Background Information
The Chart of International Students by Citizenship 2016/2017 (2016) presents that the group of Chinese international students (henceforth CIS) is the largest ESL group at McGill University, with a total number of 1931. As non-native speakers of English, CIS must prove their English proficiency by IELTS/TOEFL tests before being enrolled at McGill. Even though their IELTS/TOEFL scores meet the minimum English proficiency requirement issued by the McGill enrollment office (see more via http://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/international/apply/proficiency), CIS still encounter many language difficulties. For example, as a master’s student in second language education (SLE), I find that preparing a 20-minute oral presentation is not easy, let alone writing a 10-page paper. I do feel upset when I receive feedback concerning my inability to express myself clearly in my assignments. Many of my Chinese peers agree with this sentiment. Therefore, I propose that intensive English courses (IEC) should be offered to CIS to facilitate their various communicative purposes. That is why I set up this website to call for attention from CIS in English speaking universities worldwide who have encountered similar language problems as I do. I also intend to get my ideas across to the McGill International Students Office, the McGill Writing Centre as well as other authorities so as to make this project more applicable to prospective CIS. Furthermore, via this website, I hope it can serve as an exemplary program for other English universities (the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, Boston University, etc.) that could offer similar programs to CIS who are densely populated in these institutions.
As we can see from the Chart presented above, the group of Chinese international students is the second largest international student group and the largest ESL group at McGill University.