This series has attempted to break the “unwanted stepchild curse” (Randolph, 2017) and elevate the image of ESL by (1) showing ways to improve the faculty bios on ESL program websites (Randolph, 2016), and (2) promoting ideas for professional development while encouraging ESL institutes to publicize their faculty’s accomplishments (Randolph, 2017). This final article will focus on how we can help elevate the exposure of our ESL departments by describing five examples of existing student- and faculty-centered programs and activities as models, and by suggesting an idea that all ESL programs can implement.

Student-Centered Activities and Events

MyPLACE: A Unique Conversation Partner Program

My Program for Language and Culture Exchange (MyPLACE) benefits Ferris State University by helping both English language learners (ELLs) and domestic students, and it highlights the value of the West Michigan English Language Institute (WMELI), the sponsor of the program. MyPLACE is a conversation partner program that functions as a significant part of the ESL Department’s speaking and listening curriculum. ELLs work together with their conversation partners on several project-based activities, including group presentations and student-created videos about different cultures for the Ferris State University community.

The domestic students equally benefit. First, they are exposed to different cultures, which helps broaden their perspective on such subjects as education, politics, and religion. Second, they receive the opportunity to work with the ELLs on the project-based activities, and they get to participate in the international culture events. And third, they can earn up to 2,400 dollars in scholarship funds for their own study abroad experience. In short, MyPLACE benefits the whole campus and, most important, it puts the WMELI at the forefront as a key agent in both international education and in elevating the image of ESL (L. Arokiasamy, personal communication, September 1, 2017).

Passport to the World: An ESL Program’s Community Outreach for Children

The English Language Program (ELP) at Saginaw Valley State University has been helping to elevate their program’s exposure for 18 years by hosting their Passport to the World event. During the event, the ELP partners with other departments and facilities to host a day of learning about different cultures from around the world and about different programs, places, and facilities on the campus.

The ELLs benefit from this event by teaching the children about their cultures and showing them how to make various crafts from their countries. The children are exposed to more than 20 different cultures and get to spend the day learning about each one in detail. They also get to participate in an international story time at the university library and take a campus tour—all sponsored by the ELP (K. Scott, personal communication, July 14, 2017).

Passport to the World has been highlighted on the university website, and a number of the local and regional newspapers have written featured stories on the event, the ELP, and the ELLs. This exposure helps mark the ELP as a unique entity on the university’s campus and adds to the importance of the department.

ELL Poetry Performance Night: Leaving Footprints on the University’s History

There is often a misunderstanding of what ESL is—even among our fellow colleagues in the English Departments (Randolph, Jones, Porter-Szucs, Arokiasamy, & Dunsmore, 2016). This misunderstanding was put to rest at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln when ELLs showcased their original poems and performed them at a public reading. It was clear that the ESL Department had not only given the ELLs a strong foundation in the English language but had brought them to a level where they were able to write high-quality creative pieces and perform them with confidence and control.

For the first time in the university’s long history, ELLs performed their original work to celebrate National Poetry Month. The event was called “A Sense of Place.” As the representative from the Programs in ESL, I helped create a month-long series of poetry events at the university library, one of which was the ELL Poetry Performance Night. Ten students from different countries read and performed their original poems for a very receptive audience on the University’s Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

This event, as one student poet from Serbia said, “helped leave my footprints on the history of this school.” In fact, all of the participating ELLs felt that the experience was very memorable. The cosponsor of the event, the Diversity Committee, has asked the ESL department to make it an annual event. Another major benefit of this activity was the partnering with other departments on campus and highlighting the importance and value of the ESL program.

Faculty-Centered Programs

The Lighthouse Summer Symposium: A Model Approach

In addition to MyPLACE, Ferris State University’s WMELI sponsors another quality program that not only legitimizes their presence but also helps put Ferris State University on the map. Each year the WMELI organizes theLighthouse Summer Symposium. This is a two-day conference with keynote and featured speakers and a number of presenters. Not only does it provide a great opportunity for professional development in the Midwest, but it is international in scope, as many speakers come from around the world. According to Louis Arokiasamy, the ESL academic coordinator, theLighthouse Summer Symposium “has helped to boost the name and recognition of our program across campus” (personal communication, September 1, 2017).

