The Language Institute offers classes that will help students improve their skills if English is their second language.

The institute is located in the International Technology, Education and Commerce Center and offers courses to learn English, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese and Japanese, which was recently added.

Joel S. Garza, program director of the Language Institute, explained the languages offered are chosen based on the demands of the community and that right now there are no plans to include more languages.

"The only problem we have with foreign languages is the fact that there is very little demand in the area, as of yet," Garza said.

He describes the Language Institute as "a program that deals with English as a second language. This is, of course, for individuals learning the language either for professional-level purposes, academic purposes or even personal reasons.

"Basically, we fall under the Continuing Education umbrella of the university, so, therefore, we offer courses more for personal enrichment as opposed to academic purposes," he said.

Lilia Martinez, a continuing education student, told The Collegian that she decided to learn English because it’s a requirement in her job and she wants to help her family in the future.

"Since I am in another country, I have to learn the language of this country," Martinez said in Spanish.

Taking courses at the institute is recommended for people who want to improve their English skills before they attend college.

The Language Institute employs 14 instructors, who teach such classes as Introduction to Grammar and Introduction to English Skills, Conversational Grammar, Writing Skills, Conversation and English Skills for beginning, intermediate, high intermediate and advanced levels, English Pronunciation, Preparation for College and Preparation for the TOEFL, or Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Stephen W. Johnston, a learning instructional specialist, said the TOEFL is an exam that international students have to take in order to enter the university.

Johnston is teaching five language courses this semester and explained the objective of the Conversational Grammar class.

"The focus is on grammar," he said, "but the title of the course is Conversational Grammar, so the idea is that the students are not studying grammar for theoretical purposes but are studying grammar to learn the language and speak the language."

About 450 students are enrolled in the Language Institute, less than in past years, and according to Garza, the increasing costs of the student visa might be the cause.

"Anybody who comes in, an international student, has to have visa and that, of course, incurs an extra cost aside from the tuition," Garza explained.

To overcome the slight decrease in enrollment, the institute is working with the Distance Education Department to develop a system to offer "videoconferencing courses."

"A videoconferencing course," Garza said, "is something similar to an online course, except something that will be a live class, you know, meeting. It will be a more interactive course, where the instructor here would be able to interact with the individuals through a computer or a video screen."

A distance-learning system was installed at the ITECC to transmit the videoconferencing courses. The institute has already started negotiations with the Universidad Tecnológica de Matamoros to start transmitting courses to the university’s campus this semester.

Students interested in learning a foreign language may contact the Language Institute at 882-4178 or visit its office in Suite D-3A, Office 106. The ITECC is located at 301 Mexico Blvd.