implementation of teaching approaches which are inclusive of students from a variety of cultures and from non-English speaking backgrounds. This guide provides some simple strategies for enhancing learning for all students, but particularly for international and NESB students, in face to face settings such as lectures, tutorials, studio sessions and practicals.
Aspects of spoken English that cause the greatest difficulty for International and NESB students
Most international students at UniSA are studying in a language—English—which is not their first language. Even though they need to have achieved a minimum standard to be accepted into University, the comprehension and production of spoken language can pose a major stumbling block. This is often true even for those who have undertaken previous study in English.
A number of factors contribute to difficulties with student comprehension of the spoken word in lectures and tutorials, including:
- the Australian accent
- use of idioms and humour
- speed of delivery
- large, noisy group settings.
Participation in formal and informal group discussions and giving formal oral presentations can also be difficult for international and NESB students. Some are uncertain of what is expected of them; some lack the confidence to interject and have their say; some simply have difficulty, particularly in the early stages of a course, in comprehending what others are saying and therefore do not feel confident to contribute.
And like all students, international students can be reluctant to seek assistance and work long and hard before seeking help from their lecturers or from staff in Learning and Teaching Unit.
Strategies for enhancing learning in lectures, tutorials and other face to face settings
The following strategies have been distilled from various sources and are intended to suggest simple and effective steps that you can take to enhance the learning of international and NESB students. These strategies will also benefit all your students by aiding comprehension, clarifying expectations and encouraging and supporting all students to interact and learn from one another. They are: strategies for lectures, for tutorials, and a checklist for inclusiveness
In lectures
- speak clearly and face students when addressing them—the more cues to meaning that are available to students, the better is their comprehension.
- avoid using colloquialisms and abbreviations—idioms and acronyms constitute ‘new and unfamiliar vocabulary’ that can interfere with comprehension, particularly initially.
- provide glossaries of terms—particularly discipline-specific jargon—before presentations. New vocabulary or familiar terms used in different ways can interfere with comprehension, particularly where an understanding of the new vocabulary is a foundation for subsequent concepts.
- invite students to tape lectures, tutorials or other presentations—Using audio recordings provides students with the opportunity to review and decode information and also to develop their note taking.
- avoid using long convoluted sentences—these may work in written text where the reader can review the sentence several times to decode its meaning. However, this is not an option with spoken language and therefore it is difficult for students to review meaning.
- pause for note-taking – when presenting information orally it is useful not only to signal when a point you are making is particularly important, but also to consciously pause after you have made your point, allowing students time to take notes
- use outlines and simple overheads—these provide visual aids to aural comprehension and assist students to build a mental framework for organising concepts and information. They also assist students to take effective notes.
- distribute lecture notes or outlines—these do not need to be highly detailed, but should set out the scope, intentions and major concepts thus providing a ‘roadmap’ to assist students to navigate and organise new meanings
- identify essential pre-reading—this gives students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the topic before the lecture
- use diagrams and tables to support text—these provide a different organising framework for ideas and information and can provide ‘shortcuts’ to understanding
- present information in highly structured ways both during the study period and within each lecture or series of lectures— you might:
- provide a skeleton overview of the ground you will cover (an ‘advance organiser’ for your material). A study period overview will give students a sense of the overall course.
- make meaningful links between previous and subsequent lectures—a sense of context and relatedness assists comprehension
- provide extension to lectures in the form of reading lists or other resources that supplement your presentation. However, be explicit about how you expect students to use these.
In tutorials (and practicals, studio sessions, discussion forums, or practicum settings)
- be clear about your expectations for participation—provide students with a handout that sets out clear expectations about how they need to participate and what outcomes are sought from the session. Make time to go through this in the first session and reinforce in future sessions.
- assist students to get to know each other early in the course- students will feel more confident and more able to take risks if they know the group and feel comfortable with them. Simple activities designed to ‘break the ice’ early in the course can save much time later.
- model appropriate group interaction—introduce yourself and ask all students to introduce themselves. Provide the group with a list, with pronunciation guides and preferred names. Make the effort to learn the names of all students in your tutorial groups – even if you have to get everyone to wear name-tags for the first few sessions. This will help students to learn each others names too.
- make participation a positive experience—ensure that activities encourage, support and reward appropriate participation.
- encourage the group to agree on appropriate guidelines for group interaction—discuss and agree on expectations for appropriate and inclusive listening and responding.
- model appropriate cultural sensitivity—encourage staff and students involved in any group setting to engage, understand and respect differences and similarities among people and cultures.
- pay attention to the developmental nature of learning—provide early and frequent formative feedback to all students on their understanding of the subject matter and in relation to their communication and interpersonal skills.
- schedule the formal presentations of international and NESB students after they have seen other students model good practice – let the skilled, confident students present first – their performance will provide a good model for others, including international and NESB students.
A checklist for auditing your lectures, tutorials and other face to face teaching for inclusiveness of NESB students
The following check list has been developed to assist you to monitor your delivery style to be inclusive of NESB and International students.
- I know what the International profile of my student group is?
- I have indicated to students the difference between a lecture and a tutorial and what I expect of students in each, and I communicate that to students at the beginning of each study period.
- I provide an outline of the lecture topics, tutorial topics and assessment tasks and their sequence for my course before or during the first lecture.
- I structure my presentations clearly and effectively.
- I provide a handout outlining the content, structure and the aims of each teaching session.
- I use clear and concise visual aids to support my teaching.
- I ensure that all students can see my face and hear me clearly whenever I teach.
- I slow down when speaking and consciously pause when I have made an important point that requires noting.
- I permit/encourage students to tape my lectures.
- I routinely introduce myself and require my students to do the same in tutorials and other small group settings.
- I model appropriate cultural awareness and interpersonal behaviour with all students, particularly in small group settings.
- I provide frequent formative feedback to students early in the study program.
- I regularly invite and obtain feedback on my teaching from a representative sample of my students.
- I analyse patterns of student assessment completions and results for signs of any particular difficulties for particular groups of students.
- I am familiar with the learning resources for students available through Learning and Teaching Unit and refer my students to them.
Further information
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