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ESL - English as a Second Language |
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ESL - English as a Second Language |
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The INTERLINK curriculum emphasizes independent language learning, academic preparation, and cultural awareness; the language component of the curriculum focuses on listening, speaking, reading, writing, English for Business, English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Law, and skills necessary for successful academic and social adjustment in the U.S.
a) Core Courses ( 20 hours per week)
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| 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Reading & Writing |  |
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| 10:00
AM - 12:00 PM Communication Skills | |
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| 1:30
PM - 3:00 PM Cultural Orientation & Modules |
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The INTERLINK language programs are designed to offer the following:
Committed to providing the highest quality in curriculum offerings and the best possible services, INTERLINK supports and complies with the standards for intensive English programs established by NAFSA: Association of International Educators; American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP); Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL); and the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA).
Global interdependence has created an unprecedented and urgent need for better communication between individuals of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. INTERLINK Language Centers, Inc., has chosen to help meet that need by committing its talents and energies to the intensive teaching of English, to cultural orientation, and to academic preparation for those from other societies wishing to work or study in the United States.
This commitment is not lightly made. To accept the challenge of preparing students of today for the uncertain demands of tomorrow is a sobering act. It is undertaken only in concert with a faculty which brings to the task the highest standards of professionalism tempered by sensitivity and humility, and by administrators with the foreknowledge that they lead best by serving, and serve best by constantly striving for instructional quality tailored to a diverse student audience.
INTERLINK's most precious assets are its students, a faculty that nurtures them, and leaders able and willing to help both flourish. This student-centered approach assumes diligence on the part of learners who, with justifiably high expectations both of themselves and of INTERLINK, are willing to take responsibility for their own learning when coached by competent and caring professionals.
This approach calls for a curriculum that challenges, is responsive to research findings, and is receptive to constructive criticism from faculty, students, and concerned members of the larger community. It assumes an environment where quality and fairness are accepted elements of all policy discussions and constant objectives of all decisions. By endorsing and adhering to standards set forth by the American Association of Intensive English Programs, by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, INTERLINK expresses its commitment to a learning environment rich in linguistic and cultural opportunities for qualified international students and professionals.
By
striving to play its small role well, INTERLINK believes it can improve communications
between peoples by helping to bridge those precious differences that give us roots
and rudders in an ever shrinking and restless world.
From its inception, INTERLINK’s goals have been broader and deeper than those of typical English language programs. Fostering cultural awareness, personal growth and academic readiness has been as important to INTERLINK as improving students’ linguistic skills. This curriculum views learning not as the accumulation of data but as a dynamic process of personal growth.
Learning at INTERLINK is a cooperative, heuristic venture which relies on active student participation and the formation of a community of fellow learners. Each teacher accepts the challenge of establishing a caring and stimulating milieu where students can most readily take in new ideas and take risks in practicing what they have learned. Teachers serve as mentors dedicated to promoting the linguistic proficiency, academic success, cross-cultural development, and general well-being of their students.
INTERLINK teachers are selected for their knowledge and competence in the field of ESL, their extensive cross-cultural experience, and their unqualified commitment to their students. The quality and integrity of the program rely on the creativity and devotion of skillful practitioners rather than on a set of recipes or prescriptions contained in a curriculum document. The curriculum is a guide intended to provide needed structure and consistency and is formulated to allow teachers maximum freedom and control of their classes. Teachers are encouraged to use a variety of methods and approaches to mold their classes in accordance with their personal pedagogical outlooks, the needs of the particular individuals in the class, and the fundamental principles and goals of INTERLINK.
The objectives and teaching practices at INTERLINK are predicated on an underlying humanistic philosophy. By focusing not on skills alone but on the whole learner, we attempt to create for each student an experience that promotes awareness and self-knowledge. The program’s goal is not so much to dispense information about language as to help students use language and interact with others effectively. We subscribe to the Rogerian thesis that "learning how to learn is more important than being "taught" something from the "superior" vantage point of a teacher..." (H. D. Brown, 1980) as well as to Gattegno's precept of "the subordination of teaching to learning."
