Mohan J. Dutta: Critical Insights on Culture and Society

The Educational Testing Service runs and manages the TOEFL and TSE that are directed toward screening international students based on their english proficiency. I was recently drawn to look further into the ETS after one of our international students (with excellent written and spoken english skills in my assessment) was asked to retake the local Purdue spoken english test because he had supposedly not met the minimum TSE requirement established by Purdue. The student was frustrated at the thought of having to take the spoken test yet again; he felt humiliated. And I was perplexed at the hoops that we invent and re-invent for our international students to go through. I understood his indignation although at that moment I encouraged him to take the local speaking test in order to maintain his status as a teaching assistant. The event reminded me of my graduate school days when I felt indignant at the thought of having to take a spoken english test although my education was all along in ...

Recently, I served as a Principal Investigator on a grant that led a Purdue team to recruit some of the brightest students from China and India. Our department has had a long history of international presence, and I hope that this recruiting effort enriches further our internationalizing agenda. As we seek to internationalize academia, there are a few questions that I wonder about. What are the purposes behind internationalizing efforts? Whom does internationalization serve? Do we really create opportunities for dialogue and exchange through internationalization processes, or are these more reflective of our top-down agendas in global affairs? I wonder about these questions even as I reflect upon my experiences as an international student in academia. I don't consider myself introverted, and yet there were many times when I felt I couldn't speak, many times when I felt I didn't really belong, many times when I was confronted with my alienness. When I reflect upon these expe...