US Academic Culture

Making the Most of Your Time at Stanford

Kristopher Geda, PhD (he/him)

Advanced Lecturer, Coordinator

English for Speakers of Other Languages

Stanford Language Center

Monday, September 15, 2025

Introductions

• Kristopher Geda (he/him)
• Please call me “Kristopher”

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• Coordinator and Advanced Lecturer in English for Speakers of Other Languages
• Stanford Language Center

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• Courses in Writing, Listening, Speaking, American Culture
• Pedagogy and language education

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• kgeda@stanford.edu

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• Office: Building 260 (Pigott Hall), room 302G

Contents

Academic Culture in the US

• Taboo topics
• Successful participation
• Tips & Tricks: Email
• Tips & Tricks: Feedback

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US Values and their Implications

• Four values and indirectness

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Teaching/Course Assistants and Screenings

• Definitions and requirements

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English for Foreign Students

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Getting Out of Your Shell

• Professional Development
• Social/Personal Development
• Culture Shock and Acclimation

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American �Workplace Culture

Taboo Topics for Professional Conversation

Taboo: forbidden, unacceptable, uncomfortable

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• What are some taboo topics for professional interactions in America?
• Sex and sexuality
• Religion
• Politics

What is successful participation?

classes, meetings, discussions

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• What do successful facilitators (teachers, supervisors, mentors, etc.) do?
• Have an agenda and stick to it
• Deliver information clearly and concisely
• Encourage participation of everyone
• Leave participants with a clear action item

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• What do successful participants (students, employees, mentees, etc.) do?
• Attend on time

How to participate successfully?

phrases for success

• Disagree
• I’m sorry, but I disagree…
• That’s not what I think/thought; it seems to me that…
• I heard that engineers at NASA…
• I read in the IEEE publications that…
• Think about it this way…
• What about…
• What if…
• Giving an opinion
• I think/I believe…
• As I see it…
• As far as I’m concerned…
• Personally, I think…
• It seems to me…

Tips & Tricks: Email

• Respond within two business days
• I’m waiting to hear back from the registrar. When I do, I’ll let you know.
• I should have an answer for you by Wednesday.

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• Always respond to RSVPs
• répondez s’il vous plaît

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• Put your request in the first line of the email
• I’m sorry to say I won’t be able to attend class tomorrow.
• I’m writing to ask if you’d be willing to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf.
• Would it be possible to reschedule our meeting?
• I’m interested in attending your EFSLANG 697 course; do you permit auditors?

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• Always use [title] when using a last name
• Dear Kristopher,
• Dear Dr. Geda,
• ! Dear Geda,

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Tips & Tricks: Giving and Receiving Feedback

• US people have learned to give (and expect) a feedback “sandwich”
• start and end with positive feedback
• the middle should contain the negative feedback

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• Responding to wrong answers in class
• That’s an interesting idea, but…
• I see what you might think that, but…
• That’s a common misconception, actually. However…

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• Exercising your rights
• Contrary to popular belief, there are power dynamics with graduate students
• Nonetheless, grad students have rights and responsibilities
• Your school has staff members specifically trained to address these
• Do you know whom to contact with questions about your experiences?

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Practice: Email

• With a partner, quickly sketch one of the following emails. Be prepared to read it aloud.

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• You were very sick and missed the last meeting. Email your supervisor about your absence.

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• You would like to interview a Stanford professor. Email the professor and ask if you can make an appointment to interview them for your project.

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• You would like a copy of this PowerPoint. Email me and ask me to send you a copy of the PowerPoint.

US Values and their Implications

US “Values”

• We can examine US education through four interrelated “values” that broadly dictate academic culture for US people and those in our educational systems

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• individualism
• critical thinking
• directness
• time sensitivity

Individualism

• Each person is free to make their own choices.

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• Thus, success and failure are of a person’s own making.

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• So, credit must be given to each person for their choices.

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• Academic honesty is incredibly important.

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• Discussion Question
• What are the expectations of students in universities where you grew up?
• Think about work-life balance, personal interest vs. pragmatism, etc.
• Also think about plagiarism and intellectual property.

Critical Thinking

• Graduate students are expected to:
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• judiciously and respectfully question people in authority,
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• engage with material critically,
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• respond to questions willingly, even when there may be no clear, right answer, and
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• ask questions in class and contribute to discussions.

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• Especially in smaller courses (under 30 students), students who are consistently silent in class will often be perceived by the instructor to be, at best, either lost and confused. At worst, they will be read as uninterested or bored.

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Directness

• US people view themselves as direct (but this is often not the case).

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• Social invitations and refusals are often indirect and will take some getting used to.

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• How are you?

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• Let’s get coffee sometime!

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• We should do this again!

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• Let me know when you’re in San Francisco and we can have lunch.

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• Email me any time with any questions you have.

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• Here’s my card. Let’s talk about an internship.

Directness (cont.)

• How do we deal with the ambiguity of some of the aforementioned phrases?
• In short, assume they were being polite and didn’t really want you to ask them every question you had. But you can try it…

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• Let’s get coffee sometime!
• (in an email later) It was good to meet you… I’m going to be in SF on Tuesday; if you’re free any time between 9 and 4, I’d love to meet you for coffee. Let me know if you have the time - but no worries if not!

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• Email me any time with any questions you have.
• I was glad to meet you last week. I don’t want to bother you too much, but I wonder if I could ask a quick question. You mentioned a TED Talk that you found very instructive; do you have the link handy? I’d love to watch it, too.

