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English Language Learners (ELLs) are making up a growing
proportion of students in university classrooms, International Relations
(IR) classrooms included. For this reason, there is a growing need for
instructors to become more sensitive to the needs of ELLs. A
controversial issue is whether to give ELLs testing accommodations. In
these situations, the instructor is faced with a tradeoff between
maintaining the rigor of the course and extending help to those who
might need it. Possible accommodations for learners include more time to
take the test, the use of frequent breaks, allowing a bilingual
dictionary, the use of a translated or easier English version of the
test, and/or reviewing difficult vocabulary before a test. In many
settings, some of these approaches may not be feasible for reasons of
fairness. In addition, some of these accommodations may limit the
motivation of students to learn and use English.
Despite the drawbacks of accommodating ELLs, there are a number
of approaches that can be both fair and effective. One easy way to
prepare ELLs is to review the instructions of the test sections ahead of
time and demonstrate how to answer example questions with the students.
This helps ensure that students don’t need to think about the test too
much during testing and can concentrate on the content of the exam. This
step also helps relieve test anxiety for all students.
Modeling test-taking is a good technique for helping all
students, not just ELLs. Many students manage to enter university
without honing their test-taking skills. Modeling how to take a test,
however, may be especially useful to students from countries where the
culture of test-taking is different.
Accommodating ELLs means paying closer attention to word choice
and usage. Do you use acronyms instead of full terms? Will students
understand the acronym or be confused by it? Are your questions
excessively wordy? Can the questions be simplified without compromising
the rigor of the test?
Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of giving tests
to ELLs is how to address essay questions. ELLs will typically do better
on multiple choice, true/false, and short-answer questions, but will
often fail entirely on in-class essay questions. In a few cases, I have
even had ELLs fail to write anything. This brings up some interesting
dilemmas.
Should ELLs be allowed to finish the essay question at home?
Should ELLs be given extra time in class to write their essays? Should
the instructor devote significant time to coaching students prior to the
test?
While there is no right answer to these questions, I have found
that the best answer is to use some ambiguity in the instructions to
maximize flexibility. This may sound counterintuitive, but it is
especially useful if you don’t know how well ELLs will do on your essay
questions.
In my classes, I have told students prior to the test that they
should do their best on the essay questions. No effort whatsoever will
result in a zero, but leniency will be given to students who make a good
faith effort to answer the questions. In the past, I have left this
“leniency” rather vague. I have found though that this approach
eliminates some of the anxiety regarding the written portion of the
test. When I have tried this approach, not only ELLs but other
vulnerable student populations usually gave a better effort. My
follow-on “leniency” policy has differed from situation to situation,
but one approach I frequently take is to leave essay questions that
scored below an 80 percent ungraded and unmarked. I then give the
student a chance to revise the essay after a short conference with
me.
This approach stresses that education is about collaboration
and support, not punishment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the students who
make the most of this support are usually students who are already
excelling in the course. In several cases, students who had scored above
an 80 percent asked for a conference to revise their essay, even though
no extra points were to be awarded.
However, there are other ways to give accommodations on the
essay portion of the test. Perhaps the easiest and best way to give fair
accommodation to all students is to provide examples of essay questions
and answers and demonstrate to students how you would grade
them.
As the number of ELLs increase in university classrooms, it
will be important for instructors to devise appropriate means of
support. Instructors should do their best to develop approaches that are
both fair and effective. Paying close attention to wordiness, modeling
test-taking skills, reviewing instructions, and providing support for
essay questions are four important areas where instructors can
begin.
Note: This article was reprinted with permission from E-International Relations.
Daniel Clausen has taught ESL, English composition,
and other courses in the United States, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. He has
also conducted research in the field of international relations. His
work has appeared in The Diplomat, e-IR, East Asia Forum, and The Korean Journal of International Studies, among
other places. He currently works as an English language instructor for
Coco Juku in Japan. | 
