Teach for Success: supporting international students in the classroom

Location map | Programme

This event is intended for university staff (academics, content tutors, teaching assistants) who work regularly with international students in the classroom. It will also be of relevance to educational developers who support academic and academic-related staff working with international students.

In recent years there have been several studies and projects which have explored the international student experience from a range of perspectives and which have reported a wide range of issues relating to and affecting that experience. These include: problems with engaging with native speakers of English, workload, adapting to new ways of learning, assessment and feedback, language difficulties and even the weather. Many of these relate to what goes on outside the classroom as much as to the demands of studying in an unfamiliar learning environment but will have an impact on the ways in which international students progress in their studies. For many academics and academic support staff, however, their main interaction with international students occurs mostly within the classroom environment and while many are increasingly mindful of the demands of the transition into UK higher education when it comes to supporting their students the challenge of trying to address all of these diverse issues within the teaching and learning of a particular discipline can be overwhelming.

This one-day workshop will, therefore, focus on those issues which have most impact within the classroom. It will provide opportunities to explore some of the learning and teaching issues which arise in the international classroom and will consider some practical strategies to address them.

The day will include:

• Consideration of what affects the learning experience of international students
• Exploration of cultural issues
• Teaching, learning and assessment practice
• Language difficulties and distractors

The main outcomes of the workshop will be:

• Some practical strategies for staff working in an international teaching context
• An awareness that learning cultures differ and how this impacts on the international classroom
• An understanding of some key ways in which teaching staff can make a positive difference to the international student learning experience
• An appreciation of where language problems may occur and how to respond to them

Fees

• There is a charge of £125 to attend this workshop.
• Please note that we reserve the right to retain the fee of £125 if you do not notify us by Monday 6 February 2012 that you are unable to attend.
• Full details of our charging policy are available.