October 4, 2022
Story by Joe Vinduska
Photos by Maggie Harris
Students travel from all over the world to attend SWAG合集. Last Tuesday, sixth graders from St. Joseph Catholic School in Ellinwood were able to talk with them about their journey to the United States and learn about a variety of cultures when they visited an English as a Second Language (ESOL) class听on the SWAG合集 campus.
SWAG合集 ESOL Instructor Abby Howe said hosting collaborative educational events is beneficial for the college as well as local communities.
鈥淚 find that activities like this increase participants鈥 sense of personal connection to the local and global communities,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he SWAG合集 students now have more personal connections to Ellinwood and Kansas, while the St. Joseph students have personal connections to the countries and cultures of the SWAG合集 students. This activity directly supports the part of SWAG合集鈥檚 mission that we offer exceptional learning opportunities to support community needs.鈥
ESOL student Aya Saiki said she enjoyed the experience.
鈥淚 think it is necessary for young people to know about multinational people and cultures when they go out into society,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 think it's even better to experience different cultures at an early age. Since I came to America, I have only communicated with adults. This was the first time I communicated with an American child. He spoke very quickly! It was very difficult for me to understand how to respond, but it was a good learning experience for me.鈥
St. Joseph sixth grade Instructor Catherine Strecker said the social studies class did a lot of work to prepare for the visit such as researching information about various countries, creating brochures highlighting items like: population, size, language, food, weather, economy, development, tourism, religion, and government. Students presented their brochures in class and then developed questions to ask the ESOL students.
鈥淒eveloping communication skills helps promote a better understanding of the similarities and differences of our world,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t also promotes friendship and understanding each other in a better way! Students engage in their multiple intelligences with various ways of learning.鈥
For more information, contact Executive Director of Foundational Education Stephanie Joiner at joiners@bartonccc.edu or (620)792-9238.
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