Vol. 16, No. 37July 24, 1997

ELI offers instruction at new Elkton Road site

As the English Language Institute's (ELI) student population has rapidly expanded, so has its need for space. Its main home is 189 West Main St., but ELI has three other satellite locationsÐa self-access learning center in Rodney F, classrooms in the Newark United Methodist Church and, most recently, a new facility at 136 A Elkton Rd., next to a number of area eateries.

According to director Scott Stevens, ELI has experienced continuing growthÐwith approximately 1,800 students this year, compared to 1,700 in 1996-97, and 1,600 the year beforeÐ representing 45 countries from all over the world.

The newest ELI addition has six classrooms and an extended tutoring center, plus three corporate training offices and a lounge area. Linda Bigler serves as the tutoring center coordinator of the facility. During the morning, classes are held. During the remainder of the time, Bigler schedules one-to-one tutoring sessions for 400 students with 35 tutors, totaling 600 hours per week.

"One of the hallmarks of ELI is private tutoring where students can ask questions and get specific, personalized help they may need," Stevens said. "Frequently, the tutors befriend the students and help them sort out any problems they may be having, such as opening up a bank account or getting a driver's license or any of the perplexing situations people encounter living in a different country."

Technology has changed the way English is taught, according to Stevens. Jan LeFebvre and Suzanne Stadnicki are in charge of the Rodney F facility. It is a self-access, open lab with software that covers all phases of learning a language from literature and reading to pronunciation. Classes are taught combining traditional methods with technology, or students can work individually at computers.

ELI sessions run for eight weeks, and students generally matriculate from two months to one year. Approximately one third of the students are business professionals, one third are here for academic purposes to enhance their English language skills so they can matriculate in an undergraduate or graduate program, and the last third are here under the "culture stream" program, which features regional trips, a study tour of the United States or a wide range of electives including English through film, English and the news, English through music and America in the 1960s.

In addition to traditional students, local industries send overseas employees to ELI, five foreign universities use ELI as a study abroad program and embassies sponsor students to learn English for academic purposes.

ELI also runs two professional programs. The Delaware English As A Foreign Language Teaching Training Institute (DELFT) is designed to enhance the teaching skills of those teaching English. The American Law and Legal Institute's goal is to familiarize pre-law students and those in the legal profession overseas with the American jurisprudence system and language.

Outside the classroom, ELI students get guidance and activities as well. Orientation coordinator David Quayle arranges language partners, host families, cultural and sporting events for visiting ELI students to help them enjoy and experience American life and hospitality during their stay.

As ELI has expanded its programs and the number of students it serves, it has become respected in the field of English language programs, Stevens said, ranking in the top 10 in a recent survey of directors of similar progams.

--Sue Swyers Moncure