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Larry Francis, the director of the English program at the University of Missouri, Columbia; Timothy Wilson, an instructor at the Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies at the University of Central Florida; and Alice Chow (Moon Chen), an EducationUSA Advisor at the American International Education Foundation (AIEF), answered questions in a March 23 USINFO webchat on issues related to study in the United States.
Following is the transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Bureau of International Information Programs, USINFO Webchat Transcript
EducationUSA: Choices of ESL and Other Certificate Programs in the U.S.
Guest: Larry Francis, Timothy Wilson and Moon Chen, Date: March 23, 2007, Time: 0230 EDT (1430 Taipei)
AIT Moderator: Welcome to our webchat! You are invited to begin submitting your questions now. Simply click on the tab marked "Submit Question or Comment."
Today's webchat features three experts who will be online to answer your questions:
" [cents] Moon Chen, American International Education Foundation (AIEF);, " [cents] Mr. Timothy J. Wilson, Instructor of Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies, University of Central Florida; and , " [cents] Mr. Larry Francis, Director of Intensive English Program, University of Missouri, Columbia
Larry Francis: Greetings to all! I am Larry Francis the director of the Intensive English Program at the University of Missouri in the City of Columbia, Missouri.
Timothy Wilson: My name is Timothy Wilson, and I am an Instructor of International Education at the University of Central Florida, which is located is beautiful Orlando, Florida. At the University of Central Florida, we offer seven and fourteen week English language sessions throughout the year. The classes cover all areas including reading, writing, grammar, communication skills, business preparation, and test preparation (TOEFL, TOEIC).
Moon Chen: This is Moon Chen from American International Education Foundation. I am very delighted to be here on the webchat to communicate with you on issues related to study in US. I do hope I can be helpful.
Question [Hsin Huan, Juan]: To Larry: Hello, I'm a junior in NTNU. I plan to go to graduate school about English teaching in the U.S. after graduating. But there are so many programs or graduate schools in the States now. So could you give me the suggestion about choosing the ESL graduate school or program? Thank you!
Answer [Larry Francis]: There are many graduate schools where students can get a degree in teaching English as a second language. There is an organization called TESOL [Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.] that most professional English as a second language teachers in the US and many from around the world belong to. The organization has a list of high quality programs that give degrees in teaching English as a second or a foreign language. I suggest that you look at TESOL's web site. I believe the web address is TESOL.org.
Q [Hsu, Ching-Hsuan]: To Tim: Are there so many ways to find financial aid for us to study in America?
A [Tim Wilson]: A very good question. I know that studying in the U.S. can be expensive and any financial aid can help. I suggest first talking to your international department of your school to see if they have any partnerships with U.S. universities. This can help because they may have scholarships or exchange agreements with these U.S. universities so that you may pay a reduced a price.
Another step would be to go to your American Cultural Exchange Center to see if there are any specific universities that have agreements with Taiwan. I know that at the University of Central Florida has agreements with Japan in this matter. In terms of scholarships, it is best to check with the specific university that you are interested in especially at the undergraduate level.
If you are interested in graduate programs, you can tell the university that you are interested in assistantships which are based upon your test scores and grades from your university.
A [Tim Wilson]: This will depend on the ESL program that you are attending. At the University of Central Florida, you still must pass the TEOFL before entering the university as a full-time student. However, there are various university-based ESL programs where you do not have to take the TOEFL. The best way to find this out is to look at university-based ESL programs (not independent ones) and ask them if you can go directly into the university upon completing the ESL program without taking the TOEFL.
A [Timothy Wilson]: It is best to apply about three or four months before the semester begins. This time will depend on how long it will take for you to get a student visa. Right now, it is very easy for Taiwanese students to get a student visa so you could still apply later the three to four month time period. Once you have filled out the application and provided the ESL program with the needed documentation, they can generally issue you the I-20 within a week.
