Lesson Overview

Communication with your instructors and your advisors is of the utmost importance if you wish to be successful in the ESP program. We want to get to know each and every one of you. We will reach out, but you have to do your part too! Be engaged. Be respectful. Be open to talking about yourself - especially if you need our help! We can't help you if we don't know you need help.

What will we learn?

By the end of this lesson, you should understand:

• how to communicate with your instructors
• how to communicate with your advisor
• how to appropriately interact with other World Campus students (your peers)

What will be due?

Refer to the Activities page for more information on the assessments for this lesson.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please post to the Canvas Discussion Forum called "Questions" or e-mail the instructor (if the question is personal in nature).

Communicating Effectively and Appropriately with Your Instructors

Watch the following video about e-mail communications created by World Campus.

Video: Tips for Writing a Good Email to Your Instructor (0:42)

Establishing and maintaining communication with your instructors throughout your time in the ESP program will be an integral part of your success as a student. And, because you're taking your classes online from a distance, communication will take on a slightly different role than if you were in a face-to-face classroom. Think about this - your instructors can't see you showing up each week for class and diligently taking notes as they lecture. Similarly, you can't see their passion and dedication to the course material as you complete reading assignments and follow along on course websites - your one-on-one communications with each other will be integral to establishing a solid working relationship.

Don't let the distance discourage you from being an active and engaged student! Just because we need to do things a little differently for an online course doesn't mean we can't have all the same benefits as a residential course - and maybe a few extra ones! Below is a list of tips for effectively and appropriately working with your instructors as you take online courses with us here at Penn State. These are meant to be general guidelines for how you should approach your relationship with your instructors since all instructors will have slightly different expectations.

Use Course Mail in Canvas

Yes, it's slightly more cumbersome than just e-mailing from your personal Penn State e-mail account, but using the course specific e-mail provided in Canvas (also known as "Inbox" or "Conversations") does provide you with a few important reassurances:

1. You can guarantee the instructor has received the message and that it hasn't fallen victim to an overly sensitive spam filter.
2. You will both have a complete record of your correspondences within the course space if you always use it to communicate with your instructor. This could become important if you are having some sort of problem or issue with the course.

Also, remember that all correspondence with your adviser, the financial aid office, bursar, etc., should be done using your PSU account, not a personal account.

Credit: Communication [3]by Austin Kleon [4]
is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 [3]

Communication Tips

Be professional, courteous, and respectful

Make sure that you're conducting yourself in a way that's respectful of both yourself and your instructor. It's easy to feverishly type an emotional e-mail, so, before you hit send, review what you've written. Think to yourself, "Am I handling this the best way possible?" ask, "Would I say this in front of others if I were sitting in a classroom?" if either of these questions cause hesitation, consider letting the draft sit while you have some time to think things through a bit more.

While it may be tempting in a world of overly abbreviated, unpunctuated text messaging, e-mail with your instructors is not the appropriate place to be super casual. For example, never address an e-mail to an instructor as, "Hey," - you're corresponding with an instructor, not reconnecting with a friend. Don't send off an e-mail with poor grammar, no punctuation, or other typographical errors.

Be sure to:

• use a descriptive subject line for your mail message. Poor subject lines such as "Question" or "Grade" are difficult to search for later;
• use an appropriate salutation;
• write in complete sentences;
• sign your e-mail.

If you have a question or concern about a grade earned or other issue with the course, make sure you describe it fully so that your instructor understands the concern.

Your correspondence with your instructor is a reflection on you and your dedication to your education. Treat these correspondences as you would be communication with a boss or colleague.

Phone or e-mail?

This will inevitably be a matter of personal preference from instructor to instructor, but the majority of instructors will request that you send them questions and concerns via e-mail (using Canvas). It's always helpful to have a written record to refer back to, and a phone call doesn't afford that. Now, sometimes, it's just easier to resolve an issue over the phone - so this isn't a black and white issue by any means. The important thing to be thinking about here is what works best for you and your instructor. It's possible that both of you are working on this class in the evenings or on weekends, and maybe one form of communication is more convenient than the other.

