New program comes to campus
Imagine graduating from a foreign language-learning program in the top percentile and then traveling to that country for the summer, to practice the language and study the culture.
In June and July 2013, USU Eastern’s campus will team with the Logan campus and the Global Academy, by hosting 60-80 students from the Dominican Republic in a two-month language and cultural immersion program.
Chancellor Joe Peterson visited the island recently to check out the program and attend the graduation, and is excited to have their students on campus this summer.
This archived article was written by: Nathan Manley
Imagine graduating from a foreign language-learning program in the top percentile and then traveling to that country for the summer, to practice the language and study the culture.
In June and July 2013, USU Eastern’s campus will team with the Logan campus and the Global Academy, by hosting 60-80 students from the Dominican Republic in a two-month language and cultural immersion program.
Chancellor Joe Peterson visited the island recently to check out the program and attend the graduation, and is excited to have their students on campus this summer.
“Global Academy really changed my life. I had such a great time learning, having lots of fun, making new friends and visiting so many cool places. Certainly, it was the best summer of my life,” said one student from the Dominican Republic about the summer program at Utah State University.
Recent English language graduates will take courses in English speaking, reading, and writing four days a week. During the afternoon on those days, they will have courses in other topics. These may be western U.S. history, archeology, paleontology, etc. “The idea behind these afternoon courses is to give the students the opportunity to practice English in the context of these disciplines,” according to Steve Nelson, associate professor of Spanish and ESOL. Nelson will help the program until a full-time coordinator is hired, alongside four English instructors and four academic track instructors, who have yet to be named.
Fridays will be dedicated to cultural experiences like taking field trips to places of interest in our region. Nelson explained that these trips could vary from national and state parks to dinosaur quarries or outlet malls in Park City.
Other than the eight additional instructors, Nelson will hire eight current students as cultural assistants to help with the Friday outings and various activities during the week. This is a great summer job and opportunity to participate in the Global Academy and rub shoulders with students from another culture.
If students are interested, these jobs are now posted on the student job board or this link:eastern.usu.edu/career/htm/student-employment/off-campus-student-job-board/cultural-assistant/. Students can also contact Nelson at [email protected].
