Describes a collaborative language-focused curriculum design project in a 3-week training workshop for international teaching assistants. The design attempts to deal with the shortcomings of short and intensive programs. Outlines the theoretical underpinnings and structure and process of the curriculum design effort. (SLD)

Explores the need to implement the World Englishes (WE) perspective into international teaching assistant (ITA) programs. While traditional ITA programs typically view ITA speech as deficient and in need of improvement, the WE perspective asserts that intelligibility is dependent upon interaction between speaker and listener, thereby rendering…

Explored the effect of a teaching orientation for international teaching assistants (ITAs) on their teaching self-confidence. Surveys of ITAs before and after attending a 4-day orientation to teaching designed to improve interactive teaching skills suggested a positive effect of the orientation on their perceived level of self-confidence about…

Presents a geometry game, tangrams, as an active learning method to engage international teaching assistants in concepts related to effective communication. Asserts that by framing the presentation of research-based communication concepts in an active learning metaphor that compares giving instructions to teaching, learners can experience these…

Presents innovative international teaching assistant (ITA) training programs at two Ohio public universities that focus on sensitizing new ITAs to cultural differences and teaching strategies commonly used in American classrooms. The training programs are designed to reflect and incorporate each institution's own culture, such as the geographical…

Used focus groups and an exit survey to assess the attitudes of undergraduate students (n=26) toward communicating with their international teaching assistants (ITAs). Results show that lack of willingness on the part of students to communicate with ITAs may be problematic for both students and ITAs. (SLD)