UNews - English as a second language

Library offers the gift of language

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:41:33 +0000

It is always a good time to travel, and one of the great benefits of being able to see the world is immersing yourself in the culture and customs of faraway lands.

A key to many successful trips is the ability to communicate with the local populations. If you are keen to start learning a new language or want to brush up on your existing language skills, then check out Mango Languages – a full-featured languages education resource available to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community through the U of L Library.

Some of the languages featured in this resource include: Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. These are just a sample of the available language lessons; there are 23 more languages included – including the whimsical Pirate module!

With this resource, users will develop practical conversation skills through instruction on vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Mango Languages also takes it a step beyond the normal language resource and offers users insight into the cultures of the various language groups.

Mango Languages can be accessed via the Internet and is not dependent on whether you use a Mac or Windows-based computer. iOS (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch) users can also download a free mobile application from the Apple Store.

Another great feature is that, with a microphone, you can also get feedback on your pronunciation. The lessons are not only practical but are designed to be both fun and engaging. With a user-friendly interface that tracks progress, users are able to see themselves work towards becoming an intermediate language user.

There are also language lessons for English as a second language (ESL) users. In total, there are 15 ESL modules for speakers whose native languages may include: Egyptian Arabic, French, German, Spanish and more.

Mango Languages is free for ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge faculty, staff and students. You can get started today by visiting http://bit.ly/zlFCas and creating an account for yourself.

Finding the language of belonging

trevor.kenney — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:36:08 +0000

There's a language of belonging when entering an academic environment, and finding the key to unlocking that language is more difficult for some than others. Thankfully, there's a gatekeeper on hand to assist in the search.

Eric Low (BA '75) mans the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Writing Centre, a haven for those searching for guidance when trying to write in a language that, at times, can seem foreign.

"There's a misunderstanding that writing takes place alone. I don't know very many practicing writers who don't collaborate in some fashion," Low says. "Writing, by its nature, works well in a collaborative situation."

The Writing Centre is not a remedial centre and Low, along with Manager of Language Services, International Centre for Students, Jenine Hawryluk, is not there to simply edit papers. Instead, they offer an opportunity for students to vet their ideas and gain feedback on whether they are hitting the mark with their papers.

"A great deal of what we do here is listen and respond, at any stage of the process," Low says.

"We're here to encourage, to suggest, to diagnose problems or patterns and to make suggestions. It then all goes back to the student. After talking to us, it's the student's job to say, 'This is what I'm going to do.' "

Low's jack-of-all-trades background is extremely beneficial in the work he does with students. An English graduate, he also studied drama and eventually earned a master's degree in journalism from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Western Ontario. At the U of L he has taught drama, English, English as a second language and academic writing, as well as some management and communications courses.

"That's one of the reasons I'm here, I have a varied background and very little astonishes me," he says.

An Ottawa, Ont. native, Low says the Writing Centre welcomes students at all stages of the writing process. Whether it's helping them with the first stage of unpacking an assignment and making sure they begin on the right path, to clarifying the organization of their ideas and then finally recognizing grammatical pitfalls, it's all a process to help students understand the forum within which they are now writing.

"Anytime a student begins feeling anxious to the point of being concerned about an assignment is the time to come in," Low says.

Students and faculty both profit from this collaboration. To that end, Low and Hawryluk encourage faculty to promote the Writing Centre to their students. Some even make it a requirement to visit the centre at least once during the writing process.

To better understand the needs of faculty, the Writing Centre is sending out an electronic survey that will ask faculty questions on style and formatting and just how they'd prefer their students to write.

GET THE FACTS

• The Writing Centre's survey for faculty should be sent out during the first week of classes.

• The Writing Centre is located in L1012 in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library. It's an ideal location and allows for collaboration between the centre and the librarians.

• Students can book 30-minute or 50-minute Writing Centre appointments online. The Writing Centre is also open for drop-in appointments Monday to Friday,
9 a.m. to noon, and Monday to Thursday, 1 to 4 p.m.

• For more information on the Writing Centre, visit the website at www.uleth.ca/ics/writingcentre

Valuable travel resource available online

trevor.kenney — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:36:53 +0000

Those interested in living, working or studying overseas have exclusive access to the online version of Jean Marc Hachey's "The Big Guide to Living & Working Overseas".

