Category: Programs
CELOP Partners with BU College of Engineering
This summer, CELOP partnered with the Boston University College of Engineering to offer a Global Engineering Career Readiness Program. The customized, four-week program was designed to establish a foundation for both academic and workplace success for international Master of Engineering students through intensive English language and cultural immersion.
The program focused on oral and written communication in technology and product development, US and academic culture, skills for successful graduate study and a global career preparation, including job searching, resume writing and interviewing. CELOP faculty assessed students in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing and provided a comprehensive evaluation upon completion of the program.
Students visited Intuit and met with two managers and four engineers. They also had a company tour, product demo, and a question & answer session with the engineers.
Kirstie Miller, Director of Professional Education & Corporate Relations at the College of Engineering, worked collaboratively with CELOP to launch the program. She praised the success of the program and said, “The Global Engineering Career Readiness program was designed to support our growing population of international students as they acclimate to the English language, US culture, and academic and workplace expectations. As a result of the program, these students have acquired a set of communication skills and knowledge which will set them up for success, both while at BU and in their eventual professional careers. We are thrilled with the results and have no doubt this program is poised for growth.”
The students also completed course evaluations and expressed positive feedback. As one student wrote, “Yes I would recommend this program to other international engineering students because it helps with adjusting academically and socially and gives a great feel of the environment at BU.”
The Madrid Teacher Training Program – Five years strong
Students come to CELOP to improve their English but teachers and educators also come to improve their skills.
For five years, CELOP has worked together with the Comunidad de Madrid to bring educators from Spain to CELOP's Intensive English Training Program for Educators. It's a four-week program that focuses on four areas: English for Academic Purposes, English for Classroom Teachers, New Ideas in Teaching, and Field Trips & Activities.
Madrid Educators at CELOP
The program is taught by a group of experienced CELOP teacher trainers, many of whom have worked with the Madrid teachers in previous years. Teaching practitioners from several Massachusetts public schools are also invited to share their experience and teaching ideas.
Striving to empower both students and teachers for the classroom - it's all part of our mission.
CELOP Welcomes Summer Students
The arrival of new CELOP students was celebrated at a welcome party, after the students participated in a hard but exhilarating scavenger hunt that helped them learn more about Boston University's campus. The party included food items like sushi, cheese, fruit, and sandwiches. Some CELOP faculty and staff were introduced to the students, and students got to know one another by playing a bingo game. "Do you speak more than three languages?" and "Do you have 20 cousins or more?" were some questions students asked of one another as they learned more about each other.
This activity and others like it can build a sense of "home away from home" for students. Jasim Alsaifi, a new CELOP student from Kuwait, talked about this. "It's friendly. I don't feel like I am away from my home. I feel like I am at home. Everyone cooperates with me and helps me - students, teachers, or staff. Everyone is happy with this activity." Judging from the comfortable smiles and laughter shared at the party, Jasim was right.
Students checked in to CELOP began their classes this week to start their 6 week and 12 week summer programs.
Science and Technology Poster Presentations Given at CELOP
Recently, students of an English for Science and Technology core class presented on their research projects at a poster presentations event. Held in the CELOP lobby, topics included neon lighting, left/right brain, biofuel, the future of energy, and bromidrophobia (the fear of body odors).
CELOP teacher Eileen Kramer, who organized the event, said that she prepared the students by looking at pictures of effective posters and discussing format and organization. Co-teacher Nora Smith took the class on a field trip to BU Scholar Day to see the engineering posters. Students did research on their topics, and helped one another create their posters and practice talking to an audience. Finally, Eileen made sure that the event was well attended by CELOP students, faculty, and staff. "I wanted to throw in the unexpected," she said, "for them to see what it's like to have academic conversations they can't anticipate, unlike a canned PowerPoint presentation." The students appeared to handle this well. Attendees engaged the student presenters in conversation about their topics, and they responded with confidence and authority. "They're really good," reacted CELOP teacher Gregg Singer. John Kopec, also a CELOP teacher, echoed Gregg's sentiment, saying that "they really understand their topics."
Some students took their posters home to show family and friends. Others donated their posters to Eileen for use in future science and technology projects. Following the poster presentation, the students reflected on the assignment and agreed unanimously that it was a valuable experience. As one student commented, "I know I'll do this again in classes and when I'm an engineer so it will help me when that day comes. I won't be afraid to show my work."
BU Japanese Professor Presents on the Benefits of Language Exchange
"If a friend accidentally spilled coffee on your computer, how do you react?" Dr. Mariko Henstock asked her third year Japanese II class on a Friday afternoon to act out the scenario in a role play. The majority of the American students in the class demanded that their friend pay for the damage. The Japanese students, who were visiting the class that day, were in shock by this. In contrast to their American counterparts, they had no expectation that the other person should pay for it, and responded "it's okay" when it was their turn to role play. "They experienced the huge difference in culture," Henstock explained about the activity after class. "Both sides learned a lot, and both sides were so excited."
Dr. Henstock, as the Director of Outreach and Co-Curricular Activities for Japanese at the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature, regularly organizes language exchange activities with CELOP, and recently presented on this topic at the Boston University (BU) Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching (CEIT) 2013 Instructional Innovation Conference. Titled "Examining the Bi-Directional Benefits of Language Exchanges", the presentation discussed the benefits of Lunch Exchanges and Exchange Classes. According to a survey of CELOP students who took part in Fall 2012, 97% of CELOP students agreed that the exchanges have motivated them to study more English, increased their confidence to speak English, and that now they want to come back to BU even more because of the exchanges. Henstock highlighted some CELOP students' comments in her presentation: "it is a lot easier to talk during class visits," "not just learning Japanese and English language, but also learning partners' thinking and character, etc. will help me in my life," and "what is surprising is that my common sense isn't common sense in the US."
You can get the sense from talking to Professor Henstock that the benefits go deeper than practice with listening and speaking. "Ever since I came to [the US], I always was thinking I want to help the friendships between the two countries," she explains. For Henstock, friendships can translate to real world change. She cites an example about a BU student giving a speech at MIT about challenging stereotypes. "What he is saying is he had this stereotype of Japanese people just wanting to be alone and isolated. He didn't really have any contact with Japanese people, and so through lunch exchanges and class visits he met Japanese students and then thought, oh they are so fun, and nice. So the theme of his paper is about challenging stereotypes." If friendship has the power to break down stereotypes, and promote understanding between groups of people, then the exchanges are doing a very good job of that - 97% of CELOP students that took part agreed that they made BU student friends through the exchanges. "We can potentially change people's lives, and I think we have succeeded in that regard for a number of students. There are so many problems internationally; if we can make a difference, one person at a time, and help form friendships, then that's just a wonderful gift."
Dr. Henstock's presentation abstract and slides can be found and downloaded on the CEIT Fifth Annual Instructional Innovation Conference website.
CELOP Welcomes Ritsumeikan University Students
CELOP welcomed 49 students from Ritsumeikan University on February 14th. The students are enrolled in an intensive program of language and culture, and American history and politics. Students are enriching their experience with visits to BU College of Arts and Sciences classes, and field trips to sites rich with history and culture, like the Freedom Trail, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Harvard University.
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