TIPSters:
I've been wrestling with a difficult situation all semester, and I've been
a bit reluctant to present it to you. (I've been a bit concerned with the
tone of some TIPS responses -- it seems, as a group, that at times we've
become a bit more judgmental than helpful, but as usual I digress).
I have a student in my class who is Latino. His expression of English is
fair (not even at a level I'd call "good"), but his comprehension (reading,
listening) skills in English are quite poor. As a result, his performance
in my 3000-level course has been poor. He is unable to complete exams (he's
currently getting ten extra minutes on a 40-question multiple choice exam
on which students are allotted 50 minutes), and he is attempting to write a
paper in this course, for which he's asked me if he can write it in Spanish
and get someone he knows to translate it (to the latter I've suggested that
he first translate it, and then have his friend check it over, so that he
can practice becoming more proficient in the language).
My issue is this: how much accommodation to give to such students who have
English as a second language (ESL)? We have a Special Services department
whose job it is to assess students and document those who have conditions
(typically learning disorders or psychiatric conditions) that require
special accommodations, but they tend to ignore the ESL people. I am not of
the "they moved here so make em all speak English" ilk, but it seems to me
that when conferring a degree we are charged, in part, with making sure
such students are reasonably proficient in expressing themselves (and not
all students having such difficulty have English as a SECOND language). I
am giving him extra time on this exam, but reluctantly, and I am,
conflicted about it. I allow such students to use a translation dictionary
(what help that is in 3000-level psych classes, I'm not sure), and in the
past, I've had Asian, Latino, and German-speaking students complete exams
within the allotted time. What have you folks done?
I anticipate being accused of being eurocentric, ethnocentric, and just
plain evil. Please recognize that I'm not attempting to be unfair or
restrictive. I truly enjoy the benefits of the students who come in from
other backgrounds (a particular student from Japan offered wonderful
insights in my Personality Theories course), but how far do we go in these
cases?
Bracing for the responses...
David
David T. Wasieleski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology and Counseling
Valdosta State University
229-333-5620
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski
"I am a humble monkey, sitting up in here again
But then came the day
I climbed out of these safe limbs...
Now I am the proudest monkey you've ever seen..."
--Dave Matthews Band
"Proudest Monkey"
