<p>A quick question. My cousin lives in Macau and she is planning on coming to the US next year to go to college. However, she doesn’t speak very good english at all. What should she do? She’s very smart but the english part is the only part that she is lacking right now.</p>
<p>Go to a community college and brush up on her english skills? Go to an extra year of high school? Go to a lower-tier college first? Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Some state universities have conditional admissions-where students take ESL class to catch up with English skills before they’re good enough to take regular classes.</p>
<p>Whether she goes to a community college or four-year college would soley depend on what she finds more comfortable. It would also help if you knew more about her stats like TOEFL, SAT, GPA, and so on. Hearing that she’s very smart, I just have the feeling that she should be fine with taking ESL classes with other internationals w/o great English skills and eventually finish and decide on a major.</p>
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<p>She should not go an extra year of high school in Macau. That will improve her English only slightly. The best way to learn any language is to be immersed in it. College or community college - whatever she decides to do she should do it in an English speaking country.</p>
<p>^well I meant here in the US but that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense haha</p>
<p>Some boarding schools have programs to help students get up to speed on their English. I am including one that I know of. Under the courses pull down menu, select English and take a look at the ESL prep they have available.
[SHATTUCK-ST</a>. MARY’S SCHOOL](<a href=“http://www.s-sm.org/academics/upper_school/default.asp]SHATTUCK-ST”>http://www.s-sm.org/academics/upper_school/default.asp)</p>
<p>They also have a 3 week summer program for ESL.
[SHATTUCK-ST</a>. MARY’S SCHOOL](<a href=“http://www.s-sm.org/also/summer/ei.asp]SHATTUCK-ST”>http://www.s-sm.org/also/summer/ei.asp)</p>
<p>They also have ESL programs that incorporate music instruction or golf training.</p>
<p>Take a look at the boarding schools in your area to see if any offer this type of instruction.</p>
<p>so I’m confused, so if she jumps into college right away, she would only be able to take ESL classes? Or would the ESL classes be in addition to other main classes?</p>
<p>I checked and it seems like UMass-Boston has an intensive ESL semester program.</p>
<p>She needs to spend the next year or so learning English. Does she have access to English-speaking TV channels? </p>
<p>Does she go to a school that teaches English? If not, are there any classes she could take at night to improve her English?</p>
<p>She will have a very difficult time - academically and socially - if she arrives on a US campus with limited ability to communicate in English. </p>
<p>I’m guessing that if she has the money to consider going to college in the US, then her parents have the money to get her the necessary English instruction in Macau.</p>
<p>Don’t take an extra year at high school or boarding school. Rather, apply to colleges that have good support facilities. Contact individual universities and explain your situation. </p>
<p>Moreover, check universities which have good number of international students on the campus. Most probably they would have good ESL or English support facilities.</p>
<p>I’d recommend a program affiliated with one of the larger state universities, such as the Intensive English Program at Indiana University:
[Intensive</a> English Program](<a href=“Intensive English Program (IEP): International Students: Department of Second Language Studies: Indiana University Bloomington”>http://iep.indiana.edu/)
Those programs will have more experience and offer more supports to international students than smaller schools. I think programs conducted in the context of a larger university provide more exposure to other English speakers than smaller programs or those not affiliated with a university. Also, choosing one of these programs gives some measure of quality assurance. </p>
<p>There are a large number of English programs competing for international students. It’s difficult to determine which are quality programs. You might consider programs that are members of the University and College Intensive English Programs (UCIEP)
[UCIEP:</a> Best accredited English language study in the US](<a href=“http://www.uciep.org/]UCIEP:”>http://www.uciep.org/)
or
the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP)
[AAIEP</a> - American Association of Intensive English Programs](<a href=“http://www.aaiep.org/]AAIEP”>http://www.aaiep.org/)</p>
<p>Also, look at whether a program is accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation [url=<a href=“http://www.cea-accredit.org/]CEA[/url”>http://www.cea-accredit.org/]CEA[/url</a>]</p>
<p>One word of caution, at a university like Indiana, there are large numbers of international students. It’s all too easy for many of them to just hang out with other students from their country and not interact enough with Americans. This should be avoided.</p>
<p>You mentioned UMass Boston. Please note that UMass Boston does not have any dorms; your cousin would need to find a place to live and be able to make her way around Boston.</p>
