Webinar: Recruiting And Retaining International Students: Designing Support Services To Meet Their Needs

Date: Wednesday, May 28, 3:00-4:30 (Eastern)
Type: Online webinar

Post-secondary institutions facing enrollment shortages often recruit international, English Language Learners (ELL) and English as A Second Language (ESL) students to bolster their rolls. Yet do these organizations really understand the needs, desires, and nuances affecting international student programs? Some post-secondary institutions neglect to do their research on developing quality education and services for these specialized populations resulting in attrition, the very problem that attracting these students is intended to solve. Often, this attrition results from a lack of planning, poor status of the program, insufficient understanding of the student population, and/or inadequate support services.

This webinar will question participants' assumptions about international students and English Language Learners (ELLs) and explain commonalities and differences among students in these populations. The presenter will feature effective academic strategies for faculty and staff, and highlight research designed to advise program administrators on successful strategies for program building and support at the student services level.

Objectives: 

- Challenge their assumptions about international students and English Language Learners (ELLs)
- Differentiate commonalities and differences in ELL demographics
- Examine factors that affect ELLs' learning and cultural adjustment
- Build empathy for the challenges that ELLs sometimes overcome
- Analyze common methods institutions use to measure ELL language proficiency
- Explore strategies for enhancing instructor and staff classroom and group dynamics for ELLs, as well as reading and vocabulary comprehension
- Explore comprehensible input and use this understanding to communicate effectively with ELLs
- Investigate general functions of successful international student services offices
- Critique the status of traditional international/ELL programs
- Examine trends in ELL programs
- Identify useful academic support services for ELLs/ international students
- Explore ways to enhance the social development of international students/ELLs

Website: http://www.innovativeeducators.org/product_p/2146.htm