The University of Delft has long been offering a course that prepares teachers for English-language intercultural education. In addition to lecturing in English, working with a cultural diverse group of students is an extra complication in the Master's programs of the future. Maria van der Blij and Susan van Soest, project managers for the introduction of English-language intercultural education to the Educational Service department of the ITBE, are working on introducing a similar course for UT teachers. It will start this fall, but a workshop on this subject took place on June 23.
`Teachers often don't realize that their teaching can suffer from instruction in English,' Maria van der Blij says. `When they are very focused on using correct English, they often pay less attention to the group, or they inadvertently use a safer method of instruction, with less interaction.'
An international student group also requires a more conscious approach of the teacher, Susan van Soest says: `One of the pitfalls is taking our values, culture and type of education for granted, while there international students who are not used to working as independently or participating in project groups like Dutch students. Then it's very useful if a teacher at the start of the course explicitly states what all students are expected to do.
Participating UT educators exchanged these sorts of tips and tricks at last Wednesday's workshop. The goal is to record specific problems teachers face and what solutions have already been considered. This input will greatly influence the English instruction course to be offered in the fall.
`In that course we'll deepen the material and there will be a chance to practice skills. Practice is far different than just theorizing,' Van der Blij explains.
How the teachers put their newly acquired knowledge into practice is their own choice. Van Soest: `In the Netherlands, while you can teach a class in shorts, doing so for a group of Asian students may lose you their respect. You could say they'll just have to get used to it, but you can also opt to keep their cultural perspective in mind, at least in the beginning. I don't care what instructors do, as long as they are aware of those intercultural differences. After all, as faculty members, we take the responsibility for bringing those students here and for ensuring that they have access to optimal educational opportunities.'
