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ELL Survey Results

What language skills do international students need for your class but are sometimes
lacking?
Technicalvocabularyisalwaysanissue,asisidiomaticspeech(duringdirectinstructionandclass
discussions).Inessaywriting,studentsfrequentlystrugglewithdefinitearticles,conjunctions,
andconjugatingverbs.
FluencyspeakingEnglish(forclassdiscussions),fluencywithwriting
Animprovedvocabulary.
Generally,theinternationalstudentsunderstandtheconceptsinsciencebutlackthecontent
specificvocab.TheyreallyneedtofocusonthewordsinEnglishandtherearemanyprograms
thatserveaselectronicflashcards(Quizletcanbesetupintheirnativelanguagebutquizzes
theminEnglish)
Also,understandingscienceismorethanmemorization,itmeanstheyneedtoapplyconcepts.

Readingandwritingusuallybetter.Spokenlanguageandlisteningwaybehind.Actingclassisnot
agoodchoiceforpoorspeakers.
Ifanything,theabilitytoaskaquestioninthecorrectform(masteringthe'5w's').Itisdifficultto
helpsomeoneifyouaren'tsurewhatthey'reasking.
Theyneedtobeabletoreadatgradelevel.
Theinternationalstudentsshouldunderstandcommonwordsandphrasesusedinassessments.
Forexample,"compareandcontrast","giveexamples","calculate"...
"Smalltalk"withotherstudents.
Theterminologyinbiologyisdifficult,evenfornativeEnglishspeakers.Thereissomuch
vocabularythatstudentshavetolearnthe"language"ofbiologywhilealsolearningtheconcepts.
BasicEnglish.
slang,descriptiveskills,culturalreferencesandconversationalchatter
Sometimesstudentsareincrediblyreliantontranslationsoftwareinorderconveyverbal
competencyinmyclass.Theyareconstantlyusingelectronicdictionaries,etc.Sometimes,this
reallyimpairstheirabilitiestoproperlyconjugateverbs,etc.Thisissueespeciallycomesacrossin
theirwriting.
Mathvocabularyisthebiggestareathatinternationalstudentslack.
Basiccommunicationskills.IstillstrugglewithsomestudentsonadailybasiswithBASIC
languageskills.Forinstance,astudentaskedmeduringthefinalwhatthefollowingwordsmeant:
effort/attitude,craftsmanship,andparticipation...sheaskedmethisduringtheFINAL?!?!
BasicEnglishisreallyallthatisrequired.Wedon'tusealotofreading,butthereisonline
materialnecessary,butoftentheycanwork/readwithitintheirnativelanguage.Ineverhavean

issuewiththis.
SpeakingandwritingintheEnglishlanguage.
TheyneedtoadmitwhentheydonotunderstandtheEnglishortheconceptsbeingtaught
abilitytospeak&readfluently
Wedoalotofideacollaboration;justtalkingtogetheraboutphysicsproblems.Duringthistime
morethanhalfofmyELLstudentsarehesitantorcompletelyunwilling/unabletojoininthese
conversations.Somegooutoftheirwaytosegregatethemselves.
Basichelpwithunderstanding,deciphering,andfollowingdirections.
Howtoaskforhelp."Couldyouhelpmeunderstand____better?"wouldbeahelpfulphrasefor
themtoknow!

What do you feel is the biggest obstacle to international students success in your class?
Essaywriting.Manyoftheinternationalstudentsseemtohavelittleexperiencewithit,and
struggletoproduceoriginalideas.Ioftenfindthemfollowingtheirsourcesfartooclosely,when
notoutrightplagiarizing.Theoriginofthisphenomenonaremanifold.
Theyhavedifficultywithparticipatinginclassdiscussions,fosteringrelationshipswiththeday
students,andfeelingconfidentwithaskingforhelpwhentheyneedit.
Theirlackofengagementinclassandanunwillingnesstolearn.Theyonlycareabouttheirgrade,
notlearningwhichisextremelyfrustratingfortheteacher.
Howtheyalwaystrytosegregatethemselvesfromdaystudentsisalsoahinderancetotheir
learning.Igetthattheywanttobewithstudentssimilartothem,butittrulyhurtstheirlearning.
Theirunwillingnessvolunteerparticipationinclass
Oftentheyarequietanddonotparticipate.Iftherearemultiplestudentsthatspeakthesame
languagetheywillalwaystrytositandworktogether.Idon'tfindfaultinthatbutitdefeatsthe
purposeoftryingtolearnanewlanguageandinteractingmorewithlocalstudents.
CulturaldifferenceswiththeAsianstudents.Especiallypopularculture.Knowledgeofhow
Englishliterature/dramaticstructureworks.
Tryingtofigureoutifthey'reconfusedorgraspingtheconceptsyou'reteaching.
Vocabulary.
Myclassinvolvesalotofsubjectspecificvocabulary,inadditiontoalloftheregularEnglish
vocabulary.Itcanbeabitoverwhelmingforallstudents!
Thosewhoinitiallyfeel"overtheirheads"donotpersistanddroprightaway.Reticenceinasking
clarifyingquestions.
Language!

