“At Fordham, we don’t offer an official Korean course. But there has been this growth of interest in Korean culture and language,” said Hie-Myung Jo, Ed.D., associate director of the Institute of American Language and Culture, which hosts the workshops. “This was a good time for us to provide them that opportunity to learn.”

Two years ago, the institute received a grant from the Korean Education Center to offer a free Korean language workshop to Fordham students; in fall 2019, they held an elementary Korean language pilot workshop for about five students. The following semester, the workshop expanded to include about 15 students. When the workshop was offered for the third time in spring 2021, albeit virtually, the number of students continued to grow.  

This fall, there are now three Korean language and culture classes for more than 40 students at the Lincoln Center campus. On Wednesdays, students can attend a beginner’s Korean workshop at 1 p.m., a low intermediate Korean workshop at 10 a.m., and/or a Korean culture workshop at 4 p.m. for an hour-and-15-minute session. 

“I hope the students will become more confident about learning a new language and expand their perspective as a world citizen,” said the instructor for all three classes, Kyung Eun Lee, who has taught similar workshops at Columbia University and New York University. 

The workshops bear no credit, but they will appear on the students’ transcripts upon successful completion. More importantly, said Jo, the classes will help students learn to appreciate other languages and cultures and become global citizens. 

“One of the main purposes of these classes is to provide a fun, free, practical opportunity to learn the Korean language and explore aspects of the culture. This could be an especially good option for students who plan to study abroad in Korea and those who want to learn more about Korean heritage,” Jo said. 

Some of the students are Korean Americans who want to learn more about their heritage, like Davis Pak, a sophomore at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. He said he grew up in a household where his parents mainly spoke in English with him, but he wants to be able to communicate better with his extended family members, especially his cousins and grandparents. 

“I saw this class as an opportunity to refresh my memory and learn new words and phrases,” said Pak, whose Korean name is Saejoon. 

But most of the students are not Korean. Many of them are fans of South Korean pop culture, especially the music and dramas, who were inspired to learn the language behind the culture they love. 

“I want to learn the whole language,” said Rayne Davila, a first-year student at Fordham College at Lincoln Center. Davila is a K-pop fan who taught herself the Korean basics during the pandemic with the help of a Talk To Me in Korean workbook and routine FaceTime sessions with a friend. “I want to be able to talk fluently and go to Korea one day.” 

Tara Salem, also a first-year FCLC student, said she wants to not only visit South Korea as a tourist, but also work in the country. 

“I’m studying business, and that’s a very big field that can allow me to work abroad. I want to work in Asia at some point, so it might be good for me to have a basic understanding of the language and the culture,” said Salem, who majors in economics.

Last summer, she tried to teach herself Korean. Salem became a fan of Korean dramas during the pandemic, including popular shows like Crash Landing On You and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, and said she wants to be able to enjoy her shows without English subtitles. 

“Everyone here is interested in Korean culture, whether it’s watching Korean dramas or listening to music,” said Salem, who plans on watching Squid Game, a South Korean dystopian show that currently holds the most-watched title on Netflix. “It’s nice to have a community in that sense.”

“Dios de salve María, llena eres de gracia, el Señor es contigo…”

“I start the class with prayer because we modeled the class based on what their community is,” said Torres, noting that most of the women volunteer at Catholic faith-based organizations.  And so began the second fall session of the 10-month program, which started with a three-week seminar this past August and ends next May. The program represents a joint effort between the Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC) and the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education (GRE).

“We want the women to know that the gate is open, we’re welcoming them here in Fordham,” said Torres, who grew up in the East Tremont section of the Bronx and taught at Aquinas High School, where she chaired the department of religion and was campus minister there. “But we eventually want them to be leaders in both places, in their neighborhood and here at the University. And they come ready to learn.”

Leadership Grounded in Spirituality and Reflection

The course is anchored in the tenets of Ignatian leadership, said Faustino “Tito” Cruz, dean of GRE.

“This program is rooted in the theories and practices of transformational leadership and intercultural adult community education. It is intended to prepare participants for leadership in spiritually or faith-based contexts,” said Cruz. “It provides students with the skills to critically reflect on their daily lives and struggle, interpret the knowledge that is gained from this reflection, and act toward change for justice, solidarity, and service.”

