International students experience English

English tutor Barry Dean started class Saturday the way he normally does.

“I always like to ask at the beginning of class if you have any questions about English or life in Bloomington,” Dean said after introducing himself.

Hiro Hayakawa, a graduate student from Japan, had a question.

“I heard this expression, but I cannot find this expression in my dictionary,” he said.

“One of my classmates said that he alluded to he jacked around this weekend. I was wondering what this means.”Dean laughed.

He got up and wrote the phrase “he jacked around” on a dry erase board in the room.

“It means he didn’t do anything important, significant. He wasted time. You don’t need to know that in your active vocabulary that’s pretty, pretty causal,” he said.

The two students took notes in their notebooks.

“Chances are pretty good you’re not going to hear a professor use this term, at least not in the classroom,” Dean said. “Students will use a lot of slang. This is a good example of slang.”

Dean has been a tutor with the Practical English Tutorial Program for 10 years. The program runs from noon to 1 p.m. every Saturday and partners native English speakers with international students to develop their English language skills.

Students and tutors come in, are assigned partners and a topic for conversation and then chat for an hour to an hour and a half.

Program organizers said it allows members of IU’s international community to have an
opportunity to practice speaking English in a relaxed, low stress environment.

Most of the students are intermediate English speakers and come to the PET to get extra practice on the nuances of conversational English.

“The idea for these small groups is that you will have more interaction,” said Sandra Britton, director of the International Center. “We have English language programs because the language barrier is the main block as far as academics.”

Another program that helps international students learn English is the English Conversation Club, a more structured course that meets three times a week to talk and practice the English language.

On Feb. 14, the Conversation Club sponsored a Valentine’s Day party, complete with Valentine’s Day-themed English exercises. They completed a crossword puzzle with English words and phrases like “wedding,” “blind date” and “hit it off.”

“You might know these if you read Anne Landers,” volunteer Mary DePew said. “Do you know what Anne Landers is?”

DePew is a long-time volunteer and has taught the English Conversation Clubs for 10 years. Before that, she was a third grade teacher for 25 years. She also points out idioms and other parts of conversational English that may not necessarily translate
precisely.

“I try to speak slowly, carefully and pronounce my words to make sure everyone understands,” she said. “You just hope they’re on the same level. If I know they are uncomfortable, I won’t call on them and hope they catch on and gain confidence.”