To most students in the U.S., English is something they know, speak and write each day. It comes easily to them without even thinking about it.

Cornerstone’s English Secondary Language (ESL) program is doing its best to better those in the world through the teachings of English. “We started this program eight years ago,” said Michael Pasquale, associate director of linguistics. “It is a great mission opportunity.”

The program is designed to teach those in the United States and around the world English as a secondary language. Pasquale said that he thought it is a great option for missionaries because they can teach the language to people around the world while witnessing to them.

“I chose to go into this major my freshman year when I went to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip,” Soeltner said. “I realized the need in other countries and how beneficial it would be to them to know English. I knew I could help in some way.”

Soeltner also mentioned that in closed societies such as China, if they know English they will have a much better and easier life because it wills them to make decisions and stand up for themselves.

On April 4, 2009, ESL is holding their eighth annual conference on campus in the Gainey Conference Center. Attendance usually runs at about 120 people. This year, guest speaker Sherry Pearson will be presenting ESL information. She will be doing workshops and teaching students techniques for teaching English

“The ESL conference is a place where students can go to network and learn from others,” Pasquale said. “It is a good way to get another voice and it can create opportunities for internships and even jobs.” He also mentioned that it is good for ESL majors to see beyond the walls at Cornerstone University and attend workshops to further their knowledge of the subject.

“I have been to this conference before and it’s really fun. They give out free stuff and it is a great opportunity for people to see if ESL is what they are really interested in,” Soeltner said. She said it was great for her to attend because she was still unsure of what she wanted to do and the conference gave her full confidence in her major. She hopes to become a teacher in the U.S. and teach people from all ages and cultures, English. Soeltner enjoys ESL because “a classroom with so many different cultures is like visiting a number of countries all at once.”

“To me, ESL teachers are different to kids who don’t know English very well. They are more like a mom or a big sister because they are so helpful and willing to take time out of there day to help them,” Soeltner said.

Soeltner thinks ESL is a major that appears very marketable to job opportunities because it is different, useful and it can be used world-wide. She feels it well look great on her resume, because it is a more rare major.

People who major in ESL do not have to know a second language but it is very useful. “It helps to understand other cultures and know other languages because then you can realize how difficult it is to learn a language,” Soeltner said. “It is also very helpful because a teacher needs to know the value of patience to teach a student a brand new language.”

“There is so much more to ESL than just teaching a language to someone who doesn’t understand it,” Soeltner said. She said that it’s about helping others and she feels like this is where God has led her.