Running head: PROFESSIONAL AGENCY VISIT: INTO CSU

Professional Agency Visit: INTO CSU

Krista M. Boddy
Colorado State University

PROFESSIONAL AGENCY VISIT: INTO CSU

Professional Agency Visit: INTO CSU
Overview of Agency
INTO UEA (INTO CSUs main organization) was created as a public-private enterprise
in 2005 by a professor from the University of East Anglia (UEA), UK to meet the needs of
international students who wished to study in English speaking universities, but lacked language
skills to be accepted into university programs. Since its beginning, INTO UEA has partnered
with universities across three continents, including the UK, the US, and China. More than 3,000
students have completed INTO programs and have progressed onto further study in universities.
CSU joined forces with INTO UEA in February 2012 and welcomed 350 students in fall 2012.
CSUs president, Tony Frank, was excited to attract so many students from around the world,
which would strengthen graduate and undergraduate enrollment of the university (INTO UEA
Official Website, 2015).
The purpose of INTO UEA is to connect international students with top universities in
the UK, the US, and China. The organization is passionate about its partnerships and its goal of
meeting the needs of students by creating educational opportunities for them. Stakeholders of
INTO UEA include education policy makers, university leadership, staff, and students. The
recruitment staff attracts around 12,000 students from 128 countries each year (INTO UEA
Official Website, 2015). INTO CSU provides Pathway programs and English language
programs. Pathway programs are designed for international undergraduate and graduate learners
who need additional English language training or academic preparation before completing their
degree at a US university. The English language programs are designed to improve students
English language skills from basic to advanced levels. INTO CSU is currently ranked #2 in in
the US in international students overall satisfaction (INTO CSU Official Website, 2015). The
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mission statement of INTO CSU aligns with INTO UEA, which is to expand opportunities for
higher education, ensuring success and transforming the lives of our students and staff (INTO
UEA Official Website, 2015).
Programs were developed by INTO UEA to meet international learners personal and
professional goals. They offer the above mentioned programs for students on different paths.
Undergraduate and graduate students may just need some specific English language skills or
academic skills to be admitted into a US university, while other students may just want to
improve their general English skills by studying in an English language environment. Some of
the current programs at INTO CSU were in place before the partnership with INTO occurred,
including the Intensive English Program, which is now called the Academic English language
program. More Pathway programs are being developed each year, including ones specific to
popular majors. Current Pathway programs being offered at CSU include: Chemical
Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Financial Risk Management, Master of
Tourism Management, MBA, Masters of Applied Statistics, Masters of Computer Information
Systems, and many more. In addition, General English, Academic English, College Year
Abroad, and many other Undergraduate Pathways are offered at INTO CSU (INTO CSU Official
Website, 2015).
As a public-private enterprise, INTO CSU receives funding from many different sources.
INTO University Partnerships, the education partnering organization, invests millions of dollars
in supporting its partnering universities in the UK and the US. Because INTO CSU is connected
to CSU, it receives some funding from the university as well. Private international student tuition
makes up a portion of funding at INTO CSU as well (INTO UEA Official Website, 2015).

