Statement of Grant Purpose

Nicole Elissa Cory, Taiwan, English Teaching Assistant Program

When I first arrived to Purdue University, I majored in Political Science and History with strong
hopes of becoming a politician to make positive impacts in peoples lives. Despite this, my
volunteering and tutoring experiences with the international population influenced me to choose
a different life path. The experiences and interactions led me to discover that I dont need to be a
powerful politician to make a meaningful imprint on someones life. Thanks to my experiences
with international students, I have developed strong cross-cultural communication skills,
methods that help encourage English Language Learners (ELL), and the ability to help bridge
cultural gaps. These skills will allow me to adequately assist Taiwanese English teachers,
teaching English at both primary and middle school level.
After my trip to Taiwan, I was very eager to continue learning Mandarin. Learning a second
language gave me a glimpse of the challenges ELLs face. This prompted me to serve as a tutor
through Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange (PLaCE). PLaCE gave me the opportunity to
tutor native Mandarin speakers by proof-reading papers, helping them practice their
conversational English, explaining cultural differences, and clarifying spoken jargon. Through
my own pursuit of studying a Mandarin, I developed an understanding of the challenges and
effective methods to learning a second language. While working as a tutor of ELLs, I
experimented on methods that would help promote the ELLs achievement. I believe the most
important approaches for an ELLs success is the following: Creating an encouraging
environment for individuals to practice their oral English, providing material that is culturally
relevant, and providing fun activities that engage the individual. Through what I learned as a
PLaCE tutor, I could apply in the classroom as an ETA to promote Taiwanese students success.
Through my involvement in Multinational Integration Xchange (MIX), a multicultural
mentorship program, I mentored international students during their first year at Purdue and
addressed their concerns with life in a new country. I hosted events and holiday celebrations that
helped demonstrate United States customs and culture. For example, one of my MIX mentees
expressed interest in learning more about Halloween so provided tools and pumpkins so my
entire MIX group could carve pumpkins, a United States tradition. My interactions with my
international mentees of directed me to see they have a high level of interest in United States
sports, music, personal hobbies, and popular culture. With this understanding, I would
incorporate these topics into fun activities that engage students in learning more about English
vocab and United States culture.
If I were to be accepted to teach English in Taiwan, I would continue to study Mandarin. The
improvement of my Mandarin would better help me connect with the Taiwanese community. It
would also allow me to immerse myself in Taiwans developing environmental movement by
working closely with a local environmental NGO. Working with NGOs, such as the Society of
Wilderness (SOW), would allow me to directly aid in environmental conservation. My
experiences volunteering could be brought back to the students and the community. I would be
able to create conservation activities for the students. These activities would increase
environmental awareness, engage Taiwanese youth, and allow me to build connections within
the community.