I want to thank all that attended the brownbag roundtable yesterday. We had an excellent group of participants from a variety of departments and all were kind enough to share their own experiences teaching writing. The discussion was eye-opening and we plan to host more roundtables or workshops such as this in the future.

Dr. Susan Sarwark, program manager of Spoken English, Dr. Edwina Carreon, program manager of ESL Composition, Dr. Jack Rouzer, assistant program manager of ESL Composition, and Charm Moreto, GTA in ESL Composition, were on hand to not only field questions, but also to share their own experiences and offer strategies for teaching writing as an IGTA.

We began by introducing ourselves and allowed the discussion from that point to develop rather organically. One of the main issues that came up repeatedly was perceived competency by students. All on hand agreed that it is best to acknowledge oneself as an international GTA the first day of class, but that the manner in which one frames this information is key. For example, instead of saying, “English is not my native language,” say, “I am bilingual.” By doing so it is possible to turn something that could be perceived by some students as a fault into something that is a skill.

It is unfortunate that students may distrust their GTA, but it may be helpful to talk to students about your own experience with writing or, as Dr. Carreon suggested, to demonstrate your writing skills during teaching. This could be done by leading a writing exercise on an overhead or at the board that you have prepared ahead of time or by correcting grammar mistakes from students’ papers during lecture with the class. Exercises such as these are helpful for building trust with students for native speaking GTAs as well.

We also discussed cultural differences in the classroom decorum of students. University classrooms in the U.S are frequently relaxed settings and students often do not show signs of respect to faculty, let alone GTAs. It can be disconcerting to some to have students not raise their hands before speaking, coming late to class, or openly challenging their instructor’s authority in the classroom. Of course these problems are not faced by international GTAs alone. It is important for any instructor to set their behavioral expectations for students the first day of class. Although this will not eliminate all problems, it will allow your students to know what is expected of them when they enter your classroom.

Dr. Sarwark suggested several resources available to international GTAs at Ohio State that I will mention here. Faculty and TA Development created a handbook specifically for IGTAs that is available online through their website, http://ftad.osu.edu/Publications/InternationalHandbook/TitlePage.html, or in hardcopy at their office, room 260 of the Younkin Success Center on Neil Ave. The Spoken English Program also offers a course, English 105: Classroom English for International Graduate Teaching Associates, that some might find helpful. This course works to improve the communication skills of international GTAs through an emphasis on language, culture, and pedagogy. For more information on English as a Second Language Programs at Ohio State please visit their website http://esl.osu.edu.

Molly Reinhoudt