Classes

Now that I’ve covered the fun stuff, I guess I should go back at take a look at what the OPIE students are really here for: to take classes to learn English. As a language major, I am fascinated with how people learn languages. I’m especially fascinated with programs that teach everything in the target language. How does that work? Does it ever get frustrating when you can’t get your point across?

I sat down with Gary Labouseur, a grammar and writing teacher with OPIE. Mr. Labouseur has taught English at Miami University, in Thailand and in Ecuador prior to coming to Ohio University, so he knows a variety of methods.

He teaches grammar and writing to 13 students three hours a day at the AE45 core level, he said. There are four levels of English classes that students can take depending on their proficiency with the language, AE40, AE45, AE50 or AE55, which is for students who are taking regular OU classes part time as well. Each level has a different number of sections depending on the demand. Mr. Labouseur said that he and the other teachers in his section work as a team to assess how students are doing. Along with Mr. Labouseur’s class, students take a listening and speaking class and a class in reading and vocabulary. There is also a discussion section on Wednesday for all OPIE students. They go and listen to a speaker and ask questions about it afterward. I will talk more about that later in this post.Here is a sample schedule of classes for OPIE students.

Methods

OK so we now know how the system operates, but how do the lessons work? Mr. Labouseur has all Chinese students this quarter and he does not speak Chinese, so I was wondering how he adapted when his students were simply stuck because they couldn’t figure out how to say something. When this happens, he first gives the student time to think, he said. He does let another student “rescue” the first student immediately. Usually if the student has time to think, he or she can get it. If not, other students may help.

I’ve watched Mr. Labouseur with some of his students and I can see that he has a way of communicating clearly with them that probably just comes with years of experience. I obviously haven’t gotten it yet, because when I can’t explain something I become flustered and my explanation just becomes even more confusing.

Mr. Labouseur also stressed that it’s important to not allow any Chinese during his class. If he ever comes into the classroom early, all he hears is Chinese, he said. But once class begins at 2:10, there is no more Chinese unless students really need to translate something to English.

Students could benefit if they could break out of their social grid, he said. He mentioned that one of his students moved in with American students and his English has improved because of it.

Discussion Section

In my first post, I wrote about how I was excited because I would actually be able to witness a discussion section. Shortly after I wrote that, I realized that the discussion section was during on my classes with a strict attendance policy. Luckily for me, my teacher is very understanding. She said that if I came in late that she would just count me off for missing half a class. I picked one day that I could miss class and I went to the discussion section and waited. Ana Wolf was there and she told me that they weren’t sure if the speaker was going to show up. So I just crossed my fingers and waited. I met a few students, waved to a few friends that I made at bowling and I talked to Ana. She told me that the upper level classes usually have to write something or have a discussion about the speaker in their classes on Thursday. She also told me about the (then) planned trip to Columbus.

As we were talking she was helping students sign in and I watched how she used gestures with some of the newer students to explain what they had to do (it was only the third or fourth week in the quarter when I went). I’m telling you all of these details to show that I did get something out of the experience, because guess what? The speaker didn’t show up. I was disappointed and the funny thing was, the OPIE students seemed elated. They all started chatting and Ana had to tell them to be quiet because other classes were in session. So I ended up being 20 minutes late to my next class, but I explained what happened to my teacher and I don’t think she counted me off. Unfortunately there was no other time that I could go to the discussion section, so I never got to witness it firsthand. You just have to go with the flow.

Experiencing Athens and Beyond

My blog has focused on the Chinese students. That was not my original intention, however, a majority of the students in OPIE this quarter are from China and so I met many more of them than students from other countries. Plus in most of my interviews with officials from the program and others who work with OPIE, my interviewees have talked to me about the Chinese students. I decided that it would make sense to focus my blog on students from China.
A few of you have commented that you wanted to learn about the differences between cultures. Some of you also said that you wanted more photos of the international students experiencing Athens for the first time. That was initially something that I wanted to look into because cultural differences fascinate me. Surprisingly, it was much harder to do than I had thought. In this post I am going to try to explore a few of the culture differences between China and the United States. I’m also going to talk about a few students’ experiences in Athens.



