Instructors from the UO’s American English Institute are asking faculty across campus for help with a survey that could help improve the language skills of international students.

With international student enrollment high and continuing to rise, most UO courses include students who speak English as their second — or third or fourth — language. Many international students arrive with the skills they need to begin their studies, but others enroll at the American English Institute to improve their language skills, including speaking and pronunciation.

Two AEI faculty members are doing research to identify the features of spoken English that make non-native speakers more easily understood by professors. They are conducting a survey to help hone in on ways to improve English language instruction.

All UO professors or instructors who have taught international students are invited to participate in the survey, which takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete. It involves listening to speech samples and rating or transcribing them.

The survey is available here.

Please click from a desktop or laptop computer, rather than a mobile device. Researchers Beth Sheppard and Nancy Elliott can be contacted at bsheppar@uoregon.edu and nce@uoregon.edu. 

Anyone with questions about their rights as a research subject can contact Research Compliance Services at researchcompliance@uoregon.edu or 541-346-2510.

—By Greg Bolt, Public Affairs Communications