Daniel Sweat
Features Editor
According to The College of Wooster’s website, international students account for 10 percent of the entire student body. In fact, when looking only at the class of 2020, that number grows to 13 percent. These students come from more than 40 countries to rural Wooster, and as you can imagine, the transition to American academia can be quite a culture shock.
The stress of the first year of college is more than enough to send anyone into a nervous breakdown, but international students must manage it while also navigating college-level classes in a foreign language.
Now, you might be asking yourself, “how can the College help mitigate the difficulty international students encounter as they begin to participate in classes taught in English at America’s premier college for mentored undergraduate research?”
That’s a good question and a legitimate concern. However, the English language learning programs at A.P.E.X. are set up to do just this. The English Language Learning (ELL) division of the Learning Center offers help to English language learners in the form of individual tutoring sessions as well as group-based workshops. You’ve probably seen posters around campus advertising events like their American idioms workshop, in which students can work on some of the more idiosyncratic aspects of American English in a casual, fun environment.
When Marie Schroder ’17, an ELL tutor since this September, was asked what one thing she would like the student body to know about the ELL program, she replied, “That it exists! Many people are not aware of this relatively new program on-campus. It’s a great resource!”
Indeed, the program is a relatively recent addition to the Learning Center’s lineup of services, but students shouldn’t be intimidated to go ask for help. “I feel that the ELL program has definitely helped international students and non-native English speakers transition to The College of Wooster,” said Schroder.
A typical tutoring session, for Schroder, consists of helping a student in whatever aspect of English they feel they struggle with, whether it be writing, speaking or listening. The ELL programs are there to help English language learners in any way they can so that their transition to life at Wooster goes as smoothly as possible.
In addition to the programs mentioned above, A.P.E.X. also offers the ELL Writing Studio, a workshop style course in the fall and spring semesters. These courses focus on giving English language learners the tools they need to write academic papers. In other words, the class tries to acclimate ELL students to the discourse community of American academia. If you’re a native speaker, the transition from high school writing to college discourse might not have been such a big deal, but for non-native speakers, the jump can be quite larger. This is where A.P.E.X. comes in.
To set up an appointment or to see if the ELL Writing Studio is a good fit for you, email the learning center’s ELL coordinator, Carla Reyes at CReyes@wooster.edu.