Win Min, originally from Burma and a native Burmese speaker, arrived in Eugene with the intent of enrolling at the University of Oregon.
But first he spent a year in the UO’s American English Institute, where he took part in an intensive program designed to improve his English skills. After finishing this course work, Min was ready to become a full-fledged, matriculated UO student.
Min is typical of the 1,000-plus international students served each year by AEI, a program of the Department of Linguistics.
Over the past several years, the UO has been a virtual magnet for students from other countries. Since 2007, international student enrollment has grown by 114 percent, from 1,187 to 2,550 students in 2013; these students now comprise 10.4 percent of the UO’s enrollment (versus 5.8 percent in 2007).
However, even though international students may have the grades and test scores to qualify for admission, many lack the level of English proficiency to be successful in a UO classroom. AEI provides a bridge to get them there.
A presence on campus since 1978, AEI offers two on-campus programs for international students: the Intensive English Program and Academic English for International Students.
According to Wendy Ames, AEI’s director of marketing and alumni relations, IEP serves students like Win Min who need to improve their English skills so they can matriculate and succeed—not only at the UO but possibly at other Oregon University System institutions, depending on their choice of major.
IEP remained relatively small for 20 years, serving fewer than 100 students each term. However, by 2008 enrollment exceeded 250 per term and it has now ramped up to around 700. Enrollment for spring 2013 was 757.
This increase is due in large part to an influx of Saudi students, taking advantage of study-abroad incentives offered by the Saudi Arabian government, and an even larger wave of Chinese students, benefitting from relaxed restrictions on student visas.
All told, IEP students come from more than 20 countries, including Honduras, Libya, Korea, Kuwait, Thailand, Afghanistan and Japan.
The second on-campus program—Academic English for International Students—helps students develop the skills they need for communication, cultural integration and participation in the academic environment of the university.
Students in AEIS classes have language test scores that are high enough to qualify immediately for UO admission, but need coaching in specific aspects of advanced English speaking, writing or cultural proficiency, to gain the skills and confidence for active classroom participation. Unlike IEP, AEIS classes are for-credit.
Enrollment in AEIS classes has more than doubled over the past few years, with more than 900 students enrolled this spring.
“AEIS allows international students who are not completely comfortable with their English or with American culture to ease into the academic environment,” said Cynthia Kieffer, director of AEI. “Exceptional people come here,” said Kieffer. “AEI makes sure they have the language skills to succeed.”
In addition to on-campus English language programs, AEI offers, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and other funders, an e-learning program for teachers of English in more than 125 countries. AEI also offers custom-designed programs for English-teaching professionals.
- from an article by Lisa Raleigh that originally appeared in Cascade, the alumni magazine of the UO College of Arts and Sciences