1. Teaching International Students: Challenges and Opportunities
Dr Marg Faulkner, Mary Ann Seow,
Adiemus Seah, Susanna Carter (LTU)
Kent Wilson, Shailja Prasad (staff)
Abhishek Shaw, Steven Rypp (alumni/student)
27th April 2009

2. Outline of Session Icebreaker
Teaching International Students: Challenges and Opportunities
Good learning experiences for all
How to internationalise the curriculum
Icebreaker design Activity
Break
How to communicate effectively
How to facilitate effective interactions
Conclusion: What can you do to create learning environment?
Resources available
Evaluation of session
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

3. Icebreaker (15 min) Questions: Whom else is interested in this topic?
What have been your experiences with teaching international students?
What do you find challenging?
What do international students contribute to your class?
Whom else is interested in this topic?
Pair up with a person you don’t know yet
Interview her or him with the following questions
(you have got 5 mins)
Change roles, now the interviewee becomes the interviewer
Be prepared to introduce the other person to the group
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

4. How can we make our ideal a reality?
the ideal of transforming a culturally diverse student population into a valued resource for activating processes of international connectivity, social connectivity and intercultural learning is still very much that, an ideal’ (De Vita 2007, p. 165)
Source:2009 EDIC Workshop for Academic Development
Mark Freeman, Lesley Treleaven, Lyn Simpson, Simon Ridings,
Prem Ramburuth, Betty Leask, Natasha Caulfield, Chris Sykes
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

5. What is intercultural competence?
The development of intercultural competence is a dynamic, ongoing, interactive self-reflective learning process that transforms attitudes, skills and knowledge for effective communication and interaction across cultures and contexts
Source:2009 EDIC Workshop for Academic Development
Mark Freeman, Lesley Treleaven, Lyn Simpson, Simon Ridings,
Prem Ramburuth, Betty Leask, Natasha Caulfield, Chris Sykes
Assessment, Marking and Moderation
27/4/2009

6. Good learning experiences for all
This is our objective ..but we only have 2 hours!
It will be an interactive session with lots of discussion
Later you will apply what has been learnt to designing an icebreaker activity
Resources will be provided to explore this topic further (including these slides)
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

7. What are the best ways to embrace internationalisation in the curriculum?
Making lectures accessible
Focusing on core concepts
Recording lectures
Avoid Jargon
Explain unfamiliar words
Arkoudis, Sophie , 2006, ‘Teaching International Students: Strategies to enhance learning’
Centre for the study of higher education, University of Melbourne
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

8. What are the best ways to embrace internationalisation in the curriculum?
Create opportunities for small group participation
Give time for students to prepare
Use ice-breakers
Explicitly seek international perspectives
Thoughtfully manage group work
Arkoudis, Sophie , 2006, ‘Teaching International Students: Strategies to enhance learning’
Centre for the study of higher education, University of Melbourne
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

9. LTU: Tutorial Recommendations
Assist students to get to know each other early
Include time for relationship building – start with learning names
Names are an important part of our identity
Ask preferred names and practice pronunciation
Note that more than one name may be required
eg Siow Loong (a.k.a Bruce Lee) means small dragon
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

10. Your task: Design an Icebreaker for a Business Communication Course
Aim:
To break down barriers
To promote intercultural communication
To help students understand the cultural backgrounds of other students
To identify and overcome potential stereotypes
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

11. 2nd Part Teaching International Students: 27/4/2009
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

12. Developing Critical Thinking Skills
It is not the international cognitive skills that are in question but their English language ability that influences their reading, understanding, interpretation and evaluation of material that is demonstrated in either written or oral expression. As we know, developing critical thinking skills is equally challenging for domestic students
Arkoudis, Sophie , 2006, p14,‘Teaching International Students: Strategies to enhance learning’
Centre for the study of higher education, University of Melbourne
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

13. LTU: Tutorial Recommendations
Model appropriate cultural sensitivity
Be clear about your expectations for participation
Pay attention to the developmental nature of learning
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

14. Student perception of Group Work
QUT short movie on the topic of working in groups
Discussion
Is the situation at QUT similar to at UniSA?
When, how and why do students work in groups?
When are they effective?
Why?
What strategies can you recommend?
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

15. How to facilitate effective interactions
Show relevance to learning
Support development of skills
think about objective of collaboration
Provide time for relationships to develop
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

16. Fink , L (2007) ‘Team Learning: Putting “sTEAM” into Learning Croups, p 10
27/4/2009

17. Conclusions
Cultural diversity is a valuable resource for the development of intercultural competence in students however,
Task design is critical
Group management (if you are getting students to work in groups) is critical
Small changes to tasks and the assessment criteria used can have a significant effect on learning outcomes
Assessment, Marking and Moderation
27/4/2009

18. Further Resources: Learning Names:
In a Nutshell: Learning Names
LTU site: Teaching Intl Students in lectures & tutorials
LTU site What Do I Call You?
eBook Price, Fiona Swee-Lin (2007) Success with Asian Names,  Allan & Unwin, Sydney.  Electronic Books Collection Access: via Ebook Library to UniSA staff and students.
English Language Development available – UniSA and externally
Assessment, Marking and Moderation
27/4/2009

19. Further Resources: Groups/Teams
In a Nutshell: Student Diversity: Reaching all students
In a Nutshell: Using Discussion Boards effectively – expectations for their use and implications of posting
LTU site: Teaching Intl Students in lectures & tutorials
Working in Teams: Online Module with Quiz
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

20. Further Resources
ALTC Exchange – Embedding the Development of Intercultural Competence in Business Education
Learning Activities
Team-Based Learning Resources
University of Melbourne – Teaching International Students website
Sophie Arkoudis (2006) Teaching International Students: Strategies to enhance learning report
Oxford Brookes University – Suggestions for teaching international students more effectively (Jude Carroll 2002)
Teaching International Students:
Challenges & Opportunities
27/4/2009

21. Evaluation and Thank You
Please take a minute to provide us with your feedback on today’s session
Assessment, Marking and Moderation
27/4/2009