All posts by lphung

Graduation Speech: Appreciation to Our Teachers, Classmates, and Parents

By Rumi Horibe and Nagisa Fujimoto, ELP Students

End-of-Term Celebration, Summer 2017

Hello everyone! I’m Rumi and I’m Nagisa. We are in the upper level this summer. We are so happy to see you all today. Also we are so proud of having graduated from the English Language Program at Chatham University. I cannot believe today is the last day of the ELP program, and I’m so surprised at how fast time flies. Looking back over this 2 and a half months, although I faced many difficult or tough times, there were a lot of fun times.

Throughout the program, I certainly grew up and learned so many important and wonderful things. Above all, what added color to this two and a half months and made my life livelier and fuller were our unique and interesting classmates and our fantastic teachers. We made it! So we’d like to review each of our four classes.

First, in the US culture, Ms. Sylvia taught us belief, religion, and education in the U.S. The class made me think deeply about American culture that were different from my country. What was the most interesting for me was American people are patriotic and proud of being American.  Also I found out the same thing in my daily life. When I came to the U.S. for the first time, I was surprised that a lot of American houses had national flags. And on July 4th, their independence day, I went to see fireworks with American friends, which was so amazing. Then I realized the independence day is a big event and meaningful for people here. The more I learned about American culture, the more I came to like America.

Next, Nagisa is going to talk about Ms. Linh’s class. We mainly learned English grammar in this class. Even though I’ve studied English since I was in junior high school with a focus on grammar, thanks to this class, I recognized many grammar mistakes I was making when writing in English. The most memorable assignment was writing a speech about human rights issue in the world after watching the famous speech by Dr. King. I’ve never experienced writing a speech about social issues, so I was not sure how I would write it. But through feedback from my classmates and Ms. Linh, I was able to write an effective speech. And I remember the potluck party that we had in late May at Ms. Linh’s nice house well. I had a great time eating various food from different countries or cultures and talking with many people. At the party, Ms. Linh welcomed us with a relaxed atmosphere. Thank you for inviting us to the party! In this class, I wrote various kinds of essays, and I believe that all of them will be practical for upcoming fall classes.

Next, it was Ms. Mina’s class that dealt with deep, intellectual, and emotional subjects. It made me think deeply about what life is and what human rights are. This class especially explored racial issues in the U.S. I was shocked at the history in the U.S., and at the same time, I was intrigued by the issues. In addition, we watched a lot of TED talks in the class and as homework, which were all thought-provoking. Ms. Mina chose the best TED talk every time. Although this class was quite challenging because we had to do an individual lecture and an individual presentation, Ms. Mina gave us careful and practical advice and compliments, so I was very encouraged. I remember that when I prepared for my individual lecture, it took a long time to prepare a discussion for just less than one hour, and I struggled. Ms. Mina made us a class that is impassioned and strong every time. Thank you so much.

Finally, Rumi is going to talk about Ms. Trisha’s class. We had to read long articles and write long essays and a research paper. These tasks were so tough for us. And we struggled with a lot of homework on the weekend. But we made sure we could acquire important abilities in reading and writing.  Also, Ms. Trisha is so kind and she made us laugh every time. Sometimes, she took us to outdoor events on the weekend, such as biking around waterfront and Go APE, which is an outdoor adventure including zip line. That was such a fun and precious experience for us to enjoy nature in Pittsburgh. Thank you so much, Ms. Trisha.

All of our teachers cared about us and they were amazing. But also, I really appreciate my classmates who made it through the ELP program together. Especially, Joyce, Mohammed, and Sarah; we won’t be able to see each other in fall semester. It’s so sad to say goodbye, but we’ll never forget the memories we had with you.

We had a great experience for this two and a half months in the English Language Program. For the fall semester, we will probably be busy, and the classes in fall will be harder. But I believe that we can do it. We really appreciate all of our teachers, classmates, and parents who support this study abroad experience. Thank you for listening.

