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

2008 Fall - ITA English Oral Skills Make-up Assessment

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.
 

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