The INTERLINK program provides intensive English language training on US university campuses to prepare international students for academic study. The program focuses on experiential learning through student-centered, needs-based classes with small class sizes of 8-12 students. INTERLINK offers housing assistance, including options for dorms, homestays, and independent housing. All INTERLINK centers are accredited by the Commission on English Language Accreditation.
2. The INTERLINK Program
What is INTERLINK?
The INTERLINK program provides English
training for speakers of other languages,
especially those planning to study at an
American university. With centers on US
university campuses, a professional staff
and highly qualified teachers, INTERLINK
strives to make your educational experience
in the United States memorable, enjoyable
and successful.
Intensive English Training
(ESL)
Cultural OrientationAcademic Preparation
4. Locations – Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a comprehensive state university with
programs at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels.
Popular degree programs include athletic training, business
administration, criminology, communications, computer and
electronics technology, gerontology, life sciences (ecology,
microbiology, physiology), media technology, remote-sensing,
robotics and technology management. Its 12,000 member student
body includes approximately 800 international students
representing some 81 countries.
From http://www.petersons.com
6. Locations – The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Dedicated to a global education with approximately 17,150
students, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a
comprehensive university providing excellence in undergraduate
and graduate education. UNCG is one of only five universities in
the North Carolina educational system which has a chapter of Phi
Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest honorary society. The university
offers bachelor's degrees in more than 100 majors, master's
degrees in 68 academic subjects and doctoral degrees in 18 areas
of study. Majors include Biotechnology, Business, Computer
Science, Interior Architecture, Music, Nursing, and Tourism
Management. The campus is conveniently located near the center
of Greensboro, which has been rated as one of America's most
outstanding mid-sized cities.
From http://www.petersons.com
8. Locations – Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, located in northwest Indiana, is well known for its rigorous academic programs and strong
support for international education. Valparaiso University offers more than sixty liberal arts and professional
programs (including Law) to a student body of approximately 4,000 students. Valpo offers 20 masters level
programs and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). Valpo's diverse educational programs and enviable
student / faculty ratio (13:1) create a stimulating and welcome learning environment for U.S. as well as
international students. Only one hour from the exciting city of Chicago, Valparaiso is a unique residential
community of 30,000 which retains its safe, friendly, small-town atmosphere.
From http://www.petersons.com
10. Features and Services
Academically qualified, serious students
Small classes (average: 8 students; maximum: 12)
Concurrent university courses for qualified students
Student-centered, communicative curriculum
Access to university facilities and activities
Assistance with conditional admission for qualified students
Assistance with housing and host families
Academic advising and university placement assistance
13. Instructional Program - 1
What is unique about our program is that while other programs focus on what is taught, at
INTERLINK we focus on what students learn. We believe that, in the words of Wilhelm von
Humboldt, “A language cannot be taught. One can only create conditions for learning to
take place.” The role of our teachers is not to teach about language but to facilitate
language acquisition by engaging students in stimulating activities rich in authentic
language use.
We believe that skills are
acquired in one way only –
by doing them. Swimmers,
runners and musicians
improve their skills by
swimming, running and
playing music. In the same
way students become better
readers, writers and
speakers of English by
reading, writing and using
English as much as
possible.
14. Instructional Program - 2
Six features pervade and guide
classroom activities and insure that
students progress satisfactorily in their
quest for proficiency in English.
15. Instructional Program - 3
A Student-Centered classroom is one in
which each individual is respected and the
needs of students come first. The students,
rather than the material to be taught is the
central focus. Individual learning styles and
preferences are recognized, appreciated,
and accommodated. A student-centered
classroom is not one in which students run
wild and do whatever they wish, but one in
which their welfare is the primary concern
and in which they have, as Earl Stevick
phrased it, “primacy in a world of
meaningful action.”
16. Instructional Program - 4
Experiential Learning means that students learn by doing and through exposure to
content-rich learning opportunities. Learning takes place outside as well as inside
the classroom and students learn inductively through their own language
experiences. Students learn not only from their teachers but from their peers,
acquaintances and any language source with which they come into contact. As
Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “skill to do comes of doing” and experiential
language learning involves students in learning language rather than learning
about language.
17. Instructional Program - 5
In a Holistic language class
a) each student is treated as a whole person with intellectual, emotional,
social, and cultural needs. The student is not raw material to be molded
and shaped through a factory-like educational process but a complex
human being whose various needs must be met for successful learning to
occur.
b) language is learned as a whole system and not a collection of isolated
skills. The skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing are
integrated, and authentic language use rather than assimilation of discrete
rules or pieces of information about language is the objective.
18. Instructional Program - 6
A Needs-based class Is one in
which the learning agenda is
not pre-determined and
planned in advance but
individualized and customized
according to what students
know and are able to do.
Understanding what students
need to make linguistic
progress drives the class
rather than a syllabus of
content and information pre-
formulated by a textbook or
curriculum. Linguistic, cultural
and affective needs are
addressed tofacilitate the learning process. Students’ actual needs may differ from their
perceived needs and teachers must be skillful, experienced and perceptive to
determine what activities and classroom arrangements can achieve the best
results.
19. Instructional Program - 7
Interactive classes are ones in which students are actively engaged and
participate freely instead of listening passively to lectures or performing tasks
devoid of authentic communicative intent (such as repetition exercises or
drills). The active involvement of the learner is the sine qua non for
successful learning and a necessary ingredient for experiential, heuristic
learning.
20. Instructional Program - 8
Heuristic Learning or
learning through
discovery is
characterized by
students solving
problems instead of
digesting information
fed by a teacher, and
tends to be inductive,
experiential, creative,
self-motivated, and
dynamic. Discovery
promotes learning how to learn rather than accumulating discrete facts and
pieces of information, and results in mastery of a process which can be used
over and over, inside and outside of the classroom. Setting up situations from
which a student can learn requires more skill and patience than dispensing
information, but the rewards are proportionally great. In the words of Mark van
Doren, “teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”
21. Housing Information
On-Campus Housing
Living in a dorm provides great opportunities for
learning English and meeting people. Dormitory
rooms are available for both married and single
INTERLINK students.
Independent Off-Campus Housing
Each center provides information
and assistance to students who
would like to live off campus.
Homestays
One way for students to get the most of their
cross-cultural experience at INTERLINK is to
live with American families.
22. Standards
INTERLINK supports and complies with the standards for intensive English programs
established by NAFSA: Association of International Educators; American Association of
Intensive English Programs (AAIEP); and the Association of Teachers of English to
Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). All U.S. INTERLINK Language Centers are
accredited by the Commission on English Language Accreditation (CEA)
23. Applying
What’s needed?
• A completed application form
• An official copy of your high school or
university grades
• An official financial support statement from
your bank, sponsor or guardian, certifying
that you have at least US $5,000 available for
your first term at INTERLINK
• $100.00 non-refundable application fee
• If you plan to stay in a university residence
hall, a room security deposit
