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Every teacher is a language teacher. 

This statement highlights the direct relationship between language and content in any type of learning and teaching. As university educators, our disciplines employ unique terminology that our students often aren’t familiar with. Learning discipline-specific language is a challenge that all students in our classes face as they learn new concepts in their fields of study, regardless of their linguistic or cultural background. 

Yet, international students often experience greater difficulty in processing technical information, owing to the increased  created by working in an additional language. Unfortunately, this complexity can be made worse by poor instructional design and limited support provided to them. 

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• International students don’t need ‘fixing’
• Four key hurdles international students face – and what to do about them

The good news is that we have effective tools at our disposal to support our students in navigating these challenges. Here are four practical and simple tips to reduce the load and support learners as they acquire new terminology, and learn to use it accurately and confidently.

1. Have clear instructions and expectations 

Lengthy and complicated instructions can add to a learner’s processing load significantly. Follow these principles in your delivery: 

Keep language simple and direct. This involves reducing the amount of teacher talk, or unnecessary commentary, in your instructions. Starting your sentences with imperative verbs, such as “open”, “listen”, “read” can be helpful in engaging less confident learners. Avoid slang or colloquialisms that international students may not know.

Set clear expectations for the activity. Be explicit about the goal of the task. Use phrases such as: “The goal of this activity is...” or “By the end of this task, you should be able to...”

Stage instructions when the task has several steps. Divide complex instructions into sections, providing students only with the information they need for each stage of the task at a time. This progression reduces confusion and ensures students can focus on what is relevant to complete each stage of the activity successfully.   

Use instruction-checking questions to verify students’ understanding of the task. After you have delivered your instructions, ask students yes or no questions to check their understanding of the key steps to complete the task. Examples include “Do you work in groups or alone?” or “Can you use AI to check your writing for this task?”

2. Check understanding of key terminology 

Discipline-specific terminology is often new for all students in your class, so it makes a lot of sense to check students’ understanding when you introduce them to the new term. Do not assume students understand simply because you have explained it. Why cross your fingers and hope when you can actually find out?

Ask 50/50, yes or no questions to get evidence of students’ understanding of the core concept. For example, accounting students need to understand “goodwill”. After establishing the meaning, ask them: “Does goodwill happen when a company buys another company? Yes. Is goodwill a physical asset you can see and touch? No. Does goodwill represent future economic benefit? Yes.” 

These questions are quick to ask and answer, and will give you evidence of students’ understanding and increase your students’ confidence. It’s a win-win! 

Get into good habits here and boost your students’ confidence to use the terminology accurately and confidently.

3. Build in regular checkpoints 

Again, do not cross your fingers and hope the students understand, and then discover in the summative assessment that they have not. Using checkpoints will give you evidence of what they know and what they do not know yet. You can then give them what they require to progress when they need it. Don’t let confusion fester!

Chunk input. You probably find students start to lose interest after 15 minutes or so – stop lecturing here and check they understand.

Embed checkpoints with active learning tasks into your class. Choose tasks that check and consolidate understanding of the key concepts in your input. Find out if the students know what they need to know, now. Do not wait!

Make good use of tech tools to help, such as polls in Mentimeter, or multiple-choice quizzes or matching tasks on your slides. 

4. Pre-teaching key terminology 

Allowing students preparation time to understand the meaning and use of important terms can enhance participation significantly. When pre-teaching essential language, keep the following recommendations in mind: 

Prepare students for a class, lecture or input session by identifying key terminology and sharing it beforehand. 

This preparation can take the form of a list of terms, a matching activity (eg, adding terms to their definitions), glossaries or labelled diagrams. Create vocabulary flashcards with a digital tool like Quizlet, which learners can access independently and study through interactive activities. 

When using a reading text in class, pre-teaching vocabulary is essential because it supports the learners by signalling which terms are essential for comprehension and which can be temporarily deprioritised. What’s more, early engagement with key terminology provides opportunities to practise accurate pronunciation, increasing students’ confidence to participate in subsequent interactions in the classroom. 

These small, simple tweaks will benefit all of your students and set them up for success. For international students in particular, introducing these supports can promote engagement, reduce anxiety and increase participation in class discussions. By checking students’ understanding of key vocabulary early, you, as the educator, are better placed to identify gaps, respond to learners’ needs and make informed teaching decisions.

Gabriel Azpilcueta is an English language teacher and academic integrity and assessment officer and Kathy Watson is learning and teaching program coordinator, both at the English Language Center, Adelaide University.

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