ERIC Number: EJ770853
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003-Jan
Pages: 14
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0363-4523
EISSN: N/A
"Not a Lick of English": Constructing the ITA Identity through Student Narratives
Fitch, Fred; Morgan, Susan E.
Communication Education, v52 n3-4 p297-310 Jan 2003
Universities commonly rely upon International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) to teach basic courses. This use of ITAs is a considerable benefit to universities; however, there is substantial evidence to suggest that undergraduate students quite often object to being taught and graded by ITAs. If universities and their academic departments wish to foster a more productive learning environment for undergraduates who are taught by ITAs, it is vitally important that the ITAs be better prepared for this important teaching task. In this paper, we describe a narrative analysis of the stories of 25 undergraduate students. The study reveals that students have coherent, shared narratives of their experiences of ITAs. Based on an analysis of the narratives, we offer a number of positive suggestions for the development of more effective training for ITAs to teach courses at the undergraduate level.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Teaching Assistants, Higher Education, College Instruction, Student Attitudes, Intercultural Communication, Communication Problems, Teaching Skills, Teacher Characteristics, Foreign Students, Identification, Social Bias, Rhetorical Theory, Personal Narratives, Focus Groups, Discourse Analysis, Self Concept, Teacher Student Relationship, Teacher Orientation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A