A Transdisciplinary Approach to International Teaching Assistants: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 178892553X ISBN 13: 9781788925532

Publisher: Multilingual Matters, 2019

Synopsis

North American universities depend on international teaching assistants (ITAs) as a substantial part of the teaching labor force, which has led to the idea of an ‘ITA problem', a deficiency model which is framed as a divergence between ITAs' linguistic competence and undergraduates' and their parents' expectations. This outdated positioning of ITAs as deficient diminishes the invaluable role they play within the academy. This book argues instead for an approach to ITA which recognizes them as multilingual, skilled, migrant professionals who participate in and are discursively constructed through various participant frameworks, modalities and activities. The chapters in this volume offer state-of-the-art research into ITA using a variety of methods and approaches, and as such constitute a transdisciplinary perspective which argues for the importance of dialogue between research and practice.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Daniel Looney is an Associate Teaching Professor in Applied Linguistics and Director of the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. His research takes a conversation analysis approach to analyzing teacher-student interaction in university STEM classrooms. He is an associate editor for the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Shereen Bhalla is Director of Education at the Hindu American Foundation, Washington DC, USA. Her research interests include international teaching assistants, heritage language learning and language policy.

Review

I value this book for shifting the discourse on the 'ITA problem' to 'ITA resource'. The authors insightfully draw from transdisciplinary research approaches to expand the orientation from purported grammatical deviations to social interactions, identity negotiations, and cultural resources that demonstrate the creativity and complexity of ITAs. This book is bound to change the conversation on ITAs for years to come. -- Suresh Canagarajah, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Edition details

• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 178892553X
• ISBN 13: 9781788925532
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 200
• Editor: Looney Stephen Daniel, Bhalla Shereen