ELI expands Southwestern’s global presence

Southwestern Oregon Community College continues to build on its international presence by kicking off the English Language Institute this spring in Coos Bay.

ELI is an intensive English program for international students wishing to develop basic language competence, TOEFL readiness and speaking and writing fluency and accuracy. Students are engaged with intellectually stimulating topics and participate in fieldwork and real-life community projects. The ELI program will begin in late April and finish in early June. Summer and fall quarters are available. In addition, the ELI program includes an American culture component and opportunities to interact with South Coast communities. Aside from long-term ELI sessions, Southwestern will offer shorter two-week and five-week intensive English courses in the summer.

The theme-based curriculum of ELI offers a rigorous program, mastering academic English skills. Students develop test-taking skills based on the same type of authentic materials, tasks and questions that appear on the TOEFL Internet-Basted Test. Students learn to use English in a variety of academic situations. Activities are tailored to meet individual students’ needs at their skill levels. Students completing ELI will have the opportunity to sit for the iBT TOEFL – Southwestern is a certified site for this test, administered by the Educational Testing Service – and possibly become degree-seeking students at Southwestern.

During Southwestern President Dr. Judith Hansen’s recent visit to Southwestern’s sister colleges in Asia – Hyejeon College in South Korea and Changzhou Institute of Technology in China – she was able to strengthen Southwestern’s ties with its Asian counterparts, leading to a variety of international opportunities for faculty, staff and students at all three institutions. ELI is just one of those opportunities.

“The historic, geographic and economic Pacific Rim position of the South Coast communities that Southwestern serves provides a unique opportunity for our college to address English language needs of interest to international students,” Hansen said. “Southwestern’s English Language Institute will assure our historic role on the Pacific Rim honors strong futures for our college and global partners.”

Press Release Date: February 26, 2007