<p>It depends on what’s affordable. You say she’s smart, so if she has the language down she may qualify for top colleges. If money is not a problem, I agree that a year in a good high school’s ESL program and then applying is ideal.</p>
<p>^^her family is planning on moving to the Boston area (her dad is being forced to retire at her bank in Macau and since she is about to enter college, her parents have decided to make the move) so UMass Boston wouldn’t be too far to go for her.</p>
<p>I have no idea about her TOEFL or SAT scores but I will inquire about that. Do you suggest that if she gets a decent TOEFL score but still is not very good with conversational english that she still applies to colleges she would apply to regardless of her english skills? A problem is that she is taught english in school but there’s no incentive to speak it among her friends and family (her mom doesn’t speak any english at all, her dad does but she speaks chinese with him). What happens if she doesn’t do very good on the TOEFL or SAT? Do you recommend a boarding school/intensive year-long english program before taking the SAT again? She definitely has grades worthy of getting into a top college.</p>
<p>Since her dad speaks English, he needs to spend the next year speaking English to her.</p>
<p>Is she an American citizen? </p>
<p>*What happens if she doesn’t do very good on the TOEFL or SAT? *</p>
<p>Well, that will hurt her for admissions. </p>
<p>Will she be finishing high school in Macau or will she moving to Boston for senior year of high school?</p>
<p>She is not an American citizen, I have no idea what’s happening on that front haha</p>
<p>She’s finishing high school this year in Macau. She doesn’t really want to move since she has always wanted to study law in Macau but oh well, her dad wants her to go to school in the US.</p>
<p>Why would she want to do that? If she doesn’t speak good English, she’ll most likely end up in a horrible college. When she graduate, her degree would be almost worthless with job prespect. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are many good Chinese universities that offers a great education. She can brush up on her English while in China and come here for graduate school.</p>
<p>If she wants to pursue law and get a US degree in it, it is highly recommended to do her studies (both undergraduate & graduate) in US. With selectivity and LSAT’s, you know how the law universities are.</p>
<p>^^^^ that’s a pretty bad idea, considering law schools pretty much only look at 2 things: 1) LSAT and 2) GPA. If she isn’t fluent in English, I doubt she’ll be able to pull off a high GPA, which virtually eliminate her chance at any of the top tier law school. If you get a law degree from a TTT, you’ll be working as a barista. Furthermore, the OP stated she wants to study law in Macau. Law in the US is a graduate degree, but in other country can be an undergraduate degree - LLB.</p>
<p>^liu, I understand that it’s not ideal but her parents really want to move to the US. Her dad’s most likely going to be laid off next year and he still wants to work a few years so he feels that it’s the right time to make the move. I guess maybe the best thing is to persuade them to send her to a really good english school in Macau this year and see what happens? who knows</p>
<p>Many international students do not speak very good English, but that does not mean they will not do well in their studies in the United States. If your cousin can read and write English well, she shall be able to manage her studies. Her spoken English will improve as she spend more time here in college.</p>
<p>pierre0913</p>
<p>Your cousin needs to read through everything (and I do indeed mean everything) at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.state.gov/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.state.gov/) Then she should make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where she lives. There are several in China. These people work with students like her every day and can advise her on the whole college search process. </p>
<p>Since her English is weak, they can also advise her on the best ways to select a good ESL program. There is a big difference between English for every-day communication, and English for college-level academic purposes. She needs to be able to use both kinds of skills to survive college here.</p>
<p>As for law school, if she wants to practice in China, she probably should complete her first law degree there. In many countries (I don’t know about China, but she would) you go to law school straight from high school. The US is unusual in that you normally have to complete a 4-year degree before going to law school. If she finishes a law degree in China, she can come here to to advanced graduate level work if she wants to. Lots of foreign law school grads do just that every year.</p>
<p>Since her father is planning to move the family to the US, he may have already made arrangements for the visas the family will need. Depending on the family’s visa status, your cousin may be considered a resident for tuition purposes. It also is possible that she would need to change her visa to F-1 (student visa) in order to be able to study. That is something else that the family will need to sort out. You may get some ideas that will help you help her by looking at the threads in the International Students Forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen and scroll down to find it.</p>
<p>Wishing you and your cousin all the best!</p>