The other day, an article published in my alma mater’s campus newspaper caught my eye. The University of Illinois experienced record high enrollment this year, owing much of it to a boom in international student applications and acceptances. Particularly striking is the data about these students’ home countries: Asian students are attending Illinois by the masses, with students from China making up nearly 50 percent of the international student population.
I certainly noticed a significant international presence in my days in Urbana-Champaign. During my senior year, I was a teaching assistant for a freshman introductory class for international students, many of whom had arrived on American soil just days before our first session. Obviously intelligent and committed scholars, their ambitions and abilities had driven them to pursue a higher education far from home. They arrived bewildered, with orange and blue lanyards hanging from their necks and crinkled campus maps clenched in their sweaty fingers.
Although all my students were competent in English, many were concerned about communication skills and their corresponding effect on their academic success. Wow, I thought. On top of all this change and culture shock, they’re nervous about something as fundamental as language.
That was the first moment I felt truly lucky to be a native speaker of English. I just happened to be born in the United States to English-speaking parents. It just so happens that English is a language highly utilized and valued by the worlds of academia, politics and business. My native tongue had opened countless doors for me, and I didn’t even appreciate it.
The semester was eye-opening for all of us. As the weeks passed, the students became more comfortable with class routines and campus life in general. I was shocked at how foreign Big Ten life could initially be to someone who had never once tailgated for a football game or visited a cousin at their dormitory for a weekend. Over time, language became less of an issue – becoming familiar with the culture was key to improving understanding and instilling confidence.
Flash forward two years, and I’m teaching English to a class of teenagers in the heart of Madrid. It seems a world away from the cornfields of Illinois, but to me it was basically the same. As I had learned with my freshmen, sharing and explaining the nuances of an unfamiliar culture is a great strategy for teaching and encouraging a language student. In class, we covered more ground watching an episode of Seinfeld than doing irregular verb drills. Don’t get me wrong – the fundamentals are important. But there is a big difference between correctly structuring one’s words and communicating effectively. A pumpkin pie recipe not only shows an English learner how measurements are written and interpreted, but also transmits knowledge about why we Americans stuff ourselves with this delicacy (at least) once yearly. Appreciating a culture leads to navigating a language, which leads to real communication – it’s as simple as that.
So as we see international enrollment skyrocket at universities worldwide, it is important to note that these students and professors are not just using a common language, but also a shared cultural awareness and understanding. And the breakdown of linguistic barriers is just the beginning. A global community formed in the academic world could mean great things for the future of nations and governments. Chinese students at Illinois, like Brazilian students in South Africa and Canadian students in India, are getting more than a degree. Opportunities for a greater world view are precisely what is so exciting about the future of international education. English is more often than not the designated language for international communication, but it’s about much more than that.
About the author
Val Kaskovich
ArborBridge Operations Coordinator
A Chicago native with a B.A. in Economics and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Val joined ArborBridge after two years of experience tutoring and teaching English in Spain. She assists the ArborBridge management team, making sure that operations run smoothly and facilitating communication between students, parents, tutors and ArborBridge directors.
