Center for English as a Second Language - CESL

Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs visited Southern Illinois University Carbondale today and met with CESL students currently participating in the CESL Community Engagement Program (CEP). Mike's visit with CEP students was part of larger visit to SIUC to meet with SIUC Chancellor Austin Lane and to give a talk at SIUC's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. Mike graciously spent an hour with the CEP students answering their questions and talking about his work. It was a great opportunity and a great treat for the CEP students, who were impressed both by Mike personally and also by his big height - 6'8"!

Yesterday, students from Japan's Kyoto University of Foreign Studies studying in CESL's Community Engagement Program visited nearby Murphysboro High School and held a Japanese Culture Fair there for members of the Murphysboro Multicultural Club. Everyone had a lot of fun and learned a lot! Thanks to CESL Assistant Lecturer Geoff Young for setting the event up. This is what community engagement is all about! Yeah!

Students in CESL's Community Engagement and U.S. Culture Immersion Programs engage in a variety of meaningful as well as fun activities in the community, from serving meals in an organization that provides them to needy persons and assisting with planting in a local community garden to enjoying an SIU women's soccer match and visiting a local art gallery. In all cases, students are asked to think about their experiences, reflecting on their cultural dimensions and on how they compare with similar experiences in their own countries.

Welcome students from Kyoto University of Foreign Studies in Kyoto, Japan! This group is here to participate in CESL's unique and innovative Community Engagement Program . The 16 students in the group arrived last Friday and hit the ground running, joining us for a Carbondale free music event, part of "Off the Rails," Carbondale's Free Concert Series.

Our CESL students had the opportunity to meet an SIU basketball star this weekend and we had a great first day of classes today. We are grateful for such a great start to our Fall semester.

It was an action-packed first weekend of the term and of the semester this past weekend for CESL students. They participated in a variety of fun activities, and they even got a chance to meet both SIUC Chancellor Austin Lane and SIU's beloved Gray Dawg! Despite the high temperatures, a great time was had by all, as is clear from the students' big smiles!

It was an exciting orientation week at CESL because we welcomed 18 students from Colombia sponsored by ATENEA & Fulbright Colombia, and 23 students from Soka University, Reitaku University, and Tokushima University in Japan. We also welcomed students from China, Russia, Guatemala, Egypt, and South Korea. We are excited about starting another multicultural term here in CESL at SIUC. 🐾

Farewell to CESL's departing students! We held a delightful event today at beautiful Giant City Lodge to celebrate the accomplishments of these students, which are many. We enjoyed a delicious fried chicken lunch and then took turns expressing our thoughts and emotions on the occasion. Finally, despite the rainy weather, we took some great pictures. What a great, fun, kind, and capable group! They will go far in life and it has been CESL's privilege to be able to help each of them a bit along their paths. We will miss these wonderful students but will always stay in touch.

Let the farewells begin! This is the last week of the summer term and a few students already started their journeys towards the next step on their academic careers. We are proud to see how much their English skills have improved by watching their final presentations and we cherish the last couple field trips with them.

The students had a great time on the CESL trip to St Louis last week. They were able to visit several sites including the arch, zoo, museums, and more. Most importantly, they were able to spend quality time together as many of them will be graduating and leaving CESL soon.

Four current CESL Fulbright scholars are in the news! Congratulations to Francisco Javier Moreno, Samuel Enrique Bello Ulcue, Francisco Javier León Asencio, and Juan David Cervantes Pico for their participation in the first Fulbright program to support the organization Jóvenes en Acción of Colombia, an entity that aims to help vulnerable youth around the world! Please see below.

It has been a great summer at CESL! We went to Poplar Camp Beach, grilled out and watched fireworks for independence day, and hanged out at the Sunset Concert. We are getting ready to wrap up the term with a day trip to St Louis this weekend. Time flies when you are having fun 😁

Just when you thought it could not get better .. two more of CESL's 2023 Fulbright scholars, Ludmille Lyvert, from Haiti, and Marial Manyiel, from South Sudan, share their own unique personal stories with Fred Martino, Executive Director of WSIU, SIU's National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting System station. Despite their very impressive life accomplishments even at relatively young ages, Ludmille's and Marial great humility and magnanimity come through in this interview. We in CESL feel so privileged to be able to share in the personal and professional development of young scholars who give us so much hope for the future of the world.

