By Jennefer Barton
Students have many opportunities to travel while at BYU. Some find themselves on missions, in study abroad programs or teaching English to students across the world.
The Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Program, TESOL, was founded by BYU four years ago
and students say it has made an impact on their lives.
The program trains students to live in another country while teaching those who desire to learn English.
One of the most recent countries to open to the TESOL program is Tonga. Students are now teaching there this
spring term for the first time.
'I wanted the opportunity to come and learn more about the Tongan culture and have the opportunity to learn and serve,' said Liz Fukui, a 20-year-old English major from Tremonton. 'What I should have known is that I would learn so much more from those that I am serving.'
Tessa Stimpson, a 18-year-old advertising major from Tupelo, Miss., is currently teaching in Tonga.
'I was looking forward to the experience to learn about people, life and myself,' Stimpson said.
The TESOL program provides students with the opportunity to go to another country for up to four months and teach English to natives of that country, while receiving up to nine hours of university credit.
The students who do the TESOL program do not have faculty sponsors who go with them. The students are on their own.
'That''s what makes it different from a study abroad program, they do not go with a faculty member and it''s much more affordable,' said Laura Steeby, assistant English-teaching internship coordinator.
Students have the opportunity to teach in either elementary, high school or adult education sites.
The TESOL program is currently offered in 10 countries: Chile, China, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Thailand and Tonga.
Students go through a class the semester before to prepare them for teaching students. They also do individual things to prepare for their teaching experience.
'I took the class, prepared lesson plans, researched facts about Tonga, met with return missionaries who served in Tonga and bought books about the islands,' said Brittney Langford, a 20-year-old junior from Las Vegas.
Students from any major are welcome to get involved in the program.
'Most students do come out of the College of Humanities, many are language majors, English majors and linguistics majors,' Steeby said. 'Some are childhood education majors, but we have a big variety of students. Any and all majors are welcome to do the program.'
One of the unique themes of the TESOL program is students are asked to participate in the community.
'The program encourages students to get involved in the community while being in a foreign country,' said Steeby, who recently returned from a TESOL program in Chile.
Fukui said one of her most memorable experiences in Tonga thus far, happened on Mother''s Day with a service project.
'We cleaned the yards of widows and did all we could to make the outside presentable and nice,' Fukui said. 'The kids taught me how to properly hoe weeds in Tonga, and I learned how to make a broom out of the leaves of a coconut tree. It was wonderful to see these loving youth get together and work hard to serve others while getting to know and enjoy them.'
All in all, students have similar reasons why they do the TESOL program.
'I hope to learn a lot more about myself, and to be a good influence on the students,' Stimpson said. 'I think we''ll be able to help the students improve their English and make them more confident when they speak it.'
Langford said she''s already gained a greater appreciation for things in the U.S.
'I have realized how much I actually take for granted,' Langford said. 'There is no way that the students in Tonga will ever be able to learn as much from me as I have from them, but I hope that I can be of some help towards their learning English and progressing in their lives.'