BEST PRACTICES: The ITA Program: An Academic Bridging Program for the Changing Demographics on North American Campuses

0 ver the past few decades, a steady increase in international student enrollment has installed a visible change in the demographics on North American campuses. For example, many campuses of University of California have an average enrollment of 45% Asian students (Egan, 2007). Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada has similarly reported that in recent years 40% of its students speak English as an ad­ ditional language (EAL) (Annual Undergraduate Survey, 2003). This trend of internationalization accelerated in the 1980s and continues today, with the need for language and culture bridging programs also rising dramatically. Even with various language screening tests such as the TOEFL and IELTS for university admission and place­ ment, a large percentage of EAL students experience great difficulties, especially in their first year. Many, including the EAL students themselves, perceive the difficulties that international students encounter in their academic and teaching work as being language-related. It is particularly frustrating to all parties concerned, considering the fact that international students, especially those from East Asian countries, typically have had more than 10 years of formal English language education in their home countries. Upon closer examination, the many communication-related dif­ ficulties have resulted largely from the fact that many EAL students have learned English from textbooks that are often lacking in cultural context. This adds to these students' unfamiliarity with the North American educational system, which can be significantly different from those in their home countries. The need for bridging programs becomes even more urgent since many of the international graduate students take on jobs as teaching assistants to financially support their graduate careers. The number of international teach­ ing assistants are increasing rapidly as more and more universities are expanding their recruitment of international graduate students to fill the general enrollment slack in recent years (Alphonso, 2007). Fortunately, a significant number of North American universities have begun to offer programs that bridge linguistic, cultural, and educational gaps for international teaching assistants. Many programs come under the name of International Teaching Assistants (ITA) Program. Most ITA programs serve to provide the missing links by providing international TAs and gradu­ ate students a venue for acquiring relevant background information of North American culture while at the same time stimulating them to use and expand their language knowledge. The International Teaching Assistants Program at Simon Fraser University (SFU) has been a leader in this en­ deavor. The program was established in 1992 in Continuing Studies in response to the growing demand for language, culture, and TA training spawned by the newly expanded international graduate student population. The ITA cur­ riculum at SFU is specially designed to offer integrated academic communication and TA training to international teaching assistants and graduate students. Over the 15 years