Some of CSUSB’s international students leaving the Center of Global Innovation toward their next journey. Photo Credit: Alison Marshal
Serving students from Mexico to Korea, the International Extension Programs (IEP) embody the diversity of students found at Cal State San Bernardino. One part of the program, the English Conversation Partners Program, is a space for students to practice their English with fluent speakers, creating relationships with people, place, and culture.
If you’re an international student looking to study abroad, CSUSB offers a myriad of options. One popular program is the English Language Program (ELP), designed to improve English proficiency and prepare students for professional endeavors.
“This program is more than I expected,” smiles Thi My Uyen Tran (or Sophia), a 22-year-old from Vietnam. “At first I thought that I would just come here to study. But I’m meeting more friends and my teacher is so nice – I really appreciate her. I really like it! I come here to study but I also come here to meet friends and improve my English because after this semester I have to go into a master’s degree, which is really hard for me. So I think this program is so suitable for new students who want to study in America.”
From Monday to Wednesday, ELP students are in class from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., swimming in an ocean of English. Brave students take on the challenge of wiring their brains and tongues in radically new ways. Learning a language is not easy, nor fast. 7 hours, 3 professors, and a handful of 10-minute breaks is a schedule fit even for a gladiator. And on Wednesdays, students have one more thing to do after their final class. From 3-4 p.m., in room 211 of CGI, something special happens: the English Conversation Partners Program (ECP).
What is ECP? It’s an hour where international students and student volunteers get together and talk. Yes, just talk!
“Running from September 11 through November 27, this initiative pairs international students with native English speakers for weekly conversations, fostering cultural exchange and building language skills,” explains Jacinda Higgins, the International Program Specialist and one in charge of ECP.
Shinchang Park, a 28-year-old student from South Korea, reflects on the growth he has made through ECP: “I feel appreciative of the whole thing because when I came here, I thought that I could do anything because I spoke the native language. But today I realize that it’s not so easy to talk with everybody, and this program makes me more comfortable speaking with native people. I feel thankful.”
Since the first meeting on September 11, I’ve learned… that Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a soup at $450 per bowl, hails from China; that jaguars are native to Brazil; that at a KFC in Korea you can get a Double Down: two “buns” of fried chicken sandwiching a “patty” of hash browns, cheese, and bacon. I even mastered the pronunciation of the glorious Vietnamese soup Phở: fu – uh.
The point is, I learned a lot. And laughed a lot. Just by talking to some of my peers. “The program is about more than just language practice,” Jacinda conveys. “Through these conversations, participants build cultural competency—learning how to communicate across cultural boundaries with sensitivity and respect.”
After the ECP on September 19, I spoke with Dr. Esther (Eunjeong) Lee, Associate Dean for IEP. Not only did Dr. Lee help facilitate the club that day, but without her, ECP probably wouldn’t exist. She actually created it here. Dr. Lee was radiant, and spoke enthusiastically about the program. ECP is an incredible “opportunity for students to learn about other cultures” without having to travel across the world. She is passionate about this process of “internationalization” right at your doorstep. This year is especially diverse, with students from over ten countries.
I also spoke with V, a biology student, to understand the experience of a domestic volunteer. She told me that by being a mentor, she is “looking to meet friends of the same ethnicity.” For V, this hour is about finding a common cultural connection, a sense of familiarity and comfort.
It is through academic devotion, cultural curiosity, and human kindness that ECP thrives, and extending beyond this program is the drive to help international students feel welcomed, appreciated, and wanted.
