Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students
While universities are increasingly implementing programs to support international students’ language development, fewer orientation programs have sought to provide explicit guidance on expected academic practices in Canadian institutions. Many such academic norms—including the expectation to comple...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BC TEAL
2021-04-01
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| Series: | BC TEAL Journal |
| Subjects: |
| _version_ | 1818863334136479744 |
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| author | Victoria Surtees Masaru Yamamoto |
| author_facet | Victoria Surtees Masaru Yamamoto |
| author_sort | Victoria Surtees |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While universities are increasingly implementing programs to support international students’ language development, fewer orientation programs have sought to provide explicit guidance on expected academic practices in Canadian institutions. Many such academic norms—including the expectation to complete weekly readings, the use of first names with instructors, or participation grades—may be unfamiliar to students who were socialized in different academic cultures. This paper describes the creation of an online orientation module that introduced newly arrived international students to three aspects of local classroom practice: participation, preparing readings for class, and emailing instructors. Drawing on theories of academic discourse socialization, the module discusses norms (e.g., asking questions is expected) and provides ready-made language models for engaging in related practices (e.g., email templates). Initial results of a pilot with 74 incoming students suggest that these types of modules provide a promising avenue for supporting international student success. Details of the design process, including the selection of appropriate platforms and tools and the implementation of inclusive, accessible, and multimodal design principles, are presented. Recommendations for institutions wishing to develop similar support materials are also provided. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:14:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62147c10bf3645e08dae9a11e0d18d36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2369-4211 2369-4211 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:14:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | BC TEAL |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BC TEAL Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-62147c10bf3645e08dae9a11e0d18d362022-12-21T20:26:17ZengBC TEALBC TEAL Journal2369-42112369-42112021-04-01612941https://doi.org/10.14288/bctj.v6i1.378Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International StudentsVictoria Surtees0Masaru Yamamoto1University of the Fraser ValleyUniversity of British ColumbiaWhile universities are increasingly implementing programs to support international students’ language development, fewer orientation programs have sought to provide explicit guidance on expected academic practices in Canadian institutions. Many such academic norms—including the expectation to complete weekly readings, the use of first names with instructors, or participation grades—may be unfamiliar to students who were socialized in different academic cultures. This paper describes the creation of an online orientation module that introduced newly arrived international students to three aspects of local classroom practice: participation, preparing readings for class, and emailing instructors. Drawing on theories of academic discourse socialization, the module discusses norms (e.g., asking questions is expected) and provides ready-made language models for engaging in related practices (e.g., email templates). Initial results of a pilot with 74 incoming students suggest that these types of modules provide a promising avenue for supporting international student success. Details of the design process, including the selection of appropriate platforms and tools and the implementation of inclusive, accessible, and multimodal design principles, are presented. Recommendations for institutions wishing to develop similar support materials are also provided.academic discourse socializationonline orientationinternationalizationinternational studentsuniversity |
| spellingShingle | Victoria Surtees Masaru Yamamoto Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students BC TEAL Journal academic discourse socialization online orientation internationalization international students university |
| title | Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students |
| title_full | Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students |
| title_fullStr | Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students |
| title_short | Creating an Interactive Online Orientation to Academic Practices for International Students |
| title_sort | creating an interactive online orientation to academic practices for international students |
| topic | academic discourse socialization online orientation internationalization international students university |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT victoriasurtees creatinganinteractiveonlineorientationtoacademicpracticesforinternationalstudents AT masaruyamamoto creatinganinteractiveonlineorientationtoacademicpracticesforinternationalstudents |