Shared Language Courses Fall 2017

With student course enrollments for Fall 2017 on the way, we would like to invite our GLCA colleagues and students in Arabic and German to consider an expansion of course selection options via the GLCA Crossroads Shared Languages Program.

Shared Language Program courses (SLP) courses are especially attractive to students who

want to continue with their studies of Arabic beyond first or second year courses offered at their home campus
need to double up to complete their German major or minor
have run out of options of courses to take for their major
need to take a directed studies because of under-enrollment in a German upper level course
have a time conflict with the course offering at their own college
have run out of options of courses to take at their home institution
need to take a directed studies because of lack of course course offerings
have a particular subject interest that no one program could accommodate
would like to benefit from a global course connections course component
are interested in exploring new pedagogies with digital technologies in a virtually interactive environment
are not able to go study abroad but would like to meet new people with similar interests
eventually with the success of the SLP may minor or major in Arabic
and more..

This program also has great benefits for faculty who

are one-man or one-woman programs and miss having a like-minded colleague for the exchange of ideas and concerns
are concerned about under-enrolled classes and fear of cancellation
with the advantages the SLP affords may be able to expand their Arabic program to a minor or major even with one home institution factually member
wish to expand their facility with digital pedagogies
seek professional development that no one campus can offer
want to join the discussion on ways to address the future of our discipline
wish to teach a course outside of their language program but “cannot get away”
have numerous directed studies students due to some of the reasons mentioned above (usually without any compensation)
and much more

Screen Shot 2017-03-31 at 3.42.25 PM This semester, we are able to offer two SLP courses in Arabic and two in German. Our Arab colleagues from Denison University and Earlham College, Dr. Hanada Al-Masri, respectively Dr. Kelly Tuttle are offering a language course on the intermediate level and an Arabic writing course.

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For German, Dr. Lee Forester is offering a course in German Linguistics and I will teach a course on Germany’s Young Generation. All pertinent information can be found here.

The course enrollment process is simple with the respective registrars having contributed significantly to design a smooth experience for both students and faculty. All the information you and your interested students will need, can be found on this website page, please scroll all the way down.

First pilot semester student feedback results are very encouraging. (Full results are available, please ask.) All students found all aspects of the courses very “doable”, “engaging”, many also “exciting”. They all enjoy meeting other students with similar interests and especially appreciate the added diversity of both students and instructors. They are learning important inter-cultural lessons and can better apply technological skills in the academic environment and beyond.

There are no specific technology requirements. All students will need is a computer with a built-in camera (or plug in a webcam), a quiet, well-lit place to sit, and a stable internet connection. The SLP instructors will provide your students with a course orientation that addresses all technology aspects.

Colleagues who serve as on-campus advisors for students participating in a SLP course will receive a stipend. Likewise, if you chose to offer a SLP course yourself, there will be compensation from the GLCA SLP Mellon grant.

Please also look out for an announcement for a SLP workshop for anybody who is interested on any level of engagement that will take place at Denison University from May 21 (evening dinner) to May 25th (midday).

And finally, the most important feature of this program is that we are offering our students a wider range of possibilities to stay engaged in the language and culture they chose to study.

Please let me know how our SLP team can assist you with any further questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you.

The GLCA expresses its appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Lee Forester (Hope), Dr. Hanada Al-Masri (Denison), Dr. Kelly Tuttle (Earlham), and (almost Dr.) Basem Al-Rabaa (Oberlin) for their pioneering work and open-minded spirit!

Teaching and Integrating International Students

WASHINGTON – What would international students in American classrooms most want their professors to do differently?

A survey of 662 international students at 23 colleges and universities commissioned by ELS Educational Services found that many international students want their professors to:

Provide more feedback (35 percent identified this as a desired improvement from among a given list of choices).
Seek to understand international students’ perspectives (33 percent).
Make classroom materials available after class (32 percent).
Provide examples of completed assignments (32 percent).
Provide non-U.S. examples in course contents (28 percent).

One caveat for the above numbers is that nearly 12 percent of students in the sample were native English speakers, so their presence in the sample could have skewed some of the overall figures in various ways. For example, 22 percent of all respondents said they’d like their professor to speak more slowly or clearly, while 32 percent of Chinese respondents did.

