1. Communicating with International Students
Tom Marks

2. Introduction What is CELCIS? International students:
Communication strategies
Two tactics
Two points about culture

3. What is CELCIS?
Part of the Haenicke Institute for Global Education (HIGE)
International Admissions
Immigration
Study Abroad
CELCIS (Center for English Language & Culture for International Students)

4. CELCIS Intensive English Program (IEP) Established in 1975
CEA Accreditation (3rd time, through 2025)
UCIEP, AAIEP memberships
Most faculty have Master’s degrees in Teaching English as a Second Language

5. CELCIS – Academic Preparation
4 hrs/day, 5 days/week, 20 hrs/week
14-week semesters (Fall, Spring, Summer)
Speaking/Listening, Grammar, Reading/Writing
Academic skills
Note-taking, Presentations
Outlining, Essay writing
Research/Library skills
Summaries, Research papers

6. From CELCIS to WMU Completion of CELCIS Advanced level
with grade of “C” or higher
in all Advanced classes
satisfies language requirement!
TOEFL/IELTS test score NOT required
Good for all UG programs & most Grad programs

7. Bridge classes For students with “Restricted Admission”
- 61 iBT, 6.0 IELTS test scores OR
- CELCIS Advanced-level graduates
CELCIS Faculty design/teach classes
A-S 3600 (R/W) – 5 credits OR
A-S 3610 (S/L) – 5 credits
Learn university-level study strategies & skills
- how to understand syllabi
- how to begin assignments

8. Graduate students & CELCIS
Students who complete CELCIS program = ready for undergraduate study
CELCIS Students need extra instruction on grad-level skills (research, discussion)
- CELCIS Adv level (special section for grad Ss)
- BUS 6050 – requirement at HCOB

9. Questions? (so far)

10. International Students at WMU
1850 total at WMU, from 100 countries
150 at CELCIS (Fall 2016)
52 Saudis (35%)
38 Japanese (25%)
24 Chinese (16%)
22 Indonesians (15%)
90% of CELCIS graduates enter WMU

11. International Student Goals
Pursue degrees
Make friends
Share culture
Learn about U.S.
Feeling welcome  leads to motivation & success
Part of WMU’s Global Engagement pillar  internationalizing WMU campus

12. Communication Strategies (1)
Ask for name (repeat it & write it down)
(If unclear, ask students to write it down)
Remember – social norms differ
Students may avoid making eye contact or shaking hands when introduced

13. Communication Strategies (2)
Interview students
What class is this for?
What is the assignment?
What are you looking for?
Be patient – let students finish their thoughts without interruption
(It may take them longer to build sentences)

14. Communication Strategies (3)
Simplify speech (avoid slang, jargon, idioms)
Speak slowly
If at first you don’t succeed, explain in a different way
Repeat often (repetition is key)

15. Communication Strategies (4)
Divide content into “manageable chunks” or steps
Support verbal information with written info, pictures, diagrams, flowcharts, gestures
Use direct/specific feedback, link to words on page
Check understanding  ask students to repeat to ensure they understand

16. Communication – Key Phrases
Can you repeat that please?
Can you spell that please?
Can you speak more slowly?
What does X mean?

17. Two Tactics

18. Writing – What’s difficult for international students?
Understanding assignments, choosing topics
Choosing key terms for searches
Finding articles appropriate for their level
Developing topics & organizing papers
Using sources – paraphrasing, citing
Grammar & Spelling
Meeting deadlines

19. What can you do?

20. Tactics – Model & Observe (1)
Instructional modeling – show links to:
Online tutorials, web pages
Purdue OWL
libguides.wmich.edu/celcis
model papers
formatting examples, handouts
others?

21. Tactics – Model & Observe (2)
Instructional modeling – demonstrate process
If I were doing this, I would choose:
this topic because…
these search terms because…
this article because…

22. Tactics – Model & Observe (3)
Provide practice opportunities
“Now you try it”
Have students repeat instructions back to you
Have students practice in front of you
Provide gentle (but specific) feedback
Students learn by doing, by developing habits

23. Tactics – Model & Observe (4)
Make sure students leave with a plan:
Outline (students create)
List of steps to follow (students create)
Red pen - always in student’s hand
Whenever possible:
Let them explain
Let them create/do
Let them self-correct

24. Two points about Culture

25. Culture - Plagiarism Define terms: plagiarism, paraphrase, cite
Explain U.S. expectations, risks, & penalties
Explain citation styles with examples
Model how to write a paraphrased sentence
Give students links to online resources

26. Culture – Deflection strategy
Taboo topics, complaints, etc.
“I’m not comfortable talking about this”
“Let’s focus on the assignment”
Other ideas? Problems?

27. Q&A
Questions?

28. Resources CELCIS Tutor List WMU Library/CELCIS
(libguides.wmich.edu/celcis)
University of Dayton website
( gs/index.php)

29. Contact Information
CELCIS Office
( )
Thomas Marks, CELCIS Director
( )

30. Resources – Books for Students
They Say, I Say – Graff & Birkenstein
Style – Williams
The Craft of Argument – Williams & Colomb
The Craft of Research – Booth, Williams & Colomb
The Article Book - Cole