Directness: fruit metaphor

• A foreign friend of mine once described different socialization strategies as fruit

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• Northern Europeans are described as coconuts - very hard exterior, but soft (liquid!) interior
• It takes a very long time to break through the outer shell of formality and social distance (sometimes years)
• Once to the interior, however, they can be incredibly sweet and close friends/colleagues

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• North Americans are described as peaches - a very soft exterior but a hard interior
• At first, we seem so friendly and open and “talk a big game”
• But the truth is that this friendliness can be superficial
• To outsiders, casual interactions sometimes feel intimate and deep but US people often view this as “being nice” or “being polite.”
• True friendship/collegiality takes a long time to form and maintain.

Time-sensitivity

• For professional/academic settings, “time is money.”

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• Late arrivals to class often go unmentioned (see “directness”) but instructors may view this as disrespect or disinterest.

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• Late assignments can often be negotiated; don’t be afraid to ask.
• But don’t abuse this, as frequent requests are interpreted as laziness, lack of time management, or immaturity.

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• Time is the one resource that cannot be recovered or gained.
• People are especially jealous of their time
• Avoid imposing on strangers and new acquaintances

TAs and CAs

TA/CA Distinction

• Course Assistant
• Assists a faculty member who has primary responsibility for a course. Duties vary but do not include classroom teaching. Duties may include:
• assisting in the preparation of lecture materials and running laboratory sessions
• conducting review sessions and grading exams
• holding office hours
• monitoring or maintaining existing course websites

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• Teaching Assistant
• Has significantly more independence than a CA. TAs work with a faculty member who has primary responsibility for a course, or assists a group of students in several courses. Duties vary and may include:
• preparing for class sections and/or laboratories where new material may be presented
• presenting material in classroom or lab setting
• grading some portion or all of the exams or papers
• holding regular office hours

TA/CA Interactions

• As a student…
• Office hours are not punitive, stigmatized - they’re highly valued
• Go to “optional” sessions unless your are sure you fully control the material
• Go to an early office hour if you anticipate any problem with the course
• Don’t use the TA time to make up for not reading or going to lecture
• Try to be very specific about questions (e.g. not “How do I do problem 4?”)
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• As a TA/CA…
• generally, be encouraging and engaging
• treat all questions and comments as potentially reasonable
• be sure you understand questions before responding
• pronunciation and pacing are common concerns for ITAs
• your students will be both domestic and international, native and non-native English speakers

TA/CA Clearance Procedure

• New policy as of Fall 2023
• If you were NOT required to submit a TOEFL when you applied, you already have the TA-OK - no action needed
• Otherwise, visit ESOL website to request a TA screening or Waiver
• TA screening
• half-hour simulated office hour - have a digital textbook
• Outcomes: TA-OK, TA-L (limited), NO-TA
• TA waiver
• US citizen, permanent resident, DACA recipient
• 5+ years of experience at English-speaking institution

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• No TA-OK? No paycheck.

English for Speakers of Other Languages

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Overview

• Mission
• Provide language development courses to non-native English-speaking graduate students, to support their academic programs and professional preparation.

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• Services
• provide graduate-level courses in English language across a range of skill and content areas
• approximately 300 student enrollments/year
• courses open to all graduate students for at least 1 unit
• give placement exams to ~150 new students/ year
• set requirements and recommendations for them
• assess many international students for readiness as CAs/TAs

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• Let’s talk about your English goals

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Getting Out�of Your Shell

Meeting People

All work and no play makes Jax a dull person.

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• Americans find it odd if a person has no hobbies.
• What hobbies have you truly practiced in the past 90 days?

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• Silicon Valley culture: “work hard; play hard”
• How do you plan to “play hard” during your few months at Stanford?

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• How can you mix business and pleasure?
• Professional associations
• Happy hours and Coffee hours
• Study/writing groups

Meeting People

Dealing with Rejection

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• INAY – It’s Not About You
• People are busy and have a lot on their plates.
• Most people are bad planners. Be better.

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• Most US people will not say “no” directly:
• I’m not sure if that will work.
• Let me check my calendar.
• That might work. Send me an email.
• Let’s get coffee some time!

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• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

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Meeting People

What are you worried about?

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• Time
• Do you want to regret the time you wasted at Stanford?
• This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don’t waste it.
• Make the time to meet people.

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• Practice
• events.stanford.edu
• Pick one event happening in the next two weeks.
• Find a buddy to go with you.
• Commit to going.
• Talk to at least three other people (each).
• Then you can leave.

Meeting People

What are you worried about?

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• Culture
• Learn by doing.
• Take risks.
• Try something new.

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• Practice – pick two events (2) for the Fall
• Stanford Live
• Cantor Arts Center
• Stanford Arts
• Stanford Recreation & Wellness
• Palo Alto Community Services
• meetup.com

Tips & Tricks: Social Interactions

• Starting the Interaction
• Hello! My name is Kristopher Geda. I just started this month as a lecturer in the Language Center.
• then try…
• I hate these things. I never know what to say.
• How are you connected to [organization hosting event]?
• continuing the conversation - try…
• Where were you before you came to Stanford?
• What’s your favorite place on campus?
• Where can I get a good [food/drink] in the area?
• What do you like best about where you live?
• What was the last trip to you took?
• What’s your favorite restaurant nearby?
• I’m planning to go to [major city]. Do you have any recommendations?

Tips & Tricks: Social Interactions

• Ending the Interaction
• I hate to cut this short, but I’m supposed to meet someone here and I want to see if they’ve arrived yet.
• I’m going to get a drink/some food. Can I get you something?
• Do you know where the bathroom is?
• I’m sorry to interrupt, but my officemate just walked in.
• Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. Have a good morning/afternoon/evening!
• I’m sorry but I have to go.
• I have a meeting across campus in a few minutes.
• I have an early meeting in the morning.
• I have a big project I need to get back to.

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Culture Shock and Acclimation

https://www.wellesley.edu/international/us/cultural