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To most of the international students, there must be a hard time going to America for studying abroad. If we want to master English language, besides the spirit of perseverance for learning English that we must obtain, an excellent learning environment is extremely important to us. The ESL instructors in Cornerstone Academy deeply realize the needs of ESL students, so they set up a meaningful program for ESL students in order to intensify their English abilities. Other than that, they provide test prep courses and opportunities for students to get into the best known universities in America. If you want to enhance your ability to reach English proficiency level and have a wonderful experience of school life, you should really contemplate Cornerstone Academy as your first choice school. What Cornerstone Academy has given to me is the solidity of English language and the character of a person that we must possess in society. Sink or swim? It all depends on your wise choice in choosing a suitable school for yourself.”
Angel, (Hong Kong) Junior Class of 2009
“Being in the ESL class, I found out that I learned more vocabularies and writing skills. I have been taking ESL for these three years while I am studying in America. I have reaped much benefit. In the ESL program of Cornerstone Academy, we have different students from different countries. Everyone came here seeking English. Learning English is really useful for us. We try our best to learn as much as we can.” Karlon, (Hong Kong) Senior Class of 200
I have been in ESL almost three years. When I came to this school, I took ESL class. But, it was small. Last year, when I came back to school, I got shocked. It was because there were a lot of students in ESL class. It wasn’t that big when I came to this school for the first time. I took all the ESL classes with Mrs. Maenchen and my friends. I also made some new friends. Whenever I feel very sad, they always come to me and make me happy. Also, they always smile whenever they talk with their friends. They understand the feelings of each other very well, so they give a piece of advice to each other. Sometimes, they can be like our parents, daughters, or sons. They are also very independent, so they can take care of themselves. That’s why I like to talk to ESL students. I’m glad they are my friends.” Michelle, (Korea) Junior Class of 2009
“The ESL class is helpful for the international students to get better at English. I came to America for about half a year. I take ESL classes every school day. Before I came to America, I didn’t know how to read the English stories or paragraphs, but I have ESL History and ESL writing class, and now my writing and reading abilities are getting better. Now, I can learn and understand during Algebra class. I can understand what the teacher is talking about during class. For the ESL Comprehension class, I know a lot of the stories from Greek Mythology, like “Apollo and Diana”, “Daedalus and Icarus”. I will learn more in ESL class. Now, my English is better than before. I will keep on studying hard.” Kakit, (China) Freshman Class of 2011
“I want to thank the school. This school gave me the opportunity to learn English in another country. This program teaches us English and about other countries’ culture. We learn
together.” Timmy, (Hong Kong) 8th Grade 2012
“What I can say about the ESL program is that it is very useful. I’ve learned a lot of basic stuff that helped me to improve my English skills. It also gave me confidence in communicating with other people. The teacher is approachable and very nice. Our teacher gives us a lot of exercises to help improve our English level. The classmates are helpful. They care about each and everyone’s success.” Amier, (Philippines) Senior Class of 2008
“I came to America already for about two and a half years. I could feel America is filled with freedom and wonderful weather. I am enjoying it so much. And, the school I go to is Cornerstone Academy. I learned a lot here because I am getting the correct classes for me. When we have something we don’t understand or don’t know, we can ask the teacher all the time. They are helpful. When we are getting a bad grade, the teachers will help us in every way that is useful. Friends could also be a helper in your life. In this school, you will be bale to make friends in a classroom or in other ways. Friends are helpful also. Some of them always make jokes with each other. They are talkative and help me with English. And, you can make friends with people who are different ages and grades. Most of my friends are ESL students and come from different nations. My ESL teacher, Mrs. Maenchen, always works hard at her job. She helps us even with many ESL students, teaches us, and sometimes shares many things with us. She has many ideas for a better way to make it easier for us to learn. Last summer vacation, she provided a summer class for ESL lower level students. She teaches many different grade level students, but she can still handle it because she is enjoying her job. I am a 7th grader, and I started ESL in 5th grade. I was the first youngest ESL student, and I was proud of myself. Now, I can write some nice, complete paragraphs because ESL classes have taught me the words and skills. But, I still have to work on my grammar.” Boris, (Hong Kong) 7th grade Class of 2013
“Various difficulties have appeared from studying in the United States, which is a totally different country from when I was in my homeland. At the beginning, I was worried about whether I can adapt to the new environment quickly. Everything went better than I expected. When I came to Cornerstone Academy, I was surprised by the perfect ESL program. The courses that were set up for the international students can improve our reading skills, writing skills, and it will help you to learn more. ESL Reading is my favorite class. The reading from that class contains a substantial amount of vocabulary. What’s more, during the class, you will learn about teamwork, how to research, and so on, which can improve your skills a lot. You will be given the topics that are common in society. For instance, now we are working on natural disasters. It is related to our daily life, but not everyone is familiar with it. Through the class, we can also learn more about common sense. I really appreciate these ESL classes. It really helps me a lot.”
