Multilingual Matters A Transdisciplinary Approach to International Teaching Assistants: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics

North American universities depend on international teaching assistants (ITAs) as a substantial part of the teaching labor force, which has led to the idea of an 'ITA problem', a deficiency model which is framed as a divergence between ITAs' linguistic competence and undergraduates' and their parents' expectations. This outdated positioning of ITAs as deficient diminishes the invaluable role they play within the academy. This book argues instead for an approach to ITA which recognizes them as multilingual, skilled, migrant professionals who participate in and are discursively constructed through various participant frameworks, modalities and activities. The chapters in this volume offer state-of-the-art research into ITA using a variety of methods and approaches, and as such constitute a transdisciplinary perspective which argues for the importance of dialogue between research and practice. Review Based on leading-edge research and current practices from a wide range of well-respected researchers, this transformative book is a must-read if we want to move from the 'ITA problem' to a 21st century multidisciplinary perspective where ITAs are truly valued. Having read the book, I'm encouraging everyone I know involved in ITA preparation to read and discuss it. --Colleen Meyers, University of Minnesota, USAI value this book for shifting the discourse on the 'ITA problem' to 'ITA resource'. The authors insightfully draw from transdisciplinary research approaches to expand the orientation from purported grammatical deviations to social interactions, identity negotiations, and cultural resources that demonstrate the creativity and complexity of ITAs. This book is bound to change the conversation on ITAs for years to come. --Suresh Canagarajah, Pennsylvania State University, USA About the Author Stephen Daniel Looney is an Associate Teaching Professor in Applied Linguistics and Director of the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Program in the Department of Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. His research takes a conversation analysis approach to analyzing teacher-student interaction in university STEM classrooms. He is an associate editor for the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Shereen Bhalla is Director of Education at the Hindu American Foundation, Washington DC, USA. Her research interests include international teaching assistants, heritage language learning and language policy.