On July 17th, 49 students from the English Language Institute (ELI) exchanged cultural experience with 50 domestic students from Jump START program at Missouri State University.
The event was started by Find Someone Who activity to get to know each other. The attendees then followed a question list to learn about students at their table in terms of their home country and the culture they represent. The questions were focusing on cultural differences such as communication styles, social orientation, values, perceptions, etc. Students were able to find what they have in common, and explore interesting fact about each other’s country and culture. Another fun session of the event was to quiz students about Missouri State University and International student population. The tables that had most correct answers won prizes.
In addition to interacting with domestic students, ELI students also got involved in the community over the summer session. 38 ELI students hosted the “Celebration of Nations” for about 55 campers from k-8 at the Downtown Ward YMCA on June 27th.
This co-curricular activity was aimed to: 1) help ELI students get into the community, practice English and share their culture with others. 2) help children build a better understanding of different cultures at a young age.
ELI students were divided into six groups by nations. There were three tables representing Saudi Arabia, one table for China, one table for Chile and Colombia, and one table for Korea and Japan. The YMCA campers took turn to visit each table, and learned about different cultures. ELI students were teaching campers about the food, clothes, language, traditions, games, and other cultural aspects from their home country.
Those two co-curricular activities were tied into ELI speaking and listening class. It is not only an interactive way for ELI students to practice English, but also a win-win situation for local population and international students to help each other build cultural competence.
