By Kelly Lucas
Campus Editor

Purdue is one step above Princeton University when it comes to making sure its foreign teaching assistants are tops.

While Princeton is just now implementing a new program that will require all foreign teaching assistants that do not speak English as their first language to take an English proficiency test before teaching, Purdue is celebrating its 13th anniversary of such a program.

Margie Berns, director of the English as a second language program and professor of English in Linguistics, said most large research universities across the country have some sort of English proficiency program, but considers Purdue's program as one of the most comprehensive.

Berns said the program requires each foreign graduate student to take part in classroom instruction, screening, presentations that are videotaped and tutorials.

Purdue requires each foreign graduate student, whose first language is not English, to pass the oral English proficiency test before being assigned duties involving direct instruction of students.

However, some students feel the program is ineffective.

Shane Halbach, a sophomore in the School of Science, said his Math T.A. was extremely difficult to understand.

"Her first day in class was her second day in America," he said. " It's just crazy. If you pay to go to a university, you should be able to understand your T.A.; you'd think they'd be able find qualified T.A.'s from America. There are people from other regions of the U.S. that are hard to understand, but not to that extent."

Bill Glowacki, a sophomore in the Schools of Engineering, said none of his teaching assistants have been that incomprehensible. He said some are hard to understand, but were always available for help if there were additional questions.

Berns feels the program has been a success and has never heard any complaints from students about the inability to understand a teaching assistant.

"Nobody ever comes to me with complaints, but I wish they would," she said. "I would very much like to hear about it. If I know that information, it would guide me in revising the test. Until then, I assume everything is just fine."

According to Berns, the English as a second language program had 346 students take part in the English proficiency program last year, and the numbers keep rising.

"We've provided instruction to 110 students since the fall," she said. Berns said the number of students who participate in the program increases at about 35 percent each year.

According to Candiss Vibbert, associate dean of Graduate School Administration, approximately 37 percent of Purdue's graduate students are international.

"I think everyone agrees that it is important to have a program such as this," said Vibbert. "We have a number of international students and we are glad of that."

Purdue's Oral English proficiency program was established in 1987 and requires every student whose first language is not English and holds or is a candidate for appointment as a graduate teaching assistant to demonstrate adequate oral English proficiency.

"Some students come with less expertise and others speak English fluently," said Vibbert. "Graduate T.A.'s bring a lot of richness, but we need to make sure that richness is not prohibited through their inability to communicate to their students."

However, Berns feels that there is one disadvantage to the program. "The items on the test are generic and aren't specific to Purdue," she said. "The test items are more about everyday life rather than life in a university context."

But, she said, they do not test their pencil and paper abilities; it tests their oral ability to speak English.

Berns said if the student does not pass the oral English proficiency screening test, called SPEAK, they must enroll in English 001T, Oral Communication for International Teaching Assistants. After the student has completed the course, the student is evaluated again to determine if they can be certified for English proficiency.