Teaching Commons > Teaching Guides > Inclusive Teaching > Supporting International Students

Supporting International Students in the Classroom

DePaul hosts over 2,000 international students from over 125 different countries each year. International students enrich our classrooms with a variety of perspectives and experiences and bring the globe to us. Supporting international students in the classroom means recognizing and celebrating those differences while supporting students as they participate in a culture often quite different from their own. At DePaul, we welcome international students with open arms and a grateful heart.

Below are some strategies to foster lasting student/faculty relationships that will help students take their DePaul education around the globe to build a better world.

Culture

Considering international students as a homogeneous block without thinking about their individual differences is short-sighted. With students from 125 different countries, our campus is enriched with diversity of experience. What international students often lack is experience with the “hidden curriculum” that is embedded in education systems. For example, many students educated outside the US have never developed or given a presentation to their classmates or teachers. In the US, a pre-school mainstay is “show-and-tell” while elementary school students make basic PPT presentations to each other.

Understanding cultural dimensions can help us understand why we are experiencing a disconnect between expectations and our experience. The Cultural Calculator provides an easy approach to understanding difference. Each person completes a short survey and overlays the norms of a country to understand similarities and differences in approaches to communication, hierarchy, relationships and the like. This insight can inform your approach and whether you might wish to adapt it or educate students about cultural mismatches they are experiencing.

Access Cultural Calculator using your DePaul SSO, click on Culture Wizard.

Cultural Adjustment and Communication

International students often struggle with adapting to a new culture and navigating communication challenges. This can manifest in various ways, including discomfort in open discussions, difficulty understanding cultural references, and anxiety around public speaking.

Many international students may come from educational backgrounds that emphasize rote learning over participation. To address this, educators can provide structured opportunities for smaller group discussions, helping students build confidence before engaging in larger settings.

Resources

  • Academic Continuity & Engagement offers academic support, workshops and success coaching and mentoring. Faculty/staff can create a referral for students here.
  • International Resource Center provides language tutoring, and academic success support to international students. Faculty can make a referral to the IRC through OneDePaul. The IRC@depaul.edu email can also be used to request faculty support.
  • ISEE Peer Mentor Program is a mentoring program specifically for international students. (Consider adding this resource to your syllabus.)
  • The DePaul Writing Center offers peer writing support for all types of writing for students, faculty and staff. (Consider adding this resource to your syllabus.)

Classroom Discussions

The flipped classroom and discussion-based format may be a foreign concept to some international students. Understanding a student's context through use of the Cultural Calculator can help identify gaps in expectations. A discussion-based classroom may require more intentional effort on the part of the faculty member to hold space for introverts or students operating in a second language. Students operating in a different language take longer to process thoughts and participate in discussions. How faculty respond to students impacts how students participate in the future.

Strategies for Engaging International Students in Classroom Discussions

  • Use introductions on the first day of class
  • Support a more informal atmosphere to encourage sharing during attendance taking by using low-stakes discussion prompts during the first 10 minutes “what did you do this weekend or what is the last photo on your camera roll?”
  • Thank students for their contributions to the discussion, particularly early in the quarter.
  • Recognize students’ thinking and ask follow up questions - does that change have you feel?
  • Cold-call on students early in the quarter with low-stakes questions to model the expectation that discussion is required and all should participate.
  • Pose a question and count to 8 - because it takes people that long to think of an answer, AND international students are translating between languages
  • If asking students to react to something, give one minute of silence for students to gather their thoughts. Create a pause.
  • Create a space for students to reflect before they speak ie: use the think-pair-share approach.
  • What are your thoughts on XXX? How might YYY affect you? Recognize what students say and elevate discussion as needed.
  • If students are not participating, re-frame question to ensure they understand it.

Resources for inclusive teaching practices can make a big difference in a discussion based classroom.

Feedback

Students do not always receive and use feedback in ways that we might expect. Generally, students indicate that the best feedback is personal, specific, clear and timely. Being clear about the purpose of the feedback, (formative vs summative) and what you intend the student to do with the feedback is particularly important when working with international students.

Strategies to Help International Students Get the Most Out of Feedback

  1. Articulate whether you are giving the student a question to consider in the future or you want them to act on that information.
  2. Phrase feedback as a directive. When feedback is phrased as a question, students sometimes misunderstand it as a suggestion and fail to act on it.
  3. Clarify the source of the student’s problem - instead of commenting ‘this lacks critical thinking’, describe the work you expect to see…For example, ‘instead of listing the arguments in favor or against this topic, provide your thoughts on the topic after doing the reading. Also share your reasoning behind your thinking.”
  4. Coach students to understand the connection between using feedback to improve their work and the grades they receive.
  5. For fields where best practices are learned from peers, model that practice to connect feedback to students’ career goals.
  1. Make the “hidden curriculum” visible and be clear on your expectations to support students in participating in the US culture. Some students’ cultural norms forbid questioning authority (professors, the text etc) and pressure students to avoid conflict. Disagreeing publicly with a faculty member is not acceptable.
  2. Coach students on how to use feedback from different sources (peers, TA’s, Writing Center etc). Feedback from peers and teaching assistants may not be considered as valuable as that from the professor.
  3. Coach students on how to dialogue about their work with professors.
  4. Proactively set appointments for students who are struggling rather than waiting for them to ask for feedback or to come to office hours as students may be intimidated by their professors.

