Tag Archives: CELOP Programs

The History of CELOP

November 24, 2015November 2015CELOP 40, CELOP Programs, Historympalermi

The Founding

CELOP was founded in 1975 by Robert Saitz and Francine Stieglitz who were both professors teaching in the English Department at that time. The center was their brainchild. Before CELOP was created, English Department instructors held classes for international students in that department. Francine Stieglitz was the first director.

Development and Growth

The center was first located at 730 Commonwealth Ave., and in the very first year there were 345 students; however, that number grew to 840 in 1978 and 1100 in 1980. In the very early years, scholarship students sent from Venezuela and Iran made up the student body. There were also students from Saudi Arabia, Japan, and other Latin American countries.

Susan Doll became the next director of CELOP in 1984. Then, the very next year when Margot Valdivia became the associate director, a large number of students from Beirut, Lebanon arrived; they were the Hariri students. The business tycoon and former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafic Hariri, sponsored this group. They continued to come for about a year or so. CELOP has continued to grow and attract students from different parts of the world since then.

Students Today and Famous Alumni

Margot Valdivia became the director and Bruce Rindler the associate director in 1988. Six years later, in 1995, CELOP moved to 890 Commonwealth Ave. At that time, CELOP continued to grow and attract students from different parts of the world. One of our more famous students was Psy, the Korean pop culture sensation who started the Gangnam Style craze. Psy studied at CELOP in 1996. Another famous student was A-Mei, a famous pop singer and songwriter from Taiwan, who studied at CELOP in 2005

Cooperation with Foreign Universities, Companies and Cultural Mission

Nowadays, CELOP students come from many parts of the world as well as from many famous universities and company sponsorships. These include Waseda and Hosei universities in Japan, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the US (SACM). CELOP students continue on to prestigious undergraduate and graduate programs such as the Harvard Graduate School of Design, BU College of Engineering, BU School of Law, BU Questrom School of Business, and many more. CELOP continues to be a vibrant leader in English as a Second Language training and special orientation programs under the leadership of Alan Broomhead, Managing Director, and Colin Large, Associate Director.

CELOP Group and Professional Programs

October 22, 2015October 2015CELOP ProgramsThe CELOP Sun

From July to the middle of September, many students come to take part in group and professional programs. Some of these programs prepare students with academic skills to succeed in graduate schools in the fall, like BU, and Harvard. Other programs allow university students from Japan to see the sights of Boston and partake in intensive English classes in Business English or IT. See what the teachers in these programs had to say about their work with these students.

Are you a teacher or student in a group or professional program you don't see here? Send us your pictures, descriptions, and highlights (celopsun@bu.edu).

Madrid Teacher Training Program

Carol Piñeiro

A group of 25 teachers of language and literature from middle and high schools in Madrid, Spain came to study at CELOP in July. In the photo, they are in the garden of the Longfellow House in Cambridge with Jen Lacroix and me after the tour.

Global Engineering Career Readiness Program

Carol Piñeiro

Students from China accepted to the College of Engineering came to CELOP for a 4-week preparation for graduate study and career readiness program. In the photo below, we are on a visit to Schlumberger, the largest petroleum equipment provider in the world, in the Kendall Square office.

Hosei Information Technology (IT)

Joey Nevarez

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Working with the Hosei IT students was a fun experience. Working so intensively with such a small group really allowed us to get to know each other. In fact, they gave me what is probably my favorite student-present so far: a bouquet of kale, because they know I'd been eating a lot of it over the summer and loving it! Moreover, the Hosei IT program's emphasis on culture and the exploration of Boston lent itself to interesting and interactive projects. The students got to work on projects in which they did some field work research in their own neighborhoods of the city. The students then worked on creating online webpages to aid in their professional presentations at the end of the term. It was a great experience for all involved!

Aomori

Katja Davidoff

A group of students came from Aomori Public University in Aomori Japan. They arrived with a sense of adventure and a strong desire to learn about American culture and business. In addition to lessons in business vocabulary, culture, and trends, they also participated in a business role play modeled on the popular TV show Shark Tank. They took trips to the MFA, Fenway Park, Harvard Square, the Samuel Adams Brewery, Chinatown, the North end, and The Holocaust memorial. They had opportunities to tour and interview local business professionals including the owner of 7 Eleven, Barrett Technology, Athans Bakery, E-Shan Tang, Orchards Skate Shop, Knight Moves Cafe, and Taza Chocolate Factory. The students seemed to enjoy their visits and appeared to learn a lot about running various business.