International Conversation Hours

WEEKLY INTERNATIONAL CONVERSATION HOURS

COOLIDGE 037 LOUNGE

THURSDAYS, 11:30-12:20

June 1
Day and Time Topics and facilitators (May change)
Thursday, June 1, 11:30-12:20 Summer activities in different cultures

Facilitator: Dr. Linh Phung, ELP Director

Thursday, June 8, 11:30-12:20 Cultural similarities and differences

Facilitator: Jeff Chung, ELP Intern

Thursday, June 15, 11:30-12:20 Language learning stories

Facilitator: Alina Volper, ELP Lecturer

Thursday, June 22, 11:30-12:20 Traveling

Facilitator: Kate Emory, International Student Services Coordinator

Tuesday, June 29, 11:30-12:20 Friendships and relationships

Facilitator: David Williams, Chatham Gradaute

Thursday, July 13, 11:30-12:20 Memorable events and stories

Facilitator: Ms. Kate Emory, International Student Services Coordinator

Thursday, July 20, 11:30-12:20 Cultural box

Facilitator: Dr. Randi Congleton, Director of Multicultural Affairs

Thursday, July 27, 11:30-12:20 Food in different cultures

Facilitator: Dr. Wonjin Sim, Psychology Professor

Thursday, August 3, 11:30-12:20 Hopes and dreams

Facilitator: Dr. Karen Kingsbury, Professor of English and International Studies

Allison in London-land: A Study Abroad Experience

By Sarah Bangley, Chatham Undergraduate Student, ELP Intern

In the spring of 2016, Allison Albitz (‘17) studied abroad at Goldsmiths University, located in London. I sat down with her to talk about some of her experiences while in the UK.

SB: What did you enjoy the most?

AA: Being in the city was the thing I enjoyed the most. The whole geography of London is mapped into zones. One is the center of the city; we were in zone two, in Lewisham. I loved exploring and being able to go from quiet to bustling and back again.

SB: Did you travel anywhere while in Europe?

AA: I actually got to take a few trips. I took a tour to Stonehenge and stopped in Bath along the way— they had incredible Roman baths. I took a tour group trip to Ireland and visited Dublin and Galway. It was good and bad— I didn’t enjoy being in a group. I wish I could have just done it with friends, but I did get to see more of Ireland than I would have on my own. Our trip to Scotland was my favorite! We got to explore castles. That was one of the benefits of being in London: being able to travel to all of these places fairly inexpensively.

SB: What kind of classes did you take at Goldsmiths?

AA: I only took 4 classes while I was there. The Art of the Novel was a great lecture course in which we studied various novels, and it felt a lot like a class at Chatham. Modern American Lit was another English course, and I had a very interesting perspective to bring. It was more discussion-based, and I had a great time hearing about the impact American literature from an international perspective.

I took a course called London Theatre, which was made for study abroad students. Each week we saw a production at a different theatre in London, and it was a great opportunity to not only see various productions, but also experience different areas of the city. Finally, I took a class called Urban London in which we travelled to different parts of the city and learned about the histories of various areas. That too gave me the opportunity to go to places I wouldn’t have sought out on my own.

SB: What do you miss?

AA: The candy— that was one thing, especially with brands you can’t get here. I wanted to try as many authentically British things that I could. Anything Cadbury was always my favorite. I loved Wagonwheels— candy made with marshmallow and chocolate and cookie with jam in the middle— they blew my mind! Less specifically, I miss the free access to museums— my friends and I went to museums every weekend. I feel like that educated me a lot.

SB: What large-scale challenges did you face?

AA: I think I dealt with a lot of homesickness that I wasn’t expecting. I live in Dallas, so I already went to school far from home. I remember missing familiar amenities like grocery stores. Especially in the middle of it, two months in, it really hit.

SB: What small-scale challenges did you not expect?

AA: I think navigation was something that was definitely a learning curve as getting lost is not my favorite thing! I had to get more comfortable with getting lost since I was traveling so much. Also money— trying to figure out pounds (and pence!)

SB: What was the take-away from your experience?

AA: I generally learned a lot more just by being there than I did in the classroom— just a sense of self-sufficiency. I found myself very confident that I could go to an unfamiliar city, make friends, and navigate, just in the few months that I was there.

SB: What words of advice would you give to a student considering the study abroad program?

AA: Do it! I was terrified before I went. I was very anxious about the prospect of not knowing anyone in my program, but I ended up having experiences I never expected and made great friends. Don’t let fear stop you!