Sameasdomesticstudents:Willingnesstoworkhard,dohomework,stayorganized,andputin
someeffort.
(Iamnotateacher)butIthinkthatwhenstudentsdon'tunderstandateacher(iftheirebackis
turned,speakingtoofast,usinglargewords)theytuneoutandmissalotofinformationthatis
beingtaught
Ithinkmanyoftheinternationalstudentsdon'tfeelcomfortableamongtheirpeers.Ithink
fosteringanenvironmentinwhichtheyfeltmorecomfortableamongtheirnativeEnglish
speakingpeers,thenmakingspeakingmistakeswouldn'tbesostigmatized.Thiscanbedoneby
havingmoreactivitiesthatareorientedaroundbuildingrelationshipsbetweenlocaland
internationalstudents.
Skippingassignmentsbecausetheydidnotaskquestions.
Languageandbeingabletocommunicateandadvocateforthemselves.
Stayingrested!SomecometoschoolVERYtired...daysarelongforthemthisway.Formymusic
historyclasses,ingeneral,theyhavenotgrownuparoundacultureofmuchWorldorUSgenres
ofmusic.SoIfindthatmostofwhattheyarelearning,isallverybrandnew...notthatthatisbad
mindyou.ButtheygenerallyknowquiteabitlessthantheaverageUSteenager.ButIapproach
thatasagreatchallengeforme/ourclassestoovercome.
LackofEnglishlanguageskills.Howtoresearchandwriteintheirownwords.Sometimesusing
theirphonesandiPadswhentheyshouldn't(justlikeourlocalstudents!).
Ifeelthattheyhaveadifficulttime,sometime,takingnotes.Thiscouldbebecausetheycannot
processthelanguageandconceptsfastenoughandwritedowntheirnotes.
honestywhenitcomesto"original"work
Englishcomprehension
attendance
Italktoofastanddon'tenunciateeffectively.Itrysohardtoslowdownandspeakwell,butIget
distractedorexcited.SometimesIfeelthatevenwhenI'mspeakingasclearlyaspossiblelarge
numbersofmyELLstudentsarenotlisteningorsimplycannotunderstandme.
Appropriatelyunderstandingthedirectionsforassignmentsandgeneralcourseexpectations.
Thosewhoarenotsuccessfuloftenhaveschedulesbeyondtheircapacity.Ifable,theyarenot
successfulbecausetheydonotgethelpfromtheteacherorpeerstoprepareforassessments.
Copyingapeer'shomeworkdoesn'tprepareastudenttotakeaquiz!

What skills have students possessed that have helped them be successful in your class?
Memorizationandstudyskillsforobjectiveidentificationtendtobeagreatstrength.
Theyareusuallyveryhardworking,diligent,persevereevenwhentheworkisdifficult,andare
usuallyextremelypolitetowardsmeandtheotherstudents.
Engagementinclass,notetakingskillsandworkingwithdaystudents.

Theinternationalstudentsthataskquestionsinclassandvoluntarilyparticipatetypicallydowell.
ThebettertheyspeakEnglishthebettertheyunderstand.
Askingquestions,seekingextrahelp,andlisteninginsteadoftryingtokeepupandcopydown
notes.
Theyhavesomeexperiencethinkingcritically(asopposedtotheirexperiencebeinglimitedtoan
academicenvironmentthatemphasizedmemorization).
Studentsthataskforhelphavebeentheonesthataremostsuccessful.Ifastudentisstruggling,it
isimportantthattheyletmeknow,andthenwecanfindwaystohelpthem.
Workethic.Desireforgoodgrades.Otherlanguageexperience.
Languageskillsarethemostimportant,duetothevocabularybasednatureofbiology.
Beingorganized.Expectationthattherewillbehomeworkeverynightandbeingprogrammedto
dothatwork.
inmyopinionkidswhogetinvolvedinsportsandactivitiesdobetterallaround
Themostvaluableassettoastudentisconfidenceandanoutgoingpersonality.Unfortunately,this
isinnateandcannotbelearned.Itcanbeelicitedintherightenvironmentfromalmostany
student,though.
Checkinginwiththemmoreoften.
Basicreading/writingshouldprovesuccessful.Sometimesallowingthemextratimetocomplete
workcanbebeneficial.Usinglaptops/IPads/phonesisahugehelp...againtheycanadjustforthe
languagebarriers.Smallgroupworkandpeertopeerassistanceisalsohelpful.Goodlistening
skillsisessential.
Askingforhelpwhenneeded,averageorbetterEnglishlanguageskills.Askingforwordstobe
explainedwhentheydon'tunderstandthem.
Mathisbasicallythesameconceptinanycountry,andiftheyarestronginmath;thenthenit
helpsthemgrasptheconceptsfaster.
preparationbeforearriving
ELLsupport
Patienceenoughtostickwithme.Endurancetokeeptryingevenwhenyourbrainisexhausted
fromtranslatingcontinually.Courageenoughtoaskforhelporrestatement.
Ineedtobemorefriendlyandbudgetmoreoneononetimewiththesestudentseventhoughmy
shynessisabarrierbetweenussometimes.Maybedoingmorethingswiththemoutsideofclass
wouldhelp.
Strongworkethic,focusedinclass,askquestionsbothafterclassandviaemail,regularlycheck
PowerSchoolforassignmentsandgrades.

