Information for Directors of Graduate Study
As of Fall, 2001, there were some changes to the procedure for certifying the English proficiency of international teaching assistants. It is important that you keep the certification requirements in mind as you recruit new international students. The English proficiency of these students affects their assignment as a teaching assistant.
As you know, this state law requires all international teaching assistants providing instruction in classroom, discussion group, laboratory, or office hour situations to be certified proficient in speaking and communicating in English. Only those ITAs who teach a foreign language and do not provide instruction in English are exempted from this policy.
The main difference in the certification procedure is that all certifications must be done by the ITA staff in collaboration with faculty in the various programs. In addition, the ITA Program Office maintains a database that contains information on the certification status of international graduate students for possible audit by the state. Departments are expected to make assignments according to the certification of the student.
To assist you, the ITA Coordinator, Barbara Boockmeier, is available for assistance with any issues related to English proficiency of ITAs. She can help you design filtering devices which would improve the chances of offering teaching assistantships to students whose English proficiency is adequate for a classroom assignment. For example, she has advised one large science department on how to do an initial assessment of spoken English via phone interviews of prospective international students. This process has proved successful.
As you make appointments, be aware that those ITAs who enter with an initial TSE or SPEAK score of less than 40 are unlikely to be ready for a regular teaching assignment for at least a full year and perhaps more. You are encouraged to make interim assignments for such ITAs, preferably ones that would partner them with more experienced TAs so that they can work on some of their language and communication skills outside of ESL 401. Another possible option is to assign ITAs with weaker language skills to higher level courses in which communication skills may be slightly less crucial. Enclosed is a sheet that provides some information on the meaning of the Test of Spoken English (TSE) or SPEAK score.
There is no charge for the first regularly scheduled administration of the SPEAK Test or for students completing ESL 401 or other recommended proficiency work. There is a charge of $50 for students wishing to be tested mid-semester or retested without a record of a course of study aimed at improving intelligibility. It is up to individual departments to decide whether the ITA, the Department, or both will pay this charge.
If you have any questions concerning certification or need a consultation, please contact Barbara Boockmeier (413-2235 or bwboock@uic.edu).