AIT Moderator: You can meet the speakers at the AIEF Education Fair in Taipei from 3/24-25 at the Howard Plaza Hotel, on 3/26 at the Grand Han-Lai Hotel in Kaohsiung, on 3/27 at the Evergreen Hotel in Taichung.
Q: If I want to apply to your graduate school program, will taking ESL courses help my application?
A [Timothy Wilson]: This will ultimately depend on the university that you are applying to, so I would check the university that you are interested in. At the University of Central Florida, going to our ESL program does help with graduate admittance. It helps by allowing you to apply under the U.S. deadline rather than the international deadline, and with some departments they are willing to receive a lower TOEFL score than the standard requirement. However, attendance at the ESL program does not guarantee admittance into a graduate program.
A [Larry Francis]: The admissions policies at the graduate level vary greatly from one university to another. The policies can also vary at the same university. For example, at the University of Missouri-Columbia, each department has a great deal of flexibility in deciding to accept a student for admission. Several graduate departments have accepted students whose TOEFL scores were slightly below the department's official requirement if the student had attended our university's English language program. The departments accepted the student because they know that the students had acquired many skills that are not necessarily measured by the TOEFL or IELTS, for example, presentation skills and note-taking.
Q: To Moon: What is the best location to choose for ESL program?
A [Moon Chen]: You may go on the web site to locate proper ESL programs at proper schools. There are also some publications on it, but I think going on web site is faster and easier.
AIT Moderator: Our web chat session today will end in 5 minutes. We welcome additional questions for our speakers.
To find out how to get more information and talk to an EducationUSA Advisor, log-on to: www.educationusa.org.tw.
Q [Yeh, Flora]: To Tim: Before going to the U.S. to get my Ph.D degree, I hope that my vocabulary size and vocabulary knowledge are enough. May I ask a question about: how many words are enough (vocabulary size) for me to study in U.S. university and live there to deal with everything or communicate with native English speakers? Thank you very much?
A [Timothy Wilson]: There is no specific size of vocabulary that will guarantee you will do well at the Ph.D level. The common measurements most universities use are the TOEFL and GRE exam. If you are able to understand and do well on the verbal section of the GRE exam, I would say that your vocabulary size is adequate. However, other ways to improve your vocabulary would be to watch English speaking TV or radio on a regular basis to see how much you comprehend. In addition, you can contact the specific Ph.D program you are interested in and find out the textbooks they use in some of their classes and then order them in advance to see how familiar you are with the English terms of your specific area.
Q [Chrisine, Wang]: To Tim: Do I need a letter of reference for ESL program?
A [Timothy Wilson]: For most ESL programs, you do not need a letter of reference for an ESL Program.
[Moon Chen]: Well, I hope what I have done here is helpful to you all. You are most welcome to visit the American education fair tomorrow and day after at Howard Hotel (Foo Hua). See you there, then.
[Timothy Wilson]: Thank all of you for taking the time to ask such great questions! I hope that I will be able to meet with you and answer any other questions that you may have at the AIEF Education Fair this weekend in Taipei. Thank you again, and I look forward to meeting you in person, Tim Wilson.
[Larry Francis]: Thank you for all of your great questions! I will be happy to try to answer any other questions you have. I will be at the AIEF education fair this weekend in Taipei, Kaoshiung on Monday and Taichung on Tuesday. Please stop by to my booth to meet me.
AIT Moderator: Thank you all for joining us today. We hope you found it helpful. Please join us on 4/25 for another session on financial aid and scholarships.
Q [eh, Flora]: To Tim: If I go to study in the U.S., which state is warmer and it is similar with Taiwan's climate? Actually, I am afraid that the weather is too cold or too hot; then, I couldn't have a good performance about my studying in the USA. Thanks a lot.
A [Timothy Wilson]: I personally believe that Florida and other states like Texas or Georgia would be places that are similar in climate to Taiwan.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)
Copyright (c) 2007 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.