Rutgers Offers Au Pairs Course in ‘Everyday’ English
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Perhaps the most important part of an au pair’s job is to communicate to employers about what their children have been up to. But merely knowing English can be a far cry from exuding confidence when explaining how their little one skinned a knee or how a bedroom wall was transformed into a finger-painted mural.
“Formal language instruction will teach you the basics of spoken and written American English – correct structure, usage, verb tenses and such. It does not prepare you for the real world, where people seem to speak a mile a minute,” says Carol Broccoli, assistant director with the NJAES Office of Continuing Professional Education (OCPE) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
To help facilitate better communication between employer and employee, OCPE is offering “Polishing Your English: Weekend Course in New Jersey for Au Pairs,” Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22-23, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at Rutgers’ Cook Student Center, 59 Biel Road on the George H. Cook Campus in New Brunswick. The course provides three of the six educational credits required under the J-1 visa program for au pairs. The $355 per person fee includes continental breakfast and lunch each day. For more information and to register, click here.
“Knowing English is a far cry from being confident communicating with native speakers,” Broccoli said. “One of the most important components of successful language learning and application is the mastery of idiomatic forms of expression. Getting a handle on idioms helps newcomers to American English become immersed in our culture.”
The two-day course will be taught by Language Directions, LLC of Roseland, N.J., which specializes in language training, not just English as a Second Language for newcomers, but also brush-up work for visiting foreign executives. Instructors will emphasize common American idioms – everyday expressions and slang – pronunciation, intonation and confident presentation.
“This isn’t an ESL course, it’s about polishing your American English skills,” Broccoli explained. “Interactive exercises and small group sessions will reinforce presentations and provide background into how and why certain words and phrases found their way into common American English.”
“Polishing Your English” is the third course OCPE is offering to New Jersey’s au pairs. This summer, they enrolled in “American Food – Then and Now,” and “The Children in Your Care – Make Them the Best They Can Be.”