Ithaca College

Phoebe Constantinou and Srijana Bajaracharya, Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, and Susan Baldwin, SUNY Buffalo, presented a research paper at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in San Diego, California on April 17.

The purpose of the study was to examine how the college/university community (students and faculty) perceives the teaching competencies of faculty for whom English is a second language (ESL).

A convenience sample of 474 students and 54 faculty members from seven New York State colleges and universities completed the survey in this mixed-methods approach study. Seven students and six faculty members volunteered to participate in an in-depth interview.

Results indicated that students and faculty considered ESL faculty effective educators and cross-cultural agents. However, ESL faculty's language barrier (especially accent) is the main concern among college students and some faculty.

A series of recommendations for further research and programs concerning ESL faculty issues were presented.