International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
students may appear to lack domestic students’ self-confidence in the classroom, our experience bears out that
these students are often excited and willing to participate and desire to be successful in the classroom, to achieve
passing grades and English language proficiency.
American College Writing approaches educating the international student this way: English 101 is a critical
gateway (or complete barrier) course to the full American college experience. It is a formal pre-requisite for
many other courses, and an essential foundation for students to succeed in any course requiring writing or a
research assignment. Students cannot move forward in their academic career without successfully completing
English 101. International students face unique challenges in meeting this critical requirement, but it is not – and
shouldn’t be – an insurmountable barrier. After all, international students are no different than any other student:
their most pressing concern is communicating effectively, in their writing and in their speaking. They want to
earn the grades that will allow them to persist in their studies, transfer to a 4-year university, or find
employment.
But international students are drowning in the English 101 classroom. Experience with international students
tells us that these students want to comprehend and work within the rigorous American curriculum (designed for
English-speaking students); they want to understand what faculty are saying, what it means, and to respond
intelligently, particularly in front of a classroom of their peers; and students want convey their learning in their
assigned work, as a mark of comprehension and achievement. Yet, consider the difficulties international students
have at the most base level: understanding lectures while simultaneously adjusting to American culture,
American English (its idioms and nuances) and the American college classroom, where the culture of learning –
the give and take between instructor and student – can be starkly different from their own personal educational
experience – and creates barrier to education, what American College Writing defines as three research
statements.
1) Test placement is critical to international student success. ACW addresses the most significant of student
skills: college-level writing. English 101 is a critical gateway course to the full American college
experience. The course is a formal pre-requisite for many other college-level courses and an essential course
for students to succeed in any class requiring writing or a research assignment. ACW helps students place
into English 101 at the start of their college experience and supports them once they are placed in the
course.
2) Instruction meets student skill-development need. ACW recognizes that students must have access to the
instruction model that best suits their individualized needs. We offer several different instruction tracks for
students, and while each is different in format and time, the material remains comprehensive and is
developed to address several goals important to international student success:
" Improve English reading and writing skills for success in the U.S. classroom through a competency-based
curriculum that blends Universal Course Design concepts with college-level reading and writing
competencies, applies a multiple entry and exit point structure; students get the help they need at the time
they need it, and provides for frequent, on-going assessments and feedback to identify student progress and
build on student strengths.
" Receive interactive instruction with activities that simulate U.S. college classroom and workplace
environments:
" Infuses collaborative activities throughout to increase vocabulary base and foster conversational and
interpersonal skills.
" Develops skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, teambuilding, and negotiations with others in the
context of the American workplace and college experiences.
" Requires student participation: asking questions in class about material without prompting, responding to
instructor questions, contributing to classroom discussions without prompting, student self-assessments of
progress.
" Relies on student collaboration: active in and engaging in small group work.
3) Contextualized instruction works. The ACW difference is instruction with a focus on skill-building and
acquisition of competencies. ACW instructors help students with the skill-building necessary to score high
on the COMPASS (grammar, sentence structure and clarity, paragraph development, reading
comprehension, and analysis of information) and to earn the grades they desire from their English 101
course. Additionally, ACW instructors work with students to diagnose problems areas and provide
specialized resources and tutoring so students master the information necessary to earn not only the grades
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