PROFESSIONAL AGENCY VISIT: INTO CSU

Overview of Class Visit
The course I observed was a combined Academic English Reading/Writing course for
level 2 (low-intermediate). This course is designed to improve students reading fluency,
vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing skills. The course uses edited and academic
materials from many genres. Students are also instructed in paragraph and essay writing, which
is based on course readings. Writing practice is meant to develop content, organization,
vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills. Learners also utilize critical thinking
skills and language learning strategies through self-reflection journals (AE Level 2 Reading and
Writing Instructor Information Packet, 2015, p 1-2).
I observed the course on six consecutive days for 1 hour and 30 minutes each visit, and
presented a short 30 minute vocabulary mini-lesson during my final visit. My mini-lesson was
meant to increase vocabulary comprehension of the unit regarding Power, Gender, and
Language from the NorthStar text used in the course. In my lesson, I organized popular
American song lyrics for pairs of students to analyze specific vocabulary related to power and
gender used in language. Vocabulary items included: assertive, profanity, sexism, inferior,
dominate, talkative, valued, slang, dialects, etc. Once students analyzed song lyrics in pairs, they
were to answer five discussion and comprehension questions related to the lyrics and share their
insights with the class. The purpose of this lesson was to relate the unit vocabulary to authentic
language in popular music which discusses gender and power. The students seemed to enjoy the
activity despite the complexity of some of the song lyrics.
The course semester runs 14 weeks and meets Tuesdays through Fridays for 1 hour and
30 minutes in the Alder building. On Mondays the students have an alternative course, such as
pronunciation, US Culture, or another elective course. There were 13-14 learners depending on
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the day. The learners ages ranged from 18-40, and came from China, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia,
and Taiwan. Eleven students were male and only three were female. All learners took this course
as a requirement of the English language program to improve their reading/writing skills.
Students also take a listening and speaking course, a grammar course, and a noncore course
concurrently with this reading/writing course (AE Level 2 Reading and Writing Instructor
Information Packet, 2015, p 1-2). The week of my observations was the beginning of Unit 4,
which was about gender, power, and language. This unit discussed power relations in language
and communication, including gender differences, differences between cultural communication,
and English as a global language. The classroom was set up with individual desks lined up in
rows. Students selected their own seats. The technology availability was very good, including a
document camera, computer connected to a smart board, a projector, and speakers in the ceiling.
The instructor was a woman who has taught at the school for five years (even before
INTO partnered with CSU in 2012). She had completed her Masters degree at CSU in the
TESL/TEFL program, which is the one I am currently in. She is very experienced and seems to
enjoy her job despite its challenges and changes of ownership. I reached out to her specifically
because she had co-led a presentation for my program last year and I found her to be especially
kind, helpful, and approachable. She was more than willing to allow me to observe her class for
six days. She even allowed me to present a short vocabulary lesson I developed for her students.
She was very kind and generous in accepting me into her class.
The overall goals/outcomes of the course are stated in the instructors INTO CSU
Information Packet. They are listed as: 1. Improve reading comprehension and fluency with
Level 2 texts through the use of reading strategies. 2. Use the writing process to write welldeveloped and organized paragraphs, essays, and other writing tasks connected to ideas from
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course themes (AE Level 2 Reading and Writing Instructor Information Packet, 2015, p. 3).
Specific reading objectives include: Fluency strategies and skills, vocabulary building strategies
and knowledge, comprehension building strategies, comprehension skills, and critical thinking
skills. Specific writing objectives include: writing strategies, writing skills, and critical thinking
skills (AE Level 2 Reading and Writing Instructor Information Packet, 2015, p. 3-4).

The instructor used a variety of teaching methods which fit well into the Communicative
Language Teaching approach, including: collaborative pair and group work, task-based
activities, group/pair discussion, student presentations, visuals (PowerPoint), interactive wikis
(technology), YouTube video clips, reflection journals, modeling on document camera, critical
pedagogy, reading aloud, etc. I noticed that the unit on power and language allowed for a more
Content-Based Instruction method to be used. The instructor had asked the students to complete
a Task-Based language assignment which involved creating a vocabulary word slide in the
course wiki and then present their word to the class. These tasks provide a lot of communication
opportunities and are a fun, interactive way to bring technology and presentation into the course.
Unfortunately many of the students didnt complete their assignment, so the instructor had to do
it for them in the spare minutes before class. The topic of the unit, Power and Language, allowed
for the approaches of critical pedagogy and social justice. These approaches are useful in the
goal of encouraging learners to use critical thinking and problem solving skills in evaluating the
course material and social issues. At the beginning of each class, the instructor often played
instrumental music quietly during 10-15 minute reflection writing. The music created a more
relaxing atmosphere for learners to reflect on their learning. The instructors role followed
closely with Communicative Language Teaching, in that she facilitated the learners throughout
the activities in a respectful way, allowing the learners to have more control of their own
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learning. She was very encouraging to students, such as saying, I like the point you make. She
also always asked if learners had questions after each activity before moving on to the next topic.
She often paused for a few seconds after giving instructions to make sure everyone understood.
She moved around the room freely in a relaxed manner and made direct eye contact with
students. She sequenced the lessons from simple to more complex and scaffolded the lessons for
students. For example, she modeled how to organize and develop a paragraph on the document
camera. When learners needed instructions repeated, she would re-phrase them and also provided
examples to improve comprehension. I didnt notice the instructor using any foreigner talk or
modified/simplified language. She used natural English speech, which is important for authentic
language learning. She asked students to share their experiences with each other and with the
class if they wanted. She created the small groups by mixing up individuals with different
language backgrounds, which is important in pushing them to speak in English during class. In
small groups she gave a role to each person: note taker, reporter, task leader, and time-watcher. I
like this idea, as it makes everyone in the group accountable to participate.

