Resources for ITAs

On this page you will find resources to assist you as you prepare to teach. This page provides several experienced ITAs' tips for classroom teaching, common expectations of students and tools to help you communicate with your students, as well as resources for the English language and improving comprehensibility.

Outstanding ITA Award

The Outstanding ITA Award is sponsored by the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program. Its purpose is to recognize one graduate International Teaching Associate or Assistant (ITA) at Bowling Green State University who has demonstrated excellence in instructional capacities.

See application requirements on the Graduate College website

Outstanding ITA Award 2022

Jeevani Sammeta has been selected as the 2022 Outstanding International Teaching Associate.

Jeevani is being recognized for her work as a TI in the School of Media and Communication, and specifically, for her positions as the instructor of record in Introduction to Public Speaking (COMM 1020), Organizational Communication (COMM 3070), Visual Editing (JOUR 3150).

In addition to the certificate of acknowledgment, Jeevani also will receive a $750 honorarium to recognize her exceptional achievement.

The goal of the Outstanding International Teaching Assistant/Associate award is to recognize the contributions that international graduate students bring to BGSU, and we are delighted that Jeevani is the second award recipient from the School of Media and Communication. It is an honor to present this award today, especially given the fact that the award was exceptionally competitive, with the number of applicants tripling since the previous, inaugural, year.

The committee members were impressed with Jeevani’s application materials which demonstrated her professional growth, global mindset, and her commitment to teaching. Jeevani’s class materials exemplify her thoughtful process of aligning activities with course learning objectives and reflecting on-action and for-action (Murphy, 2014). Jeevani’s students praise her for the dedication to exposing them to her cultural background by integrating various components of Indian film and language into her classes. For example, one student wrote:

Something that I’ve taken from class with Jeevani is the concept of jugaad: “a flexible approach to problem solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way” (Oxford Languages).

Another student highlighted Jeevani’s responsiveness to student feedback and her commitment to helping students develop their interests:

Ms. Sammeta always balanced her responsibilities of pushing students to complete work that reflected their highest effort, while also showing understanding and compassion to students who may be experiencing a situation that is interfering with their academic performance.

This student also provided an example:

While completing our unit on organizational change, Ms. Sammeta conducted an activity that required each table in the class to develop and share with the rest of the class an instructional activity that would exemplify specified concepts from the chapter. My table was assigned organizational mergers, and I took the lead in planning an activity that helped demonstrate the difficulties of maintaining and negotiating identity during a merger; after class, Ms. Sammeta approached our table to ask who developed the idea’s core concept and later scheduled a Zoom call with me to further develop the idea for presentation as a GIFTS paper…. This is beyond the norm of what might be traditionally expected of Ms. Sammeta as an instructor, especially as a graduate instructor who has her own academic workload to manage.

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Photo of Jeevani Sammeta with her award

Outstanding ITA Award 2021

Mahdi Tahamtan has been selected as the 2021 Outstanding International Teaching Assistant.

Mahdi is being recognized for his work as a TA and TI for Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders (CDIS 1230).

The goal of the Outstanding International Teaching Assistant award is to recognize the contributions that international graduate students bring to BGSU, and we are delighted that Mahdi is the first recipient because his work with students in his courses highlights an inspiring commitment to his teaching. For example, Mahdi has gone beyond his duties and attended several workshops at the Center for Faculty Excellence, earning a certificate for Teaching and Learning. Additionally, his submitted application showed a strong commitment to pedagogy in both online and F2F settings. His student course evaluations included several comments from students who recognized his commitment to helping them succeed. For example, one student wrote:

Professor Mahdi was truly one of the best professors I've ever had. Extremely nice, always patient, and honest. He's not afraid to admit mistakes and helps us in any way he can. When he doesn't know the answer to a question, he writes the question down and comes back next class knowing the answer and telling us. He was always open to feedback, and I felt comfortable being in that class. If there are any students that need to take CDIS 1230, I would hands down recommend this professor, and I hope he knew how much I personally enjoyed the class. He made the class intriguing.

Outstanding ITA 2022Photo of Mahdi with his award

Outstanding ITA 2022 1

Photo of Brent Archer (Mahdi's supervisor), Mahdi, and Ana Kryzhanivska (Director of ESOL Program)

A few experienced ITAs are excited to share some tips with you...

