Wright State creates Pre-College Residential International English Institute

Wright State will offer summer program to teach English to international high school students and give them a U.S. college experience.

A two-week summer program designed to teach English to international high school students as well as give them a U.S. college experience and immerse them in American culture is being offered for the first time by Wright State University.

The Pre-College Residential International English Institute is a collaboration between the Office of Pre-College Programs, the University Center for International Education (UCIE) and the Learning English for Academic and Professional Purposes (LEAP) program.

The institute program will be held at Wright State on July 15–29. It is for international and English-as-their-second language students entering their sophomore, junior and senior years in high school. The $2,200 program fee includes 60 hours of English instruction, all meals, on-campus housing and any transportation to Wright State from Dayton International Airport and back. Weekend excursions may include museums, festivals, shopping and amusement parks.

The program is limited to 10 students and aimed at those who are intermediate users of English.

“We are hoping to appeal to both international students and locals who want to improve their English and get a taste of college life,” said Jeannette Horwitz, director of LEAP. “This is a really exciting collaboration between our three departments and one we hope will bring students to campus not only to attend the two-week course, but possibly come back to Wright State for their undergraduate studies after they finish high school.”

The institute will provide in-depth instruction on university-level English and American classroom culture. It will focus on academic writing, research, and vocabulary and help students understand class lectures and readings. Course topics may include note-taking, academic integrity, persuasive speaking and presenting data and visual information.

“We want to get them exposure to not only American university culture, but the classroom culture itself,” said Thomas Fenton, assistant director of LEAP. “We also want to give them access to campus resources like the library or computer labs and to meet with faculty, staff and other students.”

There are currently about 1,300 international students at Wright State. Elizabeth Turner, assistant director of Pre-College Programs, said the institute is a great way to reach out to siblings or cousins of international students attending Wright State.

Michelle Streeter-Ferrari, director of UCIE, said the institute program is among strategies to increase enrollment and diversify recruitment.

“For international students, their perception and understanding of what a university or college is like may be very, very different from that of American students,” said Stephanie Cheeseman, UCIE’s international student marketing and recruiting coordinator. “So this is an opportunity to see our campus, but more importantly to see if this is the right choice for them, get a taste of it.”

Parents and guardians of potential students will be able to get more information about the institute from Wright State staff members at the Miami Valley Camp Fair, which is free and will be held at the university’s Student Union on Saturday, March 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For additional information visit wright.edu/student-affairs/pre-college-programs.