The University of Southern California has held the top spot for having the largest contingent of foreign students at a U.S university. It can be tough for this large group of students from around the world to adjust to life in the U.S. and assimilate into American culture. Many of these foreign students are often in graduate school, so they already have a stressful time with school work. Therefore, learning can be impacted if these students also have to stress about daily living in Southern California. This is why USC recently launched a class for these students entitled “The United States: An American Culture Series,” about American culture and life in Los Angeles.
This class at USC teaches foreign students about idioms that they might here their U.S. classmates use in conversation, so they can better communicate and make friends. There are also many American customs that these students are not familiar with like tailgate parties, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Sports like baseball and football are another big area where many of the students learn about the rules and terms used, so they can feel more comfortable going to USC games. The class also provides students the opportunity to go on a couple field trips each semester, allowing them to learn while being immersed in American culture. Most universities in California only offer a crash course to their foreign students which helps them for a few days, but this course is no where near as intense and beneficial as the one proposed by USC. So far the class at USC is receiving great reviews by the students as it is allowing them to be more prepared for making friends and taking advantage of all that the school and Southern California have to offer.
Tags: california, California Universities, foriegn students, University of Southern California, USC
