Br i ngs I n t er nat iona l Fl a ir To Ca m pus
The campus of West Virginia State has added a more international flair with the launch of the University’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program in 2015. Designed to provide the skills and training necessary to master the English language and achieve academic success, the program also prepares students for everyday communication. In June, a cohort of more than 60 students from Mexico came to Institute to participate in the ESL program, and that was followed in July by 25 additional Mexican students. Karen Gatica, a native of Guerrero, Mexico, was among the students who came in July for the intensive fourweek course of study. She learned so much from the intensive program that she enrolled for the regular fall 2015 semester program. “I thought my English was always very good compared to my friends at home in Mexico, but when I came here I realized I wasn’t able to hold a conversation,” Gatica said. “I knew the grammar, but I did not have the ability to have a conversation. I have been improving, just having conversations with native speakers is very helpful.” Gatica, 22, had already graduated from a technical college in Mexico with a degree in business management, but when she began looking for work, companies that were hiring required a proficiency in speaking English that she did not feel she possessed.
Encouragement from her uncle, Dr. Jose Toledo, Associate Vice President of Administration for Research and Public Service at WVSU, led Gatica to giving the newly launched ESL program a try. “I knew my English wasn’t good enough so I decided to come here for this amazing opportunity,” she said. “I came for one month, then I realized I needed more, so I decided to enroll as a full-time student.” The ESL program is heavily focused on classroom instruction. Gatica said that during the fall semester she took two classes every morning, and then two more each afternoon. But in addition to the classroom, instructors in the ESL program work to match students with “conversation partners” that they can practice talking with. “We have conversation partners that we are in contact with as much as we can,” Gatica said. “Being here and being surrounded by natives, no Latinos, most of the time you have to speak English.” In addition, ESL students also venture off campus, to continue learning by interacting with members of the community. During her time in the program, Gatica said she went to the State Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion, Kanawha Falls, the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and the New River Gorge. Gatica and her fellow ESL students also had the opportunity to give back to the surrounding community through WVSU Cares Day where they visited
younger kids in a YMCA program, playing with them and teaching them some Spanish. Gatica returned to Institute to continue her studies with the spring 2016 semester. She wants to continue to learn and improve her English language skills in addition to taking some undergraduate classes at the University, because she plans to enroll in West Virginia State’s Masters of Public Administration program in fall 2016. “It’s a process and as a process it will take time,” said Gatica of being in the ESL program, “But I’m happy, I’m excited and I’m trying my best.” For more information about the ESL program, visit wvstateu.edu/esl.
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