My suggestion is that you either let it go, if everyone understands what the student has said, or that you explore the situation with the student during office hours. Perhaps it is just easier for this student to say subtle things as needed in his/her native language than in English. It is fine if you make an explicit request, but be prepared to yield if the student has good reasons.
It is fine that you continue to reply in English, but it wouldn't be fine if you somehow embarrass the student about language use.
Be thankful, actually, that the student is willing to participate and ask questions no matter the language. Too many students leave questions unasked when other students have the same questions but also don't ask them. That makes education less efficient.
If this is the US, by the way, we are a multilingual country already, in spite of what some "nativists" want you to believe and want to impose on you and me.
Of course the answer would be different if this were a language course, rather than statistics.
manpreet![Tuteehub forum best answer]()
Best Answer
2 years ago
I am assisting a statistics course in a university, and my main job in the course is conducting problem solving sessions. The course is taught in English, and students interact with me in English. However, there is one particular student who keeps using their native language. Whenever he does that, I reply in English, hoping that he would start using English. But he doesn't.
I am sure that everybody does understand what he says because all the students are from the same part of the country. But I find it quite awkward. On the other hand, I feel that if I request him to use English, he might take it offensively, or he might not be able to express what he wants to say clearly. Should I simply ignore this particular case and move on? Or should I tell him somehow? If yes, what is the best way to convey this?