English tutorials help students

It is the Saturday afternoon before finals and several international students have chosen to spend it with one another scattered between the two floors of the Leo R. Dowling International Center. In an environment where they both struggle and thrive, being an international student is the common trait that links them all together.\nPractice English Tutorials, or "PET," is a program that takes place from noon to 1 p.m. every Saturday at the Center. It allows attendees to improve their English by connecting them with native speakers. PET also encourages the establishment of new friendships, no matter which country or continent one is from. \nFew of the international students are entirely fluent, although many take Intensive English Program classes. Like most language classes, IEP classes focus on grammar but not always on conversation proficiency. By practicing with native speakers, students said they hope to improve their conversation skills.\nIn one of the rooms, a group of five students gather together at a table with one native speaker. The native speaker is an American volunteer who serves as the conversation guide and also as a liaison between the students. There are only Asian students in this room, but they come from different countries and speak different languages. They depend on the American volunteer to help them to understand each other. By the middle of the hour, the conversation has led to several different topics.\n"My son is looking for an interesting place to see," one man said to the rest of the group. "I don't know where it is."\nAnother offered his opinion. "Lake Monroe?"\n"You want to hear about some places to take your children?" the American volunteer asked the rest of the group.\nThe group then gave the inquiring man some suggestions. But, by the end of the hour, no one had been able to speak very much. The problem is a result of an unbalanced ratio: a large amount of international students and a small amount of tutors.\nChika Harada, from Osaka, Japan, is the International Center's general program assistant this summer. She supervises PET and said she is always glad to see the large turnout of international students that participate in the program. Yet, her smile fades and she takes on a serious tone when she speaks of the shortage of American volunteers.\n"(PET is) not working well right now," Harada said. "We don't have enough tutors so we try to send e-mails, but it's not going how we expected."\nA shortage of anything is not uncommon in the summer months when most IU students have returned home. Saturday afternoon is also not the most desirable time for those who are still here to sacrifice their free time. Nonetheless, many international students have just arrived to IU this summer and desperately want to improve their English skills before classes begin. \nPET program instructor John Stevens is one of the center's volunteers who showed up Saturday to tutor international students. Not only did he show up Saturday, but he also promised his group that in the fall he would come every morning if they would like to keep practicing. Like Harada, he encourages more native speakers to volunteer their time.\n"Anybody can do it who speaks English … who will encourage students to string together the English they know into sentences," Stevens said.\nStevens led a small group Saturday, consisting of only him and two others. Yan Zhou, a student from Beijing, and Dr. Igor de Gandarias, a composer and researcher in Latin American music from Guatemala City, Guatemala, accompanied Stevens. It might have been the first time the three all came together with one another, but they did not shy away from intense topics. They were small enough in number to create an intimate setting. \n"Are you aware of cultural differences every day in your lives here?" Stevens asked Zhou and de Gandarias.\n"I do not feel a huge difference between the Chinese and the Americans," Zhou said.\nResponding to another one of Stevens' questions concerning the American family, Zhou produced a thoughtful answer. \n"I know some people say Americans do not have family (values), but I don't think it's true. Many American parents pay attention to their children's studies," Zhou said, referring to IU parents who pay additional costs for their children to attend summer school.\nZhou has been in the United States only a little more than a year, but his dedication to overcome the language barrier is exemplified in his many visits to the International Center. This is Zhou's eighth time participating in PET.\nDe Gandarias is not a stranger to the United States. He earned his doctorate in composition from The Catholic University. In addition to earning a scholarship, he said he chose to study in the United States because of how easy it can be to access information. De Gandarias also said he believes it is much easier to communicate in the United States and said this distinguishes the country from other countries. Saturday was his first time participating in the PET program.\nArriving in Bloomington only a month ago, de Gandarias is settling into the Hoosier environment. He said so far he believes IU was a good choice. \n"I feel the people are very friendly," de Gandarias said. "But the difficulty for me is the communication and always the language barrier."\nThe International Center is continually seeking American volunteers for their PET program. For more information, visit their Web site at www.indiana.edu/~intlcent.