James Stabler-Havener, the IALC’s director, concurred.

“There’s a need and desire for these women to contribute more and be recognized for it, and not just lead in the shadows,” he said.

The students examine female leaders in the Bible and reflect on Latino leadership theories in the bilingual curriculum developed jointly by GRE and IALC. The theoretical work helps them identify and enhance their skills as leaders in the community. Although the women are already established volunteers, the course stipulates and formalizes an experiential learning component of the course, which requires them to volunteer 40 hours at a community or faith-based organization to put their leadership skills to work.

Strengthening English Communication Skills

Nearly all the women hail from the IALC’s Community ESL Program, which is funded in part by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. But this course is more than an ESL class. Rather, it’s a leadership course facilitated primarily in Spanish and peppered with conversational English, said Jesús Aceves Loza, the institute’s community program manager.

“The goal is for the participants to strengthen their communicative skills in English while tapping into their knowledge and expertise of Spanish,” he said. “In addition, some of the topics of the program are designed for participants to use their mother tongue as a means to practice discernment and contemplation.”

Cruz said he first encountered IALC when he approached the staff to help some of the GRE students with graduate-level writing skills.

“At the time I wasn’t aware of how grounded the institute was in community engagement; they’re teaching much more than ESL, they’re teaching professional development,” said Cruz. “For our part, GRE must engage in the life of the community. As practical public theologians, we can’t practice only on the third floor of Keating Hall.”

Cruz said GRE has been able to support the program through grants and gifts, particularly from the Sarah and Jack Knight Fund for Pastoral Innovation and Practice. Cruz said that he and Torres had worked together on a similar program that partnered with Aquinas which helped neighboring high school students there connect with the University. But once the students graduated from the high school, the two observed that Fordham was no longer as accessible to them or their families. By working together with the IALC, they were able to tap back into that community by identifying trusted leaders and offering them much-needed resources and training.

Of the Community

“Eighty-three percent of our students are women and 80% are from Latin America; some have a high school degree and some have a master’s. We got to know them as leaders through our community ESL programming,” said Aceves Loza. “GRE has been instrumental because they have expertise in forming leaders in the Jesuit tradition, though the course is open to any faith.”

Students gain computer skills and communication skills as well, he added. All the women were given laptops as part of the program.

“These tools and skills will give them the agency and confidence to begin working for some of the places they volunteer at,” he said.

Stabler-Havener added that while volunteer work is valuable to communities being served, as well as for volunteers, many of the women could also be employed by the institutions they serve. He said the hope is that earning a certificate from Fordham will help to legitimate the work they are doing.

“These are leadership skills that will translate into better employability and more recognized authority—and not to do the work for free, their leadership is valuable,” he said.

Finding a Calling in a New Home

Raysa Veras moved to Co-op City to take care of her father before his recent death, from cancer. She said that when she was living in the Dominican Republic she worked with displaced Haitians as a social worker at the border between the two countries. Today she volunteers at the shelter run by Xavier Mission in the Bronx, as well as Montefiore Hospital. She hopes that the skills she gains in the course will allow her to do the work she was trained to do back in the D.R.

“At the border, there were so many poor people and for years I helped, but now I want to learn because I want to help my people.”

Aceves Loza said the program offers the women an opportunity to immerse themselves in academic culture and guides them in what’s needed for a U.S. degree in the future.

“Here Raysa can begin to find her voice in this new country by gaining agency and a sense of belonging,” he said. “This is fundamental for anyone who has moved to the U.S. from abroad holding a previous academic credential: the realization of who we were in our home country and the question of who do we want to be here is daunting and powerful. It requires a leap of faith and a support system. And this is one of the most valuable aspects of the program.”

On receiving her new computer, Veras’ new direction seemed clear.

“For me, the computer was a surprise, because [it]is too expensive,” she said. “For me […] it’s mi sueño, this is my big dream, to study here at Fordham.”

