In this issue of the newsletter, one focus was on international student athletes at K-State. Over the years we have had athletes from around the world come here to represent KSU in various sports and finish an undergraduate degree at the same time. As an interviewer, what impressed me the most was their deep involvement in K-State life and activities, as well as determination and promising futures ahead of them.
Here is what they had to say…
Our instructors in the English Language Program have expressed how much they have appreciated having the Go Teachers students from Ecuador in their classes. These students, who are teachers in their home country, have brought enthusiasm and diversity to the our intensive English classes. The program started in 2012 and currently have Cohort 6 here. Please see the interview with Dr. Marcelo Sabates, Associate Provost for International Program, James Callahan, International Program Manager for Global Campus, and Taylor Jennings, Advisor/Instructor for the English Language Program.
This spring, the English Language Program (ELP) has added a semester long basic orientation class for its high beginning through low intermediate international students studying English. The ELP has always had an orientation class (Orientation to Higher Education) for its intermediate through higher level students. However, this new course has been developed to meet the orientation needs of international students with very limited English language skills. The course was developed and taught by Laura Phillips-Zee, an instructor and advisor in the Program. The class had several guest speakers who were also ELP instructors. In addition to basic information such as ELP grading process and scheduling information, speakers April Darnell spoke about plagiarism, Tim Peverill spoke on motivation, and Andrea Law presented on organizational skills. “The two student workers who helped me with the class, Ronnie Sullivan and Nick Schneweis, were amazing. They did everything from taking attendance and crowd-control, to creating and presenting a vocabulary lesson on sports in the United States.”
Other work/activities included learning about resources in the ELP’s International Technology Commons, a tour of Hale Library, and a semester long binder project in which students made a portfolio of their work and demonstrated their organization skills. “I’ve learned a lot about what works well and what doesn’t, and I’m really looking forward to the fall class,” says Laura.