The synchronization of language and cultural development through integration of U.S. norms and values into the ESL classroom has proven to be a tremendous advantage. This approach not only enhances language development among English language learners (ELLs) but also expedites their adjustment to the new environment in which they live; further, continued exposure to and practice with the language and culture through collaboration ultimately creates a two-way learning channel for domestic and international students alike. Clearly, there are endless benefits to immersing ELLs in the target language through collaborative cultural engagement. Unfortunately, while substantial evidence confirms favorable outcomes through this approach, design and implementation of this collaboration is occasionally easier said than done. There are certain factors and limitations that are common among university IEPs in the U.S. Midwest, and these must be considered so as to establish collaboration among ELLs, international, and domestic students for increased language and cultural development.

Considerations for Cultural Engagement in the U.S. Midwest

Since 2008, I have faced the obstacle of designing and implementing activities for ESL students attending a university-level IEP in northwest Kansas. Given that size of the community beyond the university (population of 25,000), it was imperative that the arranged activities for ESL and international students be carefully designed in order to appeal to the interests of the masses and to boost attendance. The arranged activities consisted of card game events, karaoke nights, cooking and recipe exchanges, and seasonal gatherings—all of which were designed with extreme care—but in the end, these were all “standard” activities that neither represented nor captured any elements unique to northwest Kansas or the Midwest. As projected, these events were highly attended by ESL and international students, but representation of domestic students was consistently low and sporadic. This imbalanced, inconsistent mixture of attendees made it challenging to establish a mutually educational and engaging relationship among students. After speaking with domestic students on campus and conducting several informal surveys, it was clear that the majority of those involved in the survey felt there was no need to attend these cultural events because they claimed to have had sufficient engagement with international students while “out and about” on the weekend shopping for essentials. Additionally, these domestic students reported an absence of reinforced motivation or reward in attending these activities, so they perpetually passed up this opportunity for engagement. This transformed the way I understood my responsibility as a university professor and ESL teacher. This shift in perspective was immediately reflected in the university courses I taught and in the requests for collaboration that I extended to my colleagues. In short, this realization led to the revision of course content for select general education courses, and it resulted in harnessing and utilizing the unique features of northwest Kansas as the foundation for cultural engagement opportunities, thus successfully building a two-way educational channel of language and cultural engagement.

In the following section I provide a few examples of how this course content was revised to include this engagement, and I provide information about a few Midwestern events that served as the foundation on which university-related language and cultural engagement events were built.

Successful Engagement

Requirement for Engagement

In every university setting, there are countless courses that directly or indirectly involve internationalization and global studies. Also, all university students are required to take general education courses, so these are ideal courses with which IEPs can collaborate. Accordingly, I conducted an experiment with two English composition courses that I was teaching. I revised the course content so as to mandate that students enrolled in the course become involved with the ESL Program and the international student population in a series of arranged gatherings. This requirement of the English composition students forced them into unfamiliar settings where they had to interact and communicate with people from around the globe. Requiring students to connect with ELLs and international students heightened the level of informal interaction beyond the classroom among these student groups. The students’ experiences were then fused with the course work through reflective writing as well as narrative and descriptive essays. The ELLs also merged their experiences with their ESL courses through reflective writing and presentations. In the end, the success of this experimental mandate to engage with ELLs and international students spread to other courses on campus. While this arrangement does not necessarily qualify as unique to northwest Kansas, it does illustrate the challenges that university-level IEPs in the Midwest have faced with collaboration and bringing together domestic and international students for the sake of shared learning through language and culture. Indeed, this activity can easily be recreated on countless university campuses throughout the nation; nevertheless, by launching this arrangement at universities throughout the Midwest, the direct and immediate benefits to the students are beyond measure.

Celebrating the Seasons

Most international students are quite familiar with the prominent holidays celebrated in the United States. Whether the students learned about them through their own curiosity or by watching Hollywood films capturing these holidays, it is quite certain that international students are familiar with the basic cultural norms of these holidays. As such, university-level IEPs could easily (and frequently do) design holiday activities. For instance, it is not uncommon for an egg hunt to spring up for Easter, a costume contest or pumpkin-carving event to spook up Halloween, a potluck to be cooked up for Thanksgiving, or a gift exchange for Christmas to wrap-= up the semester. Without a doubt, these holiday celebrations are full of excitement, entertainment, and cultural learning. Nonetheless, the U.S. Midwest has far more events that are synchronized with these seasonal holidays that are common in the region; as such, ELLs and international students should experience events that are unique to the Midwest.

Summer Fun

During the summer season, the Midwest is alive with wheat harvest. The roads and highways are flooded with wheat trucks, combines, and farm trucks. To a person unaccustomed to this type of traffic, it is certainly a strange sight to see. Beyond traffic, there are also cultural norms found in the fields. For example, during the rush to finish wheat harvest, farmers spend copious hours in the fields and seldom break until the task is finished. At this time, traditional meals (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and bread rolls) are prepared and taken to the field for a harvest-time picnic. Again, to people living in the Midwest, this is a familiar affair, but it can be a truly remarkable event for ELLs and international students to see and be part of. Following harvest time, a community parade sets into motion the start of local and state fairs. In the Midwest, these fairs comprise rodeos, 4-H competitions, carnivals, tractor pulls, pie-eating contests, livestock judging, and more. The foods found at these local and state fairs range from routine hot dogs and funnel cakes to more bizarre concoctions, such as fried Twinkies, fried donuts, and even fried butter. Again, while these scenes might be “old hat” to locals, they can be quite an adventure to ELLs and international students.

Winter Wonderland

As part of the winter season, a growing number of Midwestern communities welcome the snowy season with a parade, typically termed “Frost Fest.” This is followed by a community-wide event that is focused on giving and helping others. For this winter event, the community promotes awareness about helping struggling families have a joyful holiday season, so people contribute to the cause. There are also raffles and drawings for free items, such as locally made items (quilts, artwork, pastries), or business-related items (coupons, vouchers, discount cards). This winter event is a direct parallel to the aforementioned summer festivities, which are a great opportunity for students to compare and contrast their experience. Further, as time advances toward Christmas day, families bedazzle their homes and neighborhoods with Christmas lights and festive yard decorations. This is an excellent time for ELLs and international students to join a “Christmas light caravan” driving through neighborhoods abundant with seasonal décor.

Conclusion

When I first began designing cultural activities, students would comment that the local community was a “village” and there was nothing to do. For a while, I tried to develop activities that would mirror those of a booming metropolis. I soon realized this was impossible because northwest Kansas comprises rural communities. As such, I had to convince the ELLs and international students to discover the unique allure and attraction of the U.S. Midwest. Eventually, after the students participated in these regional delights, they were able to engage with, learn about, and explore the cultural norms and values of the Midwest. Now, the ELLs and international students have a newfound appreciation for this region; they proudly report that the Midwest is simply a large community that cares for and encourages two-way learning about language and culture.

Amanda K. Ergun is the assistant director of the Fort Hays State University ESL Program and also serves as an adjunct composition and literature instructor for the FHSU English Department. She is an advocate for internationalization, cross-cultural collaboration, and cultural engagement in higher education as well as in rural communities in Northwest Kansas.