This event has inspired other academic departments on campus to create their own symposia based on the model provided by the WMELI. Currently, the Study Abroad Program, the Marketing Department, and the Public Health Department have used the Lighthouse Summer Symposium as the framework for their own symposia. Having other departments follow the lead of the IEP is indeed a very significant way to help break the unwanted stepchild curse.

Suggestions in Best Practice: Acting as a Guiding Light

A troubling reality of ESL departments is that all too often they stand as one of the most untapped resources of higher education. Professors and administrators have questions about how to better assist ELLs, but they forget or are perhaps unaware of how ESL professionals can help.

The director and lecturers of Saginaw Valley State University’s ELP are trying to solve this conundrum. For the current academic year, selected members of the ELP will present at the adjunct faculty meeting on best teaching practices and offer suggestions about how to better help the ELLs admitted to academic programs. They will also have the opportunity to present and offer best teaching practices for instructors in the first-year writing program.

Through helping professors in other departments and working with the personnel in the writing program, the ELP can offer crucial input and knowledge about second language acquisition and how ELLs best encode, learn, and retrieve information. As a consequence, the ELP hopes to increase their exposure and recognition on campus as a valuable resource for current ELLs and those matriculated into various programs (K. Scott, personal communication, July 14, 2017). Perhaps more campuses can use this as a model to both help our ELLs and elevate the exposure of our profession.

Website Exposure: What’s Happening at the ESL Institute?

In addition to the aforementioned existing student- and faculty-centered examples, there are opportunities for technology to elevate ESL in new ways. One of the most logical approaches would be to have a portal on the university homepage. The portal could either link users directly to the ESL institute, or link an informative site that could feature an aspect of the program each month. For example, the link could simply read: “What’s Happening at the ESL Institute?”

I have reviewed more than 250 ESL and EFL program websites, and no institute is named on the main homepage of a university or college. I believe that a link to either the program website or a special information page would be beneficial for the program, the profession as a whole, and the host institution. I proposed this idea at my former university, and the program administrator was very supportive of and interested in the concept (T. Marks, personal communication, July 14, 2014).

If an ESL program were to create an introductory or information-based site on their host university’s webpage, they could rotate the featured categories and then archive them. Some possible ideas for featured posts could include the following:

• The history of the ESL program and what it accomplishes,

• Interviews with current and former students of the program,

• Featured blurbs for the ESL lecturers, their bios, and contributions to the department and/or the field, and

• Ideas for best teaching practices for ELLs.

Such a link on host institutions’ homepages would help raise awareness of the ESL programs, let other departments know where they could go for assistance, and legitimize the presence of ESL institutes on campuses of higher learning.

Concluding Remarks

This series has given several strategies for breaking the unwanted stepchild curse of ESL programs and elevating its image. As mentioned in the first article, the curse will not be magically broken overnight. However, if ESL programs enhance their faculty bios, support and publicize professional development and the accomplishments of their colleagues, and continue to find ways to make our presence a valued resource, the day will arrive when ESL will hold a respected, cherished, and legitimate place in higher education.

Note: See Parts 1 and 2 of this series:

• “Elevating the Image of ESL by Enhancing Faculty Bios on Program Websites,” PAIS Newsletter (November 2016)

• “Elevating the Image of ESL by Promoting Professional Development,” PAIS Newsletter (February 2017)

References

Randolph, P. T. (2016). Elevating the image of ESL by enhancing faculty bios on program websites. PAIS Newsletter. Retrieved from http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolpais/issues/2016-10-26
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Randolph, P. T. (2017). Elevating the image of ESL by promoting professional development. PAIS Newsletter. Retrieved from http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolpais/issues/2017-02-07
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Randolph, P. T., Jones, T., Porter-Szucs, I., Arokiasamy, L., & Dunsmore, C. (2016, April 6). Breaking the unwanted stepchild curse: Elevating the image of ESL. Paper presented at the meeting of TESOL International Association, Baltimore, MD.

Patrick T. Randolph teaches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he specializes in vocabulary acquisition, creative and academic writing, speech, and debate. Patrick was recently awarded the “Best of the TESOL Affiliates” in 2017 for his 2016 presentation on plagiarism. This is his second "Best of TESOL Affiliates" speaking award. He has recently received the “Best of CoTESOL Award” for his 2017 presentation on Observation Journals. Patrick lives with his wife, Gamze; daughter, Aylene; and cat, Gable, in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.