To respond to such challenges, both you and the TA can share responsibility for learning by working together in the classroom. The Graduate School requires international TAs to demonstrate their English language competency before assuming their TA roles. The ITA Program at CIDR assists international TAs throughout the year in enhancing their classroom instruction. Request that words that are difficult for you to understand be put on the board or the overhead. Use the same strategies for communication that are effective when you are interacting with a TA who is a native speaker of English.
Communication is central to human activity and essential to teaching and learning.
Classroom communication strategies are ways to use communication to facilitate your learning process. Students who say they have benefited most from their TAs emphasize that they attend class regularly, ask questions during class and in office hours, keep up with the readings, and discuss the course content with their classmates. They also have found the following strategies helpful in enhancing their learning and in establishing successful classroom communication with TAs and professors. Stop by during your TA's office hours to clarify questions or difficulties early in the quarter. Such questions create an opportunity for you to learn more about a specific subject area and the University of Washington.