A North Dakota state representative sparked new debate on an old issue earlier this year when she introduced a bill pushing for increased English fluency of college instructors, especially international teaching assistants, before they enter the classroom.
The bill, authored by Republican Bette Grande of Fargo, would apply to the state's 11 public universities and originally provided that a student could withdraw from classes without penalty if instructors "did not speak English clearly and with good pronunciation." If 10 percent of the class made similar complaints, the instructors could be transferred to a non-teaching position, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The bill immediately met national criticism. The provost of North Dakota State University said it may be competing with the university's goal of preparing students for a more "global society," according to the Chronicle.
Since then, the bill has been debated and altered in North Dakota's House Education Committee. The revised bill now focuses on exploring the nature of language barriers at the state's public universities, Grande told The Herald.
Don Rubin, a speech communication professor at the University of Georgia, told The Herald improving the language skills of foreign instructors or passing English language standards through state legislatures will not completely solve the problem.
"We all harbor cultural stereotypes, negative expectations. If students have negative expectations, this can affect the way they perceive their instructors," he said.
One study conducted by Rubin suggested that, in some cases, the very foreignness of non-native English instructors fed into North American students' expectations that these instructors would be "unintelligible."
In addition, international instructors face severe cultural shifts entering the U.S. classroom that compound communication difficulties.
"I need(ed) to really make an effort to establish legitimacy and credibility as a teacher - it's not a given here," Min Liu, a Chinese doctoral student at North Dakota State University, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Currently at Brown, as well as at the University of Georgia and NDSU, instructors must pass an English proficiency test before entering the classroom. Here, a panel evaluates international instructors in a mock classroom setting, said Barbara Gourlay, coordinator of the English for International Teaching Assistants program.
Pedagogical techniques contribute to successful communication between teachers and students and can help to break down the barrier of accent, Ruben said.
"By teaching effectively, students can forget you have an accent. Interactive teaching (is) what really stimulates the North American student."
He added, "Of all the things the United States imports, the most important (is) smart people. ... If we want to facilitate the flow of intellectual capital, we can't promote xenophobic policies."
As for Grande, she said she wants to dispel any misconception that her motivations are xenophobic.
"Many people (whom) I've come across accept that it's not a matter of being against foreign students. My issue is straightforward - we need to make sure (instructors) can communicate in the best way and students can be in the best learning environment possible," she said.
