Malli Fowler

Connie Douglas
UWRT 1101-001
7 November, 2016
To Study in America

The observer sat in a green chair in the heart of the Popp Martin Student Union on
October 12th, 2016 around six pm. While the observer was watching her fellow students enter
and exit the union, she noticed a reoccurring pattern. There was large groups of students, around
ten to fifteen, walking closely together coming through the Union every twenty minutes or so.
The observer noticed each student appeared exactly the same and communicated in the same
language, a language that the observer could not comprehend. She noticed that these students
looked very lost and out of place. The observer came to the conclusion that these lost students
were new international students. The group of students appeared to be from an Asian country
from their physical features, possibly Japan, China, or Korea. She observed eight males and six
females. The students took approximately ten minutes to decide where they wanted to eat, either
Wendys or Bojangles. The observer found it intriguing that all fourteen students had a mindset
that they all had to eat at the same restaurant. After the ten minutes passed, the students began to
order from Wendys, but the students clearly were struggling with the menu listed above them.
After every meal was ordered, the students walked as a whole to a table in the back to sit down,
study and eat. The observer watched them as they ate their meal quickly in silence, and left the
building. An outsider would notice that international students work extremely hard to succeed at
American universities and overcome the language barrier.

The United States is hosting approximately one million international students in public
and private institutions. In the mid-1950s, international student enrollment was just reaching
35,000 according to Envisage International Corporation. As of 2015, the Chinese currently have
the most students with over 300,000 students enrolled and India in second with around 130,000
students. Based of the research from the Institute of International Education, a large majority of
international students are studying business or engineering while agriculture and education are
studied the least. Recently, there has been a vast increase in Saudi Arabian students coming to
America, making them the fourth-largest population of international students with approximately
60,000 students according to a report by Inside Higher ed.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has offered the English Language Training
Institute (ELTI) since 1978. The ELTI is an international student program that focuses on
providing intensive English instruction for students planning to attend U.S universities.
According to Dr. Rohany Nayan, an instructor and team member of ELTI, there are 150-200
students enrolled every semester ranging from eigthteen to fifty years old. These students attend
class Monday - Friday from 9-2pm, which is very different from the average college student who
makes their own schedule. For a student to apply to the ELTI program, they must provide bank
documents showing that a balance of $23,000 is available for student/F1 visa. The 23,000 dollars
is the estimated expenses for an academic year of study, including tuition, fees, insurance, books,
housing and meals. If a student can not afford the 23,000 dollars, they must be sponsored by
another family, government or university as there are no scholarship opportunities for ELTI
students. Dr. Rohany Nayan explained that many sponsors stop sending money or miss a
deadline, which unfortunately, leads to removing many students from the program.

The English Language Training Institute works very closely with their students to ensure
they are comfortable with their surroundings. Learning English can be very challenging, but
having to adapt to a completely new culture can add more stress on these students as well. ELTI
offers counseling services as well as movie nights, coffee hour, and speed friending to make their
students feel welcomed and safe. As of 2016, the program offers six levels of English placement.
Dr. Rohany Nayan taught level four, five and six in her previous years but has branched out to
teaching level one students this year. Dr. Nayan indicated that level one students work very hard
to understand basic English grammar and syntax while higher levels are working on complex
sentences structure and communication. ELTI students work very profoundly to break the
language barrier so they can succeed in American universities and jobs.
One could argue that international students work harder than American students because
international students have a goal they are expected to reach. Shaymah Allabah, an international
student from Saudi Arabia, is working on her masters in cardiac sciences here at UNCC.
Shaymah states that from her five years of studying here, she has noticed that her peers and her
seem to be more intrigued and focused in class than other students. She explained that the
opportunity to study here in America is a privilege and they can not let down their families who
sent them here. She also stated that the students sent from other countries to America, are the
best of the best, so they are expected to perform well and try their hardest. International students
have an abundance of pressure on them from outside sources but many people seem to neglect
the pressure the feel from the inside. The pressure to conform, make friends, and understand a
new language can weigh them down. It is truly inspiring to see how hard internationaal students
work to better their education for themselves, and for their country.

Works Cited

Allabah, Shaymah. Personal Interview. 15 Oct. 2016

"English Language Training Institute." English Language Training Institute. UNCC, n.d. Web.
25 Oct. 2016.
"International Students in the United States." International Students in the United States.
Institute of International Education, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
Nayan, Rohany. Personal Interview. 21 Oct. 2016
"Other Colleges Report Declines In International Enrollment." Community College Week 28.29
(2016): 23. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
"Study in the USA Guide for International Students." International Student. Envisage
International Corporation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.