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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:
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The history of the ESL program and what it accomplishes,
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Interviews with current and former students of the program,
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Featured blurbs for the ESL lecturers, their bios, and
contributions to the department and/or the field, and
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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:
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
/5.html
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
/6.html
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. | 
