American Language program offers students linguistic learning opportunity
Ryan Fernandez
Issue date: 11/23/09 Section: News
|
The Studies in American Language program held the "Boulevard of Languages" event in front of the SJSU entrance to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library as part of SJSU's International Week.
"We're trying to teach people here about other languages and countries," said Sunny Yu, a Studies in American Language instructor. "Hopefully, we'll inspire them to learn more on their own so they won't have too much of a culture shock if they go to other countries."
She said the "Boulevard of Languages" has been a part of International Week for about three years.
Nakyoung Kim, a junior film major and Studies in American Language student from South Korea, was teaching people how to count and greet people in Korean.
"We can introduce our own country to people living in another country," she said.
In addition to teaching phrases, about 12 program students, staff and faculty members showcased examples of traditional dress and sweets from countries such as Vietnam, South Korea, Egypt and Russia.
Thao Phan, Studies in American Language global partners coordinator, said the program began in 1975 as an intensive English language course for international students to take prior to enrolling in SJSU courses.
"The program expanded over time to let students take regular classes at SJSU while learning English," she said.
Phan said her experience working with the students in the program has inspired her to travel abroad and said she had returned from a trip to Seoul, South Korea in October.
"Working here and listening to the students talk about their homes has made me want to see them for myself," she said.
Laura Schilling, Studies in American Language enrollment services coordinator, said the event was an opportunity for students to practice their English as they taught other people about their own languages, and said the information boards were entirely student created.
"Whenever we get a student from a country we've never had before, we ask them to create a board," she said. "We're trying to get a wide representation of the student population and the population of the world."
Be the first to comment on this story