New ESL active learning lab expands learning possibilities for international students

Students in Dan Pell’s course study in the active learning lab
Students in Dan Pell’s course study in the active learning lab in the English as a Second Language Department inside Helen C. White Hall. PHOTO: BRYCE RICHTER

It might be hard to imagine a journalism student, a future economist, a cancer researcher and an aspiring statistician in the same 16-person class in Helen C. White Hall.

More than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students at UW–Madison are united by a common thread: the need for English language skills.

“Here in the ESL program, we have a pretty happy staff because they feel the same way I do,” says English as a Second Language director Sandra Arfa. “That we are rather lucky to have such a diverse population of students to work with — and it’s fun.”

The ESL program — part of the English Department — recently celebrated the launch of a new interactive learning lab. Dan Pell, the designer of the learning lab, sought to create a dynamic space that provided flexibility for instructors based on different learning goals.

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Story written by Will Hoverman.