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Help make the transition for international students smoother


International students might feel pressure and anxiety both in a new classroom and country. However, there are some tips on how you can help international students feel more comfortable and succeed in your class.

  • Be clear about classroom and university policies. Go over these policies on the first day of class and make sure you upload your syllabus to CourseWeb, so the students can look back at it when they need to. A course syllabus could be a totally new concept to an international student; explain what its purpose is.
    Also, encourage students to attend office hours! International students might not want to ask questions in front of their peers. Explain how useful one-on-one time with their professor is. To encourage attendance of office hours, have a check-in day with each student count for participation points.
  • Explain academic integrity. Plagiarism is not a point of discussion in some foreign institutes - international students might be unfamiliar with citing sources and creating a citation list. Give them an understanding of why plagiarism is wrong, and teach them how to properly cite their sources.
  • Make course materials available on Blackboard. This would be helpful to international students who struggle with listening comprehension. It takes time to understand material in a foreign language, so having a copy of a PowerPoint or an assignment to look over will help your student succeed in learning the material at their own speed.
  • Go over assignment and/or test requirements, so students are not confused about what is required of them.
  • Incorporate collaborative learning opportunities. These give international students an opportunity to work with their peers on what they have learned in the lecture, to discuss homework questions with one another, etc. Students often learn best from group work.

These classroom techniques help not only international students, but all of your students. To read more, check out this article.



8/02/2018

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