ITA
Testing and Training
Language Proficiency
Requirements for International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Appointments
The WSU Executive
Order 86-6 mandates that Teaching Assistants (TAs) whose native language
is not English must achieve a score of 50 (out of 60) on the Test
of Spoken English (TSE) (taken in the U.S.) or the SPEAK (taken
at WSU) to be awarded an assistantship. The SPEAK test is administered
by the English Language Institute (ELI) nine times per year, and rating
is performed by the ELI staff of trained raters. The test costs
$50.00 and is paid by the prospective ITA's department if the department
is considering hiring this student; otherwise, the student must pay
for the test.
ITA Training
Students whose scores
fall between 40 and 45 may take English 052, the ITA training course
offered each semester. This three-hour-a-week course consists
of one seminar discussion and two small-group language tutorials each
week taught by two ESL professionals.
According to the WSU
Executive Order, the hiring unit must assume the tuition for the course.
The final exam for this course is a 20-minute teaching performance, involving
a presentation, question/answer period and brief office hour role play;
the raters for this exam are one representative from the students from
the student's department and two ESL professionals not currently working
with the student. Passing the class is considered equivalent to
passing the TSE or SPEAK. For those who score below 40, an ELI course
entitled "Oral Communication for Professionals" is offered in evenings
and provides training for those who wish to take it as preparation for
taking the SPEAK test again.
Additional TA
Training
The Graduate School
conducts a two-day, pre-teaching workshop in August for all new TAs
on contract; all non-native-English-spearking TAs must attend a third
day that is facilitated by the Coordinator of ITA Testing and Training.
This workshop covers expectations of American undergraduates, the culture
of the American classroom and interactive communication skills.
For more information
on ITA Testing and Training, contact:
Sara Tipton,
ITA Coordinator
English Language Institute
Wayne State University
351 Manoogian Hall
Detroit, MI 48230
Phone: (313) 577-7706
Fax: (313) 577-2738
E-mail: S.Tipton@wayne.edu