The sample was nearly evenly split between undergraduates (52 percent) and graduate students (48 percent). The most common classroom challenges identified by the students who were surveyed were: too many writing assignments (65 percent said this was a challenge), too much reading (cited as a challenge by 63 percent of respondents), writing in English (56 percent), participating in class presentations (56 percent), the perceived preferential treatment of native speakers (56 percent), participating in class discussions (56 percent) and professors’ lack of understanding of their culture (50 percent).

More than a third of students — 35 percent — said they felt uncomfortable questioning the opinions of their professors, 30 percent said they felt uncomfortable questioning the opinion of their peers, and 29 percent said they felt uncomfortable speaking in class discussions (the latter proportion was higher among Chinese students, 38 percent of whom said they felt uncomfortable). Nearly a quarter of respondents — 24 percent — said they felt uncomfortable interacting with American students.

Mark W. Harris, the president emeritus of ELS, presented on the findings of the survey during a session Tuesday at the Association of International Education Administrators annual conference focused on how faculty can “bridge divides” and integrate international students in the classroom. The number of international students in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past 10 years and now exceeds 1 million, representing about 5 percent of the total student population, according to data from the Institute of International Education.

Recruiting international students was the number one priority for university internationalization identified by institutions who responded to the American Council on Education’s 2016 survey on mapping campuswide internationalization, which the association conducts every five years. In presenting a preview of some of the 2016 data – a full report on the survey is scheduled to be released this spring — Robin Matross Helms, the director of ACE’s Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement, said that one key finding is that there’s been a “backtracking” in terms of support for internationalization-focused faculty development opportunities from the 2011 to 2016 surveys. The percentage of responding colleges and universities that reported offering these kinds of opportunities was lower in 2016 than in 2011.

About a quarter of institutions report offering workshops for faculty on teaching and integrating international students — “my response was, wow, only a quarter?” Helms said.

“If we’re not providing faculty with that professional development support, that’s definitely a worrisome trend,” Helms said.

Darla K. Deardorff, AIEA’s executive director and an adjunct research scholar at Duke University’s education program, described the different forms faculty development can take – retreats, discussion working groups, invited speakers, faculty panel presentations – with common topics being things like: “classroom challenges for international students,” “moving beyond stereotypes and assumptions,” “integrating non-Western perspectives into what is taught,” “communicating with international students,” “creating a supportive classroom environment,” “learning styles in different cultures,” “understanding classroom behavior,” and “interculturally competent teaching.”

Deardorff also shared recommendations to faculty international students have made in various focus groups she’s conducted with them. Recommendations include:

to focus on the professor-student relationship
to understand what students are used to (and not to assume)
to be very clear on expectations and to provide examples
to pay attention to underperforming students
to be intentional about connecting domestic and international students in the classroom
to not single out international students (by asking, say, “you’re from Australia, what do Australians think of this?”)
to connect students with various campus resources available, such as the writing center
to use examples from students’ home countries.

“A lot of this we know, but it’s nice to hear it reaffirmed by the students,” Deardorff said.

Higher Education Initiatives for Refugees in Germany

Higher Education Initiatives for Refugees in Germany

refugees-daad-e1487176328354 DAAD has been developing various programs in collaboration with universities and partner organisations to promote the integration of refugees at German universities. The overarching goal is to strengthen the potential of academically qualified refugees and provide them with access to higher education in Germany. More than half of the refugees arriving in Germany are younger than 25 in other words, an age when education is most needed. With funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), DAAD has developed a set of targeted measures to enable universities to offer those who wish to study and possess sufficient academic qualification access to higher education.

Approximately 100 million euros in funding will be available in the coming years, 27 million euros of which is earmarked for projects in 2016. With funding from the BMBF, DAAD has developed an extensive package of long-term measures. This website gives an overview of the measures implemented according to these three pillars.

In addition to the overarching measures developed by the German government, DAAD, and the universities, many individuals on campus – from students to professors – are volunteering their time to assist refugees in navigating higher education in Germany.

NPR/WEMU recently portrayed a German professor as an example of how members of academe in Germany are taking the initiative and doing what they can to help. Listen to the report or read the article summarizing the interview here.

From: DAAD New York Newsletter, Feb 21st, 2017