Teaching Native and Nonnative Speakers Together in Professional Communication Courses [microform] / Richard David Ramsey

Teaching native and nonnative English speakers together in the same classroom can be accomplished well only by a teacher who is sensitive to the concerns of the nonnative students. Personal interviews conducted with nonnative speakers indicated that the most recurrent out-of-class problems include separation from friends and family, distinctions between British and American English, and telephone conversations. Classroom problems include teachers who fail to articulate, have nonstandard accents, or neglect to emphasize the main points. Differences between textbook English and spoken usage, as well, in some instances, as the culture shock of seeing women in a position of authority in the classroom, can also provide interference. Teacher efforts to resolve these problems include articulating clearly and clarifying material, being aware of the difficulties posed by slang, and recognizing the differences between British and American dialects. Workshops for nonnative speakers and teacher involvement with professional societies can also be of great help. (HTH)