Multicultural classes to grow from one to five in the fall
By Katie Kennedy, News Writing Student
OCCC’s English Department has increased the sections of Multicultural English Composition I classes being offered this fall from one to five sections.
The Multicultural English classes are designed specifically for students who speak English as their second language, according to the course cataloge.
For the past few years, English professor Mary Punches has taught the one section offered.
With the growing success of the class and the increasing diversity of OCCC’s student population, Punches said, the need to expand the Multi-cultural English program grew.
Language Arts Department Director Cheryl Stanford said the classes have the same requirements, textbooks and assignments as the regular English Composition I classes.
They also are taught in English.
Aside from the smaller class size of the multicul-tural classes, the main difference in these classes is the intensive training the teachers go through to work with students who have diverse ethnic backgrounds, Stanford said.
The Multicultural English Composition I classes fill the general education requirement for English Composition I and are transferable to colleges and universities in the area, she said.
These classes are open for any students who speak English as their second language whether they are American citizens or not, Stanford said.
To accommodate the increase in sections, one full-time and three adjunct faculty members have been hired.
Punches will continue to teach one section in the fall.
English Professor Mark Schneberger will begin teaching sections of Multi-cultural English Composition I and II in spring 2009.
Schneberger recently was the lead professor in developing a multicultural writing program for Hispanic and Somali students while teaching at a Minnesota college.
As a part of OCCC’s Achieving the Dream initiative, the English department has been developing this class for the past two years.
Stanford said Writing Coordinator Kim Jameson has attended many conferences with professors from all over the nation in order to learn from other colleges and universities that have already been teaching similar classes.
“A large number of our full-time and adjunct faculty have been taking classes in learning to how to better meet the needs of our multicultural students in all our class in the Language Arts Department,” Stanford said.
The English department will get approval from the OCCC Curriculum Committee in Fall 2008 for the Multicultural English Composition II classes, she said.
