{"id":15005,"date":"2017-04-03T10:04:25","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T15:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=15005"},"modified":"2017-06-26T10:12:41","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T15:12:41","slug":"esl-conversation-tables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2017\/04\/03\/esl-conversation-tables\/","title":{"rendered":"ESL conversation tables"},"content":{"rendered":"

International students who come to Sinclair to learn English as a second language may get a helping hand through conversation tables.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbara Gilbert, Professor of Developmental Language Arts, decided to try and help her students practice English after getting inspired by Wright State University\u2019s Learning English for Academic Purposes (LEAP) program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gilbert started a conversation table where international students can come and practice the language with native English speakers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was inspired and I thought \u2018Oh my gosh, we need to give our students an opportunity to meet native speakers and to practice their English. So, that\u2019s how this whole thing got started in a nutshell.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gilbert said the goal is not only for international students learn English, but native speakers will also have the opportunity to meet others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a byproduct.\u00a0 <\/span>Learn to meet some native speakers and the benefit for the native speakers is to meet international students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Phung Vo is a Sinclair student and permanent resident who is from Vietnam. After taking her ESL courses, she would like to go to school for nursing or maybe own her a restaurant someday that cooks authentic Vietnamese food.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThree years ago, I didn\u2019t speak English because I [was] shy around people,\u201d Vo said.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said that she was encouraged to speak English more often and the conversations tables are designed to help her do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to give [international] students an opportunity to meet native speakers and to practice their English,\u201d Gilbert said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"For a refugee international student, Gilbert says they have a lot to learn in a short amount of time when they arrive in the United States. She hopes the conversation tables will help them out a little bit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a refugee and you come to this country, you have to learn English, you have to get a job and a place to live in six months after you get here. And if you speak no English when you come, that\u2019s a tall order,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Gilbert, many refugee students already have training in their country, but when they come to the United States, it isn\u2019t worth anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times our refugees have an advanced degree or a lot of training in a content area from their country, but when they come here it doesn\u2019t do them any good,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some international students, like Firas Al Khazaali who is from Iraq, came to America looking for a better life for them and their children, but it\u2019s still hard to adjust to a new life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard. It\u2019s not easy. It\u2019s a new country\u2026 The meaning of family there is different from the meaning of family there. The family we have cousins, cousins, cousins. If I have my family, just my wife and my kids, that means I\u2019m no good. That means I have problems in my life,\u201d Khazaali said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gilbert hopes that, as the word gets out, more students can attend and not only help international students, but also that they can learn from what international students have to give.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul Carbonero, the ESL coordinator, also hosts a conversation table on Monday\u2019s in the International Student Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laina Yost<\/strong>
\nManaging Editor<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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