Every year, English Language Support Programs sponsors the Conference on Language, Identity and Culture. The conference is produced by first-semester students in English 101M and one small section of English 101. Together, these students designed and distributed a flyer; emailed relevant campus and local organizations; created a program with short texts on the topic of language, identity and culture; and delivered presentations. For nearly every student, this is their first experience organizing a conference and speaking publicly.
At this fall’s conference, students spoke on a range of topics, from the rights of women in Afghanistan to linguistic labels placed on the LGBTQ+ community. Attendees praised students for their preparation and commented on how much they learned from or were moved by the presentations. One faculty member wrote in an email following the conference, “It was such a treat to see [these] amazing students presenting. I am so lucky to have been able to see it.”
The students themselves found the experience enriching. Many of them remarked on how proud they were of the work everyone had done. They considered this to be a great way to get to know one another better and work as a team. “I think that the bonding that went into this project was very important to our class’s progression,” wrote one student in a reflection journal after the conference. Another wrote, “I have made some good friends in the class. We all worked hard to prepare a good conference and I am sure that there won’t be any other class in my four years of journey the same as this class.”