The grants—totaling $600,000— have been awarded by the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. They will fund University efforts to provide mental health services to young people, help women asylum seekers, and teach English language learners.

Fordham Provost Dennis Jacobs, Ph.D., said he’s grateful to the foundation for supporting the University’s work in the community.

“Fordham is deeply committed to applying its academic and programming expertise in partnership with organizations in the surrounding neighborhood to help address the most pressing needs within the Bronx community,” said Jacobs. “Through the generous support of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Fordham is particularly focused on how it can assist those who have been most devastated by the interconnected crises of 2020.”

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation provides grants to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable New Yorkers, aiming to eliminate barriers to care. The foundation’s values reflect Fordham’s mission and those of the organization’s namesake, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, who was known during her lifetime as a staunch advocate for immigrants, children, and the poor. The foundation originated from the 2018 sale of Fidelis Care, a nonprofit health insurer run by the bishops of the Catholic dioceses of New York.

Virtual Mental Health Services

The first grant of $300,000 will support a virtual mental health program to be run by the Graduate School of Education called Clinical Mental Health Services in the Bronx Community. It will use telemental health services to reach at-risk students between the ages of 8 and 16. The program responds to the pandemic-related suspension of existing programs that Fordham delivered at schools and community organizations before the crisis began. Four cohorts of 25 students in need of help—whether from stress related to gun violence, racism, the pandemic, or other factors—will be assessed and receive therapy. The program will offer two 45-minute intensive sessions per week for the students. Anita Vazquez Batisti, Ph.D., associate dean for educational partnerships at GSE, helped facilitate the grant and GSE psychology professor Eric Chen, Ph.D., will direct the program.

Helping Women Asylum Seekers

A second grant of $150,000 will be used to help women asylum seekers in New York City gain access to much-needed mental health care. According to a 2020 report from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, more than 79 million people are displaced worldwide, more than half are under the age of 18, and more than 50% are women. In 2019, there were 46,000 asylum seekers in New York City alone, said Associate Professor Marciana Popescu, Ph.D., of Graduate School of Social Services (GSS). Popescu has extensively researched the problem and will be directing the program with GSS Professor Dana Alonzo, Ph.D., a specialist in mental health treatment. With increasingly restrictive policies pushing asylum seekers to go underground, few attempt to access mental health care services, said Popescu. The pandemic has only made the situation worse—for asylum seekers in general, and for women in particular. The project aims to identify the challenges of these women and connect them to services that are within their rights.

English as a Second Language

An additional $150,000 will go toward expanding the Institute of American Language and Culture’s Community English as a Second Language Program (CESL). That grant follows a $116,000 grant awarded by the foundation in 2019. The program provides free ESL instruction primarily to adults in the Bronx in partnership with churches and other community organizations. The CESL program began in 2018 with financial support from the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, which has annually renewed funding, scoring the program’s attendance, educational gains, and program management as “above standard.” The Cabrini grant will help the initiative continue to grow. CESL serves more than 300 students and hopes to serve at least 500 a year by 2023.  Institute director James Stabler-Havener will continue to direct the program with Jesús Aceves-Loza, who serves as the institute’s advisor for Latin America.  In spite of the pandemic this year, students continued learning and instructors continued to teach virtually via apps and cell phones. In the coming year, the group plans to build on existing partnerships with community organizations and the city to offer citizenship courses as well. The growing initiative will also provide internship opportunities to underrepresented students at the University.

Despite the many serious challenges New Yorkers faced during the early days of the pandemic, the pivot to mobile learning did not disrupt the commitment of English language learners or their teachers, said James Stabler-Havener, director of Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC).

“Students and teachers persisted with their classes and far exceeded the city’s benchmarks for educational gains. This is a testimony to the resilience and grit of our neighbors and the creativity of the Institute’s staff,” said Stabler-Havener.

For more than three decades, IALC has offered English courses to college students from around the world. In 2018, IALC extended its courses to the Bronx community for free. Since then, more than 450 people have participated in the program, which has also provided free career workshops and programs on immigrant rights.

