For Americans, thoughts of distant lands — say, Venezuela, Japan or Niger — may conjure up exotic images of tropical jungles, Shinto temples or vast deserts. From other points on the globe, the distant land of America may bring to mind something else entirely: the seemingly inscrutable English language.
As different as our world's landscapes, nations, cultures and languages are, nearly all of them have this in common: student representatives at Wichita State. In fact, there are about 1,300 international students from more than 90 countries studying in both graduate and undergraduate programs. Many of these students are the first members of their families to come to the United States in pursuit of higher education.
Adriana Albornoz, for one, has come to WSU from Venezuela to study business administration. Despite the occasional complication of living in a foreign land, she's pleased with her decision: "You see different things — you open your mind, and I think that is good in every area of your life." Convinced that an advanced degree would enhance her position in the marketing department at Propilven SA, a company based in her hometown of Caracas, Albornoz was enticed to Wichita by the recommendation of a family friend, Vladamir Rodriguez, who spoke highly of WSU's Barton School of Business. "He talked to me about the Midwest and recommended the university," says Albornoz, who arrived in Wichita in December 2003 as the first in her family to attend a U.S. college. She began study in the Intensive English Language program in preparation for entrance to the Barton School.
Toru Takahashi came to WSU from Tokyo, Japan. A mechanical engineering graduate, Takahashi first sought opportunities to broaden his education in aerospace engineering in Japan. But the Japanese aerospace programs he looked into were extremely competitive, with only a few openings each year. So he expanded his field of options and found WSU through Internet research. Recognizing the high quality of aerospace education offered, he arrived in Kansas in June 2003 as the first member of his family to study at a U.S. university. Like Albornoz, he entered the Intensive English Language program.
Mahamane Bana arrived in Wichita in January. Bana, as he prefers to be called, came to WSU from Niamey, the capital of Niger. In a country with a literacy rate of about 15 percent, Bana is one of only a few who have attained higher education. After achieving the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in computerized management, he became involved in a non-government organization called Technologies de la Jeunesse (Youth Technologies), which works to place computers in his country's schools. As president of that organization, Bana feels it is necessary to know more about computers and decided to pursue a degree in computer engineering at WSU. He, too, is the first in his family to study in the United States.
WEATHERING THE DISTANCE
Far-away family and friends, new food, unusual weather and crowded (or not-so-crowded) conditions are all things international students may have to contend with upon arrival. Obviously, Albornoz, Takahashi and Bana can't simply drive home for a long weekend to combat homesickness — or take care of laundry and have a home-cooked meal. Still, each has learned to adapt. Since travel home is long, sometimes arduous and almost always expensive, they use other methods of keeping in touch with family members. The most popular are phone and e-mail, or both.
The country with the largest number of students enrolled at Wichita State this spring is India, with 400. Malaysia and Pakistan are next with 133 and 87 respectively. Kenya, Nepal and Sri Lanka each have about 50, while Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan have roughly 40 students each.
While missing their families is No. 1, they say another adjustment is the food. After searching for the tastes of home, Albornoz has discovered a Venezuelan grocery in Dallas (the closest she's found). Takahashi sings the praises of American portions — Big Macs here, he reports, are much larger than those in Japan. And Bana is adjusting to more than the food itself: "I have to cook it myself," he explains. "At home I have six sisters, and they do everything for me."
Not only is the food different, so is the climate. Although it was winter in Niger when Bana came to the United States, he was shocked by the cold. The Sahara Desert covers nearly two-thirds of his country, while only about 4 percent is arable land, which lies in the southwest where the Niger River runs through. The climate is mild.
Albornoz had a similar experience when she arrived in Wichita. She says, "I was so cold, I thought maybe I made a mistake." She explains that while Venezuela is in the Northern Hemisphere, the country is so close to the equator it has no seasons. The seasons, as it turns out, are one of the things she likes about living here. And the humidity, she adds, doesn't begin to compare to the humidity in Caracas.
Takahashi doesn't mind the climate here since it is similar to that in Tokyo. What he does like is the open space. "I don't like the crowded space, so I prefer Wichita," he says. "When you get on the train in Tokyo at rush hour, you can't move." He says he also likes the fact there aren't as many skyscrapers in Wichita as Tokyo, where he can't see the sky — there's plenty of sky for him to enjoy here.
BARRIERS DOWN
While international students face many challenges, the greatest is often the language barrier. Nonnative English speakers quickly learn to watch out for areas of confusion, such as words that sound the same in English and in their native language but that have different meanings. And the pronunciation of English words can be tricky; those five vowels, for instance, produce a multitude of sounds.
