“By telling our personal stories of challenges we have faced, choices we have made, and what we learned from the outcomes, we can inspire others and share our own wisdom.”

–Marshall Ganz

The Intensive English Language Center is located on a corner across from the main campus of Wichita State University (WSU). Because intensive English classes are isolated from everyday campus life, this makes for a difficult adjustment when English language learners (ELLs) begin academic classes. Stories can be a way to bridge this cultural and academic divide. In March 2017, I launched That’s My Story, a public speaking event in which WSU students and staff were invited to hear ELLs’ personal narratives. The purpose of That’s My Story was twofold: to boost ELLs’ confidence and to showcase the stories of intensive English students. Following is a narrative told by Ngan Nguyen, of Vietnam.

“The first day I came to the US, a trouble happened to me when I transited at Los Angeles airport,” Ngan said.

“What? Lost?” asked Tina, her partner.

“Los Angeles Airport,” replied Ngan, the storyteller.

“Ok, ok.” Tina said emphatically with laughter from the audience.

“I came to the US with my cousin. When I took our luggage and did a procedure for the next flight to Wichita, I lost my cousin.”

“You lost your cousin? Why?”

“Because I thought she followed me, and I didn’t turn around. I realized that I lost her and I couldn’t come back to find her because it was one way.”

“You must be scared.”

“Yeah, at that moment, I felt very nervous, panicky, and terrible. I thought, why the situation happened to me? I didn’t know how to resolve the problem. My English is not good, and also my cousin can speak a little bit English. Luckily, I met a African American woman. She’s a ticket service assistant. Afterward, I told her my problem and gave her my passport, my cousin’s passport too. She helped me to find her.

“So, did you find her?”

“No, she helped me…Because I couldn’t come back to find her…She’s staff of airport and she can help me.”

“How long time?” asked her other partner, Hui.

“Oh, it took a long time, I remember that almost an hour.”

“Oh, so long! My goodness!”

“I missed my flight because it took a long time to find her. The woman helped me change another ticket without extra money. I felt better. Before we flew to Wichita…I had a big, warm hug with her. Since that day, I have learned important lessons that sometimes a bad problem or a bad situation can be a good chance to meet a wonderful people and help you grow up. I changed my mind about Black people, African American people, because they are friendly and nice than I thought about them before.”

Having a presentation partner by one’s side to chime in and keep the story flowing was a unique support for the ELL presenters. Prior to the spring event, Level 5 students rehearsed their stories with a partner, or in Ngan’s case a group of three. Audience enjoyment and responsiveness further encouraged the storytellers. Despite Ngan’s imperfect language skills, there was an audible sigh of relief as Nan related her hug with the airline assistant who helped her. As Gonzalez (2017) states in How to Create Culturally Responsive Classrooms, “We have to remember that not knowing English (yet) is not an indicator of intelligence level.” That’s My Story celebrates the stories of intensive English students while giving ELLs the opportunity to go beyond the normal requirements of language learning. Telling a meaningful story requires creativity and critical thinking in addition to the traditional language skills of listening, speaking, and writing.

As a part of International Education Week, Level 7 students told stories of why they chose WSU and how they’ve built friendships here. Yoshinao Okura, of Japan, shared the following.

About one month ago, I came here. There are two reasons…when I was working in Japan as a high school teacher, I was teaching world history and geography, but my university major was international law, so I was not confident of my teaching skill. I wanted to improve my historical knowledge, so I wanted to go study abroad. And second reason, I belonged to cheerleading squad when I was at my university. The name of this team is Shockers! It’s the same name as WSU team. US is the home country of cheerleading, so that’s why I came here. I want to learn history, English, and cheerleading.

When Yoshinao put up a picture of his Japanese cheerleading team sporting “Shockers” on their uniforms, the pleasant surprise within the WSU audience was palpable. Unlike the spring event, for International Education Week I required our most advanced students to tell their stories on their own with presentation aids and a microphone. Although presenting alone was more challenging, students got to know each other more deeply as they practiced their stories, finishing the unit and their time at the Intensive English Language Center as a supportive team.

That’s My Story was a first-time public speaking experience for many students, and impressively in a second language. Speakers, even shy ones, reported positive reactions to the experience. A reserved Chinese student who had presented a story at both the spring and fall events wrote that she felt nervous, “but just a little bit,” and went on to add, “I felt more comfortable than first time I gave a public speaking.” Positive role-modeling for lower level students who attended the event was an added benefit. In the words of one low-intermediate student, “When will I speak like that?”

Reference

Gonzalez, V. (2017, September 12). How to create culturally responsive classrooms [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.middleweb.com/35762/how-to-create-culturally-responsive-classrooms/

Aimee Leisy, MA, teaches intensive English classes and coordinates testing for international teaching assistants as SPEAK Test coordinator at Wichita State University. Aimee has taught and lived in both Mexico and New Zealand. As a Sister Cities volunteer, she chairs the International Professionals Committee.