Cindy, (China) Sophomore Class of 2010
“I have been taught by Mrs. Maenchen for two and a half years. In these years, I can deeply feel her passion in teaching foreign students. As the size of the ESL program increased year after year, we can tell that it is a good program for foreigners. And, Mrs. Maenchen is a very good teacher that cares about her students’ feelings. She also has a great understanding of every student’s personality and potential.” Adam, (Hong Kong) Junior Class of 2009
“Education is extremely crucial, significant, and meaningful because education is a fabulous way to provide opportunity for every student to achieve their future goals. Every successful student always has a good teacher who pushes them to succeed. In my point of view, the ESL class has a wonderful leader which is Mrs. Maenchen. Her teaching programs are absolutely suitable for me. Her programs are very comprehensive. She plans every detail for each student as to what classes they should take and at the same time the students can gain a lot of knowledge and useful things that can give them a great help in the future. Meanwhile, she is a good teacher who treats everyone equally. She provides education for all the people without discrimination. Therefore, I am very appreciative because of her. I hope that her students will someday contribute to society.” (Chinese Proverb) Angel, (Hong Kong) Junior Class of 2009
“When I first came here, I didn’t even understand what people are talking about. I didn’t know how to write an essay. I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t know how to start a conversation with other people. Then I went to ESL. I learned a lot of stuff from this class. Slowly, I could start a conversation with someone, and I made friends. I learned how to write essays. I learned how to read. I learned how to write answers quickly. I learned how to answer questions while listening. I learned how to take notes. This program helps me a lot. Without this program, I think I will still not know how to write, read, and talk to someone else.”
Angela Mak, (China) 7th grade class of 2013
“The ESL program of this school has provided a very comfortable learning environment for all the ESL students. Since there are a lot of ESL students in this program, I feel like we are sharing the same background. Therefore, I can easily communicate with other ESL students. We are just like a big family in our school. Our ESL teacher is a really great teacher. She is a teacher who cares a lot about every single one of us. This school is kind of different from other schools. It provides us ESL classes throughout the whole day. Therefore, we can learn a lot of materials during the class from a beginning level to an advanced level. I used to study in the regular classes before. However, I found out that I actually can learn more from the ESL classes because we can understand more materials.” Vivian, (Hong Kong) Junior Class of 2009
“The Cornerstone Academy ESL program helps me a lot after I came to the United States. The first time I came to Cornerstone, I could not talk to others in English. It is because my English was very bad. During that time, the other students that are in ESL class who are Chinese helped me to translate whatever the teacher said. They are so nice. The teacher who teaches me ESL is nice too. She takes care of us a lot. We are ESL History, ESL Writing, ESL Reading, and other different classes. We are learning how to write, read, and talk. All of the students in ESL are united and we are learning and improving together. Studying in Cornerstone Academy is the most important experience for me. I thin I will be more and more independent during my studies in the USA and improve more and more in Cornerstone Academy.”
Regina, (China) Junior Class of 2009
“I still remember the first time I went to Cornerstone Academy. There were many strange things in a new school. But, the teachers and students were nice and friendly. They helped me to make a new friend, and understand the lessons easily. The curriculum is special. It is the ESL program. When I study in this program, I improved my English faster. I think going to this school is the right choice.” Quyen, (Vietnam) Junior Class of 2009
“Before I came to Cornerstone Academy, I didn’t like taking ESL classes. I thought ESL classes were only for the students who didn’t pass the TOEFL or who was bad at English because I took ESL classes at Monterey Bay Academy and the classes were too easy for us. When I came to Cornerstone Academy, I think ESL classes are useful for us. We need to work on our English because we need to enter a good university. We have already studied other subjects like Chemistry and math. If we want to enter a good university, we need to learn more English.”
Jiez, (China) Senior Class of 2008
“The past three years I have learned a lot of valuable things from this ESL program. I’ve learned that there are so many things that I can’t do by myself. As we work together, I can learn the material and help others. Being a part of society is more important than the materials we learn. Also, we should respect each other even when we are close friends. I think these are much more important than learning English. You can learn always learn material in school at anytime, but it is more important to learn how to live with others in society. These are the most important things I learned in this ESL program.” Jennifer, (Korea) Senior Class of 2008
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