Hosei Fall Pre-Course

Ellen Yaniv

On August 29, fourteen excited, very eager Japanese college students from Hosei University in Japan arrived to Boston ready to begin their semester abroad. After finding their dorms, checking in and registering for their CELOP pre-course, and going on a tour of BU, they were ready for their three-week course. It included classroom lessons in student expectations in an American college, living in a dorm with a roommate, as well as activities offered at BU. Trips outside of the classroom included the Massachusetts State House, the Perkins School for the Blind, the MFA, a visit to a Japanese language class at BU, and many more. The weather was still very hot, but everyone enjoyed themselves. One memorable event was volunteering at Community Servings in Jamaica Plain. Now the students are scattered in different CELOP classes. They are a friendly, interested group who are eager to make friends with others.

In the words of student, Miyu Shigenaga:
I've been having a valuable experience in BU exchange programs. Fenway and Freedom trail Tour were exciting for us to know what is Boston, meanwhile the community servings and Perkins school told us about USA systems. I think everything is important to learn English.

Waseda Semester Study Abroad Pre-Program

Carol Piñeiro

A group of students from Waseda University in Tokyo came for a 3-week orientation before the fall semester began. Among their many field trips, they went to Concord to visit the Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women and to Walden Pond for a drizzly picnic. Here they are in front of the Free at Last memorial sculpture at Marsh Plaza, during their tour of the BU Campus with Felix Poon.

Legal English Certificate Program 2015-2016

October 22, 2015October 2015CELOP Programsmpalermi

LECP Participants with Judge Hoffman at the Bankruptcy Courthouse in downtown Boston

The Legal English Certificate Program (LECP) is the collaboration between CELOP and the BU Law School (BUSL), which offers foreign lawyers the chance to pursue a graduate law degree at Boston University. Begun in September 2014, the program provides participants the opportunity to brush up on their legal English skills and take law classes in the first year of a two-year LLM degree at Boston University. In the second year, students then begin their graduate law program at BUSL. Before the second year starts, students choose to specialize in American Law, Banking and Finance, Intellectual Property, or Tax law.

Among the participants this year are individuals from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Russia, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan R.O.C., Thailand, Mozambique, Turkey, Italy, and the Republic of Korea. In this program, some students complete the certificate program and then return home after the first year. Yet, usually the majority stays for the second year to complete the LLM. Upon finishing this degree, these individuals can sometimes find an internship and work in the legal field for a year in the US. Nevertheless, most of these students return home to their previous work or seek a new position.

Legal Programs at CELOP – Education and Fun for Teachers and Students

August 13, 2015August 2015CELOP Programsmpalermi

For those of you who are not aware, among our professional programs, CELOP offers Legal English for Pre-LLM Students (EN026) for 6 weeks and Legal English for Practitioners (EN006) too, for 4 weeks.

In the former program, practicing lawyers and recently graduated law students come to hone their English skills to start an LLM program in the fall. What does that mean, you say? An LLM is a masters degree in law designed specifically for international students. Once they finish the Pre-LLM legal English program at CELOP, the majority of students will study at the BU Law School. However, as in past years, there are others who are going to Harvard, Emory College, Boston College and others. In the EN026 program, pre-LLM students study both legal English with CELOP faculty and legal cases and concepts with a law professor from BU.

The other program, Legal English for Practitioners (EN006), is a little different. This course is designed for lawyers (and on occasion law students) who only have 4-weeks to stay and study. In this program they learn about the American Legal System and also work on establishing a law partnership agreement. Just as in the Pre-LLM program, these individuals practice their legal English skills and learn about the law from a BU law professor. Sounds like fun, right?

In these programs we teach and learn and have fun. Both groups of students met at a welcome lunch, and they also went on a sunset cruise just for them a few weeks ago. What is better than a warm evening on the harbor, the setting sun, a cold drink, wind blowing through your hair, and laughing with your colleagues and friends. Not much! This program is educational and fun for all—students and teachers alike.

If you have any questions, write one in the comment section below! Or email me at mpalermi@bu.edu.

Enjoy the picturesque photos!

Students at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse

Sunset Cruise 1 — Students on the sunset cruise

Lynn Sunset Cruise-1 — Lynn Bonesteel, Coordinator for the Pre-LLM program, and a student talk on the sunset cruise