BY ALI ALJOHANI FREELANCER
FOR MORE INFO
WHAT: Free English language tutoring
WHO: International students and other non-native English speakers
WHERE & WHEN: 12 to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday in APSC 501, and 7 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday in room 228 in the library (by drop-in or appointment)
With international student enrollment rising, Western created an English Tutoring Center (ETC) last fall to help non-native speakers of English practice their language skills.
Last term, tutors provided 160 hours of assistance to 59 individuals, who visited the ETC a total of 153 times.
According to Dr. Robert Troyer, linguistics professor and director of the ETC, international students need support for the reading, researching, speaking, and listening demands of other classes and of informal situations.
He said that the ETC is meant to provide whatever English help students want, from help with assignments to conversation practice.
Western had 351 international students enrolled this fall.
Most have taken English classes with professors who focus on the understanding of the language, but the professors in university classes focus on the topic.
As a result, some international students have a hard time getting the information from their classes.
“Our international students enter WOU often with little exposure to English outside of English classes for language learners,” Troyer said.
The ETC helps students with speaking, listening, and reading comprehension including reading source materials and paraphrasing them for use in academic papers – basically everything except writing which students can get help with from the Writing Center, Troyer said.
Tutors must have specific skills to be allowed to provide their services. “All of the tutors except one have been through or are currently working on a Certificate Program for Teaching English as a Foreign Language,” Troyer explained.
“I recruit tutors from our TEFL program because they are undergraduates who have the specific skills needed to help international students with English – and being tutors gives them more experience working with language learners.”
The ETC provides jobs and experience for students. There are both volunteers and paid positions. The ETC is open 32 hours per week, with at least one, and sometimes two, tutors present the whole time.
“I have always loved helping people, and I have a passion for languages, so becoming an English Tutor made sense,” said ETC tutor Alex O’Neil, an ASL studies major and linguistics minor.
“I love meeting new people from different cultures and backgrounds, and I enjoy learning from my students as well as helping them.”
Because American and international students have different cultures, there is a gap between them.
O’Neil advised her fellow tutors to assure their students that they are in a safe place and that they can speak their mind, and don’t have to be embarrassed by their language skills.
She said that everyone has some area to improve in, and that they will figure it out. Also, some students are more focused on accuracy, so they take their time gathering their thoughts, she added, counseling patience for tutors.
“The ETC is a great program, with kind tutors,” said international student Abdulaziz Aleid. “They help me with speaking, listening,
and reading. Also, the ETC is a chance for the international students to know more about American culture.”
One final word of advice from O’Neil is directed toward American students: “I think it would be awesome if we just talked with them in and out of class, to help them feel more welcome.
Obviously, it would be nice if we could make study groups with them, but even going as far as to talk with them about their home country and their interest
is a step in the right direction.”
No appointments are necessary, but the web page tells who is tutoring at which times. From the search box in the upper right corner of any WOU webpage, type
‘English tutor’ to find the webpage with hours, locations, and tutors.
