Each semester an army of graduate students helps run U classes.
Last Fall Semester, more than 15 percent of teaching assistants — who grade, teach and tutor — were from foreign countries. Acclimating to what may be a new language and a new culture is not always easy, especially for those who choose to become TAs. To help these students, the U offers the International Teaching Assistant Program.
The program ensures that international students’ English skills are adequate and that they are familiar with the culture of American classrooms. Last fall the program trained more than 100 students, who came from 21 countries and represented 16 departments of study.
Shahbaz Sehkon, a graduate student in entertainment arts and engineering, came to the U in 2014 and became a TA through the program. Originally from India, he studied English before coming to the United States. He heard about the program through a friend and immediately became interested.
“I think it’s an awesome thing,” he said. “I think we should encourage more people to do it.”
Diane Cotsonas, the program’s coordinator since 1997, said it’s just as much about classroom culture as it is about English.
“A lot of these students are coming from countries where the education system is vastly different, the classroom environment is vastly different and they’re very eager to learn what the expectations are and to understand how they can be more successful,” she said.
Students must be proficient in English, based on test scores, before they are certified to be TAs. They also are required to attend a crash course in what to expect in an American classroom. The workshop includes educational videos, group discussions and lectures on the culture at U.S. universities and specifically at the U. Students also make a video recording of themselves speaking in front of all the students at the workshop. Months later, in a follow-up training, they review their video.
“It helped me see myself as a teacher,” Sehkon said. “I was able to see that maybe I should be doing more eye contact or maybe I should talk louder.”
He said becoming a TA has both improved his English and helped him be a better student. He is currently a TA for a 3D modeling class.
The program began in 1993 as part of the English Language Institute, which focused on helping foreign students learn English. It was later separated into its own department to allow greater focus on the needs of TAs. More than 2,000 students have gone through the program since it started.
“We have this subset of students that are brilliant and interesting,” Cotsonas said. “They are a really important part of the teaching mission on our campus.”
m.bateman@dailyutahchronicle.com
@mbatman72
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