American Language & Multicultural Diversity | Inter-Regional Program for Eurasia

(October 14, 2021) What Global Ties Miami loves the most about our city is its ethno-racial, linguistic, and birthplace diversity. Miami-Dade County is the 7th most populous in the U.S. and home to 2.7 million people. Of this population, the statistics might surprise you. Fifty percent of us were born in a different country. This diversity helps us foster understanding, build trust, and respect each other.

Miami-Dade is also the flagship of Florida International University’s (FIU) English Language Institute with the mission to provide quality English language instruction to people who have chosen English as their medium of communication for academic or professional pursuits. It is one of the leading institutes in the U.S. setting standards of excellence in innovative curriculum design, teaching, professional development, and cross-cultural understanding. This made the English Language Institute a great resource to host the American Language & Multicultural Diversity | Inter-Regional Program for Eurasia.

Global Ties Miami partnered with Laura Lamour, Director, the English Language Institute to speak with 14 #IVLP participants from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan about FIU’s Intensive Conversation Program and how they teach English to non-native speakers. Our #IVLP learned about their work and engaged in a live classroom session.

Our #IVLP participants, all English language professionals, were most intrigued by a Jeopardy game curated by the Intensive Language Program instructor for adult non-native speakers. The game is very much like the televised version, with answers presented on the game board and contestants (students) responding with questions. The exercise is a creative challenge that requires a willingness to understand idioms and deeper learning.