Use the resources that the University gives over there, because they’ll provide you with opportunities like trips and mixers that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Do the touristy things you want to do, but branch out and explore as well! We went to the big restaurants and museums, but we also went to the tiny restaurants nearby. And make sure you take a good camera!

Diverse Voices: An Interview with ELP Students

By Sarah Bangley, Chatham Undergraduate Student, ELP Intern

ELP Students, Summer 2016

Every year, students from around the world come to study at Chatham through the English Language Program. I recently sat down with students from Vietnam, Mali, Saudi Arabia, and India to discuss their experiences at Chatham.

We began our discussion with some of the differences between Chatham and their home school. The buildings on Chatham’s campus were a particular focus of comparison. A student who wished to remain anonymous said, “In Vietnam, we have to study in a small school. We don’t even have a student lounge. There are not as many buildings as here.” Hassana, from Mali, added, “Here, it is more developed than my school— for example, the computer and projector. In my home, it is just starting to be developed.” Bholika shared a larger-scale comparison of school systems: “In India, we have four year undergraduate programs and two year Master’s programs. Admission is based on 12-standard score— if we have a good score, we can go to a good university. But here, you can go to any school you want.”

I asked each of them about the issues they faced when speaking English. They expressed their own personal difficulties. The student from Vietnam told me, “When I want to talk with someone, but I will think in Vietnamese first.” Hassana encountered a similar issue: “[English] is kind of like French, but not really. I still pronounce some words like French.” For Bholika, English slang proved to be a hurdle, especially when she couldn’t find the meaning through Google. Abdullah, from Saudi Arabia, mentioned a class he took to help with that issue: “I went to Point Park and took an idiom class, and actually it’s helpful when people speak, like “piece of cake.” I didn’t understand idioms before.”

On the topic of idioms, two students provided me with sayings from their home countries. In Vietnam, they say: “Mot hon da trung hai con nhan,” which is similar to the English idiom “hit two birds with one stone.” Bholika told me, “One of the best idioms about mom is: ‘Ma te ma bija badha vagda na va.’ It means something like without mom you cannot do anything. Mom is the best character in your life.”

Although ELP students came here to study, they also find time to have fun. We talked about their favorite activities both on and off campus. All of them happily mentioned the field trips they took to visit some of Pittsburgh’s landmarks. Bholika in particular enjoyed museums. She said, “I like to visit museums, because I really want to know about your culture, and from museums, I can know something about your culture.” She recently visited the Andy Warhol museum. The student from Vietnam said she liked to go to the cinema for fun. “I watch cartoon movies— especially cartoon movies, like Meet the Robinsons, Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory.”

But for all the work ELP students put in, they still feel disconnected from Chatham’s community. Some only had friends within the English Language Program; others had brief encounters with other Chatham students. Hassana mentioned, “I haven’t had any trouble with the students. They are all friendly. Because I am from Africa, they are interested in my customs.” But Abdullah told me, “The other students don’t talk with me. I guess they don’t want to lose their time.” Part of this disconnect stems from the amount of time the ELP students spend here— the student from Vietnam had only spent three or four months at Chatham.

So what can we do as fellow Chatham students to include these lively, diverse voices in our community? Start small: take time to say hello to international students! Attend events hosted by International Affairs. Even better, become a conversation partner through ELP! In the brief time I spent chatting with these students, I brushed the surface of a vast pool of fascinating experiences just waiting to be shared. I hope future ELP students will have a chance to share their perspectives with the greater Chatham community.

A Stranger in India

By Alina Volper, ELP Lecturer

As an American, I forget what it is like to be a complete foreigner and stranger in another country. The experience of feeling like a complete outsider occurred for the first time when I visited India in 2012 and 2015.

I went to India because my husband is from there and I wanted to visit his family and his country. While his family was extremely welcoming and embracing, I felt like an alien specimen in the country itself. People were constantly staring, pointing, and asking to take pictures with me and of me. I sensed that I was under a microscope and being examined and studied everywhere I went. This was a very difficult feeling that I had not experienced in any other nation. In addition, India is a country that overwhelms you with the sounds, smells, crowds, and colors that permeate every activity and interaction. While this was eye-opening and incredible, it was also a very exhausting experience. I had to learn to embrace being a stranger and subject of curiosity for people. Traveling to India has made me less self-conscious because I stopped wondering why people were gazing at me and began to ignore the looks as much as I could.  I started to enjoy the nonstop sensory overload that one can experience in this perplexing, bright, overpowering, and wondrous land.

