The English Language Program offers a four-week training program for incoming graduate teaching assistants whose first language is not English. This International Teaching Assistant Program is part of the University effort to ensure the quality of classroom instruction. Students get 18 hours of contact instruction per week including:
Introduction to American undergraduate education, American culture, and university policies. Discussion of effective teaching techniques, non-verbal language, and coping techniques. Practice focusing on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and interactive speaking skills. Individual tutorials based on video-taped teaching presentations
Instruction in speaking for non-native speakers of English to improve comprehension of non-simplified conversational English. Practice of communication skills in a variety of situations as well as the pronunciation of troublesome English sounds and intonation patterns.
Students who wish to enroll in either of these classes may do so. Newly arriving students need to communicate their wish to take the class with their departments. Tuition for the class is assessed by the university. Students on assistantships in summer will pay at resident tuition rates. However, the assistantship must be done before enrolling.