Supporting Vulnerable New Yorkers

In 2019, Fordham was awarded a grant of $116,679 from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to support the ESL program, which taught more than 200 students in 2019-2020. The grant funded instruction for approximately 70 students, helped secure a new class location—the Immaculate Conception Church on East Gunhill Road—and created additional evening classes at the Rose Hill campus for students who work during the day.

“We are so grateful for the support of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation,” said Stabler-Havener. “We’re proud to partner with them in their work to support immigrants and help them succeed.”

Classes started in person in late winter. But when the pandemic struck New York City in March, the Community ESL program—and its students, many of whom are essential workers—took a major hit.

More than 40% of students and staff contracted the new coronavirus, according to survey results from late June. Thirty-seven percent reported they had between one and 12 infected family members, while 6.4% said they had lost up to four family members due to complications from the virus. Meanwhile, they watched neighbors and church community members become hospitalized or die from the virus.

“My husband and I were left without a job, and we could not apply to economic benefits due to our immigration status,” Raysa, a 47-year-old woman from the Dominican Republic, wrote in an email. “My husband, my sister-in-law, and my cousin and I had COVID-19. Many of my friends died in New York and the Dominican Republic.”

Students with children studying remotely from home said they struggled to find space and time to concentrate on their own studies. But they were determined to complete their classes, said IALC staff members. In mid-March, the Community ESL program transitioned to delivering instruction via WhatsApp, a free messaging app available on any cell phone. For the students—many of whom lacked personal computers or the internet at home—it was the most convenient platform.

Every week, students met in three-hour classes on the app. They watched tutorial videos recorded by their teachers and completed digital worksheets. They checked their answers against online answer keys and asked peers and teachers for help via text message. But students and staff also used the app to ensure that they were all safe and healthy.

A Way to Check In

“When we first heard about students who got infected with Covid, we kept track of those students to provide resources—to say, hey, do you have food in your pantry? Can we register you for food services that the city is providing? Have you been tested? Have you gone to the hospital?” said Community ESL Program Coordinator Jesús Aceves-Loza. “It was not only the ESL instruction that we offered, but also keeping track of those students and their family members who were affected by Covid. That flourished out of the community we created on WhatsApp.”

Aceves-Loza recalled students who called or texted him to confirm they had COVID-19 and couldn’t make it to class, yet promised to complete the day’s exercises. Another student, whose husband was receiving therapy for a separate condition after being in the hospital for three months, also continued her studies, he said.

“Those are tiny examples of people who have developed resilience and a desire to be better and to overcome obstacles, and to live to the best of their abilities,” said Aceves-Loza. “When there’s a will, there’s a way.”

‘We Took Care of Each Other’

In emailed testimonials, students described how the ESL program impacted their lives.

Raysa said she can now pick up the phone at work, talk with clients, and speak with her doctor without translation. For student Ramiro Perez, a 29-year-old construction worker from Guatemala, the program helped him communicate better with his coworkers. And for Silva, a 27-year-old woman from Albania, the program helped her become more active outside her home.

“As a mother who takes care of her daughter and stays at home, [the program]has made me active and more social with people who are not in my community,” Silva wrote.

As the students learned English, Yimeng Li, one of three ESL teachers who taught during the pandemic, said she saw her students grow and stay optimistic.

“Even though most of my adult ESL students faced challenges due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were still eager to continue their English language learning,” said Li, a 2019 alumna from the Graduate School of Education. “Even though I couldn’t meet and greet my students due to social distancing, our hearts were always together. And no matter how difficult the problems might be, all the students and instructors had positive attitudes … We took care of each other.”

At the end of April, Li and her students held their last class together. Li messaged them a thank-you note on WhatsApp, recorded with her own voice. In their final lesson, she asked them to write their own thank-you note in English to someone. A few students chose Li.

“I will always carry you in my heart. Hopefully one day we will meet again,” a student wrote to Li and her colleagues in a handwritten note. “God bless you, Jesus, Xiomara, and all those who make this program possible.”

Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture hosted nine Chinese students at the Lincoln Center campus from Jan. 21 to 30 for its second annual Winter Institute—a language immersion program that helps participants sharpen their English language skills both inside the classroom and on the streets of New York City.

