SJSU Studies in American Language recieves prestigious accreditation
Jennifer Hadley
Issue date: 9/9/09 Section: News
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Kim Chavis, the Studies in American Language Program Coordinator, said students come from all over the world to the Studies in American Language Program to learn English. She said most students have the goal of going onto community college, SJSU as an undergraduate or graduate student, while some attend for their own professional reasons.
To earn this accreditation, Chavis submitted a written report about three binders long, and then went through a site visit, where volunteer teachers came to see if the needs of the students, teachers and staff were being met, Chavis said.
"We are already (members of) two organizations, and we wanted to go towards this third level because it's a more prestigious kind of accreditation," Chavis said. "It is accepted by the U.S. Department of Education."
Jay Park, a Studies in American Language student from South Korea, said the program is well-known in his country.
"(SAL) is the best language school - it is very famous in my country," he said. "Everybody recommends to me if you want to study English you should go there."
Chavis said there are about 70 language schools in the world that have this program, and SJSU is now the fifth language school in California with this designation.
"Some countries around the world will only send their students to this type of accredited program - particularly government scholarship countries will only send according to this level of accreditation," Chavis said.
Mina Weng, a Studies in American Language student from China, said there is a lot of homework and there are many activities in the program, but it helps students learn English.
Weng said students' work involves preparation of presentations, research on the Internet and interviewing Americans about American culture, Weng said.
"I want to study some cooking skills, but it requires a TOEFL score," Weng said.
Marianne Wheeler, the Studies in American Language Academic Coordinator, said every international student must achieve a certain score on the Test of English Foreign Language in order to get into a university if they haven't gone to high school in the states, so it's crucial.
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