'Eh? What was that again?'
Language barrier hurdled
Apparently foreign profes
sors and graduate teach
ing fellows are not pre
senting the University with the
same problems that colleges in the rest
of the nation are facing.
At some Universities, students are
complaining because they can't under
stand the English of non-national
professors and GTFs.
But not at the University, where an
estimated 10 to 15 percent of the staff
and faculty are non-nationals.
At feast, not very much or very often.
Some students do admit they have prob
lems understanding a professor because
of his accent, but they usually just
transfer out of the class or go talk to the
professor about the problem
Department heads in the hard
sciences, where most of the foreigners
are concentrated, say they don't let for
eigners teach unless they are competent
in English
For example, math GTFs usually teach
courses, but foreign ones may assist a
regular professor for a term before they
teach on their own. “We assess whether
the person is doing well before we assign
a regular course,” says Theodore
Palmer, head of the math department
“Many of the students have problems
with (the foreign GTFs),” he admits,
adding that the department has only had
to remove one GTF from a teaching
position and that person was also having
problems with graduate studies. He says
they have less than one complaint a
week about specific communications
Story: Sandy Johnstone
Photography: Mark Pynes
problems with GTFs and they average
about five complaints a week about gen
eral concerns.
If the department receives even one
complaint about an instructor, Palmer
will make the person aware of it with
either a phone call or a note. If they
receive several complaints, he will have a
faculty member sit in on the class to
judge the accuracy of the complaints
“Sometimes the complaint seems to
tally unjustified and sometime it seems
absolutely on the mark," says Palmer
"The language difficulty can be a barrier,
but it can be surmounted in many
cases ”
Palmer says the department has to
consider the academic part of a graduate
student’s career as well as teaching
ability. "We want to get the very best
graduate students we can and some
times the better ones are from over
seas." He adds that the foreign GTFs
may not be “among the very best (in
teaching), but they do an adequate job “
Jim Tattersall, head of the economics
department, agrees “There are a lot of
foreign students who want to do
graduate work in the United States and
there's no reason why they shouldn't
compete for those positions,” he says.
"We've had very few complaints ”
The economics department has two
different types of teaching situations for
GTFs which may help to lessen the
problem Usually they start out teaching
Economics 199 classes under a profes
sor’s supervision before teaching a
regular three credit lower division
course
The economics department requires
that the applicants show they can "han
dle English pretty well” judging from
their performance on the Test of English
as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
"If students have a problems with in
structor they shouldn't hesitate to take
the problem known to the faculty super
visor and department chair so corrective
action can be taken," he says
Foreign professors and GTFs them
selves don't seem to perceive a great
problem either
"The language barrier is not there,"
says Iraj Fooladi, visiting assistant econ
omics professor from Iran. "The subject
is very technical. Experience says if
students do not understand, it is not the
language, but the concept."
Fooladi. who has been in the United
States for five years, says he presents his
lecture in "different wording than an
American professor," but adds that that
is "not vital in understanding the material
for the students."
His students seem to have few com
plaints about his teaching
“Sometimes I have to really listen, but I
usually understand," says John Barton,
a pre-buisiness major in Fooland's Econ
375 class. He doesn't think he would be
doing any better with an American
professor
"It (his communications skill) does
create problems, but you learn to adjust
to it," says Becky Taicott, a pre-business
major in Fooladi's Econ 375 class "You
have to listen more carefully which might
help in the long run."
Taicott does not think she could do
any better with an American'professor
either She says she ts getting about the
same grades as in previous economics
classes
Former Soviet Sergey Yuzvinsky, as
sociate math professor, says he has had
"no problems” with students not
understanding his lectures "They
sometimes ask again, but the subject is
\
“The language barrier la not there,"
says IraJ Fooled!, a visiting economics
professor from Iran.
international,” he says "I know before
hand what the questions will be."
“In my first lecture. I ask people to
correct me (on pronunciation)," he says
"Usually no one does.”
Stephany Freeman, math major, also
says she has had no problems under
standing Yuzvinsky She did have trou
ble with a GTF last year, but took another
class from her this year and found her
English much improved
Hsing-Yeh Wu. a GTF in chemistry,
has only spoken English for one year, but
"I practice a lot,” she says. A
recommendation from a professor at
New York State University wrote a
recommendation of her English ability so
she could be accepted here
"The students are very friendly," says
Wu. "If it's difficult to explain, I show how
to do it and write it on paper Some
students like an international education
They like to come and talk (about Chin
a)"
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