Unique international opportunity for Selkirk College
By Contributor
“Sino-Canadian Selkirk College of Taiyuan Normal University”: this sign rests on the side of a building at Taiyuan Normal University (TNU) in Taiyuan, China. The three-year English diploma program housed in this building represents a unique collaboration between TNU and Selkirk College in British Columbia.
TNU develops and delivers the curriculum, which focuses on Applied English for Education, Business and Tourism, and prepares the students for the English leaving test that Chinese graduates are required to write. The University manages logistics for the program, including student and faculty recruitment. Selkirk College provides an annual placement assessment for each student as per Selkirk College’s English Language Program (ELP) as well as opportunities for sharing curriculum, teaching expertise, and professional development.
This is without question a win-win situation. TNU benefits from access to foreign teachers, professional development, and a supported transition for students to education in Canada at Selkirk College. Graduates have increased employment opportunities as a result of the high level of expertise in English of their TNU teachers and the foreign evaluation provided by Selkirk College.
Selkirk College faculty gain a better understanding of English Language education in China through working at the university. Graduates of the Selkirk College TESOL Program can opt to participate in an international practicum at TNU. Qualified TNU graduates have the opportunity to study in post secondary programs at Selkirk College.
A spin off was the development of online placement testing that is used by all ELP students at Selkirk. The first intake was September 2010, with more than 700 Chinese students currently registered in the first and second year.
The first Chinese student to benefit from the collaboration is expected at Selkirk in the fall of 2012. During the visit in May 2012, Selkirk College was pleased to announce a one year tuition scholarship to a future TNU graduate.
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