‘Peer Mentoring for International Students’ provides unique opportunities

Purdue University Calumet is offering a peer mentoring course that merges fluent English speaking students with international students who desire to master English as a second language.

The course, Peer Mentoring for International Students, is designed to help develop leadership, communication, interpersonal and teaching skills for English speaking students. It also is intended for students interested in teaching abroad and the world’s growing global economy.

The class qualifies as an experiential learning component and is open to all fluent-English speaking Purdue Calumet students with at least a sophomore academic status. It also can be taken as a general education elective.

English speaking mentors are hired as student employees. They will spend three weeks in a classroom being trained to mentor international students.

Once training is completed, the students will be assigned to assist in an ELP section for three hours per week for about 10 weeks. The mentors then will plan educational, cultural, social and athletic projects for an additional seven hours per week of interaction.

Course Instructor Mohammed Errihani said the course can benefit all students.

“(It) is an interdisciplinary and experiential learning course geared towards helping students learn how to interact and exchange information across cultural, political and religious boundaries in an environment that fosters mutual respect and understanding,” he said.

Kellie Comer, a mentor last spring, said she liked the learning opportunities the course provided and the relationships she made.

“I (enjoyed) being a mentor,” she said, “and a friend that (international students) made here in America.”

Other information can be obtained by contacting Errihani at 219/989-2657 or Coordinator of Mentors Janine Harrison at 219/989-2543. Each also can be reached at errihani@calumet.purdue.edu or harrison@calumet.purdue.edu.

News Release Date: June 30, 2008