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UW proffers English speaking program
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by Whitney Spaude
Thursday, February 17, 2005
As a new year presents students with another semester of classes and a wide array of opportunities to create new friends and experiences, it offers others the opportunity to take the English as a Second Language Program, an advantageous program to both the student teachers and the students involved.
The classes, which are offered only in the spring semester, begin the second week of February. Individuals interested in the program must be adults and not enrolled at the University of Wisconsin.
Responsible for organizing and teaching the class, three student teachers in turn receive hours toward completion of requirements for UW’s teaching practicum for School of Education requirements.
Lucy Moore, the program’s coordinator, said the upcoming classes consist of a vast array of unique nationalities.
“The class offers a nice opportunity to mix,” Moore said, adding the ethnicity of the students in this spring’s class consists of Chinese, Koreans, Hispanics, Eastern Europeans, Japanese and Russians.
The majority of the program’s students possess some sort of connection to UW and reside in the west campus neighborhood of Eagle Heights.
“Most students are spouses of international graduate students, visiting scholars or sometimes members of the immigrant population,” Moore adds.
Students admitted to the class fit no specific category; the individuals differ not only by age, but by knowledge of the English language. Typically, the average number of people applying falls between 35 to 40 students, from which 25 to 35 individuals are selected to attend the class.
One student teacher serves as the primary educator for every class, while the other two student teachers aid in assisting the class to flow smoothly and to observe and then improve upon any aspects of the class. Together, however, the three decide what type of material and activities will offer the most benefit to the students according to their abilities.
“The goal of the ESL program is to improve oral fluency, conversational speaking and introduce small amounts of writing and reading,” Moore clarified.
Fang Yun, a UW freshman from Malaysia, finds the program to be not only beneficial to the individuals involved but the community as well.
“For the students involved, the program will be highly effective. They will become better prepared to ease into society and grasp a better understanding of the culture,” Yun said.
According to the level of knowledge the applied individuals feel they possess of the English language, such self-assessment then dictates the level at which the class is taught.
Therefore, every year the class offers a different degree of difficulty in coordination with the individuals’ knowledge.
The class is held in Van Hise every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 7:50 p.m.
