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International Teaching Assistants' (ITA') Experiences with Language Learning, Learner Autonomy, and Technology as Students in a Requisite Oral Communication Course

Wallace, Lara R.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1416569655

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Cultural Studies (Education).
Spoken English intelligibility in the US classroom is expected, and international teaching assistants (ITAs) are often required to take a course if their speech is not sufficiently intelligible. Yet despite the financial importance of a teaching assistantship contract, many ITAs feel they cannot place priority on improving their English when they have so many other responsibilities as graduate students, teaching assistants, and members of communities in another country. Thus, many ITAs are unable to pass an oral assessment after taking a requisite oral communication class. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to learn about ITAs’ experiences in such a course: what helped and hindered their learning, how to more effectively implement technology into the ITA preparatory courses, and how to provide more opportunities for the ITAs to develop learner autonomy. Thirteen ITAs documented their experiences in a reflexive photography project that they shared in peer focus groups and further expanded in individual interviews with the researcher. Four thematic topics emerged from the data: the ITA preparatory class, speaking opportunities, general English language skills improvement, and obstructions to spoken English improvement. Overall, it seems that the predetermined circumstances (such as their major areas of study as well as their cohort and instructors) in which the ITAs found themselves as well as the agency they exercised within those circumstances, along with the dual linguistic identities they embodied, shaped their experiences. The participants who made English language studies obligatory and sought interactions with native speakers and/or used technology scored higher on the assessment than the participants who did solely what was required for the class. Using technology to learn and practice was a hallmark of the learners who displayed learner autonomy, as was engaging in speaking opportunities with native speakers for purposeful practice. Furthermore, the participants who viewed their use of an American accent as a tool more than an identity marker scored higher on the assessment than those who worried that they might be rejected by their own L1 group for being inauthentic. The participants’ use of technology was woven into most of their experiences, predominately to their benefit.
Jaylynne Hutchinson (Committee Chair)
John Hitchcock (Committee Member)
Greg Kessler (Committee Member)
Jenny Nelson (Committee Member)
255 p.
Education; English As A Second Language; Linguistics
ITAs; Foreign TAs; CALL; Technology; Learner Autonomy; Reflexive Photography; Photo-elicitation; ELLs; ESL; Reticence; Oral Communication; Spoken English; Intelligibility; Learner Experience; Student-Centered Teaching; ITA Training Programs; Phenomenology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wallace, L. R. (2014). International Teaching Assistants' (ITA') Experiences with Language Learning, Learner Autonomy, and Technology as Students in a Requisite Oral Communication Course [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1416569655

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wallace, Lara. International Teaching Assistants' (ITA') Experiences with Language Learning, Learner Autonomy, and Technology as Students in a Requisite Oral Communication Course. 2014. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1416569655.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wallace, Lara. "International Teaching Assistants' (ITA') Experiences with Language Learning, Learner Autonomy, and Technology as Students in a Requisite Oral Communication Course." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1416569655

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1416569655
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© 2014, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License International Teaching Assistants' (ITA') Experiences with Language Learning, Learner Autonomy, and Technology as Students in a Requisite Oral Communication Course by Lara R. Wallace is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.