A Transdisciplinary Approach to International Teaching Assistants

Perspectives from Applied Linguistics

Edited by Stephen Daniel Looney, Shereen Bhalla

Publication date:

26 September 2019

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781788925549

North American universities depend on international teaching assistants (ITAs) as a substantial part of the teaching labor force, which has led to the idea of an ‘ITA problem’, a deficiency model which is framed as a divergence between ITAs’ linguistic competence and undergraduates’ and their parents’ expectations. This outdated positioning of ITAs as deficient diminishes the invaluable role they play within the academy. This book argues instead for an approach to ITA which recognizes them as multilingual, skilled, migrant professionals who participate in and are discursively constructed through various participant frameworks, modalities and activities. The chapters in this volume offer state-of-the-art research into ITA using a variety of methods and approaches, and as such constitute a transdisciplinary perspective which argues for the importance of dialogue between research and practice.

Chapter 1. Stephen Daniel Looney and Shereen Bhalla: Introduction: A Transdisciplinary Approach to ITA

Chapter 2. Lucy Pickering: The Role of Intonation in the Production and Perception of ITA Discourse

Chapter 3. Stephen Daniel Looney: Co-operative Action: Addressing Misunderstanding and Displaying Uncertainty in the Undergraduate Physics Lab

Chapter 4. Shiao-Yun Chiang: Instructional Authority and Instructional Discourse

Chapter 5. Okim Kang and Meghan Moran: Enhancing Communication between ITAs and U.S. Undergraduate Students

Chapter 6. Jing Wei: Examining Rater Bias in Scoring World Englishes Speakers Using a Transdisciplinary Approach: Implications for Assessing International Teaching Assistants

Chapter 7. Shereen Bhalla: A Community of Practice Approach to Understanding the ITA Experience

Chapter 8. Linda Harklau and James Coda: Situating ITAs in Higher Education and Immigration Policy Studies

Chapter 9. Greta Gorsuch: Using Course Logic to Describe Outcomes and Instruction for an ITA Course

Chapter 10. Stephen Daniel Looney: Conclusion - Five Imperatives for ITA Programs and Practitioners

Based on leading-edge research and current practices from a wide range of well-respected researchers, this transformative book is a must-read if we want to move from the ‘ITA problem’ to a 21st century multidisciplinary perspective where ITAs are truly valued. Having read the book, I’m encouraging everyone I know involved in ITA preparation to read and discuss it.