April 22, 1998
CONTACT: Timothy McKernan, (619) 594-2588
Lessons in Understanding.com
Electronic mail is the linchpin of an innovative program designed to help international exchange students at San Diego State University and newly arrived immigrant students at Hoover High School improve their English language skills. The e-mail exchange is one element in the collaborative SDSU-Hoover High curriculum project "Schools for a New Millennium" being considered for funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
SDSU students in Professor Ann Johns' Developmental Writing for International or Bilingual Students class and Hoover students in Rita El Wardi's English as a Second Language (ESL) class used e-mail to exchange ideas about Jesse Jackson’s observation that, "... America is more like a quilt -- many pieces, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread."
“The use of e-mail transforms the writing process into live, immediate communication, and increases student motivation to practice English writing skills,” said Elsie Begler, director of the International Studies Education Project at SDSU and the program's principal investigator. “The international students learn first hand about the cultural diversity of American society while the Hoover students benefit from developing relationships with college students who, like themselves, are struggling to learn English."
The Hoover students will exhibit a quilt they made to accompany their essays to an audience of teachers, parents and SDSU students on Tuesday, April 28, at 9:30 a.m. For more information, or to arrange interviews, please call Timothy McKernan at (619) 594-2588.