This chapter discusses strategies to establish rapport and demonstrate knowledge in order to enhance instructor credibility and create a productive learning environment in the oral performance class.

In the post 9/11 world, a nonnative US teacher who attempts to challenge existing cultural assumptions may easily trigger hostility and suspicion in the classroom. This chapter conveys the experience of a college professor whose approach often deliberately crosses that line.

This chapter argues that the most important thing for a nonnative English-speaking teacher is to have an open and positive attitude toward students. A teacher's willingness to work out problems with individual students, coupled with openness to students' ideas and criticism, should help improve students' negative attitudes toward…

Globalization and recent demographic changes in the United States contribute to an increasing number of nonnative speakers of English in our classrooms. Such multicultural classrooms present different dynamics and challenges. Most teachers don't receive training in college to work with students whose first language and culture are different…

This chapter presents findings from a qualitative study which investigated the perceptions of twenty-five ITAs toward US American undergraduates. The participant cohort comprised fourteen PhD and eleven master's students, of which, three were male and twenty-two were female ITAs teaching oral communication or a communication course requiring…

Academic personnel who were first-generation college students (FGS) are uniquely positioned to consider the questions these students often have about the college experience. Academia needs first-generation and working-class voices to diversify an academic culture that is often socially stratified. As more FGS enroll in colleges and universities,…