A chat in Baker
I sat down with Pan, Li, Jiang Tianchi and Lu. I met Pan and Li when we were bowling. I sent out an email to many of the students asking for an interview; Pan and Li responded and brought friends to Baker to talk to me. Li did most of the talking but the other women jumped in when they had something to say.
I asked them what kinds of things they liked to do in Athens. Li told me that they like to go to ping and play badminton. Apparently it’s really popular in China. I found a site that is all about the badminton open in China. Li said that basketball and soccer are also popular in China.
I told them that I was bad at all three sports because I did not have any coordination. I then tried to explain what coordination meant. Speaking with them, not only helps their English but it helps mine. My brain had to work to think of synonyms that would help explain coordination. I finally explained what grace was, and then I explained that I did not have any grace.
Once we got over that obstacle. I asked what other things the students liked to do. They said they like to play games and cards together. Sometimes they eat at China King, but as Pan told me, it’s not real Chinese food; it’s American Chinese
Li told me that they like to take the bus to Walmart and Kroger. They seem to love to shop in general. They are going to New York City over spring break, so I asked them what they were going to do and they all responded with, “Shop!”
I commented that when people in other countries think of the U.S. they think of New York City. Li told me that it’s just like how many people know Beijing in China, but nothing else about the country.
New York will not be the first city outside of Athens that OPIE students have visited. A few weeks ago OPIE students went to Columbus to see the statehouse and go shopping. Lu told me that the statehouse was small compared to the one that she visited every year with her school in China.

But where are the Americans?
I mentioned earlier that there are not many Americans living in Scott Quad. I also noticed that the activities that the women were describing were things that they did among themselves. It has to be difficult to meet American students when you live with and take classes with other international students. Plus they speak Chinese among themselves, which can make it hard for American students to talk to them. I found myself feeling left out when they began speaking in their native tongue.
They wanted to talk to me about my major and their majors. A few were thinking of changing majors or at least wanted to look into it. I didn’t have all the answers, so we walked over to the arts and sciences building for help. The employee at the counter was helpful, but she spoke quickly, so I had to do most of the talking and listening. I realized how much of a struggle it must be for international students to understand everything. Most people don’t think about how quickly they are speaking.
I invited the students to come to a Singing Men of Ohio concert with me the following night because music is a universal language. I thought it would be fun for them to see the performing arts side of OU.

SMO
Li, Pan and Alex, another student from China, came to the concert. I had also met Alex at bowling. I have a picture of him swinging the ball back at the top of my bowling post.
There were a few jokes in the lyrics of the songs that SMO was singing. I would whisper to Alex what they were saying and he would whisper it to Li and Pan. Then the next time they heard the joke or pun in the lyrics they would laugh. I don’t know about the two women, but Alex could hear many of the jokes without my help. I was impressed because it can be pretty difficult to understand singing in a foreign language.
Li, Pan and Alex told me that they enjoyed the concert. I think I'm going to invite them to some events next quarter.

Culture
I know that I have not given you an in depth analysis of the differences between Chinese culture and American culture, but I hope I have provided you with a few interesting facts. It was a little difficult to discuss cultural differences in depth with students who are learning English. I couldn’t always find the right words to explain my questions and they couldn’t always find the right words to answer me. They also seem to stay with other Chinese students, which affects how they view the United States.
Still, I wanted to learn more about cultural differences between China and the U.S. I found an interesting Web site for Chinese students who are going to come to the United States. It shows how behaviors and concepts are different in the United States and China. I also found an article that describes the standards of gift giving in China, because there were some comments about it after my last post.
Kerry a student in the other online journalism fundamentals class is doing a blog on cultural differences. Her blog does not focus on China specifically, but it provides a good depiction of how people from other countries view the U.S.

Living Situation

This year was the first year that OPIE has tried to house most of the participants in one building. Most of the OPIE students live in the residence hall Scott Quadrangle more commonly known as Scott Quad or “The SQ Lounge,” which is what my friends and I called it when we lived there last year. I talked to Krystina Taylor, who is a Resident Assistant there. She was my RA last year in “The SQ Lounge.” Krys is a Spanish major and she also has completed her Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate. The TEFL program consists of a series of five classes that show students how to effectively teach English to non-native speakers.

I wanted to hear her perspective of OPIE students as an RA, but also as someone who knows how to teach English as a foreign language.

