MSU international instructors face culture, language barriers

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Standing in front of a group of students for the first time as a volunteer teaching assistant four years ago, Jie Zhuang had a lot on her plate.

As a communication doctoral student, Zhuang moved to the U.S. from China to finish her education. With no teaching experience and a thick accent, Zhuang struggled to adjust to her new job.

“I was really intimidated, but one thing that I learned is that American students are very tolerant as long as you show your passion to teach and your care about their learning,” Zhuang said. “They were really patient to hear, even though sometimes I cannot express myself well.”

Zhuang is one of many international teaching assistants, instructors and faculty working at MSU. Although the instructors are highly qualified in their area of teaching, adjusting to the American classroom isn’t always easy, said Zhengfang Zhou, director of graduate studies in the Department of Mathematics.

All new international teaching assistants are required to participate in an orientation program and pass an English language test.

The program teaches international students pronunciation and other skills to help as educators despite their language and cultural differences, MSU Teaching Assistant Program Director Kevin Johnston said.

In Japan, Yasumasa Komori was discouraged from asking questions in class because it was seen as a challenge to the instructor’s authority.

Now, Komori works as an assistant professor of international relations at James Madison College, where group discussions and student feedback are encouraged.

“Over here, it’s really a two-way street, especially at James Madison,” Komori said. “That’s what makes my teaching rewarding.”

For Senta Goertler, an assistant professor of second language studies and German, miscommunications in the classroom transcend language barriers. Her German accent barely is noticeable, but traces of her heritage haven’t left her teaching methods.

“In Germany, when I got feedback on a paper it meant that it was good enough to be considered to be given feedback and (the feedback) often was negative,” Goertler said. “To an American student, it would sound like, ‘This professor is ripping me apart.’”

International teaching assistants often are concerned about expressing themselves in a language they’re less familiar with, Johnston said.

Although mathematics teaching assistants passed English language tests, some still struggle to be understood by their students, Zhou said.

Political theory an constitutional democracy and psychology senior Caroline Bell worked with a Chinese teaching assistant during her calculus class. Her teaching assistant sometimes forgot to use definite and indefinite articles when speaking, which made understanding the lessons difficult for Bell.

“We didn’t expect the words to go together in that way, so you really had to pay attention to what he was saying,” Bell said. “It was really hard to actually pay attention.”

Often, people have stereotypes against different accents, associate professor of linguistics and Tanzania native Deo Ngonyani said. If students aren’t open to understanding foreign accents, they sometimes give up in class, Ngonyani said.

“Depending on how prepared they are, some people turn themselves off completely,” he said. “Although there are differences, there’s no need for a breakdown of communication.”

For students, working with international instructors should be seen as a burden but a chance to grow, said Desiree Baolian Qin, assistant professor of human development and family studies and native of China.

“You have to know what it’s like to work with and for a population that is increasingly diverse,” she said. “Instead of seeing it as an annoyance, see it as an opportunity.”

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