Exploring Shifts in ITA Pronunciation and Teacher Identity Performance Across (Authentic) Teaching Contexts

International teaching assistant (ITA) programs were established to support new graduate instructors’ improvement of English intelligibility in instructional settings as well as effective and culturally specific teaching methods. However, little research has explored how these programs influence ITAs in real instructional settings. In this presentation, I address this gap by examining how ITAs transfer pronunciation and pedagogical skills learned in ITA coursework to authentic teaching contexts. Using a multi-method case study design, the study tracks ITAs’ L2 English pronunciation shifts and multimodal discourse practices over a semester through micro-teaching lectures and actual teaching observations. Changes in pronunciation are assessed using intelligibility ratings and acoustic analysis, while mediated discourse analysis examines shifts in teaching identity and skills emphasized in the ITA program. The findings reveal how ITAs adapt to the U.S. higher education context, integrating some program teachings with their evolving professional identities while resisting others. Theoretical, practical, and university policy implications for ITA programs are discussed, highlighting strategies to better support ITAs’ pronunciation development and teacher training while also questioning why these policies do not extend to all TAs, both international and domestic, who are new to teaching at the university

When 10:45 am - 12:00 pm on 27 January 2025
Building Wheelock, Room 250, 2 Silber Way