I noticed some misunderstandings from students who needed instructions repeated, but
this was mostly caused by their lack of listening or talking to each other in the back. The
instructor would pause sometimes for the talking to cease before continuing to give instructions.
Some possible ways to address this problem is to speak louder in getting individuals attention,
doing assigned seating, standing near the back of the room where the chatting happens, or asking
problem students to leave the class. I observed some students were more serious about their
learning of English. For example, these students were always on time, prepared, attentive, and
had completed their homework on time. The learners who were obviously unmotivated had not
completed assignments for class presentations nor homework. They often talked in their first
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language to each other in the back of the room, disregarding what the instructor and peers were
saying. This was an obvious frustration to the instructor.
The instructors evaluation methods involved formative unit tests on vocabulary,
grammar, and reading comprehension. She also used student wiki presentations, though many
students didnt complete them. She edited and graded learners essays and paragraphs. She read
the students weekly reflection journals as a way to make sure they were comprehending the
material. Homework assignments and class/group discussions were also formative methods for
evaluation.

Critical reflection

My visit to INTO CSU was valuable in relation to my personal goals of teaching English
to speakers of other languages. I currently teach in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program,
which primarily enrolls beginning to intermediate level English language learners, yet I am
interested in learning more about intensive English programs. My observation experience
provided me with a glimpse of what teaching for an intensive English program would be like. I
like the overall mission of INTO UEA in wanting to improve the lives of international students. I
also can appreciate that INTO CSU is a stepping stone for learners who wish to earn graduate
and undergraduate degrees at English and American universities. The Pathways program is a
great way to bring international students into the university. I learned that the programs at INTO
CSU are well developed, with clear language objectives and outcomes for learners to achieve.
The NorthStar textbook seemed to incorporate topics of use and interest to English language
learners. The instructor I observed seemed very competent, creative, and approachable in my
opinion. She uses the teaching methodology I most relate with, Communicative Language
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Teaching. She also incorporated a variety of teaching techniques and activities, including a lot of
visual support and technology. I think it is important to use different methods and approaches for
the variety of needs learners have.

One issue I did not like about this program is the lack of classroom diversity. Students at
INTO CSU primarily come from solely Asian and Middle Eastern nations, and the ratio of
female to male students is vast, often with one female student in a classroom. I prefer to teach
students from more diverse backgrounds so that it pushes them to learn about other cultures and
not stick with the same groups of friends in class. I believe INTO CSU should attempt to draw
from more diverse populations than just Middle Eastern and Asian nations. They could advertise
in universities in other nations and offer scholarships or financial aid to learners from less
wealthy regions. They could also encourage more females to apply for the program.

My observation of INTO CSU was useful in showing me how a private-public

corporation works in the field of education. It allowed me to decide if this is the type of program
I want to work for and if these are the types of students I want to teach. One thing I enjoy about
the program I currently work for is the diversity of learners. I have learners from all regions of
the world, who range from 18-70 years old, and have all kinds of educational backgrounds. I also
appreciate learners who are motivated to work hard in studying English, and dont require much
classroom management. This is the reason I went into adult education in the first place; to teach
learners who are serious about their education and who have matured in their desires for
learning.

I gathered data for my agency report from many sources. I used the official websites for
INTO UEA and INTO CSU to provide the mission statement, values, purposes, programs
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offered, and history of the organization. I also interviewed the instructor and some students in the
program. I asked them to share their opinions of the program overall. I took detailed notes
during each of the visits I made. I also used the course syllabus and descriptions in the Reading
and Writing Instructor Information Packet, which the instructor was kind enough to email me.

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References
Barton, L. & DuPaquier Sardinas, C. (2015). NorthStar 3 Reading and Writing 4th Ed. New
York: Pearson Education, Inc.
INTO CSU. (2015). AE Level 2 Reading and Writing Instructor Information Packet. 1-12.
INTO CSU Official Website. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.intohigher.com/us/en-us/theuniversities/into-colorado-state-university.aspx
INTO UEA Official Website. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.into-corporate.com/aboutinto/our-story

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