About
The University requires that all international students pass
three English language assessment exams before they are fully
qualified to teach.
The three examinations are: the speak test, the teach test,
and the written test. You can find out more about these tests
in Section 10 (English Language Qualification) of the
Mathematics Graduate Student Handbook, or by going directly to the
English Assessment Program (EAP)
web page. Note that as you become increasingly language qualified, you
are eligible for a wider range of GTA assignments.
The Mathematics Department tries to help international students make the
transition to being a fully language qualified GTA by
- placing
them in offices with domestic students when they start the
program, and
- introducing them to purely grading assignments
and then migrating gradually to full interactions with students
via Help Center assignments and large calculus discussion
sections.
There are many things that we can do as students to help aswell.
International Students
If you are an international student who is not fully language
qualified, then you should consider doing the following:
- Chat to a domestic student in your office, or in your
class. Invite a native English speaker out for a coffee/chat. Brush up
on your spoken english skills.
- Attend Tuesday teas and chat to native english speakers
there. It is Okay to say "I am trying to practice for the spoken
english exam. Do you mind if I chat with you for a while?"
- Talk to domestic students about their teaching assignments.
What are the challenging aspects of their jobs? What techniques do they
use to connect with the students? How do they respond to student
questions?
- Ask an English language qualified student if you can
sit in on their class for a period. Notice how they interact with
their class. Watch their blackboard presentation. How do they
make contact with students? How do they respond to student
questions? This will be invaluable for you as you prepare for
the Teach Test.
- Offer to make a presentation on a math topic (the concept of a
function, absolute values, differentiation, trig functions,
slope of a line,...) to several of the language qualified grad
students. See what they think of your presentation.
- Write essays on topics that are typical of the written
exam. Get a native english speaker to comment on the accuracy of
your essay.
Native English Speakers
If you are a native english speaker (or a fully language
qualified student), then it would be a very nice gesture to
go and talk to international students in your office/class etc.
- Ask them about the language qualification process.
Where are they along the process? Do they need help (in the
form described in 1-6 above)? This is an important service
activity that you are performing. One of your rewards will be
exposure to a new culture, and new ways of thinking. Another
important reward is that some of the conversations will make you
think about your teaching style, and your own classroom performance.
- Be proactive about forming study groups with international
students. This will help them with their language skills, but may have
additional benefits for you. They have learned math in very different
cultures than the typical US undergrad culture. You may be surprised with
the resulting confluence of ideas.
- Decide for a semester to volunteer some of your time to
help international students prepare for the teach test or
the written test. The MGSA will help coordinate volunteers with
students who are practicing for these tests.
Other Resources
All students.
Remember that cultural diversity is one of our strengths here in the
Mathematics department. It benefits us all if international students
become English language qualified in a timely fashion. Once a
student becomes fully English language qualified, this creates a
vacancy in the assignments that are typically given to first and
second year international students. The Department can now recruit a new
international student into this vacancy, and the cycle of cultural
diversity continues.