“These programs offer such a rich opportunity to showcase the best of New York and Fordham’s unique position in this city,” said Amy Evans, IALC’s associate director. “We love being able to share both with people from all over the world.”

For many institute participants, this trip is often their first time visiting an English language-dominated country. Evans said students, including this season’s participants, have told her it’s a chance for them to practice English in a native environment. Another reason why people join the annual institute is its quintessential location.

“There’s also the pull of New York City—a truly iconic place that symbolizes so much to so many people,” she said. “It’s American culture, but, like every mega-city, it has a culture, a history, and a social fabric that really are all its own.”

The past participants’ homes span across the globe: Taiwan, Guatemala, Norway, Vietnam, and Italy. But most of them hail from China, thanks to IALC’s partnership with Northwestern Polytechnical University, a public research institute in the city of Xi’an. And this year was no exception—all nine guests are NPU students.

One of them was Ewuer, a 22-year-old Mongolian-Chinese student from Xinjiang Province. (It is custom for Mongolians to have a single name.)

She came to New York to experience the archetypal American lifestyle she had seen in movies and TV shows, to improve her English language skills, and to help her confirm that she wants to earn her master’s degree abroad—perhaps in the U.S.

January 21 was her first day on American soil. In a way, it’s an adventure she has prepared for since the first grade—when she started learning English. But it wasn’t until now that she actively practiced speaking the language she had learned since she was a child.

“My English is more fluent than before,” Ewuer said. “I can make sentences more easily.”

So could Zhiyuan Shao, an 18-year-old student from Zhejiang Province. He described the Big Apple as one of the most famous cities in the world. When Shao was a child, he considered New York the capital of the U.S., rather than Washington, D.C. After watching The Wolf of Wall Street, he wanted to visit the city even more.

He got to try out his new language skills during a conversation with a stranger while they were standing on a subway platform.

“We complained about the subway,” Shao said, chuckling. “They say it’s terrible.”

Curriculum Developed by Fordham Students

Their improved English skills owe thanks, in part, to a curriculum co-developed by Fordham students. With their mentor, Hie-Myung Jo, Ed.D.—an IALC curriculum and instruction specialist and a professor in Fordham’s Graduate School of Education (GSE)—seven international Chinese students in GSE developed and compiled learning materials for the IALC participants.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to practice the real language—not just textbook English,” Jo said.

In a GSE class last semester, Jo and her seven GSE students created an intermediate-level curriculum centered around three themes: urban environment, arts and technology, and people and society. They researched online reading resources, brainstormed off-campus trips, and designed activities that would help the IALC participants practice their English. A few months later, they completed their final product—a 71-page welcome packet and workbook.

In the mornings, the IALC participants worked on the booklet. They completed fill-in-the-blank worksheets about the history behind New York City’s boroughs, read and analyzed excerpts from immigrant memoirs, and contrasted the 9/11 attacks with the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan.

“We wanted them to know that New York is a city of diversity, and we welcome immigrants,” Jo said. “Actually, it is a city of immigrants.”

In the afternoons, they embarked on excursions that linked their classroom lessons to reality. Destinations included the Museum of Chinese in America, the United Nations, and Ellis Island. They were often accompanied by the same GSE students who helped develop the curriculum, like Ruiqi Shang, GSE ’19.

“We always ask them, ‘How are you feeling? Do you think it’s very helpful for you to practice the things you learned during the morning?’” Shang said.

The students had two main assignments: Maintain a video diary with their smartphones; record themselves speaking in English during a trip outing—introducing the venue, describing their emotions, freely speaking about how they feel—and share it with their teachers and peers. And, keep a list of new vocabulary words they encountered, the definitions, and a sentence that correctly used each word.

One of the new words that Ewuer learned was “replica.” But what’s bigger than her list of vocabulary words is what she’s experienced over the past 10 days.

Ewuer recalled seeing the city skyline from the Empire State Building at night, watching the seagulls by Coney Island Beach, and drinking in the hecticness of Times Square. She said she’s still not used to drinking iced beverages in American restaurants (in China, she quipped, they always serve warm tea.) But packed in her suitcase are souvenirs from America—designer clothing and bags for her family, U.S. currency, Fordham mementos—and 10 days’ worth of memories.

