*formerly posted on "Welcome, International Students!" blog A month and a half ago, we took a general look at U.S. university classes . One of the major points that came up was that U.S. students--and other international students--can be very curious and eager to learn about their international classmates. At times, this can lead to class discussion questions being directed to specific individual students. A few days ago, a friend and former classmate of mine brought up a great point that I wanted to share with all of you. Paraphrasing what he said, "It can be intimidating and overaggressive to direct numerous questions towards one student. It is better to talk with the individual student face-to-face/in private with these types of questions, such as after class." That is, even with the friendliest and most academic intentions, asking questions can get out of hand and students--whether born in the U.S. or elsewhere--can feel intimidated and/or embarrassed by a