The
INTERLINK curriculum provides structure and sets standards for how we help students
learn. It defines the linguistic, cross-cultural, and academic skills and
competencies that students must acquire to achieve success in their post-ESL endeavors
and describes content, goals, competencies, materials and strategies for each
level and class. The curriculum is a dynamic, evolving statement that reflects
INTERLINK’s philosophy about the nature of learning and teaching and serves as
a practical guide for achieving the stated goals. It is intended to assure
reliable preparation for students and an orderly, consistent progression from
level to level. The principles on which the curriculum is predicated are
elaborated on below.
CLASSES ARE STUDENT-CENTERED
Student-centered learning places the learner above every other concern and consideration. Factors such as students' needs, educational backgrounds, cultural conditioning, idiosyncratic learning styles, and personal circumstances all play a role in how (and how well) students’ learn, and therefore, are of consequence to how we teach. A program of teaching should not be a Procrustean bed to which students must conform regardless of their individual needs and predilections, but should be flexible and responsive. Instruction must focus more on students themselves than on the materials of instruction. Textbooks are tools and not the core of a class and should never be allowed to dominate the conduct of a class. We cannot truly “teach” students but only assist them in their learning. The responsibility for learning belongs to the learner. The teacher’s role is to be a facilitator and guide who provides “a nurturing context for learning” (H. D. Brown, 1980) and fosters the "learner's feeling of primacy in a world of meaningful action" (Stevick, 1980).
Holistic learning refers both to teaching to the whole person (the humanistic view discussed above), and the integration of skills and materials within a given activity. These two ideas complement each other. Just as we cannot ignore the whole character of the learner, neither can we ignore the unified nature of language itself and teach such skills as grammar or pronunciation in isolation and without regard to real communication. Aiming towards holistic learning requires us to recognize the complex human nature of the learner as well as the intricate, abstruse nature of language as a medium of communication. A communicative, experiential approach promotes interaction between whole learner and whole language. The utilization of theme-based tasks is one way to emphasize the communicative use of language and allows us to present the different threads of language and of culture in a unified, contextualized, integrated manner.
Heuristic
learning or learning through discovery tends to be inductive, experiential,
creative, self-motivated, and dynamic. The paradigm of heuristic learning
is represented by a student solving a problem rather than digesting information
fed by a teacher. Gattegno’s Silent Way exemplifies this concept.
Concentrating on the work of the learner rather than the performance of the teacher,
and seeking to help the learner to develop criteria for language use instead of
promulgating rules, this approach focuses on learning how to learn and not the
accumulation of discrete facts and pieces of information. A student learning through
discovery learns how to master a process which can be used over and over, inside
and outside of the classroom, during and after attendance at INTERLINK.
Role-plays, simulations, puzzles and information-gap exercises are types of activities
that promote heuristic learning. Setting up situations from which a student
can learn requires more skill and patience than dispensing information, but the
rewards are proportionally great. The role of the teacher is to be a guide
and to devise effective opportunities for learning.
I dwell in Possibility -
A fairer House than Prose -
More numerous of Windows -
Superior - for Doors
Emily Dickinson
INTERLINK directors and teachers help students open wide the beckoning windows and doors of Possibility. English language acquisition is the lever. Cross-cultural learning is the view beyond. At INTERLINK, we invite and prepare the student to begin a life-long pilgrimage of learning. It must begin well. Linguistic competency and academic skills provide important preparation. But beyond these, INTERLINK's Mission Statement calls on us to help our students learn to "bridge those precious differences that give us roots and rudders in an ever shrinking and restless world."