Before admission to the university program of their choice, students must demonstrate minimum levels of English proficiency. Mary Erickson, director of the Intensive English Language Center, says this can be done either through standardized testing or individual testing. "Undergraduate students who haven't demonstrated English proficiency can be 'conditionally admitted' and take classes part-time and be enrolled part-time at the IELC," Erickson says. Once they demonstrate proficiency, they can be admitted in full standing. Erickson adds that of the nearly 1,300 international students enrolled for the spring semester, 90 were enrolled at the IELC either part- or full-time.
The center offers English classes for those who don't meet proficiency levels through examination. The program consists of six levels, which take approximately eight weeks each to complete, with 25 hours of instruction each week. In essence, it's a language "boot camp." The program is adapted to each student's needs, and classes focus on developing reading, writing and conversational skills. It can be exhausting. "You see students at the end of the day," says one former IELC instructor, "and they're tired. They've been thinking and speaking a foreign language all day. That's hard work."
Albornoz, Takahashi and Bana have all participated in IELC programs. Yet while boot camp is behind them, plenty of communication challenges lie ahead. This summer, Albornoz is taking undergraduate prerequisite business classes while waiting to find out if she's been accepted into the Barton School's MBA program. This fall, Bana and Takahashi will begin their chosen fields of study at Wichita State.
BRAVE NEW WORLD
Mike Philson, WSU executive director of international education, checks some figures and reports that the country with the largest number of students enrolled this spring is India, with 400. Malaysia and Pakistan are next with 133 and 87 respectively. Kenya, Nepal and Sri Lanka each have about 50, while Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan have roughly 40 students each.
For Adriana Albornoz, Toru Takahashi and Mahamane Bana, Wichita State has proven to be the best place on the globe to realize their unique educational goals.
WSU's international-student population has declined in recent years, Philson notes. "The tightened immigration regulations since 9/11 make it more difficult for international students to get visas to attend U.S. universities," he says and adds, "Since the majority of international students come from countries with per capita incomes lower than that of the United States, the cost is a major factor for students and their families to consider."
Once an international student has decided to apply for admission to WSU, there are more things to consider and even more papers to shuffle. Students must apply for visas, submit applications, request transcripts and make travel arrangements — not to mention pack for an unknown territory. Along with these more mundane tasks, international students — like all students — must consider whether Wichita State best meets their educational needs.
For Albornoz, Takahashi and Bana, WSU has proven to be the best place on the globe to realize their unique educational goals. Albornoz explains, "I thought I need to get some of the tools, like a vision of the business skills I need." She recognizes that a master's degree from WSU in business administration and a fluency in English — coupled with her undergraduate degree in materials engineering (specializing in polymers) from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas and her work experience in technical marketing — can open many professional doors for her.
Takahashi says traveling halfway around the world to study at a world-class university with access to companies such as Boeing and Cessna — not to mention NASA — could pay off big for him. He would like to work in the aerospace industry in Japan but says if he could work at NASA — his dream job — he wouldn't mind staying in the United States. Since opportunities to work in the industry are limited in Japan, he says he'll likely end up working for an automotive company.
And Bana knows that connections to computer schools and companies in the United States could pay huge dividends in helping him bring technology to his home country. He says, "In the future — and even now — everything turns around the computer." He is the youngest person in Niger to hold the position of president of a non-governmental organization. Technologies de la Jeunesse is a small group of young people, mostly in their 20s, who share the goal of improving schools in Niger with the use of technology. He hopes his studies at Wichita State provide lasting contacts that will ultimately allow the children of Niger greater access to technology — and, thus, brighter prospects for the future.
COMMON ESL HURDLES
PREPOSITIONS
English speakers take these tiny words — all 150 of them — for granted. But they're more difficult than they seem. The French preposition à means at, between, by, for, from, in, of, per, to or with depending on context. But in English, each of these words has a separate meaning; in fact, of has 10 different definitions alone. That's a lot to assimilate.
PLURALS
To someone who has learned English logically and not by rote, "water" seems singular and "people" seems plural. Yet the phrases "the water fill" and "the people has" are incorrect. English's irregular plurals and the American treatment of collective nouns such as "people" are to blame. In England "people has" is correct; Europeans or students from former British colonies may learn this way and be confused when corrected in the United States.
VERB TENSES
If you've ever tried to learn another language, you know that drilling verbs is one of the dullest parts. But it's one of the most important. Regular English verbs are tricky because all the forms are the same except one, the third person singular (he, she or it), the tense most often used in academic essays. So it's easy to memorize the almost-always-right form and forget about the exception.
— Anna Perleberg
