Off the plane and into the classroom: A phenomenological explication of international teaching assistants' experiences in the American classroom

In this paper phenomenology is used to explicate the teaching experiences of international teaching assistants in the American classroom. Six international teaching assistants from England, Thailand, Japan, and China were interviewed, and common themes of teaching experiences were derived. These common themes were broken down into two main "meaning clusters": (a) technical teaching difficulties, consisting of the common themes of instructional preparation, classroom procedures, English usage, and American students; and (b) intercultural difficulties, consisting of the common themes of cultural awareness and interpersonal communication. The paper concludes with the authors suggesting ways in which international teaching assistants can be helped to adapt to their new environment.