OVS ninth grader Emily Wang is living far away from home for the first time, and although she misses her family, she is ready to face the challenges of studying abroad.
Emily rides horses, spends time with her friends, and studies earnestly in classes, which include Biology, Algebra II and a smattering of ESL classes.
“I love having classes with my friends,” said Emily, one of three students taking part in the school’s revived ESL program. “Their humor motivates me to be enthusiastic in the class.”
This semester, OVS Upper Campus resumed the long-established ESL program after its pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Started as early as the 1950s, OVS has a tradition of welcoming students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. For many years the ESL courses helped international students overcome language barriers and prepare them for mainstream classes.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, significantly impacted the program.
Lockdowns and travel restrictions made it impossible for new students from other countries to enter the US. Consequently, the decline in the number of international students led to a pause in ESL classes.
“Being a global community is part of our history and tradition,” said Tracy Wilson. OVS’s director of advancement and admission. “So it was really sad when we saw a decline in our international enrollment.”
Three years after the pandemic began, international travel has begun to recover as many countries lifted restrictions. At the beginning of 2023, three mid-year students, including Emily, became part of the OVS community.
Recognizing the need to provide additional support to incoming international students, OVS decided to restart the ESL program. Alongside the three ESL courses, new international students are also able to take a biology class, a math class, and an art class.
For Emily, the academic structure here is completely different from that of her school in China. At OVS, every assignment counts toward the final grade, whereas in her other schools, only tests and quizzes are counted.
“There are good and bad sides to it,” said Emily. “If I didn’t do well on an assignment because of my English, it brings my grade down. But the good thing about homework and classwork is that they are doable as long as I put effort into them.”
The new ESL program is composed of Advanced ESL Reading, ESL Writing, and ESL History. They support students in developing English language proficiency, which includes reading, speaking, listening, and writing.
“(The courses) are designed with the goal to develop all those four critical skills and support students to then transition out of ESL and into what we call mainstream classes,” said Assistant Head of Campus Laurel Colborn, who oversees academic affairs at the Upper Campus.
The biggest challenge for Emily right now is the language barrier, but with love, support, and her own passion, it’s only a matter of time before she will be able to overcome it.
“Of course I miss home,” said Emily. “Sometimes there are things that we have just to do independently.”