From: Yaritza Brinker <YBrinker**At_Symbol_Here**FELE.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] English in Lab
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2019 23:19:28 +0000
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: DM5PR05MB33066381C669C91E3041EB6AAD2D0**At_Symbol_Here**DM5PR05MB3306.namprd05.prod.outlook.com
In-Reply-To


My advice to you:

Don't translate the instructions, but rather exploit your student's proficiency in the written word.

 

I'm a non-native English speaker. I started college in the US with an OK conversational English skill. None of the students in my cohort spoke my native language, Spanish. I was lost in class half the time. I routinely saved questions for later, simply  because I could not formulate the question in my mind (in English) quickly enough before the teacher moved onto another topic.

 

If you have more than 1 student that speaks the same language, your problem is 2-foldÉ as soon as 1 gets lost, it will ask its neighbor for a translationÉ now you have 2 lost onesÉ and it multiplies from there. What is worst, the weakest speaker will not improve because he/she will use their friends as a "conversational crutch". (BTWÉ I was someone else's conversational crutch for a while.)

 

In the US, all of the admission and placement testing is written. Thus, your students come into the door being proficient in the written word. If it is important for them to know, imperative perhaps, then make a handout. But not just hand it out... actively refer to it during your pre-lab instruction. This will help your student "cross-reference" what they though they heard with what you actually said. And just as importantÉ this will help the weakest speaker improve faster. (Same idea behind subtitles on a movie.)

 

Thank you,

 

Yaritza Brinker

260.827.5402

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Pam
Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2019 7:08 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] English in Lab

 

** External Email **

Craig

 

Thank you

 

WE have been looking at ways to up level safety training and awareness. I will pass on information on this resource. 

 

Pamela Auburn, PhD

2041 Branard

Houston TX 77098

 


From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> on behalf of Craig Merlic <merlic**At_Symbol_Here**CHEM.UCLA.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 5, 2019 5:41 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] English in Lab

 

The Safety Training Consortium is an association of ?higher research universities that develops safety training for the research community.  There is an e-Learning course on Fundamentals of Laboratory Safety in Mandarin.  If you need a Spanish course, that is not available yet.

 

http://safety-consortium.org

 

Craig

 

Craig Merlic

Professor of Chemistry,  UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Executive Director,  UC Center for Laboratory Safety

Los Angeles, CA  90095-1569

Voice:  310-825-5466

 

 

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> on behalf of Pam <aubu**At_Symbol_Here**HOTMAIL.COM>
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at 3:20 PM
To: <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject: [DCHAS-L] English in Lab

 

I was wondering if anyone might help me with this issue. I have a number of English language learners in my classes. Recently there was a near miss accident that was in part due to the student not understanding me and me not being able to catch the issue as their conversation in lab is not in a language I understand. 

 

I want the class to be inclusive but it is hard monitor issues when the conversations among students are not in English.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this?

 

Thanks

 

Pamela Auburn, PhD

2041 Branard

Houston TX 77098

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