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Questions & Answers
Keith E. Otto is program director for English as a Second Language Program at the English Language Institute.
What is the ESL Program and whom does it serve?
The English as a Second Language (ESL) Program is a service unit of the university administered by the English Language Institute (ELI). The program provides testing, course instruction and other services to matriculated UB students whose first or dominant language is not English. This group includes most of the 3,400 international students currently enrolled at UB as well as domestic students who are non-native speakers of English. Our primary mission is to help these students become better prepared for their academic programs by improving key English language and academic skills—in writing, reading and oral communication—that they need for university-level work. The ESL courses in reading and writing are equivalent to English 101 and 201, and fulfill the university's college writing requirement for ESL students.
How does your program differ from the ELI's Intensive English Program?
The ESL Program often is confused with the ELI Intensive English Program (IEP), which is a full-time, non-credit English language program offered four times each year to non-matriculated students. Many students who enroll in the IEP as a pre-academic program go on to study at UB, another SUNY institution or another college or university in the U.S. The ESL Program offers credit-bearing university courses in the fall and spring semesters that matriculated UB students take as part of their normal course load. Some UB students, including undergraduate students conditionally admitted to the university, are required to take one or more ESL courses.
How do the ESL courses help students who are non-native speakers of English succeed in their academic programs at UB?
Our courses focus on the most crucial skills that students need to be successful in their academic work at UB. These include critical reading skills, academic and research-paper writing skills, and oral presentation and class discussion skills. In addition, the courses seek to fill in some of the gaps students have in their English skills, whether it be in terms of grammar, sentence structure or command of everyday idioms. In addition, students become familiar with faculty expectations and university standards with respect to academic integrity, class participation and the like.
How is your program involved in testing and training the university's international teaching assistants?
The ESL Program administers the testing and training program for international students who have been, or expect to be, appointed to graduate, research or teaching assistantships. The program seeks to ensure that students with assistantships who have instructional responsibilities possess sufficient communication skills to teach effectively. All international students who are non-native speakers of English and who have been awarded an assistantship are required to take the SPEAK (Speaking English Assessment Kit), which is an institutional form of the Test of Spoken English produced by the Educational Testing Service. Most of these students are tested when they first enroll at UB, and many of those who are tested also are required to give a teaching demonstration before being certified to teach. The SPEAK Test identifies those who clearly are qualified to teach in terms of their English skills, while the individual teaching demonstration, often conducted with representatives from the student's department, serves to qualify those who may have received a somewhat lower score on the SPEAK Test but who are well qualified to teach.
Why do we still hear complaints about international teaching assistants not being able to teach?
Of course proficiency in English does not ensure success in teaching. There is much more to teaching than being skilled in the language of instruction. Most international students on an assistantship have little teaching experience when they are assigned instructional responsibilities at UB. Therefore, they have to learn how to teach, not just to communicate effectively in English. We offer a graduate-level course, Communication Skills for International Teaching Assistants (ESL 512), which addresses basic teaching, presentation and class-discussion skills, and helps students refine their English language skills for instructional purposes. They also learn about the culture of the American classroom and about student and teacher expectations. Many assistants take this course either before or during their first semester of teaching.
On the other hand, many of our domestic students initially may be put off by a classroom situation in which the teacher is a non-native speaker with an unfamiliar accent. It can take time and effort on the part of these students to become sufficiently accustomed to the different style of English spoken by their international teaching assistants. If they are patient and give their teachers the chance, they will find them to be among the most conscientious and hard working instructors they have at the university. I advise undergraduate students to get to know their ITAs—it is a great opportunity for them to learn about cultures and educational experiences different from their own.
In what ways do you work with the academic departments and the Graduate School in setting English language policy for the university?
I am in frequent contact with departments across the university regarding UB's English language policy and the testing and training of students on assistantships. The policy is the responsibility of the university's International Student Policy Committee (ISPC). I work with the departments when evaluating students in order to certify them to teach and assist in determining the appropriate instructional assignment for these students—in a lecture situation, a recitation, laboratory or office hours. We strive to place assistants in an instructional situation suited to their language proficiency and communication skills.
What is the most misunderstood part of the university's language policy?
The most common misconception is that only international students appointed to teaching assistantships are required to take the SPEAK Test; in fact, all international students who are non-native speakers of English and have been appointed to an assistantship of any kind—graduate, research or teaching—are required to take the test. The departments determine who is to receive an assistantship, while the ESL Program certifies students to teach. Several hundred students are evaluated every year by the ESL Program.
How do the departments stay informed about changes to this policy?
The basic policies, which have been developed by the ISPC and approved by the
Graduate School, have been posted on the Web at: http://wings.buffalo.edu/eli/speak.This
Web site is updated regularly. We soon will be adding a section to our Web site
for frequently asked questions, which will include a link to the relevant Graduate
School policies.
What question do you wish I had asked, and how would you have answered it?
The question I wish you had asked is, "Who teaches the ESL courses and what are their qualifications?" We have a wonderful group of dedicated and highly qualified ESL faculty teaching in our program. All are ESL professionals with advanced degrees in TESOL, applied linguistics or a related field, and all have taught overseas. Many have extensive experience teaching in the ESL and Intensive English programs at the ELI. Not only are they well aware of the linguistic needs of our students, but they also are sensitive to the various cultural backgrounds and learning styles of these students. Our faculty's cross-cultural skills enhance their teaching and enable them to assist a diverse group of students to learn in ways most suitable for them.