Closing the Communication Gap Between Undergraduates and Mathematics Professors

1. Closing the Communication Gap Between Undergraduates and Mathematics Professors Charles Center Honors Colloquium Dan Villarreal February 15, 2010

2. Accessing this Presentation Copies of this presentation and the handout are posted at http://djvill.people.wm.edu/Colloquium.html In addition, feel free to email me for more information at djvill@wm.edu

3. Introduction �My professors are brilliant, but I just can�t understand them!� �Chinese 101, a prerequisite to Calculus?� Is accent really the problem? Who�s responsible for solving it? What can we do to help students better understand their professors?

4. Presentation Format Literature Review Quantitative Methods and Results Qualitative Methods and Results Conclusion Questions (time permitting)

5. Literature Review

6. Backstory Beginning in the 1980s, the majority of American-born science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates began to choose jobs in industry rather than academia (Mooney, 1989) By 1989, more than half of STEM degree recipients were foreign-born (Mooney, 1989)

7. The �Foreign TA Problem� In 1984, the linguist Kathleen Bailey identified what she called the �Foreign TA Problem�: �the communicative difficulties engendered by [the interaction between non-native speaking teaching assistants and their students]� (Bailey, 1984, p. 3) In a 1980 study of University of Minnesota undergraduates, almost half reported that having a ITA had hurt the quality of a course they had taken, whereas only 9% believed that an ITA had helped (cited in Bailey, 1984)

8. The Communication Gap A 1989 study examined the effects of instructor gender, student SAT score, class term, age, international TA, and textbook on undergraduates� test scores in a macroeconomics survey course. Of these, no variable was responsible for a greater drop in scores than was the presence of an international TA (Watts & Lynch, 1989) Anecdotal problems abound

9. The Communication Gap, Cont�d The problem goes beyond the properties of the professor�s speech, however. Students in lecture with Chinese professor performed significantly worse than with American professor (Rubin, 1992) At least so they thought� Prof. Li�s California story Thus, in my formulation, the communication gap consists not only of actual misunderstanding, but also of bias Students viewed a still image of a Chinese or American man, but the audio was the same for both groups. In other words, while there was nothing that differed from the actual content of the lectures themselves, students who THOUGHT the speaker was Chinese did worse. There was an Asian TA in California who received a lot of complaints from students who could not understand the TA�s foreign accent. As it turns out, the TA was actually born and raised in the United States, and the students inferred both foreignness and the presence of a foreign accent from his ethnicity alone.Students viewed a still image of a Chinese or American man, but the audio was the same for both groups. In other words, while there was nothing that differed from the actual content of the lectures themselves, students who THOUGHT the speaker was Chinese did worse. There was an Asian TA in California who received a lot of complaints from students who could not understand the TA�s foreign accent. As it turns out, the TA was actually born and raised in the United States, and the students inferred both foreignness and the presence of a foreign accent from his ethnicity alone.

10. English Language Learners The older a second language learner is at the time of learning a language, the more difficult it becomes to make one�s accent resemble a native accent (Gass & Selinker, 2001; Krashen, Long, & Scarcella, 1979) English language learners can have great difficulties pinpointing the source of accent-related communication breakdowns (Derwing, 2003)

11. Professor Training Many universities, especially state universities, mandate that new hires (especially TAs) whose first language is not English pass TSE, TOEFL, SPEAK (Cassell, 2007; Davies, Tyler, and Koran, 1989; Plakans, 1997) Several researchers have doubts as to the efficacy of these tests in evaluating classroom readiness (Halleck and Moder, 1995; Tyler, 1992; Young, 1989)

12. Student-Centered Research Donald Rubin: �Support for ITAs (and also continuing support for non-native English speaking faculty members) is key, and much progress has been made in many fine programs on that score. But also key is attention to undergraduates' listening abilities. Very few--if any--programs exist to support undergraduates as listeners of World Englishes.� (2005, n.p.)

13. Math is Different Byrd and Constantinides (1992): �so many of our early assumptions about teaching (based on teaching styles preferred in ESL) do not hold for the teaching of mathematics.� (p. 166) Topic familiarity influences comprehension of non-native speakers to a greater degree than even accent familiarity (Gass and Varonis, 1984) Math anxiety (Ashcraft, 2002) So in a subject like math, where so much is so mysterious to a lot of the general public, non-native teachers are already at a big disadvantageSo in a subject like math, where so much is so mysterious to a lot of the general public, non-native teachers are already at a big disadvantage

14. The Need for This Research In summary, there are several factors that make this research unique and necessary: Focuses on interactions with professors, not TAs Shifts some of the burden of communication to students Focuses on the mathematics classroom Attempts to address both components of the communication gap: bias and genuine misunderstanding

15. Quantitative Methods and Results

16. Methodology Experimental hypothesis: A training program designed to address accent features and bias will increase students� comprehension of an international professor Population of interest: William and Mary undergraduates Sampling: Introductory Math, Linguistics classes, other avenues I was able to offer an incentive for students to participate thanks to a grant from the Charles Center. Students who participated in all of the project were entitled to a free sandwich and drink from the Cheese Shop.I was able to offer an incentive for students to participate thanks to a grant from the Charles Center. Students who participated in all of the project were entitled to a free sandwich and drink from the Cheese Shop.

