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THURSDAY DECEMBER 11,2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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University trains group of 13 teachers from Vietnam
HANNAH PIERANGELO
@hannahpier
Before coming to the U.S., Thuy Nguyen, an English teacher from the mountainous province of Hà Giang, Vietnam, never imagined using a rubber band to teach pronunciation to her students. But after taking a University language and speaking class and seeing how a rubber band helps visualize where to put the stress in a word, she can't wait to show her students when she returns home.
"We learn a lot from the way teachers here teach international students, especially the techniques they use in their lecture," said Nguyen, as she explained the rubber band method.
Nguyen is one of 13 high school English teachers from underserved and remote areas of Vietnam enrolled in a yearlong teacher training program at the University. Though the University has previously had groups of teachers from Brazil and China stay for a training program, this is the first group of teachers entirely from Vietnam.
At home, these teachers help gifted high school students improve their English, but here, the teachers are polishing their own ability to speak the language and learning new methods of teaching, like the rubber band example, to take back home with them next May.
The idea for the group's stay sparked when Kellie Smith Herrod, a language specialist at the University's Applied English Center, traveled to Vietnam last year. During her stay overseas, Herrod conducted English language research as a Fulbright scholar and made important connections at the U.S.
Embassy. Herrod discussed the idea of connecting the University and Vietnam through a teacher training program.
"One of the biggest things that I wanted to do was connect the University of Kansas with a university in Vietnam or some kind of exchange," Herrod said. "It didn't matter to me what it was, or who it was, but that KU had some kind of connection with Vietnam."
"I think the influence that these teachers are going to have on their students will be just unbelievable because they have such a long time that they're here."
KELLIE SMITH HERROD Language specialist
The Embassy and the AEC turned in a proposal eight weeks later and welcomed the English teachers to the University in August. The program is sponsored by the U.S.Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs in Hanoi, Vietnam.
As part of their visit, the teachers are also involved in many community activities to let the group experience as much American culture as possible. The 10 women and three men currently live in Naismith Hall, each sharing a room with a college student. Though the teachers' ages range from 28 to 40 years old, well above the average age of a student living in the dorms, coordinators say they are doing well in the environment and get to see another facet of American culture.
["The embassy] wants as much people-to-people contact
The group attended KU Homecoming Week and international orientation week, in addition to a professional conference on teaching English hosted in Missouri. They have gone on a Kaw Valley farm tour, thrift store shopping and stayed with an American family for the Thanksgiving holiday. For the next two weeks, the group has a full schedule volunteering around the community.
as possible," Herrod said. "Not just with college students, but with people in the community and expose them to the diversity of the U.S."
Nhung Truong, a teacher from Yen Bai, a province in North Vietnam, said the United States is the best place to practice English. $ ^{b} $
"My dream [was] to go to an English-speaking country and see the culture and lifestyle and enrich my knowledge," Truong said. "When I come back [to Vietnam], I will have so many things to tell [my students] about the world."
Next semester, the teachers will take more intensive training courses for teaching English. Each teacher will also spend a day experiencing a high school class in a local school next January. When the 13 teachers return to Vietnam, they will lead workshops of their own, training other Vietnamese teachers with the methods they learned during their time in Kansas.
"I think the influence that these teachers are going to have on their students will be just unbelievable because they have such a long time that they're here," Herrod said. "They'll be able to share their experiences for many years."
Edited by Alyssa Scott
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Anschutz Library has only one entrance, which is staffed 24/7 by library workers and security staff.
No immediate changes in store for building safety
JAMES HOYT
@jameshoyt
Anschutz Library is expected to receive around 22,000 visits from students during finals week, according to data from KU Libraries.
In the wake of multiple incidents concerning campus safety this fall, University Police Captain James Anguiano said while no policy changes are currently planned, students should stay alert as they pack into campus libraries to study for final exams.
"If you see something, say something. Nothing is too unusual for the Public Safety Office to come out and investigate," Anguiano said.
One of the campus incidents in question is the Nov. 5 arrest of an individual who disrupted classes while wearing a mask and military garb at the University. Another is the Nov. 25 shooting at Florida State University's Strozier Library that left one dead and three injured.
FSU graduate named Myron May, encountered security systems installed at the entrance of the library, which prevented more harm from being done, according to FSU Deputy Chief of Police Jim Russell.
"One of the things was, apparently, the guy (May), to go into the main library, he couldn't get past the turnstiles, and he turned around and walked back outside," Russell said.
The shooter at Strozier, an
FSU installed turnstiles at the entrance of the library after a woman was sexually battered there in 2008. Students must swipe a valid student ID card to enter the library.
Anschutz Library is staffed by student security guards after the circulation desk closes at midnight. Anguiano said the building is also subject to occasional patrols by campus police officers.
Student Safety Advisory Board chair Garrett Farlow said other circumstances must play out before the University considers policy changes that could lead to similar security
measures.
"It is something that we are looking at, especially with concealed carry coming up in 2017." Farlow said. "I think they're trying to see what happens with that law before we place turntails in the library. It's definitely something that would help."
Anguiano said there are no current plans for any changes to building security policy.
"A lot of times, we do things over the Winter Break. That's when conversations really start to progress," Anguiano said.
Russell, who is still presiding over the review process over the FSU incident, said reviewing facility safety policies should be a priority for all universities.
"I would just encourage any facility to make analysis of security, and make hardware measures and procedures, and make that an ongoing thing... there could always be improvements if your environment changes," Russell said.
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Edited by Casey Hutchins
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