If you are an international student at Chatham or an American thinking of studying abroad, I would advise you to embrace the experiences that you have, both positive and negative. It is normal to have a variety of occurrences when you are in a new place and the important aspect is not to let any undesirable experiences cast a shadow on the wonderful memories that you’ll surely have in the country. Don’t let any strange, bad, or unexpected situations ruin the amazing privilege and gift of studying abroad.

A Semester of International Activities

By Kate Emory, International Student Services Coordinator, and Sylvia Shipp, ELP Lecturer

Global Mixer Spring 2017

It has been a lively semester with lots of fun events for our international students. Office of International Affairs (OIA) kicked off the spring semester by hosting a Global Mixer, a standing-room-only social event rich with games and food, in the Carriage House. Following this event was our fun-filled International Karaoke Night, where you can expect to hear students sing songs in many different languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, German, French, and Spanish.

Salsa and Bachata Night, Spring 2017

In March, students from the Spanish language classes, offered a night of Salsa and Bachata dance lessons. Attendees learned basic Salsa steps, individually and with partners, and later learned Bachata moves. “Salsa” and “Bachata” are genres of music that incorporate many different influences from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Dance is a popular way to interact with the music.

International Trivia Night, Spring 2017

At the beginning of April, OIA also hosted the first International Trivia Night. Students tested their global knowledge in a Jeopardy!-like quiz. Teams registered in advance, and there were prizes for first, second, and third places. Trivia included questions about international food, world history, and “Where’s Carson?”.

End-of-Term Celebration, Spring 2017

The English Language Program (ELP) chose the Carnegie Science Center for the OIA/ELP field trip this semester. Many of our Japanese students and ELP students joined us on the hands-on fun. We watched “Dream Big,” an inspiring documentary about the wonder of design at the Omnimax Theater. As usual, we held our bittersweet end-of-term party in mid-February for our Japanese exchange students, who would soon return to their home schools: Kobe College and Kyoto Women’s University, after a 6-month program in English and American culture. The spread was fantastic—Asian & American fare specially prepared for our students. We also held an end-of-term party after final exams, treating the students to pizza and cake. Several students received certificates and prizes in recognition of their efforts.

ELP students had other special days, too. Aside from the usual social activities such as our Conversation Partner Program that many students enjoy participating in, students also went on class field trips to places such as the Chatham Eden Hall and Eastside campuses, the Carnegie Art Museum, University of Pittsburgh Nationality Rooms, and Millie’s Ice Cream in Shadyside. A special group called the International Student Ambassadors helped to create a clever video to showcase the beauty of Chatham University, welcoming other international students who are considering studying abroad.

Aside from the formally hosted activities, many ELP students also took part in the indoor intramural sports such as soccer, which is held in our state-of-the-art gym.

Viewing International Students as an Asset: Implications for Intercultural Communication, Effective Pedagogy, and Intergroup Dialogue

By Linh Phung, ELP and Pittsburgh Pathways Director

International Student Ambassadors, Spring 2017

One core mission of Chatham University is to promote “global understanding” of “world-ready” students. Fulfilling the mission requires the work of all departments, offices, and stakeholders from the University. The Office of International Affairs (OIA) has made various contributions to the mission. Over the fall 2016 and spring 2017 semesters, the Office served over 130 international students from nearly 30 countries through English language instruction, intercultural programming, ongoing orientation, immigration advising, academic advising, and other services. While conversations around international students sometimes heavily focus on the students’ ability to adjust to the new environment and culture, let us flip the coin and view the presence of international students as an asset to those who come into contact with them.