17. Testing Sessions Six testing sessions in Dulin Learning Center (in Swem Library) from October 3-6 Five parts: Consent form/assignment Lesson 1 + Assessment 1 Inter-lesson module Lesson 2 + Assessment 2 Linguistic Profile Questionnaire The parts of the testing session that had the most bearing on my research hypothesis were the middle three: the two lessons and assessments, with an �inter-lesson module� in the middle. The idea is that the first score gives a baseline for each participant�s math ability, then the second score reflects the effects of the inter-lesson module. Therefore, by taking the difference of the two scores, number 2 minus number 1, we can gauge how much the inter-lesson module affects score improvement (or non-improvement) for each student.The parts of the testing session that had the most bearing on my research hypothesis were the middle three: the two lessons and assessments, with an �inter-lesson module� in the middle. The idea is that the first score gives a baseline for each participant�s math ability, then the second score reflects the effects of the inter-lesson module. Therefore, by taking the difference of the two scores, number 2 minus number 1, we can gauge how much the inter-lesson module affects score improvement (or non-improvement) for each student.

18. Inter-Lesson Modules Three module groups, as defined by the inter-lesson module they viewed: Training, Control, and Bias Training module instructed students on accent ideology, then specific features of the professor�s accent Control module consisted of inert materials Bias module contained an article, blog post, and table of professor ratings meant to simulate campus conversation by presenting professors in a less-than-favorable light

19. Assessments and Scoring

20. Assessments and Scoring How many different combinations of mismatched socks can Professor Millington wear? W R Br Bl 12 6 7 5 W � R = 12 � 6 = 72 W � Br = 12 � 7 = 84 W � Bl = 12 � 5 = 60 R � Br = 6 � 7 = 42 R � Bl = 6 � 5 = 30 Br � Bl = 7 � 5 = 35 323 combinations Since this was half of the assessment, a perfect score was an 8. Since this was half of the assessment, a perfect score was an 8.

21. Assessments and Scoring How many different combinations of mismatched socks can Professor Millington wear? W R Br Bl 12 6 7 5 W � R = 12 � 6 = 72 W � Br = 12 � 7 = 84 W � Bl = 12 � 5 = 60 R � Br = 6 � 7 = 42 R � Bl = 6 � 5 = 30 Br � Bl = 7 � 5 = 35 221 combinations We took off points conservatively, placing more emphasis on whether or not the participant understood the concept than if their computations were totally correctWe took off points conservatively, placing more emphasis on whether or not the participant understood the concept than if their computations were totally correct

22. Hypotheses If the training module really is effective in helping students understand the lessons, we should see improvement from the first lesson to the second for students who do training This improvement should be greater than for those who view the control module If bias negatively affects students� comprehension, we should see less improvement (or negative improvement) for those who view the bias module

23. Quantitative Results

24. T-Tests

25. Why these results? Major discrepancy in difficulty of tests F(2, 77) = 25.65 p < 0.001 Other reasons: Not enough participants, Training module needs improvement

26. Qualitative Methods and Results

27. Discussion Sessions In addition to testing sessions, I held discussion sessions to collect qualitative data Nine discussion sessions between October 17-20, 60-90 minutes apiece Between 4 and 11 participants in each session Segregated by testing group Sandwiches!

28. Discussion Questions For starters, how many classes, if any, have you taken with a foreign-born professor? Have any been Math classes? Did his or her accent ever hurt your understanding of the material? Do you talk about professors� accents a lot with your friends? Have you ever dropped a class or even changed your academic plans because the professor had a foreign accent? What about other students you know? What do you think impedes communication between students and professors the most, regardless of accent? What do you wish professors (or even the College) would do to deal with the issue of the communication gap between undergraduates and mathematics professors? Do you feel that you gained anything from this process? Do you think that programs such as these would be effective in dealing with the communication gap?

