Patricia Byrd

Writing Required in Graduate Courses in Business Administration

The increasing proportion of graduate students to undergraduate students in ESL academic preparation programs in the United States suggests that more information is needed about language use in graduate courses. This article reports on the characteristics of writing assignments found in syllabuses for graduate courses in business. First, the types of writing assignments and the vocabulary used to label those assignments are analyzed and discussed. Second, the use of prompts to guide the writing of the assignments is examined. Finally, implications are suggested for ESL writing courses for nonnative speakers who are planning to enter (or already attending) U.S. graduate degree programs in business.

Crossing Pedagogical Oceans: International Teaching Assistants in U. S. Undergraduate Education

DOCUMENT RESUME

The Language of Teaching Mathematics: Implications for Training ITAs.

M National attention has been given to the concern of university mathematicians and other educational leaders about the effects of having basic courses in mathematics taught by so many nonnative speakers of English from non-U.S. cultural/educational backgrounds (National Research Council, 1989). While Rounds (1985, 1987) and Gass, Haynes, Rittenberg, and Wieferich (1989) have concentrated on the teaching of mathematics by successful and/or less-than-successful graduate teaching assistants (TAs) and international graduate teaching assistants (ITAs), the work reported here focuses on the use of language in the teaching of regular university faculty, rather than TAs. Arrangements were made with the Department of Mathematics at Georgia State University to audiotape classes taught by three nativeEnglish-speaking faculty members: an associate professor, an assistant professor, and a part-time instructor teaching college algebra and precalculus mathematics. In the fall quarter, 1987, two class sessions from each course were taped and transcribed (a total of 6 hrs, 20 min). In the winter quarter, 1988, one of the authors attended four classes taught by an associate professor and one class taught by a part-time instructor for a total

NNS Performance on Writing Proficiency Exams: Focus on Students Who Failed.

Abstract An increasing number of U.S. universities require students to pass a writing proficiency examination before receiving undergraduate degrees. It is often assumed that these exams present special problems for nonnative speakers of English (NNSs). Johns (1991) reported on a case study of one students difficulties with a writing proficiency exam. The student performed well in other courses but failed the required writing exam twice—and had not passed it prior to publication of the study. In our study, academic records of 191 NNSs who took a writing examination in 1991 were analyzed to assess their performance on the writing examination at Georgia State University (GSU). In addition, profiles of the students who failed were compiled, in part to determine how common the type of student profiled by Johns is at GSU. Of the original 191 NNSs, 16 were shown in the Registrars record keeping system as still not having passed the writing exam by December 1994. The analysis shows that only 3 of these 16 students closely match the Johns profile. Of the remaining 13, 4 have C averages and 9 have failing grade point averages (GPAs). For these nine, failing the writing exam is part of an overall pattern of academic difficulty. Questions remain about the relationship between English proficiency and academic preparation and about responsibilities for academically weak students.

Writing grammar textbooks: Theory and practice

Abstract Writers of grammar textbooks need to base their work on a combination of theory and practical knowledge of the language-teaching classroom, meeting the needs of both teachers and students. In preparing a grammar textbook for publication, a writer will have to consider at least the following: the meanings possible for the phrase the teaching of grammar, a definition for pedagogical grammar, and the usefulness of direct and/or indirect teaching of grammar. The grammar textbook writer will also make decisions about the influence of proficiency levels on materials selection and use, and the selection and ordering of the materials in the textbook. In addition to issues that are unique to writing grammar textbooks, the textbook writer will need to consider issues in materials design more generally. Important among these broader design issues are the perceived conflict between fluency and accuracy, process and product, and least-to-most communicative activities.