Interacting with international students helps to develop intercultural communication skills. The fact that international students speak English as an additional language provides their interlocutors the opportunity to use communications strategies, such as attentive listening, confirmation checks, comprehension checks, paraphrasing, circumlocution, and so on. These strategies will be useful for other intercultural interactions where cultural differences extend beyond differences in nationalities and languages to include differences in lived experiences, identities, social memberships, and so on. Teaching international students challenges instructors to implement culturally relevant pedagogies to maximize learning opportunities for all. Usually, instructional strategies that work for international students work for all. For example, errors that international students make may be obvious and even annoying, but making discursive practices in a particular field explicit can be empowering to both international and domestic students who are still learning to “talk the talk.”

Dialogue with international students has a tremendous potential to deepen understanding of different lived experiences and the consequences of those differences. I recently participated in the Intergroup Dialogue training workshop delivered by colleagues from the University of Michigan. I was fascinated by how much I learned from other participants by asking curious questions and listening to others to understand their experiences (i.e., listening to understand, not listening to respond). I realized how different my experiences growing up and studying in Vietnam were while listening to my interlocutors talk about their favorite holiday, their mom’s home remedy to treat cold, or artifacts in their cultural box that told their life stories. I felt as if my journey to learn about the U.S. culture and people around me just started then. It made me think about how to engage in and facilitate more dialogue, especially dialogue about critical issues, among international and domestic students to surface differences and foster better understanding, a first step in contributing to a more equitable world.

In short, international students are not merely “legal aliens,” nonnative English speakers, or the “other,” who need support and accommodation for success (which is, of course, also important). They also bring differences and resources that can be viewed as assets to the University community.

REFLECTING BACK AND SPRINGING FORWARD

The 2016-2017 academic year has been marked with exciting international events at Chatham. Here are a few highlights of events and programs that the Office of International Affairs (co)-organized.

International activities and programming

Global Mixer Spring 2017

Students and staff played the Fruit Basket game in Spring 2017 Global Mixer. There was so much fun and laughter. The event also kicked off the newly-created International Student Ambassador Program.

Fall 2016 Global Mixer featured students’ poster presentations about their countries, some of which included India, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Britain.

International Student Ambassadors, Arief, Bandar, Xinran (Echo), Issareeyaporn (Eve), Laura, Bholika, and Jing (Katherine) posed for a picture in front of the Chatham Pond. The #YouAreWelcomeHere video created by students reached thousands of people on Facebook. It was a timely message during the time of heightened anxiety among international students and parents after the election.

The Conversation Partner Program paired or grouped close to 100 students of different backgrounds in fall 2016 and spring 2017 for conversations and cultural exchanges. Many friendships were formed. In this picture are students participating in one of the Conversation Hours, organized by the English Language Program.

In this picture were students from the English Language Program and Chatham Semester during the Spring 2017 International End-of-Term Celebration. In the coming year, the OIA will capitalize on the English Language Program and Pittsburgh Pathways to attract more international students to Chatham and Pittsburgh. Also, congratulations to our 15 international students from 8 countries who graduate this term! Good luck to you all and please stay in touch with us!

Global Focus

The Global Focus Year of Canada culminated on Tuesday April 18 with the International Higher Education Summit, co-organized by the President’s Office and Global Focus. The Summit brought together university presidents, scientists, and leaders from Canada, Europe, and the U.S. In this picture, Chatham President David Finegold introduced the first panel discussion on the future of research and innovation with Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council; Subra Suresh, CMU President; Patrick Gallagher, Pitt Chancellor; and Chris Howard, Robert Morris University President.

Following the first panel, Professor Justine Cassell from CMU delivered an intriguing keynote speech, discussing some of the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

Another highlight of the summit was when Chatham students Indigo Baloch, Diarra Clarke, Maria Duarte, and Maria Taylor spoke about their passionate involvements in civil society.

Emerging from the summit, a “Declaration of Cooperation” signed by all institutions promised to build partnerships likely to augment the education offered to students at Chatham. The upcoming Global Focus Year of Indonesia (2017-2018) will continue to offer a robust program to enhance students’ global understanding and deepen relations with Indonesian nationals in our region and Indonesian universities. Professor Greg Galford will be the new Global Focus Coordinator. Many thanks to Professor Jean-Jacques Sène for his wonderful contributions to Global Focus in the past years!

Study abroad

Chatham students in Brazil, Maymester, 2015

76 students will have studied abroad by the end of Maymester. Especially, 6 students will have studied abroad for a semester and 34 students will study abroad this summer. With the current momentum, Chatham is on the right track to achieve its goal of having 42% of undergraduate students study abroad by the time of they graduate in 2020.

