When working with international students, instructors and librarians may notice cultural differences or knowledge gaps, such as difficulty paraphrasing due to beliefs about respecting authority or lack of confidence in English. This can be mistaken for plagiarism. How can librarians help these students constructively?
International students often have diverse academic experiences when compared to students from Canada. May have a different perception of plagiarism and academic integrity. For example, students from Asia often find themselves contemplating whether to cite someone or include their work as a mark of respect. Some students have no prior knowledge of citations or plagiarism. Students may have different copyright laws in their home countries. For some students 10% of work can be plagiarized without any penalties and often this is acceptable in their countries hence they find Canadian academic standards and punitive rules hard to understand. When posed a question about plagiarism:
- ask about the student’s prior understanding and practice of academic integrity and plagiarism. Try to engage and listen to their thoughts, while acknowledging what they know.
- explain to students the concepts of academic integrity and why properly citing original work is necessary. Try to connect the Canadian practice with the practice that they are familiar with.
- explain that their credibility as an author depends on citations as well as the responsibility they bear as future authors.
- use positive notions of citations and different citation styles rather than the punitive rules associated with plagiarism.
- clearly explain when to cite with concrete examples, including the examples of direct, indirect quoting and paraphrasing.
- recognizing that repeating terms is a normal practice in language learning for someone writing in a foreign language, provide detailed guides on what is incorrect and correct paraphrasing with examples.
- explain the purposes of citation practices in the research process. Teach students why it is important to follow specific citation rules. Emphasize that citations are not just to demonstrate that they have consulted literature on the topic, but to show that they have learned to critically evaluate sources and incorporate them into their own analysis or argument.
- encourage students to use their own words rather than “borrowing” original terms, as this is more effective in expressing their viewpoints. Give an example of how they can cite an author’s work – show them a concrete example.
- Consider giving examples of citing multilingual works and discuss how to cite translated works, how to quote a foreign language work, and how to transliterate non-latin scripts if necessary.
In many cases, plagiarism is not intentional, and most students will avoid plagiarizing someone’s work if they understand academic standards. By implementing these strategies, librarians can create a supportive learning environment that helps international students develop their paraphrasing skills and understand the importance of academic integrity, without feeling criticized or discouraged.