Communication

I am not an RA, but I know that it can be a challenging job, and RAs need to be able to communicate with their residents. Krys has studied in Mexico and she said she knows that “lost helpless feeling” when students struggle to communicate, she said. I asked her how she communicates with her residents who have trouble with English.

“You learn how to get around the communication barrier,” she said.

Resident Assistants in Scott Quad do that in a variety of ways. It begins with being patient with residents. Some of the students speak English well and so they can translate for other students from their country. The RAs even have students translate some of the English signs hanging in the dorm into Chinese, so that the Chinese students can understand.

The RAs also focus their programs and activities within the dorm on things that will help international students.

“We try and do more culture based activities,” Krys said.

For example, they set up study tables to help students with their English homework. If students need a study break, they can play Apples to Apples. The game is all about words so it helps with vocabulary and teaches students about popular culture, Krys said.

Adapting

The RAs have had to make other adaptations. It is a different dynamic of students because most of the Chinese students are only children. There are also rules in the dorms that students don’t understand, Krys said.

There are not many problems with alcohol or marijuana like with many American residents, but there are problems with smoking in the building. Krys said that she has to explain over and over again that no one can smoke in the buildings. She caught one of her residents smoking and his punishment was to make a bulletin board about the university’s policies. It is hard for the students to understand this rule because smoking is so popular in China, she said.

In the spring residents of Scott Quad can paint parts of the wall as a fundraiser. One of the OPIE residents saw this and assumed that students could paint the wall anytime. So he painted a graffiti mural on the wall. Because the damage was already done, one of the RAs made him pay for painting the wall.

Krys also said that she receives gifts from the residents all the time. She tells the students that it is part of her job, but they still give her things like fans and scarves from home.

“You learn to expect the unexpected,” Krys said.

Resident Perspective

Krys said that there are a few American students living in Scott Quad and a few more are moving in, but the dorm is comprised of predominately Chinese students and a few international students from other countries. The Chinese students whom I have spoken with said that they talk to the Americans who live in the building; however they have trouble meeting other Americans. I spoke with Li, Jiang Tianchi, Lu and Pan. They have conversation partners, but they don’t meet with them often. They told me that they hang out with their Chinese neighbors and do not see Americans much.

Bowling

In the three years I’ve lived in Athens, I’d never been inside the Rollerbowl in Palmer Street. I’m terrible at bowling even on the Wii. I avoid bowling because it is not a big self-esteem booster. I walked into the bowling alley and I realized that OPIE had reserved the whole alley for their party. They had pizza and music was playing. I was under the impression that only a few students were bowling during regular hours. This is the point that I felt a little guilty for inviting myself. I met up with Ana and Dr. Krzic and they introduced me to a few of the students.

Dr. Krzic told me to speak English with them because many of the students speak in their native tongue when they are together. I can relate. When I was Spain, I spoke way too much English with my fellow OU students because it was easier and sometimes the Spanish was overwhelming. Dr. Krzic told me that a majority of the students this quarter are from China. I could hear a flurry of rapid Chinese being spoken around me. It was a little intimidating because I could not understand what the students were saying.

He Luran, Pan Lujie, Candy, Wang Li, Zhou Li and Julia

The women that I talked to for most of the night had just come to the U.S. a few weeks before, but they still were able to communicate with me with a few bumps in the road. I first tried to explain what a blog was to them so they could better understand what I was doing. The loud music in the background made it difficult for us to hear each other, so I took another approach. I just explained that I was a journalism student and I was doing a project for class. I explained that the information would be on the Internet. They told me it would be OK to take their photos.

They were very nice and seemed excited to meet another American student. One of their conversation partners, Julia Chapman was also there.

Ana told me that American students can sign up to become conversation partners. The American students speak English with the international students and meet up with them to help immerse the students in the culture. For example Julia said that she is going to take her partner, Candy, ice skating, to a hockey game and to at Donkey Coffee. Julia said that she decided to become a conversation partner after she heard about it in her linguistics class. She has some free time this quarter and thought it would be interesting to learn more about international students.

Most of the women never had bowled before or they had bowled only once in their lives. Julia took a bowling class, so she was very helpful. She set up the names in the computer and showed the students how to hold the ball and roll it down the lane. Some students were pretty good and others had bowling skills like mine.

