Campus treks elevate international students’ language and life skills

Navigating a new university can be daunting for any student, but for international students at Virginia Tech, the challenge often extends beyond academics. Through immersive experiences and hands-on learning, though, the Language and Culture Institute (LCI) helps students not only master English but also feel at home within the university and greater Blacksburg communities.

In institute instructor Steve Rieg’s classes, for example, students aren’t confined to traditional classroom settings. Instead, they embark on campus training exercises — what he refers to as CTXs — designed to put his lessons into real-world context while exploring Virginia Tech’s vibrant Blacksburg campus. These interactive sessions are a cornerstone of the institute’s mission to empower students with both language proficiency and cultural fluency.

“Being an international student at Virginia Tech is not just about knowing the language and the subjects you are learning; it is also about understanding how to navigate the university community, culture, and norms,” said Pamela Smart-Smith, interim co-director of the LCI. “Even the simple task of buying textbooks for class can prove to be confusing.”

Recognizing this challenge, Rieg led his students one day out of their Gilbert Place classroom and to the Virginia Tech bookstore, transforming a routine errand into an educational adventure. The success of this approach spurred the development of more CTXs, and they’re now integral parts of the curriculum.

Rieg said it is important that the CTXs are more than just field trips. By incorporating a variety of learning opportunities across campus, as well as pre- and post-trip assessments, students experience language learning on multiple levels. They do more than simply build local and cultural awareness. Each exercises exposes students to new vocabulary, tests their listening and speaking skills, and encourages them to engage with faculty, staff, and other students in unique ways.

Before each CTX, Rieg challenges students to prepare questions that include the vocabulary and grammar they’re learning in class. Those questions are critiqued and rewritten through an in-depth process that includes instructor and peer feedback. Students then engage in question-and-answer sessions with hosts at each location, summarize the answers, and submit their results in the form of presentations or written assignments.

“These activities build upon the LCI’s comprehensive curriculum and further reinforce elements of collaboration and teamwork,” Rieg said. “It’s more than just knowing the vocabulary and grammar structures. By breaking up learning into chunks and providing contextual supports for meaning, CTXs build on our students’ experiences, thus making learning actionable.”

Student Hanbo Jia, a native of China, said the exercises help him “understand vocabulary better and help me enjoy studying English.” By seeing and experiencing something, he said, students “remember the word and the association better.”

A glimpse into the experiences

For one recent CTX, Master Sgt. Joseph “Jo” Moore, deputy director of operations for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, welcomed students with a walking tour of the corps’ facilities, including the new Corps Leadership and Military Science Building and museum.

For many of the Language and Culture Institute students, the experience helped explain why they see so many students wearing uniforms on campus. “Because we are new students, every CTX is the first time we’ve been there, and that leads us to know more about Virginia Tech,” Zihan Wang said.

Moore said inviting students into the corps’ space was mutually beneficial. “As an organization that builds future global leaders of industry and the military, it is vitally important for all cadets, students, and future students to experience as many different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs as possible. These interactions and exchanges are a key element in developing the human experience.  It empowers progress and encourages understanding.”

For one student, visiting the corps' museum was particularly meaningful. Azizgul Ahmadi is a refugee from Afghanistan and a former member of the Female Tactical Platoon, which accompanied U.S. military forces to gather intelligence on Taliban targets.

“I want to go back to the museum and spend more time there,” said Ahmadi, who fled to Blacksburg when the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital in 2021. “The uniform that I used to wear in Afghanistan, I saw in the museum.”

For another CTX, Rieg invited the Cook Counseling Center’s Trent Davis to visit the Language and Culture Institute with Epcot and Derek, two of the university’s therapy dogs. Many students had never encountered dogs being used in clinical therapy settings, and for some, Epcot and Derek were their first introduction to dogs as pets.

For Ahmadi, though, meeting the dogs was a welcome reminder of the U.S. military working dogs that had accompanied her platoon. She gave them a big hug, warmly recalling the dogs her team had relied on in Afghanistan.

During another CTX, at the Moss Arts Center, Ahmadi said she learned about cultural differences between the U.S. and Afghanistan in an unexpected way.

“In Afghanistan, you can touch everything. It’s part of understanding the quality and the material of art. I learned that’s not how people interact with art in the U.S. It was very different.” She enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the center that included being on stage.

Welcoming Ahmadi and the other students to the Moss Arts Center “was a total joy,” said Jon Catherwood-Ginn, associate director of programming. “The students exhibited so much curiosity through the questions they posed about our facility, artists’ intent through their works, and Moss’ contribution to the university’s educational mission. As LCI students transition to full-time status or accompany their family members who are students at Virginia Tech, we believe their engagement with the Moss’ programs and participants can offer connection to community.”

Recounting the variety of campus locations he was able to explore with his fellow students, Jia said, “Before our CTXs, I thought Blacksburg was boring and there was nothing to do. After CTXs, I found out about exercising, movies, and even met new friends. It really changed my mind about where I am living.”