ESL program creating bilingual students for over two decades
Manuel Morfin
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: Features
Dan Jia came from Chengdu, China three years ago. She is a child development major and an English as a Second Language student at Bakersfield College.
"I think the hardest thing about coming to a new country is learning the language," Jia said.
"I appreciate the ESL program because it gave me a good chance to make a rapid progress on English study, and I really benefited from it so much," said Jia who won the ESL Department award last year, regardless of the short period of time she has been living in the United States.
The ESL Department was created at Bakersfield College in July of last year.
ESL classes have been taught at BC for more than 20 years. However, they used to be part of the Foreign Language Department and then the English Department until last year when they decided to create their own department to serve the needs of their students.
Jia was one of the many students who benefited from the creation of the ESL Department.
The ESL Department served over 600 students last semester. ESL students at BC represent a vast diversity.
The students come from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Bolivia, Colombia, India, Yemen, Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Venezuela, Brazil, Egypt and Chad among others.
"The mission of the department is to help our students develop critical thinking skills as well as become fluent speakers, listeners, readers, and writers of the English language, in order to succeed in and contribute to the academic, professional, and social settings of their choosing," said Jeannie Parent, department chair.
ESL students are challenged not only to learn a new language, but they also must adapt to new customs.
"ESL involves teaching language in context as well as teaching culture so that students better understand not only English but also American cultural norms," said Parent.
Certainly, this is not an easy task for the ESL Department, which relies on the experience and high qualifications in Applied Linguistics or TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the faculty members.
"I think the hardest thing about coming to a new country is learning the language," Jia said.
"I appreciate the ESL program because it gave me a good chance to make a rapid progress on English study, and I really benefited from it so much," said Jia who won the ESL Department award last year, regardless of the short period of time she has been living in the United States.
The ESL Department was created at Bakersfield College in July of last year.
ESL classes have been taught at BC for more than 20 years. However, they used to be part of the Foreign Language Department and then the English Department until last year when they decided to create their own department to serve the needs of their students.
Jia was one of the many students who benefited from the creation of the ESL Department.
The ESL Department served over 600 students last semester. ESL students at BC represent a vast diversity.
The students come from countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Bolivia, Colombia, India, Yemen, Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Venezuela, Brazil, Egypt and Chad among others.
"The mission of the department is to help our students develop critical thinking skills as well as become fluent speakers, listeners, readers, and writers of the English language, in order to succeed in and contribute to the academic, professional, and social settings of their choosing," said Jeannie Parent, department chair.
ESL students are challenged not only to learn a new language, but they also must adapt to new customs.
"ESL involves teaching language in context as well as teaching culture so that students better understand not only English but also American cultural norms," said Parent.
Certainly, this is not an easy task for the ESL Department, which relies on the experience and high qualifications in Applied Linguistics or TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the faculty members.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Diana
posted 2/20/09 @ 4:10 AM PST
I believe that ESL programs at collages and Universities are vital to incorporating foreign students into a new educational facility, not to mention new culture. (Continued…)
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