Theabilitytoaskforhelpandtofollowbasicinstructionstoaccessonlinehelp.

What cultural knowledge (i.e. things we do in American classrooms) do students need to be


familiar with to be successful in your class?
Plagiarismiscompletelyunacceptable.Cheatingissimilarlyunacceptable,andcopyingother
student'sworkisnotagoodmethodforsuccessinmyclassroom.Americanstudentsare
aggressiveforattentionand"airtime"intheclassroom.Itisokayforthemtodemandtobeheard
andtotakepossessionofthefloorduringclassdiscussions.Questioningtheunderstandingof
one'steachersisausefulexercise,andsometeacherswelcomethosesortsofdiscussions.
Theyneedtoknowthattheywillbegradedonparticipatinginclassdiscussions,thattheyare
supposedtoaskforhelpwhentheyneedit(andthatwereally,truly,wantthemtoaskforhelp!),
thatwevaluecreativity(projects)andoriginality,andthatplagiarismisnotallowedandwill
greatlyimpacttheirgrades.
Engagementwiththeclasssotheycanbenefitfromandcontributetodiscussion,lecture,group
work,etc.
ItwouldbehelpfulifAsianstudentscouldgenuinelyunderstandandembraceaskingteachersfor
helporclarificationinclass.
Speaktotheteacher,askforhelpwhenneeded.Shareinterests,thishelpstheteachergettoknow
moreofthestudentandperhapscanbemorespecificwithexamplesthathighlightthestudent's
interest.
Askingquestions,seekingextrahelp,andlisteninginsteadoftryingtokeepupandcopydown
notes.
Propermanners,andtheroutineofcomingtoclassprepared,takingouthomework,andgetting
thenecessarysuppliesoutforclass.Also,thembeinginvestedintheireducationishuge.
Thatweexpectmorethanmemorization.
??Ihaven'thadanyissueswiththismyinternationalstudentshavebeenverypoliteand
respectful.Theyseemtofitintotheclasswell.
Humor.Informality.
Therecanbeseveraltransitionsthroughoutablock.Ifindthattheyaredifficulttimesforsome
students,especiallyduetothefastpace.ItisnaturalforournativeEnglishspeakerstolisten,
whilechattingwithafriend,etc.,whiletransitioning.Ithinkthis"downtime"isdifficultbecause
ELLstudents,especiallyatthebeginningoftheyear,aretryingtofigureoutwhat'shappening
next!
Lookingat/usingsomebodyelse'sworkisnotacceptable.
Wewantstudentstoparticipateinclass.
whatit'sliketobean"outsider",howitfeelswhenallofyourclassmateshaveknowneachother
sincechildhood,newculture,newcustoms,Ithinkeveryonewouldbenefitfromsomehandson
culturaltraining
Ithinkit'smoreimportantforlocalstudentstobemorefamiliarwiththebackgroundsofour

internationalstudentsthantheotherwayaround.Mostculturesareverywellversedin
American/Westernculture.Americansaremuchmoreinsulatedingeneral,whichIseeasamuch
moreprofoundproblem.
Opennesstoaskquestionswhentheyneedclarification.
Beingabletoappropriatelyadvocateforthemselves.Socialcues:Waitingforalullinthe
conversationtosayexcusemeandTHENaskyourquestion,insteadofinterruptingthinkingthe
worldrevolvesaroundthem.
Beontime,comepreparedwithallmaterial.Understandindependentandgroupwork
philosophies.Contributetoclassdiscussions,beopenandresponsive.Iwastoldrecently,that
manyinternationalstudentsdonotreadilyansweroutloudinclass,orevenafterraisingtheir
hand,b/cinsomecountriesthatisconsideredtobedisrespectfultotheteacher.
Wewantthemtofeelverycomfortableandateaseinourclasses...oratleastIdo!
Brushingtheirteethandblowingtheirnosewithtissues,insteadofpickingitandthenthrowing
thetissuesaway.
Internationalstudentstendtosharewhattheysubmitforhomework,morethanthelocal
students;inmyopinion.Icantellthatmanystudentsmayworktogether,butwithsomeofthe
internationalstudents,theycopysomeoneelse'shomeworkvirtuallythesamematerial.
integrityasitappliestopersonalwork
organizationalskillsforsomestudents
Cheating/Copyingisnotacceptable.AskingquestionsisGood!Talkingtoeachotherwhilethe
teacheristryingtoexplainsomethingorgiveinstructionsisrude.
Nocheating(iedoyourownhomework,projects,etc.),completeassignmentsfullyandontime,
studyeachevening,comeforextrahelpwhenconfused,participateinclass,especiallywhen
participationisgraded.
Teacherswilloftengivehintsaboutwhatwillbeonassessments.Iftheycancomprehendthese
hintsitwillmakeiteasiertofocusonkeyconcepts.

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