Assessing the Oral English Abilities of International Teaching Assistants in the USA

Abstract

This chapter focuses on an important problem at many US research universities: ensuring that the oral English skills of potential graduate teaching assistants can support the effective teaching of undergraduates. The chapter begins with a description of the problem, drawing from the author's experiences at a large public research university. This is followed by a review of available literature on the type and level of proficiency required of international teaching assistants (ITAs), which is quite different from that required of a typical university graduate student. The chapter briefly reviews some commonly used assessments for this purpose, and concludes with an in‐depth discussion of the development and implementation of an authentic mock‐teaching exam developed by the author and currently in use at two major American research universities. The aspects discussed include the scope of the problem; the type and level of language proficiency required for successful undergraduate teaching; the assessments or decision‐making processes commonly used in this context; and common situational constraints that affect ITA assessment decisions and decision‐making procedures. The chapter ends by considering how one large institution improved its assessment system and what the primary challenges were, and recommending best practices for institutions, based on the author's experiences. This chapter will be a useful reference and overview of the topic for those involved in ITA education and assessment programs at all levels, but particularly at large research institutions with many international graduate students. It will also be useful to those involved in other language for specific purposes (LSP) testing situations such as the assessment of health‐care professionals’ English abilities.