Special programs
Royal Saudi Airlines
Ten employees of the Royal Saudi Airlines, in the United States for
intensive training and education in airline maintenance and mechanics,
spent three months at ELI toward the end of 1999. The group, coordinated
by Joe Matterer, received a two-week orientation stressing team building
skills, academic skill development, language learning strategies, and
the norms and mores of American culture, in addition to their language
instruction. While at ELI, they also received training in airline mechanics
at the New Castle County Airport.
Colfuturo
Since 1996, ELI and the Fundacion Para el Futuro de Colombia (Colfuturo)
have worked together to provide language training for more than 100 Colombian
professionals. Last September, 11 participants arrived to attend English
classes, as well as workshops and seminars on academic, cultural and professional
topics, coordinated by ELI teacher June Quigley and presented by University
of Delaware administrators and faculty.
ITA Program
This past summer, 73 graduate students participated in the International
Teaching Assistants (ITA) Program. The four-and-a-half-week program, coordinated
by associate director Kathy Schneider, screens international teaching
assistants from all University of Delaware departments for oral language
proficiency and helps them to prepare for their instructional duties at
the university by familiarizing them with cultural norms and pedagogy.
This year's participants included ITAs in 16 departments: art history,
biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering, chemistry and
biochemistry, chemical engineering, computer and information sciences,
electrical and computer engineering, economics, education, foreign languages
and literature, linguistics, materials science, mathematics, mechanical
engineering, physics and political science. With the majority of students
coming from China, other countries represented included Bangladesh, France,
Gaza, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway,
Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey.
English teachers from the former Soviet Union
For the fourth straight year, ELI offered a six-week summer course for
English teachers from the former Soviet Union. Forty-five recipients of
the Excellence in Teaching English and American Studies Award--30 from
Russia, and 15 others from Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan--participated in a
program developed by the University of Delaware's International Programs
and Special Sessions office, funded by the United States Information Agency
and administered by the American Council for Collaboration in Education
and Language Study. Classes were taught by ELI faculty members Leslie
Criston, Naomi Migliacci and Grant Wolf.
Linguistic Gymnasium No. 91
Students from Linguistic Gymnasium No. 91, in the city of Ufa in Bashkortostan,
attended ELI for four weeks in August. The seven students, three of whom
attended last year's inaugural program, were accompanied by their English
teacher, Inna Fenina, who participated in the 1998 University of Delaware
Excellence in Teaching Program.
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| Monbusho program coordinator Walt Babich (third from right) and his wife Rosaline joined liason Perry Barnett (third from left) in welcoming the Japanese teachers at Lum's Pond State Park near Newark, Delaware. |
Monbusho Group
For the third consecutive summer, ELI hosted Japanese English teachers
sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education, or Monbusho, and coordinated
through the American School of International Training. In addition to
attending regular English classes at ELI, the four participants visited
a senior center, toured historic New Castle and took a canoe trip down
the Brandywine River. The teachers, who lived with American families during
their stay, also planned their own trips to New York and Washington and
became familiar figures at the University of Delaware Travel Office. "The
teachers were excellent ambassadors," said academic coordinator Walt Babich.
"Everyone enjoyed interacting with this group and was thoroughly charmed
by them."
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Coordinator
June Quigley (second from left) welcomed Moroccan business students
to ELI in the summer
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Moroccan Program
This summer marked the second time that ELI has
hosted Moroccan business students. Twenty students, 17 of whom had just
graduated from L'Ecole Supérieure de Commerce, a prestigious business
school in Marrakech, Morocco, arrived with their escort, Professor Kamal
Elfouadi, for a four-week intensive English course before beginning their
MBA studies in the United States. The students attended an ELI business-oriented
listening/speaking class designed for their specific needs in addition
to regular reading/writing classes. As part of the program, academic coordinator
June Quigley arranged visits for the group to an Avon facility in Newark
and MBNA headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, and to a W. L. Gore plant
in Maryland, as well as a visit by local entrepreneurand CEO James Manisso,
of Pro-Active Technologies in Newark.
Overseas Chinese Commerce College
Summer 2000 marked the first time that ELI hosted students from the Overseas
Chinese Commerce College in Taichung, Taiwan. Coordinated by teacher Karyn
Horn, the program was designed to give the students a broad exposure to
American culture. The 19 students, accompanied by their escort Sam Lin,
participated in regular ELI classes, visited New York, Washington, D.C.,
and Cowtown Rodeo in New Jersey and enjoyed horseback riding. In addition,
participants made a presentation about Taiwan to middle school students
at the Newark YWCA Summer Youth Camp.
Tohoku-Gakuin University
In February, 16 students from Tohoku-Gakuin University in Sendai, Japan,
accompanied by their escort, Professor Moriyoshi Moriyama, came to ELI
for a three-week English language and American culture program. Following
a busy schedule of classes at ELI and trips to Washington, D.C. and New
York, organized by program coordinator Ricka Grollitsch, the group stopped
in Hawaii before returning to Japan.
Chilean Students Program (UCDC)
Once again, ELI was host to students from Chile in a special program during
the January/February session. The group, organized by Mr. Rene Lara of
the Diego Portates University, included 17 students from that university
as well as the Universidad Central and the Instituto Chileno Norteamericano.
Program coordinator Ricka Grollitsch supplemented the language classes
with numerous activities and trips, including skiing in the Pocono Mountains.
Hiroshima Institute of Technology
In March, 16 students, escorted by Lecturer Miki Ikuyo, participated in
the Hiroshima Institute of Technology (HIT) program, coordinated by instructor
Lisa Grimsley. For three weeks, students attended ELI language classes
and joined in various cultural activities, such as trips to the National
Aquarium in Baltimore and to Washington, D.C. This year's participants
were placed in homestay families, proving to be the highlight of the program.
In addition, HIT students had the opportunity to participate as language
partners with members of a University of Delaware Japanese language class.
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Thirteen students and their faculty escort Professor Youn Kyung Wook participated
in the annual winter studies five-week program in January. In addition
to their ELI classes, Hankuk students met with host families and took
part in a number of cultural activities organized by coordinator Lisa
Grimsley, including trips to New York City and Washington, D.C. The ELI
ski trip also proved to be an eventful time, said Grimsley, who claims
she saw the students smiling despite the below-freezing temperature as
they bravely made their way down the Blue Mountain slopes. Kobe Shoin
Women's University In March, 25 students from Kobe Shoin Women's University,
escorted by Professor Ken Mitsuboshi, had their own firsthand experience
with American culture by staying with American homestay families. During
their four-week stay, coordinated by Karyn Horn, the students attended
regular ELI classes and enjoyed trips to New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia
and Lancaster, PA. The program, said Horn, not only helped students improve
their English, but also built bridges of cross-cultural understanding
and friendship. "When it came time for students and homestay families
to say good-bye," she said, "there was hardly a dry eye in front of ELI!"
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