Adjusting to the American collegiate lifestyle is difficult for any arriving student, but for some international graduate students, the adjustment can be quite a challenge.
To help out these students, every year the International Center directs the Intercultural Conversation Program, through which incoming international graduate students are paired up with English−speaking faculty, staff and students to help them practice English and adjust to life in the United States. For most of these students, it is their first time coming to the United States and entering an American university setting.
The program started in 1996 as a response to the needs of international graduate students. "The program is for students to get acculturated, to have an English speaker help them with adjusting and asking day−to−day questions," Jane Etish−Andrews, director of the International Center, said.
In order to participate, international graduate students and the undergraduate English−speaking students fill out a survey at the beginning of the year. "We try to pair them with someone that has similar interests, and we have had very good pairs that have become very good friends," Fletcher student Barbara Bravo Flores, the program coordinator of the Intercultural Conversation Program, said.
The English−speaking students participate in the program because of different motivations. The program is a requirement for the residents of the International House (I−House). "It is their community service contribution," Etish−Andrews said. The International Center also recruits returning study abroad students for the program.
Sophomore and I−House resident Kia Widlo said that participating in this program was a rewarding experience.
"It is a program where I can meet someone that I probably wouldn't meet otherwise, and it is an exchange of culture, understanding and views," she said. "It is a way to gain a friend and build a relationship that you otherwise might not be able to."
For sophomore Christina Aguirre, the program has gone beyond the weekly one−hour meetings.
"[My partner] has become an older sister to me," Aguirre said. "She is always there, and we have a true friendship. We are always exchanging our cultures."
Aguirre got involved in the program through the student activities fair last year. After their successful pairing, she and her partner decided to keep participating this year.
"We still wanted to meet, and we decided to still be a part of the program and the events," Aguirre said. "I'm actually surprised more people don't do that."
Most of the graduate students who sign up for the program speak Asian languages. "They are very talented in their subject fields, but they don't have the conversational day−to−day English," Etish−Andrews said.
Bravo Flores explains that through the program, there are significant improvements in the students' English skills.
"For them, it's really important to feel more comfortable speaking English," she said. "Probably in their classes they can speak, but the program gives them a way to improve their English without feeling a pressure of being in the class."
"My oral English is not perfect, and through the program, Kia taught me a lot," Feiting Cheng, a graduate student who has partnered with Widlo in the program, said. "[Now] I know more about how native young people use language through cell phones or e−mail, which has helped me make friends," she said.
The conversational aspect is not the only benefit of the program. "The undergraduate students know what the lifestyle here is like, and they can give [international students] tips on where to shop and where to socialize," Etish−Andrews said.
"It's very valuable for me to know how native young people live in this country, so sometimes I ask Kia about what I learn or hear from American people," Cheng said.
The program not only benefits graduate foreign students, but the English speakers as well. "For the undergraduate, it gives them insight into graduate education, what it's like to come on your own and what the person might be studying," Etish−Andrews said.
Although the International Center initially sets up the pairs, the functionality of the program depends entirely on the participants. "The English speaker should start the contact, because probably the new student doesn't feel that comfortable writing an e−mail or speaking on the phone," Brave Flores said. "They decide when to meet, and then an evaluation is done every semester to see how much they are meeting."
Although the majority of the meetings are organized by the pairs, the International Center tries to organize group gatherings throughout the year. "One of the objectives of the program is to help the graduates feel more comfortable in this new culture," Bravo Flores said. "We have pumpkin carving, and a Thanksgiving dinner organized by the [International Center], where we invite all the people in the program because they do not know the meaning of the holiday."
With the purpose of exchanging cultures equally, a Chinatown dinner was planned before winter break so that the Chinese graduate students could contribute to the cultural exchange.
"I really liked to share Chinese food with Americans," Cheng said. "I was surprised that Kia liked it. It's the first time I know that some Chinese values or traditions can be shared with somebody else and that they can appreciate it."
Furthermore, Bravo Flores emphasized that the weekly meetings do not have to be a burden. "You don't need to have strict meetings," she said. "We suggest [the pairs] to have lunch, shopping or go anywhere."
Exploring the Boston area and helping the graduate student get to know the city is always helpful, according to graduate student Arash Ahmadzadegan, a participant in the program. "The first time we went to downtown Boston, we went to a shop because I wanted to try some shoes to find out my size in American standard," Ahmadzadegan said. "When I tried one of them, [my partner] Lauren sat down to tie it for me. It was so kind of her, and I didn't expect it, not in my culture I wouldn't have."
This year, the International Center also granted the program participants free passes for the Dining Around the World events organized by Tufts Dining Services. "It is another way that we try to get them together so they can experience different cultures," Bravo said.
Many colleges and universities have similar programs for international students, but the Tufts program is unique in that the English speaker is not necessarily always American.
"You could have a non−native English speaker paired with an incoming first−year graduate student who won't have the same language skills as the undergraduate international student does," Etish−Andrews said. "It's not just an American that they are placed with, but it's with a good English international speaker. It's interesting, and it works."
Currently, there are around 17 pairs meeting regularly, but Bravo said that there is more demand for English speakers, since many graduate students are interested.
