ELP Director of Programs, Jack Sullivan, recently partook in a panel discussion entitled "Membership Associations: Facing the Future Together" at the 5th Annual EnglishUSA IEP Stakeholders Conference in Washington, DC.  

The panel discussed how membership associations in the industry are adapting to the global changes impacting Intensive English Programs. The panel also explored strategic ways the associations, such as EnglishUSA, UCIEP, TESOL, and NAFSA, can collaborate in the future.

Trying to figure out what universities to apply to can be overwhelming. U.S. News and World Report staff writer Kelly Mae Ross speaks with ELP University Connection Counseling Specialist Erick Hyde about one practical tip: create a spreadsheet for your research.

Moldovan non-profit Academy for Innovation and Change through Education (AICE) launched The English for Media Literacy Project earlier this year. The Project utilizes the English for Media Literacy MOOC to help learners develop a deeper understanding of the impact of media in everyday life while simultaneously enhancing learners’ English language skills. 

The Project sparked creative reflections about media consumption for the Moldovan learners.

From July 6 – July 11, Ms. Amy Nichols was honored to be a representative of the University of Pennsylvania on China Central Television's (CCTV) 2016 Star of Outlook English Language Competition. Along with four other judges, Ms. Nichols spent two to three days in preparation meetings and then two full days in the CCTV studio.

LPS Director of Implementation, Assessment, and International Initiatives, Amy Nichols, was honored to represent the University of Pennsylvania as a judge on China Central Television's (CCTV) Star of Outlook English Language Competition for the second year in a row. Along with representatives from the College of William and Mary, Cornell University, University of Edinburgh, and Vanderbilt University, Nichols spent two days in preparation meetings and then two full days in the CCTV studio. 

The Penn English Language Program's collaboration with Major League Soccer team, The Philadelphia Union, was recently highlighted on the Philadelphia news network, 6ABC.

The ELP has been collaborating with the Union for the past 3 seasons. ELP language instructors work with team players to focus on English for the players' daily lives as well as for the field.  

Language Specialist Christy Shea explains, "We've seen just a lot of improvement in their confidence, in their fluency, and in their ability to express themselves."

ELP University Connection Specialist Erick Hyde recently presented “Trends in International Admissions to U.S. Universities” at the Penn Wharton China Center. His presentation focused on the variety of recent trends in international undergraduate admission to U.S. universities, including the rise and fall of international applications to the U.S., the growing popularity of early admission programs, and the proliferation of admission waitlists. The discussion incorporated data about each trend with Hyde’s first-hand experiences as a college counselor. 

In the admission world, May 1st is THE day. Known as ‘Candidates Reply Date,’ May 1st is the final deadline for students to choose the one school they will attend from their acceptances. It is an exciting, sometimes anxious, day that marks the end of the admission process.  But not for all schools and not for all students.

Schools have seats in their classrooms and beds in their residence halls that they want –and need- to fill.  After May 1st, if those seats or beds are not filled, schools will continue to accept applications.

During her off-sessions, ELP Lecturer Ellen Gilberti has begun a series of English courses and workshops in Italy. Her first course was an Intensive English Course for hotel workers that was followed by a workshop on using the production of fairy tales to teach English to schoolchildren in Bologna. In June, she will be offering a similar course for high school students in Ostia followed by an English for the Workplace course for hotel workers in Frascati.

ELP Lecturer Carlo Cinaglia presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) annual conference last month in Portland, Oregon. The title of his presentation was "'We can't teach them writing. Can you?' Curriculum Design Meets the Needs of L2 Writers in Different Disciplines."

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