DonnaAlexander:CombiningCultures,CreatingChange

BYALEXISTRAMMELLINSTAFFPROFILESJANUARY23,2015NOCOMMENTS
TAGS:CENTERFORENGLISHASASECONDLANGUAGE,CESL,CHINA,CULTURE,EDUCATION,OU

DonnaAlexanderenjoystravelingandappreciatesotherculturesevenwhentheyarefardifferentfromOklahomanculture.
AlexanderhasworkedattheUniversityofOklahomafor16years.ShecameupthroughtheranksoftheCenterforEnglishas
aSecondLanguageasacoreinstructoratthecenterfor13years,thenassistantdirectorfrom2008to2009andnow
director.Atonepointintime,CESLonlyhad5teachersand30students.Today,CESLs35instructorsareteachingmore
than300students.
Oneofthereasonsfortheprogramssuccessistherecruitmentefforts.Alexandertravelsasamemberoftheuniversity
recruitmentteamforinternationalstudents.Sheworkstowardfulfillingasharedandprimarygoalofhersandtheuniversitys:
thecontinuedgrowthofthediversityoftheOUstudentpopulationandtheoverallglobalizationofthecampus.
ChildhoodandChina
IknewIwasgoingtoendupinsomekindofaninternationalfield,shesaid.Alexander,whogrewupinTaiwanandlearned
Chineseasachild,firstwantedtobeaninterpreterfortheU.N.
Sheexplainsthatgrowingupinoraroundothercultureshelpsindividualsgrowtheirconfidenceanddeveloppeopleskills.I
thinkitmakesahugedifferenceifyoutakeyourkidsoutofthecountrytolivesomewhereelse,shesaid.Whentheycome
back,itisalittlehardtorelateculturallywithallthethingsthatseemimportanttoyourpeersbecausesuddenlyyouhavea
worldview,butitpaysoffwhenyougetolder.Itjustbroadensthewholeworldforyou.IdontthinktheresanythingIcantdo.

Whenitcomestolearningasecondlanguage,Alexanderstressestheimportanceofkinestheticlearning.
IlearnedChineseinTaiwanandtookChineseclassesinthestates,shesaid.Thewayitwastaughtwassocompletely
differentfromthewaythatweteachEnglish.IfotherlanguagesweretaughtlikeweteachEnglishasasecondlanguage,
morepeoplewouldlikelanguageclasses.Kidswouldlearnitmuchfasterandtheywouldretainit,whichwouldbegreat.
Shesaysthatimmersingintothelanguageandcultureisthebestwaytolearn.
AlexandertravelstoChinaeverychanceshegetsandsayssheisfortunatetohavethatopportunityoftenwithherjob.
TheChinesehaveanamazingworkethic.Theyaresodelightedthatyoucamesofarthattheywanttosqueezeevery
resourcehouroutofyou.
Therecruitmentfairsherteamattendsoftenlastfromnineinthemorninguntileightintheevening.Itmakesitverydifficultto
gosightseeingandseetheGreatWallinhalfaday.
Incontrast,shesaid,SouthAmericanrecruitmenttripsoffermuchmoretimeandopportunityforearlyriserstoexplorethe
country,asoftenthefairsdonotbeginuntil3or4p.m.
AllKindsofCulturalThings
AlexandersfavoritepartofherCESLjobismeetingpeoplefromallovertheworld.
IlovethefactthatItalktotheworldeverydayinpersonandbyemail.Andthatisaverycoolwaytospendyourday,she
said.
ShespendsmuchofhertimetalkingtopeopleinKazakhstan,Turkey,Chinaandelsewhere,butshealsolikesthe
interactionsoncampus.
Ilovethenetworkingthathappenswithotherdepartmentsonthemaincampus.Weworkwithadmissionsandstudent
servicesandacademicintegrity.WehelpgetthesekidsacclimatednotjustthroughEnglishproficiencyabout50percentof
ourprogramisculturalawareness,shesaid.
SheexplainedthatmuchoftheworkatCESLdealswithtalkingaboutthewaythingsareinAmerica.Shesaid,Weaskthem
iftheyareprepared.Wetalkabouttheholidaysandtrafficlightsandtherulesyoumustfollowandmoneyandsharingaroom
andbathroomwitharoommate.Allkindsofculturalthingscomeup,includingpersonalhygiene.Thosekindsof
conversationsarefun.
ThehardestpartaboutworkingatCESLisfindingtimetodoitallreallywell,shesaid,especiallygiventhecontinuousseven
weekcoursesyearround.Theonlydowntimeisinthewinter.
Youaregivingeverythingyoucantohelpanotherpersonunderstandyou.Itisincrediblyrewardinganddrainingatthe
sametime,shesaid.
CESLinstructorshaveapproachablepersonalities.Wearetheirfirstcontactandtheirculturalconsultants.So,theyhaveto

feelcomfortableenoughwithustoaskusanyquestion.Evenveryembarrassing,verypersonalquestions.Ifwearenotopen
enoughtothatthentheymighthandlethatexperiencepoorlyanditleavesabadimpressionwiththepeopletheymeet.
WeWanttoSendThesePeopleOutintotheWorldtoChangeThings
Studentsarebetweentheagesof16to64.Manyofthemarenotonlyheadedfortheuniversitiesbutarealready
professionalshopingtoimprovetheirEnglishproficiencyskills.
WevehadPulitzerPrizewinnerswhowanttoimprovetheirEnglishsotheycangoonalecturecircuittotalkabouttheir
book,Alexandersaid.WevehadOlympicathletes.Wevehadprofessionalathletes.WehadonekidfromJapanwhowas
tryingtobreakintothePGAandneededtoimprovehisEnglishskillssothathecouldgoonthetour.Itsbeenreally
amazing.
ShewentontonotethatCESLstudentshavealsoincludedFulbrightscholars.TheycomeheretogoontoplaceslikeMIT
andHarvard,shesaid.Otherstudentshaveincludedolderprofessionals,suchasaSouthAmericannovelistwhowasabout
togoonaU.S.booktour.
AfewyearsagowehadastudentwhohasjustbecometheMinisterofEducationandScienceforKazakhstan.HeisanOU
alumfromtheCollegeofBusiness,andhecamethroughCESL.IwasinKazakhstanthispastyearatanalumnifair,andhe
gavethekeynoteaddress,Alexandersaid.
IwassoproudthatweworkedwithhimonhisEnglishandnowhecanstandupinagroupofprofessionalsandspeakwith
professional,academicEnglish.Andhedidabeautifuljob.Thatiswhatwewanttodo.Wewanttosendthesepeopleoutinto
theworldtochangethings.