Becoming a GSI at Michigan- A Process for Nonnative English Speaking Grad....

Past research suggests that undergraduate students at American universities may feel a myriad of negative emotions when encountering an international teaching assistant. This poor initial reaction relates to an unfavorable association of teaching skills with non-native English speaking skills. Sociolinguists have previously explored culturally ingrained racism, which relates to linguistic discrimination like unto the judgment undergraduates may make against their non-native instructors, and universities throughout the country have taken measures to ameliorate this situation with the University of Michigan presenting no exception. The school depends upon the English Language Institute (ELI) as well as the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) to offer courses and assistance to non-native English speakers, including a compulsory summer or winter term course for those wishing to become instructors. In order to introduce a more realistic atmosphere, the English Language Institute employs a group of undergraduate students to be present for practice teaching sessions in order to provide feedback on the instructors’ performance on different tasks including teaching lessons and holding office hours.
By extensively researching the ELI and CRLT, including several observations of the graduate student instructor course, I was able to gain a better understanding of the University of Michigan’s approach to issues connected with non-native English speaking instructors. However, the issue of students who react negatively to international instructors in the classroom persists. Apart from a handful of students employed by the English Language Institute, how many students are connected to these issues, what are their feelings and ideas surrounding the subject, and finally, what can be done to further improve these relationships? Interviews with undergraduates provide fodder to analyze these questions and offer suggestions for the future.