Please have a look at the video by clicking on the image!

Eye on Education | Center for English as a Second Language - Part 4 The Center for English as a Second Language at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has an active immersive learning program that welcomes scholars from a...

We had a lot of fun taking our CESL students to see one of the many wineries on the Shawnee Hill Wine Trail. Beautiful scenery, delicious food, and great company 😊

The SIU International Student Council is pleased to invite you to the International Student Council's (ISC) Summer Picnic Saturday, June 24th) from 11:00 - 2:00 pm at Bucky's Haven on the SIU campus near the lake. The event is free to everyone and will feature a variety of international cuisines, international music, dancing, and games. As we expect it will be HOT, we suggest that all planning to attend bring a blanket or sheet to sit on, dress anticipating the heat (wear sunscreen, bring sunglasses, a hat, and an umbrella), and carry a full water bottle. All international students, faculty, staff, guests, and friends are welcome!
A flyer and Google map link are attached:

https://goo.gl/maps/U5BtTe6Xz1TfRKTN8

Our CESL students that are also part of the Latin American Students Association (LASA) had a lot of fun representing their countries at the Hispanic Heritage fair in Marion, IL. All of them are amazing Ambassadors of their countries 😊

We are excited to welcome our new CESL students. This diverse group has students from Ecuador, Taiwan, Venezuela, and Colombia.

The students in CESL's Community Engagement Program give their service to our local community in a variety of ways, from teaching local kids about their countries to meeting, chatting, and sharing activities with local seniors and making their day that much brighter! CESL's students are really making a positive impact on our community!

Another great day representing CESL and SIU at the NAFSA conference. It was great meeting Diana Basto in person, the Executive Director of Fulbright Colombia. We are very excited about all of the future programs between our 2 institutions.

CESL is at NAFSA! Lili is there representing CESL and strengthening our current relationship with organizations such as IIE. We are also looking to foster new relationships with other universities and international education organizations around the world.

CESL's Community Engagement Program (CEP) got off to a great start this week with the students volunteering with, among other organizations, Habitat for Humanity and START (Specialized Training for Adult Rehabilitation). There was also a visit to WSIU, SIU's public broadcaster. In the CEP, students get unique experiences interacting with local organizations and persons, using their growing English skills, and doing their parts to improve lives in the local community. The students also get a chance to tell their stories to a regional audience. Unforgettable experiences all around!

Iron Chef Competition at Ambassador Hall, April 29, 2023! It was a great time for everyone, and many CESL students demonstrated what excellent cooks they are! The luckiest people were us judges who got to taste everything!

My last stop visiting partners in Japan was at Tokushima University. It was great seeing Itsuki and Tomohiro, from our in-person program this Spring. I was also able to catch up with Saho and Fumina, from our online programs over the last couple of years. Both presentations had more attendants than expected and the TU students showed a lot of interest in our program. In a way, Tokushima reminded me of Carbondale, a smaller town, surrounded by nature, with a lot of friendly people. This visit was the perfect way to wrap up the trip 😊✌️🌏

This is great news for our incoming students this August!

- Flights from Marion to Chicago are officially happening. The U.S. DOT released its order selecting Contour Airlines to provide air service at Veterans Airport. Contour will take over the federal contract currently held by Cape Air with an expected start date of August 1. Cape Air will continue operations until the day Contour begins. Contour will provide service to Chicago O'Hare with 30 seat regional jet aircraft.

📸 | Contour Airlines

Today, I had the opportunity to talk to about 100 students at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (KUFS) about CESL's Community Engagement Program. Some of them are coming to Carbondale this August, some will participate online next February, and I believe many more will join us the next academic year. The KUFS faculty and staff were wonderful hosts and took me around their magnificent city. We really are lucky at CESL to have such wonderful partners!

I had a fantastic visit at Soka University today. Thirteen of our previous students came out to support CESL and to share their experiences at our center with future students. Toshi and his team were very welcoming and took me on a tour of the beautiful SU campus. I even got to see Karen, the Soka chaperone for our first Soka group in 2020. We are looking forward to welcoming a new group of Soka students this August and continuing our work with Soka University for many years to come.

