The Foreign Teaching Assistant's Manual by Patricia Byrd, Janet C. Constantinides, and Martha C. Pennington and Teaching Matters: Skills and Strategies for International Teaching Assistants by Teresa Pica, Gregory A Barnes, and Alexis G. Finger

Abstract

Issues in Applied Linguistics Vol. 1 No. 2 The Foreign Teaching Assistant's Manual by Patricia Byrd, Janet C. Constantinides, and Martha C. Pennington. ColUer Macmillan, 1989. 193 pp. New York: Teaching Matters: Skills and Strategies for International Teaching Assistants by Teresa Pica, Gregory A. Barnes, and Alexis G. Finger. New York: Newbury House, 1990. 192 pp. Reviewed by Janet Goodwin and Juan Carlos Gallego University of California, Los Angeles With the remarkable growth in the number of international teaching assistants (ITAs) on U.S. campuses in recent years, most major research universities— indeed most universities with teaching assistants-have had to deal with the often difficult process of effectively incorporating international graduate students into the teaching assistant ranks, what Bailey (1984) has characterized as The fields of engineering and the foreign problem. mathematics, as well as the biological and physical sciences, have been especially affected by the substantial increase in the number of TA ITAs hired to assist with undergraduate courses. In response to this situation, most institutions have created special training programs for ITAs, which resemble ESP courses for teachers, the results of which have been shared in national conferences and published articles. More recently, two books have appeared which address the training of ITAs: The Foreign Teaching Assistant's Manual, by Patrice Byrd, Janet C. Constantinides, and Martha C. Pennington, and Teaching Matters: Skills and Strategies for International Teaching Assistants, by Teresa Pica, Gregory A. Barnes, and Alexis G. Finger. Teaching assistants at American universities perform a variety of roles. While most TAs grade exams, prepare materials, and hold office hours, many of them also run labs and lead discussion sections. Their status as graduate students helps them to bridge the gap between professor and student. Since clearly all of this is true for international TAs as well, what are the special hurdles ITAs face as new participants in the university instructional process? The primary concerns of the ITA involve language, culture, and pedagogy. three broad areas: is Although there obviously a