A Michigan state senator believes that students who cannot understand their international teaching assistants (T.A.s) should be eligible for tuition refunds.


With the increasing number of international graduate students studying in the United States, and some studies suggesting that T.A.s with English language difficulties may have an adverse impact on a student's academic performance, Sen. Joanne Emmons (R.-Big Rapids) has suggested that reimbursements would ensure that students receive the education for which they're paying.


This idea is ludicrous and must be stopped before it reaches the legislative floor.


It is important to recognize the difference first and foremost between language and communication; the former is simply one element of the latter. T.A.s for whom English is not a native language may still be effective teachers, even if this means that they will need to supplement lessons with visual or written demonstrations.


For this reason, the idea has too much potential for abuse; judging whether a T.A. is an effective communicator is a subjective measure and will allow students to request refunds for any number of reasons. (Who is to say, for instance, that a student's poor performance in class cannot be attributed to poor listening skills on the student's part?)


What the idea would accomplish, however, is to encourage skepticism about the abilities of international teaching assistants. University administrators might be deterred from placing these students in front of a lecture room, thus limiting the academic opportunities available to them. The idea further encourages undergraduates to specifically target international T.A.s and accuse them of poor teaching skills for financial gain.


There are better ways to spend the money that would otherwise be used for refunds. Since innovation can often compensate for language skills, better training and technology could be introduced into Michigan campuses.


Most universities, including Cornell, already require a battery of tests to gauge the communication skills of T.A.s. If the teaching quality of these graduate students is still unsatisfactory, more stringent tests must be put in place before T.A.s are given course assignments.


If Emmons wants to aid students, the state senator should focus on more effectively training T.A.s at the start of their academic careers in the United States, thus benefiting both undergraduate and graduate students.


Taking classes with T.A.s who lack the ability to communicate is not a problem faced solely by students with international T.A.s. Indeed, Emmons' argument could easily be extended to include T.A.s and professors who already speak English as a native language; their ineffectiveness in the classroom equally prohibits students from getting their money's worth.


Emmons's idea has not yet been introduced as legislation. Students at Michigan colleges must speak out against the proposal so that language problems are addressed before, not after, T.A.s reach the classroom.

Archived article by Sun Staff