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I just had my first discussion sections for the semester. And for the second semester in a row, I have two students that I can barely have a conversation with. Last semester, I had three international students: one from China, one from South Korea, and one from Japan. The Chinese and Korean students wouldn't speak up in discussion section, and both e-mailed me and said that their English simply wasn't good enough. Both did poorly on tests and papers, primarily because of the language issue. (My Japanese student was quiet, but that's because she was timid. When prompted, she spoke perfect English. Her written English was better and more legible than many of my American students.)
This semester I have two Chinese students who don't speak much English. One speaks a bit better than the other, and I saw him translating. I also have students from Thailand, Nicaragua, and Paraguay, but they all seem to speak and understand English just fine. But I'm worried about these two Chinese students. Perhaps I haven't been teaching long enough, but I do generally care about my students and I want them to do well. I understand the difficulties of going to school in a new country and in a foreign language. It must be incredibly difficult. But if I can't hold a simple conversation with my students, then how am I supposed to teach them anything?
I have heard that my University has a lower TOEFL requirement than most similar universities, and that's why we seem to get a lot of students, especially from China, who simply aren't proficient in English. Arggg...so. frustrating.
This semester I have two Chinese students who don't speak much English. One speaks a bit better than the other, and I saw him translating. I also have students from Thailand, Nicaragua, and Paraguay, but they all seem to speak and understand English just fine. But I'm worried about these two Chinese students. Perhaps I haven't been teaching long enough, but I do generally care about my students and I want them to do well. I understand the difficulties of going to school in a new country and in a foreign language. It must be incredibly difficult. But if I can't hold a simple conversation with my students, then how am I supposed to teach them anything?
I have heard that my University has a lower TOEFL requirement than most similar universities, and that's why we seem to get a lot of students, especially from China, who simply aren't proficient in English. Arggg...so. frustrating.