Rationale |
|
The Criteria for Accreditation described by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
states that institutions may appoint graduate
teaching assistants for whom English is a second
language only when a test of spoken English, or other
reliable evidence of the applicant’s proficiency in oral
and written communication, indicates that the
appointment is appropriate. (Section 4.8.4)
UNC Charlotte addresses this requirement in the
Academic Personnel Procedures Handbook under Section IX.
Appointment of Student Teaching, Research, and
Administrative Assistants: Students for whom English
is a second language may be appointed as GTAs only when
the English Language Training Institute certifies that
the applicant's proficiency in oral and written
communication indicates that the appointment is
appropriate. International teaching assistants
(ITAs) should make sure they understand the requirements
described below. All ITAs must fulfill these
requirements. [Note: ITAs from countries in which the
first language is English must contact the ELTI Director
for a brief one-on-one language
assessment.] |
ITA
Orientation |
|
During the
week before classes in the fall semester, the English
Language Training Institute (ELTI) offers a half-day
orientation for ITAs. The ITA Program Coordinator and
Assistant Coordinator, along with other University
faculty and “veteran” ITAs, welcome the ITAs to the
University and introduce them to various dimensions of
their life here as ITAs. This serves to make them feel
more comfortable in their roles as teachers as well as
international graduate students. Efforts are made to
point out what they can expect from U.S. classrooms,
students and faculty. Finally, they are given an
overview of the afternoon language
assessment. |
ITA
English Language Assessment |
|
ELTI will
schedule three assessments during the first three weeks
of classes in the fall and spring semesters. The first
of these occurs the week before classes. ITAs should
make every effort to attend this first assessment, but
if this is not possible, they must make an appointment
to attend one of the other two scheduled assessments.
Failure to attend one of the
assessments will result in loss of the
assistantship.
The
language assessment consists of videotaped presentations
in which the ITAs are asked to do the
following:
-
Biographical Warmup (2-3
minutes);
-
Describing a Course Syllabus: The ITA candidate
describes a syllabus from an introductory-level course
in his/her field (5
minutes);
-
Fielding
Questions: The ITA candidate answers questions arising
from the presentation (5
minutes).
Two or more
raters from ELTI determine whether the ITA’s
communication skills are strong enough for classroom
interaction, based on the rating instrument in
Smith/Meyers/Burkhalter Communicate: Strategies for
International Teaching Assistants
(Regents/Prentice-Hall, 1992) pp. 171-77 This instrument
is similar to the SPEAK and TEACH tests and is used by
several programs around the country.
ITAs scoring
below 230 on the 300-point scale may not teach and must
attend the ITA Communications Course described in the
next section.
2008
Fall - ITA English Oral Skills Assessment
| Friday,
January 4 2008 |
9:00 am |
College of
Health and Human Services Building Room 279, 284 |
2008
Fall - ITA English Oral Skills Make-up Assessment
| Friday,
January 18, 2008 |
9:00 am |
College of
Health and Human Services Building Room 279
|
Important Note: Only two
assessments will be given in the spring semester.
Failure to attend one of these assessments will lead to
cancellation of the assistantship unless previously
assessed by the ELTI Office. |
ITA Communications
Course |
|
For those ITAs scoring below
230 on the assessment, completion of a term-long
communications course is required. Following the
assessments each semester, the course instructor
schedules the course at a time convenient to all the
ITAs required to attend. The course meets for three
hours a week and focuses on intensive pronunciation and
language skills, classroom and lab presentation, and
cultural adaptation. As much as possible, instruction
reflects the varied duties of the ITAs at UNC Charlotte,
i.e., lecturing, leading lab sessions, and conferencing.
The ITAs required to participate in the workshop receive
no academic credit, but are given reduced workloads (3-5
hours/week) in their assistantships while they are
attending the course. The texts are lent to the ITAs. At
the end of the course, the ITAs are assessed again and
recommendations submitted to the departments. The terms
for successfully completing the program are
a)
achieving at least a score of 230 on the assessment,
or b) achieving at least a B in the course and
scoring at least 215 on the assessment.
Falling
into category b means that the ITA will continue on
contract and be allowed to perform classroom or lab
duties, but must take the course for an additional
semester and achieve a B in the course or 230 on the
assessment. Failure to achieve one of these objectives
means that the ITA will not be placed on a teaching
assistantship for the following
year. |
| Post-Assessment
Support |
|
ITAs are
encouraged to return to the Communications Course
instructor the following semester for assistance with
ongoing language problems. ELTI also offers follow-up
observations to departments as part of the course. These
observations provide support for the ITAs rather than
evaluation, although the department may receive copies
of the observation notes. |
|
Responsibilities
of International Teaching
Assistants |
|
ITAs are
responsible for contacting ELTI to register for an
English language assessment. They must successfully
complete the assessment and, if required, the ITA
Communications Course. |
Responsibilities of Academic
Departments |
|
Departments
must provide ITAs with information regarding the English
language assessments and encourage their ITAs to
complete the requirements. Each department is
responsible for ensuring that all ITAs have successfully
completed the requirements before using them in any
instructional situation with
students. |
Responsibilities of the Graduate
School |
|
The Graduate School is
responsible for providing ELTI with a list of all ITAs
each semester. It is also responsible for sending a
reminder each semester to the departments regarding the
ITA requirements. |
Responsibilities of the English
Language Training Institute |
|
ELTI will schedule and
conduct the ITA orientation in the fall and assessments
and the ITA Communications Course in the fall and
spring, At the end of each assessment, ELTI will send
the results to each ITA, with copies to his or her
respective coordinator and the dean of the college. Each
semester, ELTI will submit a report of the assessment
results to the Graduate School and a report on the ITA
Communications Course results to the respective colleges
and the Graduate School. ELTI will also submit an annual
report on the program to the Provost. All records of
assessments and grades will be kept confidential in
accord with FERPA guidelines. |
Contact
for the ITA Program |
|
Meriam Brown , Coordinator
International Faculty
Language Support Program
Office of
International Programs
University of
North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte,
NC 28223
phone: (704)
687-7776
fax: (704)
687-3168
e-mail:
mmbrown@uncc.edu
|