The English Language Institute (ELI) at the College of Staten Island (CSI)/The City University of New York (CUNY) started its Spring semester term on January 21, 2020. The international office of CSI, the Center for Global Engagement, welcomed students from all over the world with an orientation session and an English placement test. These students will learn English until mid-May and many of them will return to their home countries, apply to CSI, or apply for a better job.
The ELI director, Gonzalo Villena, held a welcome and orientation session where he explained all the academic features of the program and the benefits they could get while learning English at the largest CUNY campus. “Our students will have the best experience of their lives, learning English with a university environment and living in New York City”, ELI director highlighted.
This spring, ELI received students from 16 different countries, which makes classes more fun since students will force themselves to speak in English and learn from everybody’s culture. Students are from Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine. They will have an intensive English program with 18 hours of class per week, with different courses such as reading, writing, grammar, conversation, and a TOEFL test preparation. At the end of the semester, they will take the TOEFL ITP test, and if they pass, they are eligible to apply to any CUNY school degree program.
ELI congratulates all these students for coming from far away to have the best time in New York City and extends the best wishes during this semester at the College of Staten Island.
By Gonzalo Villena
