New England ITA Network
Where is your ITA Program located? (ESL Program, Institute for Teaching,
English Department, etc.)
The program is part of the English Language Institute, which during the
summer months is responsible for an Intensive English Program as well.
While we currently work closely with the Graduate School, we are an independent
program.
To whom do you report and from whom do you receive funding?
This year the program has been more fully funded by the Graduate School
than in the recent past. I have worked closely with an Associate Dean of
the Graduate School as well as the Dean. I also report to an Associate
Dean of Yale College since my office is part of Summer Programs, which
the central dean's office of Yale College oversees.
How many ITAs do you work with in your orientation/testing/classes
in a typical semester?
This year our program tested 94 students in late August. During the summer
we offered a special seminar for graduate students that had approximately
30 students, 20 of whom were Yale students.
Orientation was conducted by the Graduate School although our program
was represented at an information fair and on a panel discussion. In addition,
we held an information session before fall classes began to describe the
classes and the language training options open to students, which about
80 students attended.
This fall we have approximately 120 students in 8 classes.
What assessments do you use?
We administer the SPEAK Test, which ETS scores for us. We hope soon to
offer a micro teaching test, but this has yet to be approved and funded
by the Graduate School.
What classes do you offer? (Please give a brief description, if possible,
along with citations of textbooks used)
- Pronunciation--Introductory and Advanced: A one-day
mini-pronunciation workshop. The instructor has developed his own materials
for these courses.
- Advanced Oral Communication Skills: The instructor
makes use of materials
designed for this group (videotaped materials), and relies on a packet
of readings that she tailors to the group from semester to semester.
Resources have been Teaching Matters and Communicate.
- Integrated Skills: This class is somewhat new, and again, the instructor
has not adopted one text but has relied on materials from various sources.
- Advanced Writing Workshop: Texts for this class have
varied, but instructors usually order a reader (Norton Reader has
been used) as well as a grammar handbook. We have used Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference,
an Ann Raimes text such as Grammar Troublespots, the Azar most
advanced handbook among others. The instructor often waits to meet the
group before deciding
on the text since ability levels do range from low advanced
to almost native. In the Spring term we offer a class that involves Writing
for
Medicine and Technology in which the instructor makes heavy
use of models from professional journals.
What is the single biggest problem you face?
I agree with Catherine Ross that the greatest problem is convincing
departments and the administration that language cannot be improved overnight
and that not transforming a TA after one semester-long course that meets
three hours per week should not indict the courses but may indicate the
need for more intensive and sustained language training. A close second
to this problem is the large number of ITAs falling in the score range
of 45 on SPEAK, who need the option of a performance-based test. Convincing
the administration to support such a test continues to be a challenge. |
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