More than 95,000 students from around the world came to the U.S.A. to study English as a second language (ESL) in 2011. These students must be familiar with the conventional wisdom: “To learn a language, you must live in a country where the language is spoken.” But students also need to be aware of what Steve Kaufman, author of a popular blog called “The Linguist,” points out, “Just being surrounded by the language will not enable you to learn. It takes a deliberate effort.” In other words, you can’t simply inhale a language.

 

As Professor Rod Ellis, deputy head of the Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, says, “To develop true fluency in a second language, learners must have opportunities to engage in real communication.” This isn’t just something the text books have taught me; I’ve learned it first-hand.

 

More than 20 years ago, I began teaching ESL to high school students who hoped to go on to college. They achieved this goal not just by “cracking the books,” but by being totally immersed in English. They attended academic classes with native students and quickly learned to converse with them. If they hadn’t made the often painful attempt to converse, they would have been socially alienated—something teenagers do not want to be.  Since many of their parents worked long hours, the students often become involved in after-school activities such as dance club, band, and sports. Constant exposure to “real” English reinforced everything they were learning in the classroom. As Professor Ellis puts it, “If the only input students receive is in the context of a limited number of weekly language lessons based on a course book, they are unlikely to achieve high levels of second language proficiency.”

 

Later when I came to New York Institute of Technology as an adjunct instructor in the English Language Institute, I taught speaking and listening to high beginning level students for two hours, five afternoons a week. For two hours every morning, the same students received instruction in reading and writing. Each afternoon, I repeated the morning’s grammar topic and vocabulary in the speaking/listening activities. English was the only common thread connecting this diverse group of students from countries in Asia, S. America, and the Middle East. Their intensive class schedule and lack of language kept them socially isolated from other students on campus, so they got together for bowling, picnics, and trips to the mall—activities that they had to share in English. As they developed friendships, they became more comfortable and more confident—natural consequences of “living in English.” Nothing interferes with language production more than being nervous as anyone who has faced an angry boss, a stern judge, or an irate parent knows. The students made amazing progress, moved up to intermediate level classes at the end of the 15-week semester, and later matriculated at NYIT in a variety of majors.

 

But things have changed at NYIT as they have at many colleges in the USA. Classes today are populated by groups –sometimes large groups—of students from China or India or Saudi Arabia with an occasional student from Africa or Europe here or there. Now the students have less motivation to learn English. There is always someone to turn to who can help them out in their own language. In addition, they have little motivation to make friends who speak English; they walk out the classroom door and immediately revert to their native language. The Chronicle of Higher Education points, for instance, to Macalester College in Minnesota where a group of freshmen from China had formed friendships and found roommates through Renren, “the Chinese equivalent of Facebook” even before arriving in the U.S.A.  After a day of classes, these students—like many others--go home to roommates who speak their language. Because their opportunity to use English is so limited, these ESL students are developing proficiency at a slow pace.

 

Again I quote Professor Ellis: “Successful foreign language learners seek out opportunities to experience the language outside class time, but many students are unlikely to make the effort unless teachers make resources available.” Toward this end, a number of extra- and co-curricular activities are being instituted at various colleges. Brandeis University now has a program called “Gateway Scholars” that helps international students adapt to campus life and life in the U.S.A.  Other colleges have culture ambassadors or chat partners who provide ESL students with a friend to assist them in adjusting to their new lives. An understanding of culture helps students understand idioms as well as the various connotations that words have; understanding these helps students use English appropriately as well as correctly.

 

One of the best ways for students to develop language skills is through clubs that are based on mutual interests such as the performing arts, films, and video games. There are also clubs and associations for various academic majors (architecture, nursing, engineering). Participating in conversations about topics you are interested in and knowledgeable about is relatively easy, fun, and a terrific way to make friends.

 

Co-curricular activities are also provided by many English language programs. Field trips to museums and other places of interest are coupled with pre-and post-trip vocabulary lessons and discussions. In addition, students in speaking and listening classes may have “living laboratory” assignments during the semester. These assignments give students the opportunity to practice their speaking and listening skills as they interview native speakers and then report their findings to their class.

Last—but far from least ESL students should consider housing options that give them a chance to interact with Americans. Having an American roommate gives students the chance to use their English outside of the classroom. One of the best ways to learn language and culture is with a homestay: Students pay for room and board in the homes of American families; they eat with them and learn American customs.

When ESL students participate in the various activities on campus, spend a good deal of their leisure time with Americans, listen to American TV and radio, read American newspapers, books and magazines and—of course—do their homework, they are soon comfortable with the language. By living in English students rapidly develop the skills they need to be active and confident in academic, social and business settings where English is spoken.

 

Linda Comac is the Director of the English Language Institute at the New York Institute of Technology. Linda has been an ESL teacher for almost 20 years. She has also taught English on both the high school and college levels. Linda received a bachelor’s degree at Hunter College-Bronx and a master’s from Lehman College, both in the CUNY system. She pursued additional studies in TESOL at C.W. Post Collegeon Long Island.

 

For more information about the New York Institute of Technology and its ESL program, please visit: http://www.nyit.edu/eli

 

Images courtesy of English Language Institute.