IELTS Research Reports

Learning to play the ‘classroom tennis’ well:IELTS and international students in teacher education5.3 Where is the need for support greatest (e.g. through your study program,through the practicum)?Most students felt that there was an equal need for support in both academic university work andpreparing for practicum. In terms of the latter, key issues were:■■■■■■■■■■■■how to teach the content wellwhether one is a good presenteravoiding linguistic errorsunderstanding pupils’ language and cultureunderstanding the language of other teachershaving a quick response ready to student questions and answersAll students stressed the need for both they and their pupils to ‘slow down’ in speaking. They arguedthat, over time, they and their pupils became used to each other, though they were more willing to bepatient about this than were their pupils.5.4 Are other issues more important than just language proficiency in supportingyour success (e.g. becoming familiar with the cultures of Australian schools)?■■■■■■becoming familiar with Western academic culture. Issues such as confronting ‘plagiarism’as a concept for the first time were mentioned herebecoming familiar with the cultures of Australian schools. Many issues were dealt withhere and the following list captures the key ideas:––issues around respect for the teacher. All students argued that Australian schools werevery different from ‘home’, where pupils were said to be ‘more formal’ and wellbehaved.This was constructed as teachers being automatically respected ‘at home’,but having to earn respect in Australia. They felt that education was valued differentlyby both pupils and parents ‘at home’ and seen as ‘the key to success’––Australian schools being perceived as ‘more student-centred’ than in their homecountries––the differentiation of curriculum in Australia for specific pupil/pupil groups.––a less examination-centred mentality. The pervasiveness of examinations in their homecountries was a big issue for these students, which they saw as driving the curriculum.They did not necessarily see this as a negative or positive, perceiving it rather assimply what goes along with an ethos of education as the ‘key to success’.behaviour management. While this definitely tied into issues of acculturation - beinglinked to the issue of respect for the teacher, for example (most commenting that in theirhome countries, badly behaved students were simply excluded from school) - studentsalso recognised that it was both just as big an issue for local students, and of such greatimportance that it deserved to be listed separately. They saw it as an issue for which they––needed more strategies––needed more knowledge (‘the more we know, the more we can prepare’) and––depended heavily on language for success (‘When you deal with this issue, you needto negotiate with them, so communication is very important’).IELTS Research Reports Volume 11101