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Communicating in a Second Language
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Written Assignments Expectations  All students accepted at UNI have passed an English proficiency exam and can be expected to competently read and write English. This does not imply that their skills are perfect, however, and you can expect students to write "with an accent." Although ESL students often struggle with the rigorous standards of business writing, a recent study found that business colleges across the U.S. consistently hold these students to business standards of grammar, spelling and structure.(1)   One of the major reasons an international student will attend a U.S. business college, in fact, is to improve his or her English to the point where it is acceptable to the international business community, which increasingly relies on English as the common tongue. Plagiarism Plagiarism is a growing problem among U.S. students, but foreign students can face some unique hurdles.  More collectivist, oral cultures than ours will generally place less importance on protecting the "integrity" of an individual author's ideas, which affects everything from a country's copyright laws to a student's sense of how much help on a homework assignment he or she should get from friends.  Before you assume dishonesty, take a moment to discuss cultural and academic expectations with the student.  These links might help: Hints for Foreign Students Some Cultural Factors Page Updated  Fall, 2002

Presentations Accented Speech Although English is the language of international business, there is not an expectation that everyone speak Standard American English.  A student speaking Standard British English or Standard Nigerian English should not be penalized. The aim in oral communication should be comprehension, however, and students speaking in a second language might benefit from some presentation tips.

Working in Teams Cross Cultural Work The more diversity there is in a team, the more conflict there will be...and the more creative and productive the team.  Unfortunately, knowing that diversity is a good thing does little to make working across cultures any easier.   Homogeneous student teams can often get their jobs done without any explicit attention to team dynamics.  They might whine about the slackers and the know it alls, but they have developed ways to cope with typical American students.   When you have international students, they haven't already developed workable systems, and it becomes more important to require teams follow the steps of team development, conflict prevention and issue resolution.   A step by step guide, "How to Be a Group," is available as a course pack at Faculty Services.  A series of (ungraded) exercises and worksheets can assure that your classroom teams follow steps that will facilitate their own team productivity.   Additional resources on the Business Communication website might also be helpful: Teams and Meetings Cross-Cultural Communication Interpersonal Communication