How International Students Should Think about Writing, AI

2024 · VOA Learning English

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Transcript

1. Students must learn academic writing and research methods when moving from high school to college. That is why universities require a first-year writing class

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2. As experienced students move on to higher degrees, they continue learning how to do research and to write for academic publications.

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3. But learning the new writing methods can be difficult for international students, said Nat Smitobol.

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4. the sources of the words and ideas in their academic writing. For those who come from other countries, this can be new.

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5. Smitobol said one of the most important lessons students new to the U.S. learn is: “this academic culture of really making sure you give other people credit in a formal way.”

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6. VOA Learning English recently prepared a guide for international students who need to learn more about plagiarism and why it is a serious concern.

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7. A plagiarism accusation recently led to Harvard University’s president having to step down from her position.

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8. Smitobol said the reason citations are difficult for international students is that teachers and professors overseas are more often concerned that students provide the correct answer to a

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9. question than showing the information source. Amjad Binshahbain agrees.

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10. He is a student at the English Language Center, or ELC, at Old Dominion University in Virginia.

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11. Binshahbain is from Yemen and also attended school in the United Arab Emirates.

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12. In Virginia, he takes classes with students from places like Greece, Spain and Japan.

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13. They often discuss the academic differences between the U.S. and their countries.

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14. They also talk about writing papers without the help of artificial intelligence or AI, tools.

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15. Binshahbain said it is easy for students who are learning how to write papers in English to depend on generative AI tools.

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16. These tools can change their grammar or make their writing easier to understand.

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17. He said it is better to struggle with writing and adding citations to academic work early in college than to find out that you do not know how to

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18. do it later on. Smitobol noted that many universities will show students how to use tools such as the RefWorks citation manager.

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19. The computer tool permits students to carry out research online and collects all of the source material necessary.

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20. Many of her students are working on advanced degrees. That means they are learning and doing research on difficult academic subjects.

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21. She said the citation tools are both good and bad. On the one hand, they permit students to easily create a source list.

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22. On the other hand, they can prevent students from finding or understanding the best sources for a project. “They’re like, ‘OK, fine.

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23. I’ll just put whatever comes up (in my search) on my citation list,’” Bricker said. Students who come to Bricker’s class are doing their own research, she added.

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24. They hope that they can make a discovery or create a new idea and be published in a journal So, the stakes are high for master’s or Ph.D.

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25. students compared to those just beginning college. She said it is likely the people cited in a paper by one of her students will read it.

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26. “In some ways it's (citations) more relevant. You know, like, almost easier for them to see the purpose and the point.

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27. But I think it's also the flip side of that is if they do it incorrectly, it could have such devastating effects on their futures, you know, pretty immediately.”

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28. International students who are caught using other people’s ideas without citing them can be expelled or removed from school.

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29. That would cause them to be in violation of their F1 student visa. At higher levels, a young researcher who is caught plagiarizing may have trouble finding another job.

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30. “Gen-AI is not going away,” she said. “Part of our job as writing teachers…is to make sure students know the boundary between appropriate and inappropriate use.”

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31. She said some academic journals will permit the use of artificial intelligence and others will not.

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32. “It depends on the field,” she said, noting that a linguistics journal might have different rules than an engineering journal.

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33. Bricker said she tells her students that it is difficult for teachers to know if their students are using AI tools.

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34. But as a writing teacher, it is her goal to help them learn to write on their own, without help from a machine. “I’m a teacher of writing.

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35. So, letting my students know ‘I want to see your writing, you.’ I want to see what you’re doing as a writer, and I want to help you grow as a writer…So I can do that with you using this and without you using this.

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36. But it’s your choice.” Binshahbain said international students who are learning English in the U.S.

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37. are tempted by AI tools. But he advises students that they should use AI only for some things, like searching for sources.

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38. “When I first came here, I was using it for everything,” he said. “But I stopped because I understand the best thing to do (is) to put the effort on learning.

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39. It’s going to pay off in the future.” I’m Dan Friedell.

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