29. Discussion Themes Perceptions of accent Syntax, phonology, word choice, teaching style, personality Effects of professors� accents Some accents endearing, accents preferred in language classes, issue worse in math classroom, attentiveness, processing delays, innate comprehension versus habituation

30. Discussion Themes Students� responses Accent as conversation topic, course registration, changing academic plans, memory device, problems in high school Solutions Ownership of the communication gap, involving students in hiring process, course evaluations, accent-training, integration into Orientation, training website as permanent resource

31. Attitudinal Evidence Linguistic Profile Questionnaire: �Do you think you speak with an accent? If so, how would you describe it?� Training module: �There�s no such thing as speaking English without an accent, as everybody, including you, your roommate, your grandparents, and your doctor, has some sort of accent. � Did this affect Training students� attitudes toward the above question?

32. Attitudinal Evidence Do you speak with an accent? % �Yes� by group: Bias: 37.5% Control: 53.6% Training: 72.4% F(2, 78) = 3.43, p < 0.05 -- Significant

33. Conclusion

34. Conclusion It is not clear that either the Training or Bias modules had a real effect, positive or negative, on students� performance on assessments There is evidence that the Training module had a significant effect on students� beliefs about accent Furthermore, discussion participants indicated the need for further pursuit of this topic and further progress on this issue

35. Future Directions and Plans

36. Questions? Methodological details? Motivation for the project? Ways the project could be improved? Other questions or comments?

37. Links to Stimulus Materials Inter-lesson modules: Training: http://djvill.people.wm.edu/Opening.html Control: http://djvill.people.wm.edu/Ideation.html Bias: http://djvill.people.wm.edu/DailyPenn.html Lesson videos: Permutations and Combinations: http://djvill.people.wm.edu/PermComb.html The Proof that the Square Root of 2 is Irrational: http://djvill.people.wm.edu/Root2.html Relations and the Cartesian Product: http://djvill.people.wm.edu/Relations.html

38. Works Cited Ashcraft, M. H. (2002). Math Anxiety: Personal, Educational, and Cognitive Consequences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 181-185. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182804. Bailey, K. M. (1984). The �Foreign TA Problem�. In K. Bailey, F. Pialorsi, J. Zukowski/Faust (Eds.), Foreign Teaching Assistants in U.S. Universities (3-15). Byrd, P., & Constantinides, J. (1992). The Language of Teaching Mathematics: Implications for Training ITAs. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 163-167. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3587384. Cassell, E. C. (2007).�Understanding community linguistic diversity: An ecological approach to examining language use patterns of international graduate students. Retrieved from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text database. (Publication No. AAT 3287301).

39. Works Cited Davies, C. E., Tyler, A., & Koran, J. J., Jr. (1989). Face-to-Face with English Speakers: An Advanced Training Class for International Teaching Assistants. English for Specific Purposes, 8, 139-153. Derwing, T. (2003). What Do ESL Students Say About Their Accents? The Canadian Modern Language Review, 59, 547-566. Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2001). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course (2nd ed.). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Gass, S., & Varonis, E. (1984). The effect of familiarity on the comprehensibility of nonnative speech. Language learning, 34, 65-89. Gravois, J. (2005, April 8). Teach Impediment. Chronicle of Higher Education, 51, A10. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/free/v51/i31/31a01001.htm.

40. Works Cited Halleck, G. B., & Moder, C. L. (1995). Testing Language and Teaching Skills of International Teaching Assistants: The Limits of Compensatory Strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 733-758. Krashen, S. D., Long, M. A., & Scarcella, R. C. (1979). Age, Rate and Eventual Attainment in Second Language Acquisition. TESOL Quarterly, 13, 573-582. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3586451. Mooney, C. J. (1989, January 25). Uncertainty is Rampant as Colleges Begin to Brace for Faculty Shortage Expected to Begin in 1990�s. Chronicle of Higher Education, A14-A17. Plakans, B. (1997). Undergraduates' Experiences with and Attitudes toward International Teaching Assistants. TESOL Quarterly, 31. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3587976.

41. Works Cited Rubin, D. L. (1992). Nonlanguage factors affecting undergraduates' judgments of nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants [abstract]. Research in Higher Education, 33(4). Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/w61u8661503000ww/. Rubin, D. L. (2005, April 7). [message posted to moderated chat]. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2005/04/english/ [N.B.: Link now dead]. Tyler, A. (1992). Discourse Structure and the Perception of Incoherence in International Teaching Assistants' Spoken Discourse. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 713-726. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3586870. Watts, M., & Lynch, G. (1989). The Principles Course Revisited. The American Economic Review, 79, 236-241. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1827763. Young, R. (1989). Introduction. English for Specific Purposes, 8, 101-107.

42. THANK YOU! Daniel Villarreal February 15, 2010