English programs benefit internation
Chris Havermann
Issue date: 2/17/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Have you ever imagined that your in another country and don't know much about their culture, way of life or even how to speak the language?
Kind of intimidating isn't it? Well, for international students at Central, it's reality, but they can overcome some of the obstacles through the programs offered here.
"We have several different ones. The Intensive English Program, The Summer Immersion Camp being held for the first time this summer and the Language and Cultural Program, which is only offered in the summer," said Valerie Heming, co-director of the English Language Center.
One student who has been helped by enrollment in the program is Zseraldina Fesenczi, from Hungary and a freshman in her second semester.
"It has helped me a lot, especially with speaking and communication. I like [Central] because I can meet lots of Americans and people from other cultures and learn about American culture as well," Fesenczi said.
Another student who has benefitted from the program is Manal Alanazy from Saudi Arabia, who will begin working on her masters in education technology next fall. One thing she said she likes about the teachers at Central as opposed to those at UCLA, where she was before, is that they have helped her a lot, especially at improving her writing skills.
"When I was at UCLA, they didn't focus on presentation, American culture or street slang, which would have benefitted me greatly and I am getting that here at Central," Alanazy said.
One of the people hired to help the students learn English is Brian Claxton. Claxton, a teaching assistant, teaches a communications class and a grammar class. He said that one of the joys of teaching them is that with a smaller class, there is a better opportunity to learn about one another.
"Interaction with the students is different. With a smaller class, we may have six students from six different cultures in one class and since the class is smaller, we get to learn a lot about each other. I believe that we get the best of the best. Generally, I think that the students that we get are very motivated and very bright," Claxton said.
The students in the I.E.P. program are in classes from 8 a.m. to noon daily and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they have an additional American culture class.
Kind of intimidating isn't it? Well, for international students at Central, it's reality, but they can overcome some of the obstacles through the programs offered here.
"We have several different ones. The Intensive English Program, The Summer Immersion Camp being held for the first time this summer and the Language and Cultural Program, which is only offered in the summer," said Valerie Heming, co-director of the English Language Center.
One student who has been helped by enrollment in the program is Zseraldina Fesenczi, from Hungary and a freshman in her second semester.
"It has helped me a lot, especially with speaking and communication. I like [Central] because I can meet lots of Americans and people from other cultures and learn about American culture as well," Fesenczi said.
Another student who has benefitted from the program is Manal Alanazy from Saudi Arabia, who will begin working on her masters in education technology next fall. One thing she said she likes about the teachers at Central as opposed to those at UCLA, where she was before, is that they have helped her a lot, especially at improving her writing skills.
"When I was at UCLA, they didn't focus on presentation, American culture or street slang, which would have benefitted me greatly and I am getting that here at Central," Alanazy said.
One of the people hired to help the students learn English is Brian Claxton. Claxton, a teaching assistant, teaches a communications class and a grammar class. He said that one of the joys of teaching them is that with a smaller class, there is a better opportunity to learn about one another.
"Interaction with the students is different. With a smaller class, we may have six students from six different cultures in one class and since the class is smaller, we get to learn a lot about each other. I believe that we get the best of the best. Generally, I think that the students that we get are very motivated and very bright," Claxton said.
The students in the I.E.P. program are in classes from 8 a.m. to noon daily and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they have an additional American culture class.