Western's English Language Centre welcomes first cohort of 85 international students
Western University is committed to growing its number of academically qualified international students and its newly formed English Language Centre (ELC) will create such an opportunity for its first-ever class, which is set to arrive on campus this weekend.
The first cohort of 85 ELC students is primarily from Asia; however, the Centre's leadership team has also collaborated with Western International and Brescia University College to recruit 19 scholarship students from Angola, who traditionally would have been destined to study in the United States.
"Studying at Western, in London and in Canada has incredible advantages," says ELC Administrative Director Matt Bazely. "Canada is a welcoming country for international students, London is a safe community and the quality of a Western degree makes for a great recruiting pitch.”
“With the new English Language Centre in place, Western is well-positioned to recruit across the globe to find the best and brightest students to study here, which is one of the goals outlined in Western's recently released strategic plan,” Bazely adds. “We look forward to our students benefitting from a rich campus life, incredible student services and a world class residence system."
Steve Bird, ELC Academic Director, is excited about the research possibilities as well.
"Our research will be focused on crucial areas such as student success, vocabulary development, and academic acculturation," says Bird, who has already started connecting with colleagues from across campus to co-develop research projects. "The Centre will be a catalyst for research and publications as we contribute to the fields of international education, socio-linguistics and psycho-linguistics."
Students will study at ELC for four to sixteen months, depending on their individual language proficiency. Many of the students will also stay in residence on Western's campus.
Based in Western's Faculty of Education, ELC prepares international students for academic studies at Western, Brescia, King's University College and Huron University College.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Renaud, Senior Media Relations Officer, 519-661-2111, ext. 85165, jrenaud9@uwo.ca, @jeffrenaud99
