Working with international students

Dr TJ Boutorwick, learning adviser at Student Learning, gives advice on working with international students in tutorials.

International students, especially those whose first language is not English, cannot ‘turn off’ being in a foreign country. As a result, they may at times be on edge about everything. Keep this in mind, especially when talking to them.

Make your tutorials work for international students

• Unpack vocabulary that may be difficult to understand (for example, low-frequency words like using allocate instead of give). Paraphrase often to ensure all students understand your intended meaning.
• Give them time to process information. International students not only have to learn the academic material, but they also have to learn the meaning of the language used to describe the academic material.
• Suggest ways they can continue learning the language while they also study content. Point them to useful resources such as these language learning resources.
• Help them come up with a list of steps that need to be taken in order to complete a task. Ask them what they think the steps are. This will help them think more than they would if you told them what the steps are.
• Give examples of issues and how to mitigate them using examples. For example, you could say “Instead of ‘however’, you could use ‘moreover’ because you are giving additional information.” They will always appreciate examples of correct language use. Do not just tell them what to change. Give a language example of how it could be changed.

How to help them understand our learning culture

• Tell them about our educational environment. Things that are obvious to you may not be obvious to international students. For example, some students may not realise that it is okay to contact you or the lecturer about issues they may have.
• Tell them it’s okay to call you and other staff by your first name. Students from a high power distance culture may think this is rude.
• Tell them that they can talk to you about their study. Other cultures may not be used to approaching a tutor or lecturer directly.
• Use small talk at the beginning of a one-to-one discussion. This will help them feel comfortable.
• Understand their cultural norms. If an international student avoids eye contact it may be because eye contact is considered rude in their culture, not because they are shy or nervous. Some students may come from a culture that apologises and thanks using different words compared with English.