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International Neighbors Potluck Dinner | WESL Institute Begins Its 32nd Year | Welcome Back Party

International Neighbors Potluck Dinner

On Sunday, February 15, WIU and local community members hosted a potluck dinner for WIU’s international students. The potluck consisted of various international foods prepared by community members. The potluck served as the kickoff to this semester’s International Neighbors program. In this program, international students are paired with community members to provide an opportunity for cultural exchange. This time, eleven families and individual community members were paired with one or more international students.

WESL Institute Begins Its 32nd Year

WESL Institute, the intensive English as Second Language program for Western Illinois University, began its 32nd year of operations at the start of the Spring 2009 semester.  Founded in 1977, WESL currently has an enrollment of 55 international students from 15 countries. Each WESL student takes 20 hours of classes per week in speaking, listening, reading and writing. In addition, the students enjoy conversation and social interaction with members of the WIU and Macomb communities through the WESL Conversation Mentors Program. This semester, on Thursday mornings, 28 conversation mentors are conversing with the WESL students on a variety of cultural topics. The Conversation Mentors Program has become a key component of WESL Institute, providing the students with important linguistic and cultural input. Any interested WIU alumni and members of the community who would like to participate as volunteers in the WESL Conversation Mentors Program can contact Steve Kaesdorf at 309-298-1107 or 309-298-2501, or email S-Kaesdorf@wiu.edu.

Welcome Back Party

On February 25, the Office of Study Abroad and the Western Ambassadors for Study Abroad (WASA), a student group devoted to furthering the promotion of study abroad, hosted a Welcome Back Party for the students who have returned from their study abroad programs as well as the new incoming international exchange students. Pizza, soda and snacks were served, and students were able to share their recent study abroad experiences in a casual environment. Students also played games and enjoyed seeing each others' photos from abroad. A highlight of the evening was a conversation the students engaged in about cultural stereotyping and what it means to be a global citizen. WASA students were also able to promote their organization and encourage more students to join and participate in their activities.

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