Our friends at Reitaku University were such wonderful hosts today. Hiroko san, and her team at the international office, helped me plan a nice visit. Our CESL alumni, Honoka and Nagisa, led a tour of the beautiful RU campus. We were able to connect with 2 new students, Yuki and Ami, who are joining CESL this Fall. Many other interested students came to see the presentation about our CESL programs. We also shared a delicious lunch at the RU cafeteria and dinner at a local restaurant. We are very grateful to have such wonderful partner institutions in Japan!

Another great day exploring Southern Illinois with our CESL students. We visited the Harmony Trail in the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. We saw an eagle, snakes, deer, etc. Finally, we had a delicious cookout at campus lake and got to enjoy today's beautiful weather. That's what a call a perfect CESL day 😊

CESL students participate in Maple Syrup Festival at nearby Touch of Nature. Lots of activities and, of course, a pancake breakfast. Those pancakes sure looked good! In addition to great teachers and great classes, CESL students experience English in our beautiful local environment!

Last week CESL celebrated SIU's International Festival 2023. The first day kicked off, as it does every year, with the Parade of Flags in which students carry the flags of their countries, and CESL students participated energetically! The parade started at the SIU Center for International Education and finished at the SIU Student Center, where there was an assembly of students, faculty, staff, and members of the community, including the Mayor of Carbondale. Talks were given emphasizing the value and importance of SIU's diverse community of international students, which includes this year 15 Fulbright scholars from around the world who will study in CESL until the end of the summer. We are very happy to work with these wonderful students and their number seems to grow every year! They join an already diverse CESL student body, and we couldn't be more excited. Yay CESL!

This weekend CESL welcomed 20 Japanese students from Soka University and Tokushima University International Center. We invite everyone in the community to say "Hi!" when you see them going around town during the next few weeks 😁

CAMPUS ALERT:
SIU campus closed 6 a.m. 1/31 to re-open 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Due to the conditions caused by the winter storm, Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be closed Tuesday January 31. This is an administrative closure. All classes (face to face, hybrid and online) will be canceled and will not be delivered remotely. Residence halls, residential dining and the Rec Center will remain open as will the Department of Public Safety. All other campus buildings and offices will be closed.
Essential personnel should report to work, but no other employee should report to work during the closure. Employees who have questions should consult their supervisors.
At this time, the university is scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Wednesday February 1. The university will continue to monitor the weather forecast and road conditions, and provide updates on campus operations as necessary.

-Residential dining centers will be open 11am - 8pm
-The Rec Center will be open from 11am-8pm.
Grounds workers will be clearing sidewalks, steps and parking lots as weather conditions permit. Avoid unnecessary travel and please use extreme caution as you move about campus.

I had a lot of fun today attending the SIU women's basketball game with our CESL students. Go Salukis!!!

On this Thanksgiving, we are grateful for our CESL students, teachers, and staff. Thank you everyone for participating in the Thanksgiving Potluck. Every dish was delicious and we especially enjoyed your company and kindness. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We had a lot of fun celebrating Halloween with our CESL students today 🎃 Happy Halloween everyone

The CESL team is all ready to host the CIE International Coffee Hour today at 3pm. Come join us 😊

CESL has the privilege of working online this term with two wonderful groups of English language teachers from Latin America, one from Colombia and one from Nicaragua. Instruction is designed to enhance the English language skills of the teachers, who are finding time in their very busy schedules to participate. The Colombian program, sponsored by Fulbright Colombia, is providing professional development opportunities not available in the past to teachers from all over the Colombian Department (province) of Bolivar, including many teachers in rural areas. The Nicaraguan teachers are working at the Centro Cultural Nicaragüense Norteamericano - CCNN and are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. We in CESL are so excited to be able to contribute to the development of English language education in the two countries, and one look at the smiling faces in these pictures makes clear that all are happy to be involved! Good luck to everyone!

We had a lot of fun with our CESL students during our Fall hike at the Garden of the Gods in the Shawnee National Forest. The weather was perfect, the fall colors were amazing, and the company was even better

Lili will be representing CESL & SIU at BMI's Americas Scholarship Summit today and tomorrow in Bogota, Colombia. We are looking forward to starting new relationships with partners around the world.