Molly Anthony, Ellen Baumgartner, and Christopher Mulvey, all full-time instructors at INTERLINK, were selected to give presentations at the latest Carolina TESOL Conference, which was held in Spartanburg, SC from November 7-10, 2012. Carolina TESOL is a bi-state (NC and SC) organization whose purpose is to improve the quality of education for English language learners and to promote effective intercultural communication and understanding. Carolina TESOL hosts an annual conference every fall that includes educators from all levels of instruction who work with second-language learners. The specific presentations were as follows:

· Anthony: “Preparing Nonnative Speakers for Reading and Writing in Graduate School”
· Baumgartner: "Using Autobiographies to Bridge the Gap between Informal and Formal Writing"
· Mulvey: “Second Language Acquisition Through Task-based Learning and Teaching”

Next fall’s meeting will take place in Myrtle Beach, SC. This event will be particularly important since Carolina TESOL will be hosting the Southeast Regional Conference, which includes ESL educators from eleven states in the southeast region of the US.

INTERLINK Honors Reception

This past summer, INTERLINK began recognizing students every nine-week term who had earned all As during their previous term. In order to be eligible for this recognition, students must earn As in all three of their INTERLINK classes (Reading and Writing, Communication Skills, Modules). On November 19, a reception was held to honor twenty-two INTERLINK students who qualified for this award based on their final grades from the 2012 Fall 1 term (August through October). Dr. Brad Teague, INTERLINK’s Director, presented each of the achievers with a certificate. Congratulations!

INTERLINK Honors Reception Awardees for Fall 1 term

Graduating Students Esslam Zahrani (Saudi Arabia) and Meicen Jin (China)

Esslam Zahrani, a student from Saudi Arabia, is in his final nine-week term at INTERLINK. He has been in the intensive English-as-a-second-language program for exactly one year and will graduate in December.  Esslam has been conditionally admitted to UNCG as an undergraduate and plans to major in Information Systems. He says he chose this field because of the growing demand for professionals with technology-focused degrees in Saudi Arabia. Esslam has already started networking with UNCG students who are in the program, asking them about the projects they are doing so that he can be better prepared for the work he himself will be expected to do. Esslam is very happy with the INTERLINK program and has recommended it to two of his friends and to his younger brother, Ahmed, who will begin in January 2013.

Meicen Jin is from Guangzhou, China and came to INTERLINK last spring with plans to learn English so that she could study in the US. After spending one year in INTERLINK’s intensive program, Meicen will graduate this December. She has already been conditionally accepted into UNCG’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in Dance (Choreography) and, like Esslam, will automatically fulfill the university’s language-proficiency requirement when
she completes INTERLINK. Meicen says she chose INTERLINK and UNCG because of the friendly, academic, and culturally diverse environments they provide. She is an accomplished ballet dancer in China and plans to focus on contemporary and modern dance while at UNCG.

Pamela Harrod (Director of International Admissions at UNCG) and Hao Zhang (Director of the University Preparatory Program [UPP] for New Mind Education at UNCG) went to China and Vietnam recently. The main purpose of the trip was twofold: to promote The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), the INTERLINK Language Center, and New Mind Education; and to understand both the Chinese and Vietnamese international recruitment landscape.

"There are so many publications about recruiting students in China, but we wanted to find out for ourselves what the environment was like and how we can help recruit quality students to UNCG,” said Hao.

Pam Harrod and Hao Zhang with Maggie Cheng (their host in Chengdu) in front of Yinxing Hospitality Management College	Pam meets with the mother of a current New Mind student

In Beijing, Pam and Hao met with local high school students to discuss UNCG’s admission requirements. Then they traveled to Xi’an (home of the famous terracotta warriors), toured Xidian University, one of the top universities in the Shaanxi province, and met with university officials who are interested in more collaboration with US universities to build international programs for their students. Pam and Hao then traveled to Chengdu (home of the Chinese pandas) and Zhengzhou (the site of the Shaolin temple). Pam and Hao visited and presented at Yinxing Hospitality Management College and Henan University of Technology, showing eager students how to be successful in US universities and introducing them to UNCG and Greensboro.

“It was amazing to see so many students interested in studying in the US, both for undergraduate and graduate
programs. Many of them were excited and wished to learn more about UNCG,” Pam said.  Pam and Hao also visited three high schools in Jiaxin, one of the many suburbs in Shanghai. One of the schools they visited already had partnerships with Canadian high schools and universities.

“I think many other countries have recognized the financial impact of international students and have invested early in building a program that fits with the needs of these students. Through this trip, we met many students, parents, teachers, and principals, which gave us a chance to identify opportunities for UNCG,” Hao said.

Pam and Hao in front of the Terracotta Warriors site in Xi’an, China	Pam and Hao with Toan Tran (their host in Vietnam) at a UNCG promotional event in Saigon, Vietnam

Pam and Hao next travelled to Vietnam. According to the recent Open Door report, Vietnam ranked eighth among the countries sending the most international students to study in the US. Working with Golden Path Academics, a local education consulting company, Pam and Hao visited local high schools in Hanoi and Saigon and met with parents and students at UNCG promotional events.

“Vietnam is a blend of old and new, with an excellent education system.  Vietnamese students are well-prepared for university study in the US. We look forward to bringing more students to UNCG,” Pam said.

1Open Door Report