International Educator - March/April 2013 - S6
foreign language student may only talk for seven minutes a week. If tion, give positive feedback, or make assessments for a formal you have 20 students and you’re meeting twice a week, how many oral quiz.” minutes of utterance are you going to get?” The Foreign Language Instructional Center is a Title III program to expand the number of U.S. students who speak a critical language, She says the system has been useful in gauging where students are in their learning process and judging whether the pace of a class is working for that individual group. especially those in need. It has a three-pronged mission: to work on “You find out that even though you might have some native campus to grow language-learning opportunities for students and speakers in the class, they don’t seem to be ready for their midterm faculty, to work in the surrounding community, and to work in K–12 and it’s time to go back and review,” she says. “There are so many pos- schools nearby that offer little to no language education. sibilities, but at the end of the day, you get to have students talking “The first thing Title III did was establish our state-of-the-art much more than they would with just a live instructor in the room.” classroom,” says Gharbi. It’s based on Sony Virtuoso Major instruc- UMES’s classroom seats 20 students and isn’t used for all lan- tional software, which links with Rosetta Stone and other high-tech guage classes. “We’re juggling the number of hours in a week,” says learning tools to get students both listening and speaking more. Gharbi. “We give priority to critical-need classes.” It’s been used for “We can have 20 students talking at once,” says Gharbi. everything from Chinese to Russian to Haitian Creole. “They’re all talking into headsets and they can be saying any- Talking also takes center stage at classes at State University of thing—working with Rosetta Stone, using prompts from a lesson New York at New Paltz, where instructor Sarah Elia says technology you’ve given them, reacting to a newspaper you’ve pulled up from plays a key role. Saudi Arabia, talking about poetry, or working in dialogue groups. “We use cell phones a lot,” she says. “Most students have their While they’re talking, the instructor can listen to them one by one smartphones in the classroom, and our students tend to be older and and give instant feedback. The instructor can correct pronuncia- more mature. We can trust that they’re on task with what they’re Fayetteville: A great college town in the heartland of the USA with friendly people and gracious hospitality! University Admissions · Conditional admissions · Comprehensive University with Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. Programs · Successful completion of the Intensive English Program meets U of A English proficiency requirements · Low tuition & low cost of living · Safe, friendly campus & community surrounded by the great natural beauty of the Ozark Mountains · Scholarships available Intensive English Program INTERNATIONAL EDUCATOR | 2 0 13 L A N G UAG E S U P P L E M E N T at Spring International Language Center 6 · Six levels of instruction · 25 hours of class a week · Small classes · Academic & test preparation · Study in January, March, June, July, August or October · Dedicated, experienced, full-time faculty with Master’s degrees · Fully accredited by both CEA and ACCET Student Services http://international.uark.edu · Airport pick-up service & housing assistance · Homestay, Campus Residence Halls and Apartment placement · Conversation Partner Program · Immigration advising · Educational, social, cultural & sports activities · Access to all campus facilities · Friendly, personal attention