Students benefit from new English Language Support programme

New initiative to help non-native English speakers - News

Thursday 21 December 2006
By Naomi Weston

A new English Language support programme to help non-native English speakers learn more about different cultures and improve their conversational skills has been set up at the College.

Staff and student volunteers provide either one-to-one or group support sessions to international students. It is a joint initiative between the Language Support Programme within the Humanities Department and the Imperial Volunteer Centre.

Yong Zhao, a Masters student in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from north-east China, is benefiting from the new scheme and meets up weekly with PhD student Ruth Sayers.

"I really enjoy meeting up with Ruth and find it really useful. We discuss the main differences between China and the UK including differences in culture, food and the family," explains Yong. "Speaking skills are the most important and often the hardest to learn," added Yong.

Ruth, a first year PhD student in the Faculty of Engineering, is also enjoying the experience of volunteering in this new project. "I have always wanted to volunteer but never got round to it whilst an undergraduate," explains Ruth. "Yong is really keen and enthusiastic, we talk about the different cultures over coffee and I also learn from our sessions. He even bought me some Chinese tea to try."

Yong was surprised to find the library empty on a Friday night says Ruth, since the drinking culture we have in this country doesn't exist in China. The other key cultural differences they identified include family life, in particular, how Chinese children have more respect for their elders and how English children have more independence.

The Imperial Volunteer Centre provides support for the students and the volunteers. Ruth for example gives feedback to the Volunteer Centre after every session. Minna Ruohonen, Community Relations Manager at the Centre, explains: "This is a great volunteering opportunity as you can easily fit all sessions around your studies or work commitment, and you don't even need to leave the campus. We have had lots of interest in this project and especially staff members want to get involved in these types of projects. I believe it acts as a great meeting point and offers not just language support but also cultural exchange between people from different backgrounds."