While the students were bowling, I took photos and chatted with them. I learned a few new things about China and the Chinese language. For example, in Chinese names, the family name comes before the individual name. So if my name were Chinese, it would be, Burkhardt Gail. Many of the women have chosen American names because it is difficult for English speakers to pronounce their names in Chinese. I encouraged them to give me their Chinese names and I tried to pronounce them the best I could.

I learned about different areas in China. I have heard that people from China have a certain pride in their country and region so I asked them to tell me some of their hometown traditions. They were all excited to tell me about their towns. I noticed some frustration when they could not figure out all of the words and I could not determine what they were trying to say. They told me about certain festivals and foods, like fish, that are common to their areas.

I also asked them what they liked about OU. Pan Lujie told me that she likes the size of the university and Athens. She thinks she’ll be able to adapt quickly.

“The environment is similar to my home town,” she said.

I was impressed at how well the newer students already seemed to be adapting. I talked to other students from China and a student from Saudi Arabia. I did not meet all of the students because the music was playing loudly and it was difficult to communicate. I was impressed with everyone’s English skills. Everyone was willing to talk to me and improve their English. If they did not know how to say something they asked for help. No one seemed to be shy or afraid to speak. It was interesting to see the social aspect of OPIE and to learn a little about China. At the end of the night, a bus took a large number of the students to their residence hall. I headed home glad that I was able to go to the bowling event, but I didn’t actually have to bowl.

Let's start at the very beginning...

Why am I writing this blog?

My Online Journalism Fundamentals professor assigned us a journalistic blogging project. She did not give us many guidelines for choosing a topic; she just told us to think of a topic that interested us or of a story that is not always told.

Immediately I began thinking about a topic that could link Spanish. Spanish is my second major and one of the passions in my life. In the spring of 2008, I studied abroad in Spain. It was a wonderful and at times, nerve-wracking experience. I remember being in awe of my surroundings and feeling so fortunate to be able to travel. I loved speaking Spanish and hearing it all the time, but I would get frustrated when I could not understand my host mom or I could not put my thoughts into words. There were also times I felt overwhelmed, lonely and homesick.

I wanted to do a blog that captured the rollercoaster of emotions that students experience when studying in another country. I also wanted to see how students learn a new language. While in Spain, I assisted in a classroom with students who were learning English and it was fascinating to see how they were learning my native language. I had heard about the Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE), but I did not know much about it. I decided to look into it because I wanted to understand the experiences of the students who had traveled so far around the world to study in Ohio. I was excited that I would also be able to observe international students learning English.

Where to begin?

My research began at the top. I sat down and talked to OPIE director Gerry Krzic about the program.

Dr. Krzic told me that the program hosts students from all over the world who want to study English. The students learn from teachers who are certified in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). I originally thought that students only came for a quarter or two to learn English, but Dr. Krzic told me that most students go through the English program and then go on to study in regular classes at Ohio University.

He explained that there are different levels of classes. Students take a test when they arrive so that they can be placed in the correct class level. I asked him if they had ever had any students who did not know any English upon arriving to the United States. He said that most of the students knew at least basic English. If a student did not know any English, OPIE would have to tutor the student individually, Dr. Krzic said.

Unfortunately, the classrooms are small and there already are a few people observing them this quarter so Dr. Krzic told me that I will not be able to observe a class. He said that too many people in the class would be disruptive. It is a little frustrating that I will not be able to sit in on a class because I think that it would be interesting for my blog, but I understand Dr. Krzic’s logic. I know from experience that learning a new language is difficult and it’s easy to be self-conscious and quiet around native speakers. I would not want to make the students feel uncomfortable.

Along with helping students in the classroom, OPIE sponsors programs for students to experience American culture. I met and briefly spoke with Ana Wolf, an advanced ESL instructor and the program’s cross cultural coordinator. She told me that the program offers activities like a bowling night, game night and a trip to the Statehouse and Easton Town Center in Columbus. She also told me that they have a discussion section each Wednesday. The students come and listen to a speaker, who is usually from the area. She told me that I was welcome to come to any of the discussion sections. I was glad to hear this because I want to observe the students in some type of classroom setting. After her initial invitation, I, like the obtrusive journalist I am, asked if I could invite myself to the bowling night. Ana said that it would be fine and gave me directions to the bowling alley.