12
Thursday, October 21, 1970
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University Daily Kansan
English standards vary for TAs
By ROB EMBERS
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
There is still no standardized procedure for determining the English speaking proficiency of teaching assistants, despite a report by the Student Senate Commission on the Quality of Classroom Teaching last year that recommended such a procedure.
Ron Calgaard, vice chancellor for academic affairs, said yesterday that the hiring of teaching assistants was still a departmental decision.
THE RECOMMENDATIONS of the commission were outlined in section 12 of the report released last October and were the result of complaints raised by students who said they couldn't understand some teachers with foreign accents.
"When departments recommend employment of instructors, the presumption is they have sufficient ability to speak English to teach a class." he said.
Mike Malone, assistant Douglas County attorney and candidate for county attorney, supported the decriminalization of marijuana last night at a meeting of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Michael Henderson, director of the KU Applied English Center, said that because most teaching assistants entered the University of Kansas as students, they were indirectly tested for English proficiency. He said all KU students who had come from a
Malone told the audience of about 25 people that he didn't condone the use or legalization of marijuana, but that he had agreed to government priorities needed to be changed.
Asst. attorney wants reduction of drug penalty
"It makes good law-enforcement sense to be in favor of decriminalization," he said.
"It frees us of a lot of time in court," he said.
Malone said decriminalization would give law enforcement officers more time to solve crimes.
The county attorney's office policy of deferred prosecution is a step in putting law enforcement in its proper perspective, Malone said.
Deferred prosecution is used for first-time offenders when there is no evidence of criminal intent, he said. If the defendant obwls all Kansas laws for six months and has been convicted four times drug program, he is able to escape a fine, jail sentence and record.
non-English speaking country had probably taken either a Test of English as a Foreign Language exam (TOEFL) or some other exam administered by the Applied English
THE TOEFL EXAM is usually taken by foreign students before coming to KU, he said, and if a student's score is 50 or more out of 700, he isn't required to take any additional examinations in English proficiency.
Beard said new faculty were required to lecture on a topic of their interest with faculty and students being able to ask questions during the lecture.
He said he didn't think faculty were trained for examination to prove English proficiency.
In a recent resolution, the Kansas State University Student Senate recommended that the English skills of foreign teaching assistants be evaluated by using the TOEFL exam. The resolution called for a minimum score of 600 on the TOEFL exam.
"We've obviously discussed with deans and department chairpersons that they need to be very careful with their hiring of teaching assistants and professors to make sure they are able to effectively communicate," he said.
David Beard, chairman of the physics and astronomy department, said that, unlike most departments, teaching assistants in physics and astronomy were required to take the TOEFL exam, but faculty weren't required to take the exam. He said that both new faculty and teaching assistants were required to take the faculty extensively before being hired.
Dean Gregory, assistant director of the Applied English Center, said he thought requiring teaching assistants to take the TOEFL exam might not solve the problem at K-State because the TOEFL exam didn't measure how well a person could speak. But he might have an accent that would make it difficult for students to understand.
He said there were some faculty who had difficulty with their classroom presentation, but they were motivated to improve it. His students' promotion and salary increase possibilities.
CALGARE SAID that an accent wouldn't necessarily affect the ability of a teaching assistant to teach a class, and that admission should be left to the departments.
TEACHING ASSISTANTS who come from non-English speaking countries are required to score fairly high on the TOEFL exam, he said. If they score高, then the teaching assistant will also take a 15- or 28-question examination by the department, he said.
physics and astronomy department. Stan Rolfe, chairman of the civil engineering department, said new faculty were interviewed by faculty and students and must also lecture and answer questions on various topics before they would be hired.
THE CIVIL engineering department has a selection process similar to that of the
'We ask some pointed questions so we can see how he responds.' he said.
There are no teaching assistants in the civil engineering department.
George Worth, chairman of the English department, said that as a matter of policy his department didn't employ teaching assistants from non-English speaking countries unless they had resided in this country for at least one year.
THE APPLICANT must also have good English speaking skills, he said. As a result, the English department has few teaching courses in non-English speaking countries, he said.
John Tollefson, dean of the School of Business, said the primary bases for selecting new faculty and teaching assistants were interviews and workshops. The assistant would probably indicate whether he could effectively communicate to students.
Chandra Chaterji, assistant instructor in the School of Business and a native of India, said he had spoken English for many years and then the upper five per cent on the TOEFL exam.
He said he thought, because of occasional blank stares and questions to repeat certain things, that some students had difficulty understanding his accent.
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