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Malli Fowler
Professor Douglas
UWRT 1101-001
7 November 2016
To Study in America
The observer sat in a green chair in the heart of the Popp Martin Student Union on
October 12th, 2016 around roughly six pm. While the observer was watching her fellow students
enter and exit the union, she noticed a reoccurring pattern. There were large groups of students,
around ten to fifteen, walking closely together coming through the Union every twenty minutes
or so. The observer noticed each student physically appeared exactly the same and
communicated in the same language, a language that the observer could not comprehend. She
noticed that these students looked very lost and out of place. The observer came to the
conclusion that these lost students were new international students by looking at their name tags.
The group of students appeared to be from an Asian country from their physical features,
possibly Japan, China, or Korea. She observed eight males and six females. The students took
approximately ten minutes to decide where they wanted to eat, either Wendys or Bojangles. The
observer found it intriguing that all fourteen students had the mindset that they all had to eat at
the same restaurant. After the ten minutes passed, the students began to order from Wendys, but
the students clearly were struggling with the menu listed above them. After every meal was
ordered, the students walked as a whole to a table in the back to sit down, study and eat. The
observer watched them as they ate their meal quickly in silence, packed up their books and left
the building. An outsider would notice that international students work extremely hard to succeed
at American universities and overcome the language barrier.

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The United States is hosting approximately one million international students in public
and private institutions. In the mid-1950s, international student enrollment was barely reaching
35,000 students according to Envisage International Corporation. As of 2015, the Chinese
currently have the most students in America with over 300,000 students enrolled and India in
second with around 130,000 students. Based on the research from the Institute of International
Education, a large majority of international students are studying business or engineering while
agriculture and education are studied the least. Recently, there has been a vast increase in Saudi
Arabian students coming to America, making them the fourth-largest population of international
students with approximately 60,000 students according to a report by Inside Higher ed.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has offered the English Language Training
Institute (ELTI) since 1978. The ELTI is an international student program that focuses on
providing intensive English instruction for students planning to attend U.S universities.
According to Dr. Rohany Nayan, an instructor and team member of ELTI, there are 150-200
students enrolled every semester ranging from eighteen to fifty years old. These students attend
class Monday - Friday from 9-2pm, which is very different from the average college student who
makes their own schedule. For a student to apply to the ELTI program, they must provide bank
documents showing that a balance of $23,000 is available for student/F1 visa. The 23,000 dollars
is the estimated expenses for an academic year of study, including tuition, fees, insurance, books,
housing and meals. If a student cannot afford the 23,000 dollars, they must be sponsored by
another family, government or university as there are no scholarship opportunities for ELTI
students. Dr. Rohany Nayan explained that many sponsors stop sending money or miss a
deadline, which unfortunately, leads to removing many students from the program.

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The English Language Training Institute works very closely with their students to ensure
they are comfortable with their surroundings because living in a new country can be frightening.
Learning English can be very challenging, but having to adapt to a completely new culture can
add more stress on these students as well. ELTI offers counseling services as well as movie
nights, coffee hour, and speed friending to make their students feel welcomed and safe. As of
2016, the program offers six levels of English placement. Dr. Rohany Nayan taught level four,
five and six in her previous years, but has branched out to teaching level one students this year.
Dr. Nayan indicated that level one students work very hard to understand basic English grammar
and syntax while higher levels are working on complex sentences structure and communication.
ELTI students work very profoundly to break the language barrier, so they can succeed in
American universities and jobs.
One could argue that international students work harder than American students because
international students have a goal they are expected to reach. Shaymah Allabah, an international
student from Saudi Arabia, is working on her masters in cardiac sciences here at UNCC.
Shaymah states that from her five years of studying here, she has noticed that her peers and her
seem to be more intrigued and focused in class than other students. She explained that the
opportunity to study here in America is a privilege and they cannot let down their families who
sent them here. She laughed as she told me about the crazy stories she has heard about American
studetns parting on school nights and said she would never do that. She also stated that the
students sent from other countries to America, are the best of the best, so they are expected to
perform well and try their hardest. International students have an abundance of pressure on them
from outside sources, but many people seem to neglect the pressure the feel from the inside. The
pressure to conform, make friends, and understand a new language can weigh them down. It is

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truly inspiring to see how hard international students work to better their education for
themselves, and for their country. After talking to Shaymah and Dr. Nayan, I appreciate my
privilege for education so much more.

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Works Cited

Allabah, Shaymah. Personal Interview. 15 Oct. 2016

"English Language Training Institute." English Language Training Institute. UNCC, n.d. Web.
25 Oct. 2016.
"International Students in the United States." International Students in the United States.
Institute of International Education, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
Nayan, Rohany. Personal Interview. 21 Oct. 2016
"Other Colleges Report Declines In International Enrollment." Community College Week 28.29
(2016): 23. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
"Study in the USA Guide for International Students." International Student. Envisage
International Corporation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.