On April 5, Chatham welcomed Jennifer Connor from the Institute for International Education (IIE) and Shayak Sengupta, a Fulbright grant alumnus, to present information on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.  Students interested in applying for a 2017-18 Fulbright Research/Study grant or English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) should contact the Office of International Affairs, internationalaffairs@chatham.edu for support.

International partnerships

Visitors from Kansai University, which plans to send 15 students to the English Language Program, starting in Spring 2018. These students will study at Chatham for 2.5 semesters as part of their degree requirements.

The University is also focusing on building strategic partnerships with universities overseas to allow students to study abroad for a longer term (one or several semesters) and create opportunities for joint research and joint degree offerings. Strategic partners will be identified among existing ones as well as new potential partners. These opportunities will provide students with rich international experiences and a comparative edge in the job market upon graduation.

TEDxCMU Brought Smiles, New Ideas, and Inspiration

TEDxCMU 2017: Abdullah Almalki, Xinran (Echo) Chen, Arief Zulkifli, Marina Razgarina, Katherine Ren, Oksana Moroz, and Linh Phung

On April 1, Linh Phung, Director of the English Language Program and Pittsburgh Pathways at Chatham University, and a group of international students and language instructors attended the TEDxCMU 2017 Conference at Carnegie Mellon University. The event was entirely organized by CMU students and featured inspiring talks about artificial intelligence, data science, photography, design, and even water bottle flipping. The audience also enjoyed music and dance performances.

Michael Senatore, whose video of him flipping a water bottle, went viral. He told the story of his viral fame and his decision afterwards.

The students and faculty from Chatham walked away from the conference with broad smiles, new ideas, and inspiration. Abdullah Almalki, ELP Student, said, “I’m so inspired by them as the speeches opened many ideas and stimulated my thinking.” Abdullah was fascinated by the liveliness of the talks and found them similar to the recorded TED talks he studied in the High Intermediate Listening/Speaking class in the English Language Program.

Group selfie before the event

Marina Razgarina, ELP Lecturer, especially enjoyed talks where people spoke about their personal experiences and emotions. She thought these talks, when used in the classroom, were “more likely to “grab” students’ attention” and increase their engagement in classroom activities.

Oksana Moroz, ELP Lecturer, enjoyed the humor in many of the talks. She also thought about how to use technologies purposefully to maintain happiness amidst myriad distractions in this digital era and how to embrace both arts and sciences in her daily life. With positive experiences, everyone said they would like to go to more TED events in the future.

GLOBAL FOCUS YEAR OF INDONESIA (2017-2018) at CHATHAM UNIVERSITY: ECOLOGICAL & HUMAN DIVERSITY

By Jean-Jacques Sene, Associate Professor of History, Global Focus Director

A gorgeous exhibition of students and faculty photographs in a collaborative research project titled “Connecting Through the Lens: Housing and Water Infrastructure in Indonesia” on February 2 in the Chatham University Art Gallery. The exhibition kicked off programming for the Global Focus Year of Indonesia. Picture taken by Greg Galford.

The name Indonesia, from the Greek language “Indian Island” or “Island of India” refers to a captivating archipelago made up of some 17,000 thousand islands! If total land and sea areas are factored in, it is one of the 10 biggest countries in the world. With a very diverse population of more than 250 million inhabitants, it stands as the largest Muslim nation of the planet.

The choice of Indonesia as the country of focus for next year’s Global Focus is a particularly important one for our academic community and its affiliates. For one thing, Chatham University belongs to the very small circle of institutions involved in the U.S.-Indonesia Partnership Program for Study Abroad Capacity (USIPP) sponsored by the New York-based Institute of International Education. The consortium includes only 6 universities in America; and Airlangga University, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bogor Agricultural Institute, Gadjah Mada University, the Indonesian Institute of the Arts/Yogyakarta, and the University of Indonesia.

The choice of country is also always motivated by the opportunities to engage with individuals and groups with strong connections to that area. The very dynamic Indonesian community in Pittsburgh has responded enthusiastically to Chatham’s invitation for a strong partnership.