—Forum
GTF course helps remove barriers
By Kenneth D. R.imsing
Graduate Teaching Fellows
(GTFs) serve the University in
several important rapacities
Whereas they tench or condui t
research to fulfill their GTF
contrai ts. they are also ohligat
_Commentary_
ed to make satisfactory progress
in their degree programs. They
must balance their time and
commitment between their re
sponsibilities as student and
scholar, and those as teacher
and mentor
International (ill's bring the
added dimension of cultural di
and holding offu 11 hours ) The
TSK rates speakers based on
their oral responses re< orded
onto a (.issette (ITls storing
lielow ,i threshold score are re
(|uired to enroll in oral skills
and (ITI' training ( ourses at the
American English Institute
We must re< ognize that Ian
guage is not the only potential
harrier to communication; col
tural variables may also con
tribute to misunderstanding
For example, an international
C.TF may have a completely
different view of the instrui
tor's role, therefore acting ( on
trarv to student expel tations
On the other hand, many inter
national (ITl s come from a rel
We must recognize that language is not
the only potential barrier to
communication; cultural variables may
also contribute to misunderstanding.
-Kenneth Ramsing
versity and an array of skills
and expertise Students. fac idly
and the community can be unfit
from their presence The inter
national community also bene
fits because the exchange of
people and ideas is crucial il
we are to achieve peaceful co
existence on this planet.
For undergraduates to benefit
from interactions with interna
tional GTF instructors, howev
er. GTFs must he able to com
municate verbally in English.
For this reason, the University
instituted a policy in Fall 1087
which requires that all new in
ternational GTFs in teaching re
lated positions take the Test ot
Spoken English (TSF)
(“Teaching related" duties in
clude lecturing, leading a dis
cussion or lab section, grading.
ativelv formal fiim.ttnm.il
background and m.iv be ten
fused or offended by their stu
dents' words and actions
Norms about the amount of
work required and grading
standards vary markedly from
one country to another These
are the types of issues ad
dressed in the American Hug
lish Institute's (TIT training
course required of some (ill s
This course focuses on commu
nicative competence in the
i lassroom. (list ussion of ( ultur
al differences between universe
tv classrooms in the home
country and the United States,
as well as the differences in
educational values and student
expectations
The University has a duty to
ensure that (i l l s i an be under
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stood iii the classroom We
must remember, however, th.it
i iimmunii ation entails dia
logue It is important that we
not inhibit communication be
cause of preconceived notions
I fill mirage students to keep an
open mind and to attempt to re
solve difficulties by seeking
help from their GTFs and from
the administrative support
units which exist to help re
solv e these problems
I strongly believe that the
testing and training required of
international (ills Inis lieen a
positive step
The Graduate Si hool is com
milted to working with depart
nieilts and students to assist
(ills, international or other
wise I encourage both students
and (ills to inform me of their
i oncerns so that we may work
together to improve problem
Situations as they arise
Kennef/i I) Ktimsin# is tit ling
ili-,in of the (•rmluatv S< hool
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