ABSTRACT
Administrators in other departments pointed to international teaching assistants (ITAs)' satisfactory scores on the local language proficiency test or their completion of required English as a second language coursework as indications of their linguistic readiness. The result has been campuses with greater diversity in terms of national origin, cultural background, and language. Recognizing that sociolinguistic approach to ITA research and policy does not always represent the sociopolitical ideals of university stakeholders or of researchers, the author argues for a critical sociolinguistic approach to ITA-student communication. The plan specified an intention to develop "global competency" among Shrinking World University (SWU) stakeholders, which included both multilingualism and "cultural competencies". SWU is a large public university located in a metropolitan area. Its numerous undergraduate and graduate programs serve a student body that is more racially and linguistically diverse than that of many other universities that have been the site of ITA research.
