There are two English Language Institute (ELI) programs offered at Lakeland. One program is during the semester for credit and the other is offered during the summer for foreign exchange students to learn English at a fast pace for easy entrance into the American culture. Even though the semester ELI program is on a temporary hiatus, the summer program is still going strong.

The summer ELI program is in conjunction with Lakeland’s sister schools in China, Korea and Colombia and helps foreign exchange students learn English quickly and become comfortable with the American culture.

The summer ELI program is four weeks long and takes place for 15 hours a week. Lakeland has been offering this course for about 15 years now.

Jen Siebert, director of international programs, starts with a class in the morning followed by group activities in the afternoon.

The international students also spend time in the Sheboygan area during different excursions with the activities changing year to year. Last summer, a scavenger hunt was organized in Sheboygan where the students spoke in English at different businesses to locate what they needed to find. Other years the students are given money and asked to go to particular stores to buy certain items. Interacting and learning how American culture works, like ordering and paying for food, is all taught within the class.

“We created this program for our sister schools to give their students opportunities for a short term experience in the United States,” said Siebert. “That’s why it’s a special program instead of the regular ELI because we combine the culture and the language.”

In addition to doing activities locally in Sheboygan, Lakeland takes students around eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Some areas include Lambeau Field in Green Bay, downtown Chicago and Miller Park in Milwaukee.

“We really try to stay as local as we can just to give them an idea of what the culture is like around here,” said Siebert.

Although there are two ELI programs at Lakeland, it is possible for students to take both the summer ELI program and the semester one.

The program usually has about 40 to 45 Korean students, 15 Chinese professors and staff members and about six Colombian students in attendance.

The professors and staff members from China participate in a separate part of the summer ELI program that is called the Professional Development Program. For this program, seminars are conducted by faculty on campus, which lets the international faculty learn how Lakeland operates. The professors have also learned some English before they come to campus, so the seminars can be conducted in English.

For this upcoming summer, Siebert says that there will be about 20 students coming from Korea and 15 Chinese professors and staff members. The Colombian school has not announced how many students it will be sending yet.