Language Barriers in the University of Illinois Urbana ... - ideals
Language Barriers in the University of Illinois Urbana ... - ideals
Language Barriers in the University of Illinois Urbana ... - ideals
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Garcia, Roeder, Saleh, BTW 250-D2_06-03 9<br />
Forty-six out <strong>of</strong> 60 respondents said that <strong>the</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g abilities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>ternational teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
assistants were acceptable, good or excellent. This leaves 23% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> undergraduate population<br />
unsatisfied with <strong>the</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g effectiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>ternational teach<strong>in</strong>g assistants. This is a<br />
lower percentage <strong>the</strong>n our group had orig<strong>in</strong>ally thought, which means that language barriers here<br />
on <strong>the</strong> university, between native English speak<strong>in</strong>g students and <strong>in</strong>ternational teach<strong>in</strong>g assistants,<br />
are not as severe <strong>of</strong> a detriment to education as we had previously believed. This does not mean<br />
that <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>of</strong> language barriers can be ignored, due to <strong>the</strong> 23% <strong>of</strong> students that felt that <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
teach<strong>in</strong>g assistants were unsatisfactory.<br />
The causes <strong>of</strong> language barriers<br />
The cause <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> language barriers between native English speak<strong>in</strong>g students and <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
teach<strong>in</strong>g assistants as seen from <strong>the</strong> student’s po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> view is <strong>the</strong>ir teach<strong>in</strong>g assistant’s lack <strong>of</strong><br />
command <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> English language. Fifty-six percent <strong>of</strong> our respondents said that <strong>the</strong>y have<br />
problems communicat<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>ternational teach<strong>in</strong>g assistant as a result.<br />
The effect <strong>of</strong> language barriers on learn<strong>in</strong>g process<br />
In our survey we asked two questions that were meant to gauge <strong>the</strong> effect <strong>of</strong> language barriers on<br />
<strong>the</strong> overall learn<strong>in</strong>g process. The first question was: Do you feel that your overall education is<br />
threatened due to language barriers between yourself and your TA? This question had five<br />
choices rang<strong>in</strong>g from def<strong>in</strong>itely to no. Of our 60 respondents we found that four answered<br />
def<strong>in</strong>itely, 10 probably, 22 maybe, 16 doubtful, and 8 no. These responses show that <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Ill<strong>in</strong>ois students are concerned with <strong>the</strong> effects that language barriers <strong>in</strong>cur with<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir teach<strong>in</strong>g assistants that may be h<strong>in</strong>der<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir overall education. The second question was<br />
basically <strong>the</strong> same only it focused on h<strong>in</strong>drances <strong>of</strong> grades. This question had a similar<br />
distribution as <strong>the</strong> first did. Students at <strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Ill<strong>in</strong>ois are concerned with <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
education and grad<strong>in</strong>g with respect to language barriers. Thirteen students even said that <strong>the</strong>y<br />
switched out <strong>of</strong> a discussion section just to avoid <strong>the</strong> communication problems that <strong>the</strong>y would<br />
have <strong>in</strong>curred had <strong>the</strong>y stayed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> section.