INTERLINK's cross-cultural learning emphasis is designed to increase students' understanding of one's own and others' cultures; it will inform respect for the worth and consequence of the norms, values, and behaviors in all cultures; and it will allow the student both to discern and communicate cultural differences with sensitive and confident purpose. Thus, we better prepare each student not only to be adept internationally but to be able, in Francis Bacon's summary phrase, "to retain one's own dignity, without intruding upon the liberty of others."
If INTERLINK Language Centers are to compete and serve well the purposes and goals expressed in our Mission Statement, cross-cultural learning must especially and uniquely inform every aspect of our instructional curriculum, of our services to students, and of our own personal relationships with them. Some of this may have immediate impact on student needs for the positive and smooth adjustment to a new educational, social and cultural environment; but cross-cultural learning and the teaching of it at INTERLINK aspire to achieve much more: to prepare and counsel students for future success in life.
Although ever student-centered, we are equally self-conscious, sensitive and humble, in recognizing our own need. As cross-cultural educators, we must ever be alert and adroit in response to the different assumptions, expectations, needs, and surprises confounding the individual encounter with a new culture. We too must be eager and continuing participants in cross-cultural learning. A further challenge is to insinuate, promote, and support cross-cultural learning at our host institutions and in our communities. INTERLINK's purpose and function at each of our universities give to the Center Director and colleagues both opportunity and responsibility to be active participants in and contributors to international issues and activities on campus and beyond. The INTERLINK program can and should be recognized and utilized as a significant part of the wider education occurring on the campus. Effective efforts in these areas almost always offer expansive potential for both INTERLINK and the university.
In
the vibrant, creative pursuit of cross-cultural learning . . . in our classrooms,
on our campuses, and throughout our communities . . . we then do "dwell in Possibility."
Such cross-cultural learning is an INTERLINK hallmark, and ever its own reward.
      | "Since
English is not easy for me, I applied to study at INTERLINK. I hoped that
it would improve my English, but I am getting more than I expected."--
Sudanee, Thailand "When I arrived here, everything seemed strange to me. Fortunately, my INTERLINK teachers taught me how to open a bank account, how to adjust to the American lifestyle and how to communicate with Americans and other foreign students. I think that INTERLINK not only wants me to know how to adjust to my new life, but also wants to make me feels warm, just like at home. " -- Yi-Hen, Taiwan "The Reading/Writing class was a wonderful chance for me to retrieve and even improve my academic writing skills. Thanks to the teacher, I benefited greatly from this class." -- Mustafa, Turkey "They stimulate your learning by offering you a friendly environment in which you can develop your own ideas at the same time that you interact with people from different cultures." -- Berta, Brazil "I can assure you that INTERLINK has a very good English program." -- Pablo, Venezuela "INTERLINK is the best thing that could happen to me. Now I realize that the world is big and I have to learn a lot." -- German, Colombia "I feel really free to ask anyone there for help of any kind." -- Claudia, Venezuela "We not only learn English, we also learn to be ready for academic study in the American universities." -- Zarlast, Afghanistan "Thanks to INTERLINK, I can comfortably communicate with Americans as well as with foreign people. As a matter of fact, with the goal of getting a degree in business administration, I am now taking classes at Valparaiso University while I finish the advanced classes at INTERLINK." -- Mariana, Ecuador "After studying at INTERLINK for six months, I can say now that I’m ready to start my academic studies. Thank you for making my dreams come true." -- Musaed, United Arab Emirates "The programs are useful and practical for students who are going to study at universities." -- Keiko, Japan "The size of the classes at INTERLINK doesn’t exceed twelve students. It allows the group to progress quickly and efficiently." -- Carlos, Guatemala "INTERLINK has a serious group of teachers and a serious education system." -- Ergun, Turkey "I found the program INTERLINK provides and it was just the one I was always searching for." -- Christine, Taiwan "
I am now in Pittsburgh studying Aviation. I really wanna thank you and all the
teachers at INTERLINK. I really can tell the difference between the students
who studied at INTERLINK and the others, even the Americans themselves. We had
good knowledge and fun, too."-- Bassam, Saudi Arabia back to top |