The Canadian author's 1,800-page book is available online thanks to the partnership of Career & Employment Services and the International Centre for Students. All U of L students, graduates and staff can access this valuable resource. All they need is a "uleth" e-mail account and password. For access to this resource, visit the Career & Employment Services website.

The Big Guide to Living & Working Overseas contains 41 chapters of accurate and well-researched information on all topics related to living, working and studying overseas. There are also interactive tools, tips sheets and International IQ assessments to help people prepare for and research international experiences. As well, The Big Guide contains direct company contact links and information on hundreds of non-governmental organizations, businesses, English as a Second Language and other agencies that employ or recruit for overseas staff and volunteers.

Hachey will be on campus Thursday, Feb. 12 as part of the U of L's International Week activities. He will present a pair of global career sessions in AH100 (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.).

Contact CES for more information or for assistance in using the online Big Guide resource. Career & Employment Services (CES) at the U of L provides free career and employment assistance to students and graduates for up to two years after graduation.

U of L's global imprint seen in Hong Kong

trevor.kenney — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:51:16 +0000

We often think of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's global imprint by the number of international students we have studying here on campus. Often forgotten is the impact a U of L educated student makes once leaving campus and applying that knowledge in the real world.
Hong Kong is one place where the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has made its mark, as evidenced by the recent alumni reception that tapped into the more than 400 U of L alumni in the area, the largest such concentration of graduates in one place outside of Canada. Bringing those people together to celebrate their alma mater represents a step toward keeping them connected to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.
"We have found that there's a really strong bond between the folks who graduated from the U of L who are in Hong Kong," Laurel Corbiere, director of the International Centre for Students, says. "They want to hear from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and they want to get together so we were really happy to be able to put together an event that facilitated that."
Two attendees of the gathering, Jimmy Chu and Howard Stribbell, offer completely divergent stories from their experience at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, but today they are connected by the similarity that their educations are making a significant contribution to the Hong Kong area.
Stribbell (BA/BEd, MEd), who grew up in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan, is the vice principal of secondary at the International School of Macao in Macao SAR, China.
"My master's program was essential in pushing me to grow in my professional life," Stribbell says. "I absolutely loved teaching. I delighted in the community that we were able to foster within a classroom. Through my master's program, my goals began to broaden. I saw the value of extending that learning community across the school and among schools. As such, I began to move into more administrative roles."
During his time at the school, the student population has grown from 350 to 800 students, they have moved to a new campus and are, just now, graduating their first students. All the while, the school is the first outside of the province of Alberta to use an all-Alberta curriculum, with their students writing the same exams as Alberta students. Stribbell also has two other U of L graduates working with him on staff.
"As an administrator in Alberta, I knew that U of L grads had spent more time in the classroom. This gave them an edge when it came to starting their careers," he says. "Now that I am in Macao, we recruit from all over the province and I would love to see more U of L grads apply."
Chu (Mgmt '91) came to the U of L as an international student, beginning his studies with an English as a Second Language class in the spring of 1989. Over the next two and a half years, he'd complete a management degree and begin his career in Vancouver, B.C. Two years later it was back to Hong Kong where he would begin the development of a number of business pursuits. Today, in partnership with his wife, he runs four companies, two each in compact disc manufacturing and leather finishing and handbag manufacturing.
"Inside the campus I built my personality and beliefs through communication and interactions with classmates and teachers from different cultures and countries," Chu says of his time at the U of L.
"Academic training of course is important, but the most important is the cultivating environment and encouraging atmosphere the campus offered for me to learn how to express myself, listen to objections, cooperate to solve problems, build my confidence and so on."
Both alumni appreciated the reception and look forward to further initiatives that will help the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ carve out its niche in the Hong Kong area.
"The establishment of an alumni chapter will be essential in enhancing the U of L's presence in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia," says Stribbell. "It will also provide us, as alumni, one more vehicle for networking and staying in touch."

UNews - English as a second language

Library offers the gift of language

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Finding the language of belonging

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Valuable travel resource available online

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U of L's global imprint seen in Hong Kong

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