Tutoring and Demonstrating

Welcome to Teaching in Australia: advice for tutors and demonstrators educated outside Australia

Joanna Tapper

Many tutors and demonstrators at the University of Melbourne have completed all or most of their education outside Australia. If you were not educated in Australia, there are three areas in which you might find some advice helpful: Australian English, communication styles, and approaches to teaching and learning.

Australian English

For some of you, English is your first language, or you may be bilingual. Australian English is similar to other versions of English, except for local idioms and pronunciation. However, if you speak another kind of English (for example, Indian English or US English), your Australian students may need time to become accustomed to your pronunciation, particularly when you speak quickly.

Some of you may not feel confident about your proficiency in English: you may find that your students don't always understand you, and that you do not always understand them. Research has shown that mistakes in grammar and even in pronunciation do not necessarily prevent mutual understanding, but that different intonation (the patterns of stress on parts of words, and the rise and fall of your voice) can be a more serious barrier to understanding. You may have been using international terminology in your field for years, but your Australian students may not recognise these words because you say them with a different pronunciation or intonation.

Suggestions

• It is a good idea to check the pronunciation and appropriate intonation for the major terms and phrases which might be needed in the subject you teach. You could get a colleague or other native speakers of English to record these terms on a tape, so you can practice.
• Slow down at the beginning of classes, so that students become used to your voice and accent.
• Use plenty of visual aids (whiteboard, overhead projector, handouts), so that students can see what you are saying.
• Be direct with students: ask them to tell you immediately if they have not understood something you have said. Thank them when they do.
• Remember that many of your students come from other language backgrounds too.

Communication styles

You may find that you and your Australian students have different ways of communicating. Some tutors and demonstrators find that Australian students are reluctant to speak in front of others, while others think that Australian students are too casual, or speak without thinking. Because your classrooms contain students from many backgrounds, there will be variations in communication behaviours. Sometimes instructors are not sure if students are listening or understanding, because they come from cultures where there are differing listening signals (smiling, nodding, eyes down, whispering to each other over note-taking, lots of facial expression, or almost none).

Ways of presenting personal views can also differ significantly. In some cultures, direct disagreement is avoided; in others, it is common and often encouraged. There are different understandings about the acceptability of interruption, loudness of the voice, formality of address, and many other areas, which we tend to take for granted in most everyday interactions.

Suggestions

• Get to know students by name, and encourage them to know each other's preferred names. Tell students what to call you (Dr Chung, Carmen Maria, Ali), because students may be confused about overseas names, and often do not know their tutors' full names. Maintain a personal communication style with which you feel comfortable.
• Be sensitive about your own and your students' listening behaviour. Australians often say 'yeah', 'uhuh' while listening, which shows interest and encouragement. If you have similar habits, but use slightly different words, be careful that they are appropriate. For example, Russian listeners use 'well' when listening in English, as a translation from the Russian listening signal. To Australians, however, 'well' often signals a wish to take a turn and to disagree with the speaker, so it is not a good phrase to use if you just want to signal 'OK, go on, this is interesting'.
• Hold a discussion of non-verbal cues and meanings, such as listening behaviour, and conversational conventions, giving examples from your own culture, and inviting the students to do the same.

Approaches to teaching and learning

Your students, especially if they are first year students, do not necessarily know how to behave in tutorials or labs. You set the scene for the way you want to teach, and you may need to 'train' your students. Using pair and group work needs a lot of effort from instructors, and there will be failures and classes which go poorly. Australian tutors and demonstrators meet the same challenges in setting up good teaching and learning environments.

There can be mismatches in expectations between instructors and students, whether or not they are Australians, and these mismatches may be greater in culturally diverse settings. It is a good idea to make your expectations clear and to find ways of reinforcing them. However, you may also need to adjust some of those expectations and negotiate with students to reach common understandings about how classes will be conducted.

If you are already an experienced teacher outside Australia, you may find that some Australian approaches to teaching and learning differ from your own. This guide covers many of these issues. It can still be difficult to balance your attitudes about teaching and learning with those of your Australian colleagues and students. You may find it useful to consult with other staff members about the purposes and benefits of small group work.

Although you have special expertise in your subject area, students educated in Australia do not expect you to know everything. They will respect you if you occasionally admit to a lack of knowledge, especially if you follow up on the item in the next class. Students are not being disrespectful if they disagree with you in class (unless they do it in a rude manner). Educators in Australia usually encourage students to question and reflect, and regard the expression of partly-developed ideas and arguments as good learning behaviour.

Many Australian students are used to the idea that they can learn from working with each other. Others (especially from different educational backgrounds) are more reluctant about doing work which is not teacher-led. You may need to explain the purposes and benefits of pair and group work to such students.

Next section: Chapter 4 Specific skills

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