Shudipta-Sharma
Dai
If students do not response in your class, do not think that they cannot understand you at all. Generally, students feel nervous speaking in class. One way to overcome this issue is asking them to do something individually or in a group. If you go close to them to monitor their work and ask questions individually, many students will feel comfortable sharing their problem.

In a nutshell, besides being confident, try to be friendly, be caring, and, most importantly, be enthusiastic for teaching.

Shudipta Sharma, Ph.D. Student in Media and Communication

One key component to success in the American classroom is to be "humble but confident."

Dai Zehui, Ph.D. Student in Media and Communication

Emi 

 

If your students react in a confused manner, do not jump into the conclusion that they hate you because you are a non-domestic TA. As much as it may be our first interaction with domestic students in an American classroom, it may be their first interaction with a teacher from another country in their classroom. They might be simply nervous.
The bottomline is to "be confident, be happy, and be proud of who you are."

Emi Kanemoto, Ph.D. Student in Media Communication

Soha 

 

If you are still practicing a specific sound in the English language and you haven't mastered it yet, use the board as a compensation strategy. In other words, write down on the board any words or phrases you may be struggling to pronounce clearly. This way, students will be able to follow your instruction more easily.
Being comprehensible is vital to effective instruction. So your goal should be for students to be able to understand you. If your pronunciation is clear, students will be able to focus on the content you are delivering instead of them trying to figure out what you're trying to say.

Soha Youssef, Ph.D. Student in Rhetoric & Writing 

Teaching Interactively

In the U.S. classroom, instructors are expected to teach interactively. In other words, the classroom is expected to be student-centered rather than teacher-centered. To teach interactively, make sure to involve your students in the learning process through conducting activities and frequently checking students' understanding of the content. Watch this YouTube video to learn various strategies you can implement in your classroom in order to keep students engaged.

Effective Communication

Cultural norms and expectations may sometimes stand in the way of effective communication between instructors and students. Watch this YouTube video to learn different tips and strategies that can help you communicate effectively with your students.

Student Expectations from ITAs

Student expectations vary across cultures. Watch this video by Vanderbilt University to learn about common American student expectations from ITAs.

Surviving and Thriving in American Academia

Nadine Le Gros, from The University of Western Ontario, created this elaborate resource to familiarize ITAs with the American classroom culture, help ITAs maintain a healthy relationship with their advisors/supervisors, and provide ITAs with some language skills needed in an academic setting. 

Videos: The User-friendly Classroom

A.C. Kemp, a lecturer at MIT Global Studies and Languages, created this series of videos in which she addresses U.S. classroom culture and undergraduate students' expectations of ITAs. In those videos, ITAs can find authentic examples of successful instruction and student-instructor interactions as well as advice from ITAs at MIT.

Vocabulary-related Resources

American Slang

Understanding American Slang is one of the challenges International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) in particular--and English language learners in general--may face. A. C. Kemp's Slang City is a rich resource that can familiarize you with day-to-day American slang.

Collocations

A collocation is a combination of words that usually come together in speech and writing. For instance, "mistake" is usually accompanied with "make"--not "do." So one would say "I made a mistake"--not "I did a mistake." The English Club website offers plenty of resources on collocations, ways to learn them, and quizzes to test one's knowledge.

Adjective Order

In English, if more than one adjective are used to describe a noun, that list of adjectives is never organized haphazardly. There is a rule:  (determiner-> opinion-> size-> shape-> age-> color-> origin-> material-> type/purpose). Following that rule will make your speech and writing easier to understand.

Pronunciation-related Resources

YouTube Channels can be a quite helpful resource to improve one's comprehensibility. But remember that merely watching the videos will not help. Practice is key. Another effective strategy is to record and listen to your speech. Listening to one's own speech helps in detecting errors and ultimately improving comprehensibility.  

Rachel's English

Here is a link to Rachel's English YouTube Channel.  

Elemental English  

Here is a link to Elemental English YouTube Channel.

YouGlish (http://youglish.com)

 Use YouTube to improve your English pronunciation. All you have to do is type in a word that is difficult for you to pronounce, and YouGlish will give you authentic examples of how that word is spoken by real people in context. You can also sign up for daily lessons.

Updated: 02/15/2024 01:07PM