Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/124472
What's in a Name? By Tom Snee n e i l b r e nnan Program was extremely effective and saw few logistical problems. A few weeks into the semester, business school class deans and professors reported a drastic reduction in the issues they normally see with international students. For example, in prior years, English instructors routinely identified international students as being enrolled in composition courses beyond their skill levels; in fall 2012, none were identified. Far fewer international students dropped a class in fall 2012 than in previous fall semesters. One reason the program worked so well was because it was campuswide. Educating international students is a university issue, even if those students are on hand to attend the business school. It's best to work with all the departments of the university and draw on the particular expertise of each. Another reason the program was successful was because of the hard work of our student volunteers. International students learned the most by hanging out with current students, finding out where they liked to eat in the Bronx, where they shopped in the city, and how they navigated Fordham's campuses. Administrators presented overall guidance, but students always speak best to fellow students. An orientation program like this one needs to strike a fine balance, giving students enough information to avoid problems, but not so much that they're overwhelmed. It also needs to offer just the right combination of fun and education. Fordham found that balance in the first year and looks forward to doing so again in the fall. Michael Polito is assistant dean, director of international programs, at Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University in New York City. F or international students enrolled at business schools far from home, sometimes the most unfamiliar part of the experience is something they should know best: the sounds of their own names, which are often hopelessly mangled by teachers and classmates unfamiliar with their language. At the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, we're addressing this problem with new workshops designed to teach faculty and staff how to properly pronounce Chinese names. Currently, about 412 of Tippie's 497 international students are from China. Xi Ma, a program associate in the UI Confucius Institute in International Programs, conducted the workshops this spring, and about 50 faculty, staff, and administrators attended. "When you see a Chinese name and you don't understand Chinese, you have no idea how to pronounce the letters, even if they're in English," says Ma. For instance, in Chinese the letter "x" sounds like "she," and the letter "i" sounds like "ee." Pronunciations are complicated by the fact that the Chinese language contains more tonal variations than English. "Tone is very important, and subtlety of pronunciation is important," notes Ma, who was trained as a ChineseEnglish translator and now works as a foreign language instructor. To get the tones right, she says, Westerners have to open their mouths wider than they're used to and force their tongues into unfamiliar movements. The workshop was part of an initiative Tippie undertook this year to make our international students from all countries feel more comfortable. We also added extra staff to the Frank Business Communications Center to help Chinese students learn to write and speak English more fluently; began offering an international student orientation program; and beefed up our cultural competency workshops. We also build a sense of community among Chinese and American students through "discussion circles," which give Chinese students chances to converse in English with native speakers, and through events like trivia contests and business fairs. In addition, we've launched a global pen pals program, spearheaded by the Center for Diversity and Enrichment. It pairs a first-year Tippie student with an international student who will start at UI next year. This introduces foreign nationals to U.S. and UI culture before they even arrive. More information about our initiatives and the Chinese language workshops—including audio files offering the correct pronunciation of certain Chinese names— can be found at now. uiowa.edu/2013/02/gettingtheir-names-right. Tom Snee writes about the Tippie College of Business for the University of Iowa News Service. BizEd May/June 2013 31