Second Day: Students report to a designated area 30 minutes before the classes begin to pick up their class assignments (levels, classrooms, and teacher names). Students are then escorted to their classrooms by their teachers.
Level changes: During week one, teachers check students’ levels, and may recommend that a student change levels. Students may also request level changes. Students then schedule have oral interviews with the program coordinator. The deadline for level change requests is Wednesday of week one. Students are notified by email of any changes.
Typically, it is one teacher with 12-16 students per class.
Instructors must have a bachelor’s degree in teaching English as a second language (ESL) or related field, plus a minimum of three years of ESL teaching experience. A master’s degree in ESL/SLS or a closely- related field is highly preferred.
Student Profile: Most participants are college students, but we welcome all students who are 16 and older. Students under 18 years of age must have an adult sponsor with them in Hawaiʻi.
Textbooks: No textbooks are required; all materials are provided.
Classrooms: NICE classes are centrally located on the UH campus. Note: classroom temperatures may be cold, so students might want to bring a light jacket.
Homework: Teachers usually give 1 hour of homework each night. .
4. English improvement: we typically observe student improvement in their:
Confidence in speaking English with others
Ability to comprehend English spoken by native speakers
Use of English words/phrases needed in daily communication
Insight into cultural differences and global awareness
Motivation to learn English
5. Special features:
Interchange: Provided students with the opportunity to converse with university students -- interchangers. Interchangers are hired, trained, and scheduled by our interchange coordinator. Each class is assigned five interchange sessions during regular program hours. Students are paired with the Interchangers (usually 2 to 1 ), and are provided topical handouts for discussion. Interchangers submit feedback forms to the teachers, which teachers then incorporate into feedback for the students.
Hawaiian Hula Workshop: Students attend a 2-hour workshop at the Center for Hawaiian Studies’Halau (hula school), which is led by a Kumu Hula (hula instructor) from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Students learn the significance of hula to Hawaiian culture as well as several hula movements, so that by the end of the session, everyone is having fun performing hula together.
Off-campus Educational Activities (EAs): students participate in two required off-campus activities with their teachers, which provide opportunities for students to speak English in the community. Examples include: the Manoa Heritage Center, a chocolate or ukulele factory, or the Bishop Museum.
Optional activities: students are offered three additional activities to join with their classmates which occur at night or on the weekends. No prior registration is required. Events are listed on our sample calendars and discussed during the first day’s orientation-many of these events are free with others being low cost. Examples include: a UH basketball game, whale-watching cruise, relaxing hike, or sunset picnic. All activities are escorted by teachers and American interchangers who interact with the students in English and who ensure student safety.