{"151441":{"#nid":"151441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"International Students Hone Writing Skills for Free at Language Institute","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s incoming freshman class is 10 percent international students; for the overall student body, that number is about 18 percent. For many, coming to Tech is the first time these students have used English on a regular basis in a rigorous academic environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo serve those students, the Language Institute offers free writing and presentation assistance to all students. A pilot last fall confirmed the need for the service, which has grown during the past year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents work one-on-one with an instructor in 30-minute sessions. Sessions focus on writing tasks such as course papers; journal papers; proposals; dissertation or thesis chapters; resumes and cover letters; teaching and reserach statements; and personal biographies. Speaking assistance includes PowerPoint presentation formatting and writing; basic pronunciation evaluations; field-specific vocabulary lessions; teaching or presentation practice; video recording and feedback; and interviewing skills.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I came to Tech for digital media, the literature expectations were much higher, and I didn\u2019t have as much experience since my background was in graphic design and art,\u201d said Hye Yeon Nam, a digital media PhD student from South Korea who took advantage of the Language Institute\u0027s services last year. \u201cI wanted to improve my skills because it\u2019s important to communicate with my students and other people in my field.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENam met with an instructor on a weekly basis and has recommended the service to numerous friends and classmates. Though other classes were helpful, Nam improved the most from the one-on-one time, for which she would have paid a significant amount per hour outside of Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe best part about working with students is sending them away feeling as if they have learned what kinds of problems they have, how they can improve their writing and what makes good writing,\u201d said Jane Chisholm, a Language Institute instructor. She\u2019s also able to serve as a source for editing students\u2019 writing outside of their professors and advisors, providing a relief for faculty as well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose interested in participating in a session can sign up online at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gatech.mywconline.com\u0022\u003Egatech.mywconline.com\u003C\/a\u003E. All sessions take place in Room 120 of the O\u0027Keefe Building or Room 466B of the Clough Commons.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Language Institute offers free writing and communications assistance to all Tech students.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Language Institute offers free writing and communications assistance to all Tech students."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2012-09-04 16:29:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:47","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/esl.gatech.edu\/","title":"Language Institute"},{"url":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/languageinstitute","title":"Language Institute on Facebook"},{"url":"http:\/\/gatech.mywconline.com\/","title":"Sign Up for Language Institute Session"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2183","name":"communications"},{"id":"4374","name":"international students"},{"id":"4406","name":"Language Institute"},{"id":"171195","name":"second languages"},{"id":"4720","name":"writing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:karen.tucker@pe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKaren Tucker\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELanguage Institute\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}