Yale Helps Local International Students Learn English

The English Language Institute at Yale University is hosting eight New Haven high school students who are recent immigrants to the United States, for a six-week summer language program that ends August 5.

The students, their countries of origin and current schools are:

Kely Coronado, Peru (Wilbur Cross)
Bertozzi Mposo, Democratic Republic of Congo (Hillhouse)
Claudia Maldonado, Chile (Wilbur Cross)
Lucia Morel, Dominican Republic (Wilbur Cross)
Massita Fadiga, Ivory Coast (Hillhouse)
Khader Fadiga, Ivory Coast (Hillhouse)
Alexander Pagan, Puerto Rico (Wilbur Cross)
Yodsapath Anantaviriyakul, Thailand (Career HS)

The students receive full-tuition scholarships, totaling $3000 per person, and assistance with the expense of texts and materials for their classes. They are selected by guidance counselors at their schools.

The students, who come from all around the globe, participate in rigorous English language classes Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. They elect an afternoon course, the most popular being a video production class in which students write and create their own films. Their classmates are international students, and of the 211 students enrolled, 175 are at the college or graduate school level.

Alan Giddons, an instructor at the Yale English Language Institute, has studied the Lingala language since he visited the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1986. He was surprised to learn that Bertozzi, one of his students this summer, speaks Lingala, especially since 250 different languages are spoken in the Congo. Giddons, who has been teaching in the program since 1996, continues to be inspired by his summer school scholars.

To interview the students or their teachers, contact the Office of Public Affairs.