Communicating with non-native English speakers

Kristen Sharma, learning adviser at Student Learning, gives tips for interacting with non-native English speakers.

In tutorials

Put yourself in their shoes. It’s pretty tough studying a university course in a second language and learning all the cultural expectations at the same time.
Speak clearly. You may have to modify your speech to make it a bit slower. Avoid just speaking louder—non-native speakers are not deaf. They may just need time to process what you said.
Give time for them to respond. Pauses are okay.
Really listen. Let them finish their own sentence. Don’t assume you know what they’re going to say next. If they really look like they’re struggling, you can help them save face by jumping in.
Ask them to repeat what they said or clarify something if what they said isn’t clear.
If you’re not sure what they mean, give a paraphrase and ask if that’s what they mean.
Give instructions in chronological order (“First do…, then write…, then talk to your neighbour…”) Writing these on the board is also helpful for everyone, not just non-native speakers.
Avoid idioms (it’s a piece of cake/just fly under the radar/it has nothing to do with me). Despite understanding all words separately, non-native speakers might not understand the overall meaning. If you do use an idiom, explain in plain English what you mean.

If you’re giving a detailed or long explanation to a non-native speaker, summarise what you said at the end. Even better, get them to summarise so you can check their understanding.
If the non-native speaker is getting upset or frustrated, be aware that other things might be going on for them too.
If the non-native speaker sounds abrupt/impolite, remember that they probably don’t mean to. They may not yet have these nuances in English.