By Jeremy Hannaford (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: March 6, 2013
Since the early years of UFV, the English as a Second Language (ESL) department has assisted students with the English language. In recent years, the ESL department has opened an ESL help centre, to offer further assistance with homework and assignments.
Last week the centre held an open house event that included many faculty members, free food and a flash mob.
The ESL Centre assists both those enrolled in the ESL Program, usually international students who have enrolled at UFV as well as non-ESL students who still recognize English as a second language.
Currently, over 500 students are officially enrolled as ESL students at UFV. For any student to access all of the courses provided by UFV, they need to meet the university’s English language entrance requirement. The ESL department offers programs and assistance for these students to obtain this by passing English WG84 with a C+ or higher.
But the centre’s staff not only helps those enrolled in ESL programs; they also assist any student just looking for help with their homework. Similar to the Writing Centre, the ESL Centre helps to improve English vocabulary skills in writing, reading and speaking for any student that asks for help.
In an interview last Friday, Alicia Friesen, Bob McGregor and Balraj Sumra discussed the program as a whole as well as how their open house event went. Back in April of 2012, the ESL program tuition became free for all students requiring their services. This was done to help draw in more students who needed their services, but may not be able to afford them.
Students, faculty and staff who look at items posted on the bulletin boards across the campus may have seen a black and white photo of a rather frustrated woman stacking books on her head. This is an advertisement for students who need help with their English Language Studies.
But despite the engaging photo, Friesen, McGregor and Sumra all believe that there are still more students out there who don’t know about the ESL program. They have other posters up around the school, but they understand that the best way to help other students know is by word of mouth. This is why they decided to hold an open house.
The open house was a great success. It drew over 100 people into the tight little area around the ESL department, lab and centre. The crowd included newcomers as well as current ESL students. Department members from both Abbotsford and Chilliwack were present, and representatives of the Abbotsford Community Services and members of WorkBC also appeared.
The purpose of the open house was to raise the awareness about the free tuition, as well as meet the ESL team and discuss the programs in depth. A big surprise was a flash mob that appeared outside the centre: ESL Students Cardoso, Lais Maia, Michel Fonseca and Nathalia Goncalves (as well as ESL faculty member Celeste-tina Hernandez) broke into dance and song with great enthusiasm, and captured on film by ESL students Diego Barreto and Luciano Monteiro. Edited together with Diego’s music, Diego’s video was uploaded online shortly after the event and can be found at the ESL Centre website.
ESL students and coordinators alike want UFV students to know about the great services that the ESL Centre offers. Hopefully, they say, word-of-mouth will pass quickly and more students struggling with English can ask for help.