“I never thought I could be here,” she said. “It’s a dream come true.”

The dinner reception and certificate ceremony capped off the first English as a Second Language (ESL) course offered to Bronx adults by Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC). The free course was made possible by a grant from the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development and through collaboration with Fordham’s Office of Sponsored Programs.

“We wanted to be more involved in the community,” Community ESL Program Coordinator Jesús Aceves-Loza said of the IALC, which has been providing English courses for college students from around the world for more than 30 years.

“The Jesuits have this principle of cura personalis, care for the whole person. Talking metaphorically, the whole person is the Bronx, and we need to address the needs of every part of that huge body.”

Students in the Community ESL program hailed from 13 countries, including Nicaragua, Mexico, Italy, and the Dominican Republic. Many of them brought children and other family members to the reception. After the certificate presentation, some gave speeches or performances, including dances, songs, and even a clown act.

‘I Have Been Waiting for This’

Aceves-Loza said the ESL students ranged in age from a young man of 23 to 83-year-old “Italian nonna” Giuseppina Cibelli, of whom he spoke fondly.

“She said, ‘This is the first time we feel that any Catholic college is interested in us. For 50 years I have been waiting for this. It’s wonderful that Fordham is taking care of us as its neighbors.’”

The program was taught and developed by Joy Jo, Ed.D., and other ESL teachers from the IALC; other volunteer instructors included Fordham staff, students, and Jesuit scholastics from Ciszek Hall.  All teachers completed a certificate program in Mental Health/First Aid from the New York City health department as part of their training.

The course was taught on the Rose Hill campus and, through a connection with Fordham’s Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, which had offered ESL courses in the past. Several of the students were nuns in the Hermanas Misioneras Servidoras de la Palabra order, who come from Mexico and serve communities throughout the Bronx.

“We had a chance to learn firsthand about the challenges these people face on a daily basis,” said Aceves-Loza. During the assessment period, he said, “Some people broke down.” Some students were living in shelters, looking to find a job so they could find a home. Some were refugees. Some were looking to advance in their jobs and provide a better life for their families.

Supporting Not Just Students, but Families

One of the students, Luis Ingram, works in a company that makes electronic systems for elevators. He is a 37-year-old father of two children who came to the U.S. from Nicaragua.

“This program has given me the chance not only to learn a new language, but also to find new opportunities and open new doors in my life,” said Ingram, who wants to go back to college and become a manager. Aceves-Loza said for Ingram, “family is everything.”

Many of the program’s students had a high level of education, holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Most had finished high school. “But they can’t find a job here because they don’t speak English,” Aceves-Loza said.

Student Quendy Perez, 47, lives with her son, Adonis, who was also a student in the program. Perez has a part-time job, but wants to become proficient in English in order to find better employment. She built a strong connection with Professor Jo, her instructor.

“I love the way she teaches us,” said Perez, who came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, “I also love her passion, patience, and dedication.”

The program initially enrolled 146 students with beginner and intermediate English skills. Some had to drop out because of other commitments, including one person who found a job during the course—“which was a good reason!” said Aceves-Loza. At the end of the six-month program, Fordham presented 96 certificates to students who showed a gain on the assessment test and attended at least 85 percent of classes.

James Stabler-Havener, director of the IALC, noted that working together with the Office of Sponsored Programs, the institute received a renewal of the grant and is also seeking additional funding sources to expand the program for returning students and new students.

In the meantime, over the summer the institute will be offering free career workshops, as well as programs on immigrant rights and how to navigate the school system as parents.

“When we enroll a student, it’s not the student alone, it’s their family,” said Aceves-Loza, who noted that these language skills are helping adults to communicate with their own children, many of whom have forgotten their parents’ native tongue. “Family support is crucial.”

Aceves-Loza said when a representative from the Department of Youth and Community Development came to visit the program, she called it a model.

“She said, ‘You are one of my two best programs,’” he said, acknowledging that he and his colleagues appreciated the praise.

“But it’s much better to see how the program has changed lives.”