Introduction

There are many barriers that students face when entering post-secondary institutions such as the prohibitive cost of tuition, family or work responsibilities, trauma and mental health issues, systemic racism and/or sexism, systemic homophobia and transphobia, disabilities and more. In addition to these challenges, English Language Learners are also coping with navigating their studies, students services, and the world in an additional language.

As instructors, we can work to make systemic change within our institutions while also working to remove barriers and supporting the needs of learners in our classes.

Names and Pronouns

Instructors will usually receive a learner roster from the institution before a course begins. This roster usually includes the names that learners are registered under. While this can be helpful for functions such as keeping attendance and inputting grades, these rosters do not tell you about who your learners really are. They can even be harmful and alienating. Consider a learner who is trans and is addressed by the wrong name and/or pronoun on the first day of class. Or a learner who is constantly hearing their name being mispronounced and feels they need to adopt an Anglicized name.  

Consider getting to know learners BEFORE they enter your course. You can do this by distributing a survey using email, Google Forms, Poll Everywhere, or any other type of survey platform. This survey should be just for you and not shared with the whole class. In this survey ask your learners to tell you:

• What name they would like to be addressed by.
• How to properly pronounce their name (if possible, invite them to upload or email you an audio file of the proper pronunciation).
• Their pronouns.
• Any other information they would like to share with you that will help you support them in your course.

Consider modelling this information in your welcome email or video. For example, you could say “Welcome everyone! My name is Jamie. It is pronounced like this. My pronouns are they/them. I am not a morning person so sometimes early classes are difficult for me.”

While you can certainly include other prompts, these four questions will help make sure you get off on the right foot on the first day of class.

Supports for Students

Most colleges and universities will have a centralized hub of student services such as this one from Humber College. Hartnell College’s Equity Rubric (based on the work of Dr. Frank Harris and Dr. Luke Wood recommends that the syllabus outlines student support & well-being services in, at least, these areas:

a) general student assistance
b) online academic support
c) assistance with using technology
d) health and well-being resources
e) resources for students with disabilities

In addition to outlining student support resources, Hartnell College recommends that there should be:

1. Clear explanations and consistent pathways for online students to access and utilize all needed resources.
2. Tracking and assessing the effective use of services.
3. Assessment that includes students’ perspective on received services.

Creating a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page

One way to help clarify expectations and connect learners with important resources is to include an FAQ page with your syllabus. In a FAQ page, you can address many questions and concerns that learners might have as they enter your course. This can be particularly beneficial for English Language Learners who may have international educational backgrounds and are not familiar with expectations in Canadian post-secondary. When creating an FAQ page think about the questions learners often ask on the first day. You could also consider sending an anonymous survey to learners before the course begins to find out what questions they have.

When creating the FAQ page, avoid including threatening policies and negative language. For example, instead of saying “all plagiarism will result in a grade of 0” consider something like “academic integrity is an important skill that we will cover in this course. I will provide you with information and resources to help you maintain academic integrity.”

In your FAQ page, try to include:

1. Information on how the classroom will function.
2. Information on how to interact with you.
3. Information on assessments and grades.
4. Information on institutional supports and services.

See some examples of what you might include below. Remember, the FAQ page will be unique to you and your learners. You can include it in your syllabus, on your website and/or on your school’s learning management system. You might even consider using an according menu like the one below (created in H5P). This is just an example of some questions you might want to address. While much of this information is included in official course outlines, many learners do not read these in detail. In particular, learners coming from other countries might not be familiar with the services available to them at a college or university. International students are often facing additional stresses such as not having a family doctor, dealing with visa and immigration issues, or simply not knowing the best way to address the instructor. Having an ongoing list of these questions in an accessible format can ease the stress of these transitions.

Below are some examples of FAQs you might consider including.

Apply What You Have Learned

• Modify or create an FAQ page to include: information on how the classroom will function, information on how to interact with the instructor, information on assessments and grades, and information on institutional supports and services.
• Review the language used in the FAQ page to ensure it is positive and affirming.
• Add this FAQ page to your website, learning management system, or syllabus.