Where are you from?
I'm from Venezuela…and you?
I'm from Germany.
What department are you in?
I'm in Physics. How about you?
I'm in the IEI.
IEI? What's that?
Well, it's the Intensive English Institute. I'm studying English full-time. I'm trying to get into the university.
Oh, I see…
Maybe you've been a part of or overheard a conversation like this at a Cosmo Coffee Hour, dinner, or party. . . But what IS the IEI? Is it a part of the university? Are IEI students U of I students? What are they doing at Cosmopolitan Club, anyway? I'd like to tell you a little bit about the IEI and its connection with Cosmopolitan Club.
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| Anna Kasten and the young Natalie Brown. |
I've been working at the IEI for 8 years now. Lately I've been teaching "Oral Communication" classes to IEI students, so I'm especially interested in helping my students improve their English conversation skills. We learn about "small talk" in English and what kind of topics to talk about with someone we've just met. My students are always looking for people to "practice" their English with. As you know, it's not always easy making friends in a new country, especially if you are not fluent in the language. Cosmopolitan Club has always opened its doors to IEI students and shown them that there are other friendly people out there in Champaign-Urbana who are interested in getting to know them a little.
I encourage my students to go to Cosmo to try and meet some other people who are not IEI students. They are with their IEI classmates every day for classes, Monday through Friday. It's good for them to meet some new faces and try to make new friends with other students.
Students at the Intensive English Institute come from various backgrounds. Most are very academically motivated and would like to improve their TOEFL score so they could enter the U of I or another university for a graduate or undergraduate program. Others are sent here by their companies for language training to improve their English for their jobs. For example, we have had many students from Koito Manufacturing, a large company that makes automotive lights in Shizuoka, Japan. These students usually come to study just for one semester; then they will return to their company and use their English on the job. Chances are they might be sent abroad for their company to work in another office in countries such as Europe, India, or Thailand.
Some IEI students are not so clear regarding their reasons for coming to Champaign to learn English. They simply feel that having a command of English will somehow help them in the future. It is certainly true that knowing another language is an asset in our international world. A few students come to the IEI because their spouse is a student or visiting scholar at the university. Whatever their reasons for coming to the IEI, once they are here, we try to help them learn about American and other cultures. Attending Cosmo activities is one way to do that.
Some IEI students even become more involved and have helped host coffee hours, dinners and parties. It has become a tradition the past few years for the IEI to co-sponsor the Halloween and Valentine's Party every year. Celebrating these "American" holidays is a lot of fun for our students—especially getting dressed up in costumes for Halloween! And lately it seems that there is always at least one IEI student living in the house. (This semester, our IEI connection is Sahin from Turkey.) A few years ago, a friend of mine came from Venezuela to study at the IEI. She needed a place to live, so I called Andrea. Luckily, there was an opening in the house! I was a little worried about Susan adjusting to life on campus since her spoken English skills were not advanced when she arrived, but everyone at Cosmo helped her so much. I think people at Cosmo are especially empathetic towards IEI students because they remember having been in their shoes when they were starting to learn English. It's a process! It helps to meet friendly faces along the way.
So the next time you meet someone at Cosmo who might need a little extra help making "small talk" in English, take the extra time to talk with them. They'll really appreciate it and you might just make a new friend!