Language Barriers and the International Community

This project investigates the causes of language barriers, how they affect the academic performance of international students and the teaching effectiveness of international teaching assistants, the current systems of international student admissions and hiring of international teaching assistants, as well as the availability and effectiveness of campus resources and facilities. On the basis of interviews, surveys, and literature and internet research, the authors find that a majority of students are happy with their TAs, but concerns with the language barriers interfering with their education exist. In fact, due to this fear, some students drop courses or switch discussion sections. Students feel that for the most part, teaching assistants are aware of this issue as well and are more than willing to make improvements and adjustments that are within their reach. But the students still feel that, because of the language barrier issues, the university should be stricter when making decisions concerning the hiring of TAs.unpublishe