 "Photo: David Walters <i>The Daily Gamecock</i>")
The English Program for Internationals celebrated its 30th anniversary at the Columbia Convention Center, focusing on the many years the program has benefited students from around the world.
Among the speakers at the event were the program’s director Alexandra Roweand Martha Pennington, an internationally renowned English teaching instructor and scholar.
Rowe, a linguistics faculty member, explained what the English Program for Internationals is all about.
“EPI is USC’s intensive English program that provides 20-plus hours of English language instruction to non-native English speakers per week,” Rowe said. “Most of the students want to earn USC degrees, which they can do upon successful completion of EPI.”
Rowe said EPI enables international students to improve their English language skills for either academic or career purposes.
“Several EPI students are study abroad students who are experiencing the American university life as a part of their undergraduate degree back home,” Rowe said. “Most EPI students wish to earn USC degrees. Some EPI students want to improve their English language skills to enhance their career opportunities in their home countries. Most EPI students do not remain in the U.S. Most are not immigrants.”
Rowe said the program began in the mid 1970s when several Libyan students were recruited to the College of Engineering, and their professors were surprised the new students didn’t know English.
“USC needed to accommodate these students. And this was the impetus for the eventual establishment of EPI,” Rowe said.
Rowe said the majority of the students being helped by EPI are Chinese, Saudi Arabian, Japanese or Indonesian.
Rowe said EPI provides no financial help to international students except for those who win EPI scholarships to earn USC degrees.
“The scholarships are funded by USC Foundation contributions by EPI faculty and staff and other USC staff and faculty,” Rowe said. “EPI is a financially self-supporting university unit. No state funds whatsoever support the EPI intensive English program.”
Rowe said Pennington, a leading figure in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, has contributed to EPI by training teachers and has written and edited both articles and books on the topic.
“I regard her as one of my gurus,” Rowe said.
Rowe said that EPI has positively influenced the lives of its students. She had several stories of students continuing to stay in touch with program, even encouraging their own children to take part.
“While studying for their degrees at USC, former EPI students continue to drop by to visit EPI faculty and staff, as do other former students when they visit from their home countries,” Rowe said.
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