Recently, I participated in a Learning Design Meetup where I and fellow presenters were tasked with presenting in the unforgiving style of pecha kucha. If you’ve never heard of it (like me), it’s a presentation format where you show 20 slides, each on screen for 20 seconds. The topic was timing and pace and I discussed how considerations of pace can support international students.
I’m extremely comfortable speaking in front of an audience and I’ve presented to colleagues numerous times. Preparing for the pecha kucha, however, was the most demanding preparation I’ve had to do since that one time I was an international student tasked with playing the role of an axolotl for a presentation about Spanish-language short stories. In that scenarios, not only was I learning to be in front of my classmates as a salamander, but I also had to process, learn, and create in another language and education system.
You may not be asking the international students in your class to take on the role of an axolotl, but consider what roles you are asking them to take on. Is there anywhere you can adjust your timing and pace to help bring them along with you?
Slow down and check in
As I talked about in my pecha kucha presentation, the increased cognitive load caused by learning in a new educational environment means international students may need more time to process the content they are learning. While I was an undergraduate in my home country, I didn’t think about the way I was learning because the teaching and learning process was familiar.
As soon as I became an international student, however, I was painfully aware of how the learning environment was very different and how much longer it was taking me to learn anything. At home, it was easy to focus on the ‘what’ that I needed to learn, but abroad, I was preoccupied with the ‘how’ of learning.
It might take your international students longer to understand what they hear in class and what they read for class because the language and learning expectations may all be new, adding to the cognitive load. Slow things down where you can. Check in.
Allow time for students to bring their whole selves to their learning
One of my biggest accomplishments while I was an international student was being able to express myself in an argument with my group while preparing for that axolotl presentation. I knew I had ‘made it’ when I was able to speak freely about my emotions and argue my point to my group members. But it took a long time before I had this breakthrough.
Not only do we demand international students be academically successful, but they are constantly being asked to express themselves and project who they are in another language and culture. They may have been top students or excelled at their jobs in their home countries, but may now lack confidence in an ability they once were proud of because things are done differently or people’s expectations are different.
Remember that what you see of each student is only a small slice of their whole identity. Think of ways you can allow all your students (not only international students) the time and space to express themselves.
Make explicit the implicit
Differences in expectations are almost always not explicit, and learning how to navigate these differences can take years.
You can help by trying to make explicit the implicit ‘rules’ about behaviour or expectations you have for students. Do you expect students to be able to collaborate and work effectively in groups? You may need to explicitly list your expectations. For example, you could assign and define roles so everyone knows what their job is in the group and how to effectively contribute.
How do students form groups for group work in your classes? Consider removing one barrier by assigning students to groups, rather than putting social pressure on all students to make friends with strangers – an enormous undertaking before they even begin to work on any academic component.
Simple changes to your approach may take you marginally more prep time at first, but the effects on your international students and their wellbeing while in your classroom can be huge.