Resources

Professional Networking and Career Development

Building professional networks and navigating job markets can be particularly daunting for international students due to unfamiliarity with local practices and potential visa restrictions. Many international students may feel isolated when trying to connect with potential employers or mentors, lacking a support system that can provide guidance on job searching strategies.

Complicated visa regulations and work authorization can further complicate seeking internships or job opportunities.

Strategies to Help International Students Prepare for Their Careers

International students often do not understand the US job market including the importance of networking, the process of finding and securing a job or the options for careers.

  1. Encourage students to attend career workshops, conferences and program/industry events. Consider including assignments career-related as appropriate.
  2. Coach students to help them understand how employability skills like communication, critical thinking, leadership, and teamwork are critical for the world of work, and part of your class.

Students place a high value on a faculty member’s career advice.

  1. Coach students on how to connect with alumni.
    • Help students access alumni through a program alumni group or a young professional board.
    • Refer students to student/mentor programs.
  2. Invite/encourage students to attend relevant events on campus or in the industry.
  3. Be clear about what you can/are willing to do to support students in their job search. Faculty can connect students to their network, resources, student organizations, alumni groups, the career center and internship possibilities.
  1. Invite speakers from a variety of areas in the discipline to demonstrate the spectrum of available careers.
  2. Teach students how to network with guest speakers before the guest speaker arrives. Professionals can be intimidating, and students do not always know how to approach them
  1. Support resiliency –a job search process that focuses on generating a high volume of applications involves rejection. Coach students to develop their networks to get referred for a position vs. getting weeded out by AI.
  2. Refer students for counseling help if they need emotional support or are struggling with fear of failure, imposter syndrome or the like

International students must follow strict rules and regulations regarding work, internships and volunteering. Encouraging them to meet with their ISS Advisor will help them get answers to any questions they have.

Resources

  • Career Center offers specific events and resources for international students such as career fairs, career coaching, resume assistance and the like.
  • Kellstadt Career Management Center focuses on career opportunities for graduate students in the College of Business.
    • International students often need additional support with networking as relationships building. Some students have never heard the phrase “It’s not what you know, but who you know” while others have not engaged in small talk. The Career Center and Kellstadt CMC both host networking events throughout the year that connect students with alumni and local businesses interested in hiring international talent. As important, are the networking preparation events, ranging from the IRC’s Small Talk workshops to how to prepare for the career fair.
  • International Student Success offers career conferences and networking resources for international students.
  • International Student and Scholar Services – international students are required to follow many regulations regarding internships (CPT) and work after graduation (OPT). These requirements mean that international students must plan ahead to apply for work authorization. Contact ISS@depaul.edu for more information.
  • LinkedIn is a great resource for students to use for networking. International students can connect with Marcelo Barros, author of International Advantage -- Get Noticed. Get Hired, to gain access to his newest content.
  • NACE employability skills provides helpful definitions and sample behaviors.
  • Additional readings and resources:
    • Beaudry, Dan. Power Ties – The International Student’s Guide to Finding a Job in the United States. WDR Enterprises, LLC, 2014.
    • Molinsky, Andy. Global Dexterity. Harvard Business Review Press.
    • Reynolds, Sara/Valentine, Deborah, Guide to Cross-Cultural Communication (Second Edition) Prentice Hall, 2011.

Academic Integrity and Writing Standards

Understanding academic integrity standards, such as plagiarism and citation practices, is often a significant challenge for international students. This challenge is compounded by varying norms in academic writing across cultures. International students may not fully grasp the implications of collaboration versus plagiarism, leading to unintentional academic misconduct. Additionally, they may struggle to meet the writing conventions expected in their new academic environment.

Strategies to Engage International Students Around Academic Integrity and Writing Standards

Students’ experiences with writing differ widely depending on their academic and cultural background.

  1. Clearly identify the expectations of each assignment. Pay special attention to those elements that “everyone should know”
  2. Samples of successful student work, including an explanation of why they are successful gives students a goal to shoot for.
  3. Clearly articulate the expectations of academic integrity in your class. When is it acceptable to work with another student? Is using the Writing Center acceptable? What should be quoted, cited or otherwise referenced?

Some educational systems focus on regurgitation of facts and figures, leading to a lack of analysis.

If students receive feedback about structure, content, syntax and citations, they may struggle to understand where to start.

  1. The Writing Center provides assistance at all stages in an assignment. A clear assignment brief will help them guide the students. They can also assist with citations and peer feedback.
  2. The International Resource Center has several Academic Success Modules online, as well as personal English training. The IRC also offers ESL 500 Academic Success for International Students, a required course for all graduate students that covers classroom and academic integrity expectations.

Dan Schober gave a presentation on Teaching Writing to International Students at the 30th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference (2005). Find the materials here.

References