Dennis Gosnell
Assistant Editor
As the United States of America becomes a centralized hub of a world civilization, many people from all around the world will go to colleges both big and small looking to expand their lives toward a better tomorrow.
Such as, RSC has developed a course to accommodate students whose first language is something other than English.
The courses will be the same as the traditional writing classes to include Development Writing, Writing Composition I, and Writing Composition II.
Fall courses
This fall, the first course to be offered will be Class # 7141, ENGL 0123, Fundamentals of English, at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the schedule the description reads: “Multicultural Fundamentals is for students who speak a second language. It has the same requirements as all ENGL 0123 class, but is designed for multicultural and international students.”
Instructor Vanessa Acierto, left, works on a poem with seventh grader Heidi Clark as part of the Pinoy Teach program at Asa Mercer Middle School in Seattle, Washington. The Pinoy Teach program was developed to give students a multi-cultural view of the world in conjunction with language arts and history classes. Clark says Pinoy Teach program helped give her a more expansive picture of history.
Professor Toni Castillo, professor of English will be teaching this course. Castillo holds an M.Ed. with an emphasis in multicultural education and teaching English as a second language. Before coming to Rose, she taught multicultural composition courses at as Oklahoma City University, was principal at a private ESL (English as a second language) school, and assisted in curriculum consultation.
“I discovered that Rose had an emerging need for multicultural English courses,” Castillo said. The Regents also saw a need, and after years of planning, multicultural classes have been added to help supplement existing students educational needs.
Why have them?
With the multicultural community expanding in the local area, to help them have a better chance at succeeding in life, these kinds of courses give students and individuals tools of adaptability that they will need to enter into Oklahoman culture.
How do these courses differ from traditional courses? Because many languages use different styles of grammar and syntax, it is more difficult for outside cultures to adapt to America’s style of speaking and writing.
These courses focus on the differences, while providing a change of focus to accommodate students who may need help with grammar.
Many other colleges in Oklahoma have provided similar courses for students, to broaden their student body and ensure that everyone can receive an education regardless of where they come from.
