RCE News and Updates: American Language & Culture Institute

You may have seen it.

The current issue of Chico Statements, the official news magazine of the University, features some of our ALCI students from the Middle East.

Check it out by clicking here.

We are happy to welcome 38 Japanese students from NIC International College who are participating in the annual Summer Bridge Program on campus.

This year marks the 17th year we have hosted NIC International College students from Tokyo, Japan.

The Summer Bridge Program is an intensive, six-week schedule of English language, culture, and academic preparation courses and activities. The courses, presented according to skill level, enable the visiting student an opportunity to learn English and prepare for academic study. Many of the students will study to meet the language requirement for admissions at Chico State, Butte College, Shasta College, or another university.

During the Summer Bridge Program, students who have met the English language proficiency required for admission at Chico State, Butte College, or Shasta College will be able to take college-level art, history, and geography courses offered through ALCI in conjunction with Butte College.

While in Chico, the students board at Whitney Hall and get to experience first hand what it is like to live on a residential campus. To immerse the students in the local culture, ALCI student services coordinator, Yuki Watanabe Rojas, has developed a full schedule of socio-cultural and community activities.

“We are happy to host our NIC friends, again. The students love Chico; they enjoy experiencing student life, participating in an American university classroom, and learning from our excellent faculty. When they are not studying, we have a full schedule of fun activities planned, including trips around the North State and heading downtown for the Thursday Market and Friday Night Concerts,” mentioned ALCI Director William Dantona.

“Every year we look forward to the time when we get an opportunity to bring our students to Chico State. The faculty and staff provide an excellent learning experience and a cultural bridge to the American university. Since 1994, hundreds of our students have successfully participated in the program and continue to talk about their positive Chico experience,” remarked Ayano Masuda, Coordinator for Student Placement Services, NIC International College.

William Dantona, our Director for the American Language and Culture Institute, is currently visiting friends in Asia. He is with the Shanghai Shangshi Education Group, affiliated with Shanghai Normal University, at the PRC-Sponsored Shanghai International Education Expo (Shanghai, China, April 14-15, 2007).

We are delighted to announce William Dantona, the new Director of CSU, Chico American Language and Culture Institute.

Dantona has more than thirteen years of experience working with international students and business professionals. Prior to appointment, Dantona coordinated the successful Teachers Training Teachers Program (3TP 2006), and taught communications in business for the Department of Management, College of Business on the Chico campus.

Before coming to Chico, Dantona was a member of the University of Pennsylvania English Language Programs (UPENN-ELP) faculty where he coordinated the Summer Institute for International Business Students pre-MBA program.

Dantona has extensive experience in English language training for global business leaders. He served as a corporate language trainer and workforce language proficiency consultant for the School of International Training (SIT) and World Learning for Business (WLfB). There he conducted language training for graduate-level international students as well high-potential executives from international corporate and governmental entities, including: ABN-AMRO Bank, JPMorgan-Chase, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, McKinsey Consultants Group, KEPCO, Toyota, Goldman-Sachs and Proctor & Gamble.

Dantona has also been engaged in secondary and post-secondary instruction (University of Puerto Rico, Greenfield Community College, Massachusetts) and graduate-level teacher-training research in both US and international settings.

After completing coursework and a two-year research program in Nepal, Dantona earned his M.A.T. from SIT in 1998, and completed the Wharton Management Program in 2004. He now makes his home in Chico, California with wife, Lilith, and daughter, Michelle.

California State University, Chico American Language & Culture Institute welcomes 43 Nevada-California International Consortium students from Japan who will participate in this year’s Summer Bridge Program on the Chico campus.

The five-week, Summer Bridge Program runs through August 4, and features a combination of intensive English language coursework, academic preparation, and cultural immersion.

Many of these students are improving their language skills in preparation for admission into an academic program at CSU, Chico, Butte College or another institution.

“Now in its fourteenth year, the Summer Bridge Program is a Chico tradition,” remarked, William Dantona, American Language & Culture Institute Director. “We are pleased to welcome our friends from Japan. We have a lot planned beyond the classroom and campus experiences, they will have a chance to see the beauty of the area, enjoy downtown, catch a baseball game, and experience the culture of California.”

For more information concerning The American Language & Cutlure Institute at CSU, Chico please visit http://rce.csuchico.edu/alci and call the ACLI office at 530-898-6821.