Be honest and upfront

While each instructor will have his or her own policies for handling late assignments and missed exams, there is a common theme that you'll find repeatedly. Instructors are people, too. Really, we are! And we recognize that sometimes life gets in the way of getting schoolwork completed as scheduled - especially for our students who are juggling so many other important commitments to family, employers, etc. We're all here to help you, and we want to see you succeed in the ESP program and beyond!

Help us help you

We can't help you if we don't know there is a problem. If you suspect that something is going to prevent you from completing a graded assignment or exam of some kind, you need to talk to your instructor sooner rather than later. Be proactive, upfront, and honest. Illnesses, deaths, natural disasters, and other surprises come our way when we least expect them, and somehow always when it's least convenient. Save yourself some stress and alert your instructors to potential conflicts as they arise, not after the fact. Instructors will be much more willing to work with you toward a solution if you handle it immediately, rather than falling off the radar for a few weeks and then asking for extra credit to combat missed assignments.

Communicating with your peers

Fostering peer-to-peer learning opportunities in our ESP courses is essential to the work of ESP programs. Below are program expectations for how students will conduct themselves in these peer-to-peer learning opportunities for this course.

All Course Communications:

Please use appropriate behavior when interacting with others across all media in this course.

• Use professional language. Avoid slang and text acronyms. International students, in particular, can find them difficult to understand.
• Always address people by their name in email communications, and if they have a preferred name that they use, e.g., “Jeff” instead of “Jeffrey,” use that when sending a message.
• AVOID USING ALL CAPS; IT'S EQUIVALENT TO SHOUTING (and it's hard to read).
• When in an assigned discussion forum for a lesson, stay on topic. If you’ve got something else related to the topic you’d like to discuss, post it under the "Questions" forum found under "Helpful Resources".
• Support your position with credible sources and data, and make sure you are conveying information in a way which is informative, constructive, and cordial.
• If you believe another student has shared something which is factually inaccurate, and you can challenge their position with credible sources and in a cordial manner, that's great! However, please keep in mind that it is not your job to assess any of your classmates’ writing ability; that is something the instructor will handle privately with each student.
• Debate is fine, and even encouraged! Just make sure you're doing so in a way which focuses on the science, facts, and issues. As with any sensitive policy issue, it is important to avoid even the appearance of personal attacks. For example, a poorly worded note or posting can be easily misunderstood or misconstrued. Remember, recipients can't see your body language or the expression on your face, nor can they hear the intonation in your voice. If you suspect that something you've written might be taken the wrong way, it probably will. If you’re not certain, write your response in a Word document and allow it to sit for an hour or two. Sometimes rereading after a bit of time has lapsed will help you to see how others might interpret your tone.
• Proofread your work! E-mail and discussion posts are written communications and should contain correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Your classmates come from all over the country and the world. Remember that language, humor, and idioms are not universal. Be especially careful with sarcasm and idiomatic expressions that may make little sense to those whose first language is not English.
• Above all else: be courteous and respectful. This means no name-calling, putting people or their ideas down, or using vulgar or inappropriate language. Instead, let’s take this opportunity to learn from each other as a cohesive group!

Summary

For those of you that already conduct business online regularly, communicating online with your instructors, advisers, and peers will be second nature and will require little thought and effort. But not everyone is married to their email, and even if you are, chances are you could use a refresher on how to communicate effectively.

Treat your email communications kind of like how you may approach any social situation - it's better to be over dressed than underdressed any day of the week. What I mean is, stay on the formal side, use titles, greetings, signatures, BE POLITE; it's always less embarassing to have someone tell you that you don't need to call them Mrs. or Dr. than it is if they have ask you to address them properly! Also, the nicer you are, the more of a chance you have of getting what you need/want!