What is “PIEP”?
Near the end of the summer, Wenzhou-Kean University welcomed nearly 800 new students from the Class of 2025. The new students have stepped into their new campus, familiarized themselves with the unfamiliar environment, and are about to start a thrilling journey.
When studying at a Sino-American university, language can be a barrier and a concern for some students. To support the freshmen students’ transition, College of Liberal Arts (CLA) provides the Pre-University Intensive English Program (PIEP) specifically designed for freshmen. The majority of PIEP courses are taught face-to-face by current WKU faculty. In response to the changes of the pandemic, the Department of Teaching and Learning built the online platform for PIEP upon receiving the notice to suspend the arrival of new students from medium and high-risk areas, so that all new students can experience the classroom environment of an American-style university together.
Early in the morning of August 14, the Mentors selected by CLA were thrilled to welcome the incoming new students. In addition to providing all the courses during PIEP, CLA also cooperated with the university’s pandemic prevention work and organized the mentors to arrange the orientation for all the new students.
The first PIEP course for the new students started on August 16. Teachers made full use of their rich teaching experience to actively create a relaxed and friendly classroom environment, encouraging each new student to speak English confidently, reduce language anxiety, and acquire authentic and practical English expressions through games and activities. The online PIEP course is also taught remotely on Zoom by Professor Kyra Whitehead from the English Department of CLA. The online platform offered two classes, each with a reasonably controlled class size, in order to ensure interaction and communication in the classroom and give the new students an “immersive” English experience at home. During the class, the teachers always pay close attention to the students’ status and constantly give encouragement and help so that students can feel more comfortable with communication in English and actively participate in the class.
The two weeks had not only regular classes but also the unique TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) courses. The TESOL courses were taught by current WKU graduate students, who shared their tips for living and studying at WKU, helping the freshmen’s transition from high school to university.
From August 16 to August 27, the two-week PIEP created an “immersive” English environment for the new students. In addition to engaging in the campus activities, the new students were also able to improve themselves in a fully English-taught classroom. What do the teachers think of the new students’ performance? What did CLA do in preparation for and after the program? What did the students have to say about the program? Here are some voices sharing their first-hand experience!
PIEP is just the first step of the students’ journey at WKU. May each new student gain more new knowledge, acquire more new skills, and share more rewarding experiences with WKU in the next four years.
writer：tang feng
