Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Bringing the World to and from PCC

Photos and story by James Hill

By Chris MooreIt is a sunny August afternoon on the Rock Creek campus of Portland Community College. Fall classes are still weeks away. But in one classroom, 15 students are hard at work, learning the basics of teaching English as a non-native language (ENNL).Later in the day, the students will board a van for a field trip to Nike, where they’ll talk to business managers. Then they’ll visit Costco to experience American consumerism firsthand. For five days, these students will learn all they can about the language, culture, and daily life of Americans. When they’re finished, they’ll take their knowledge home – to China.Last fall, PCC signed an agreement with the Changchun Education Commission of Changchun City, China, to assist in the development of a new vocational education center there. The ENNL class is just one of many connections resulting from the pact. As sister schools, the two institutions are working together to establish a training program for facilities designers, managers, and curriculum and internship specialists. Opportunities for student exchanges and additional consulting may follow.The agreement offers tremendous benefits, according to Rock Creek Executive Dean Bill Christopher. "The better we understand other cultures, languages, and ways of doing business, the more successful we can be in business,"he says. "The Chinese pay for our services, and we get the benefits of a cultural exchange."The partnership was formed in November 2000, when PCC representatives traveled to China to meet with education officials there. The group included Christopher, International Education Program Director Kelley Brayton, and vice president of Financial Services Wing-Kit Chung. Janet Hu, a native of Changchun City who now lives in Portland, served as cultural liaison and interpreter. Her company, China Education Link, helps forge relationships between Chinese and U.S. educational institutions.In China, community colleges unknown. Located in northeastern China, Changchun City has a population of six million people and 32 institutions of higher learning. The concept of a community college, offering lifelong learning opportunities to students of all ages, is unknown there. But officials in Changchun City want to change that. "In China, students take classes, but they don’t get any workplace experience until they get out of school and find a job,"Hu says. "At PCC and other community colleges, students can get a combination of classroom and real-world experience while they’re still in school. This agreement allows Chinese educators to learn about the community college system and apply what they’ve learned at the new vocational education center."A group of Chinese facilities designers visited PCC in January 2001 to study campus design and planning. In April, a group of educators and government officials came for an overview of the U.S. educational system. They were impressed with PCC services and also with the level of technology and vocational training available in the area’s middle and high schools.In June, PCC instructors Inge vanWaardenburg and Jane Zunkel and Mt. Hood Community College instructor Perry Rikli went to Changchun City to observe English language classes and talk with teachers there. After they returned, the trio spent several weeks developing the ENNL class. "In addition to ENNL teaching methods, the Chinese teachers want to learn about American culture and family life,"vanWaardenburg says. "We spend time in the classroom, but we also take them to Powell’s, go to the shopping mall, and enjoy a barbecue with Chinese and American guests."International education opportunitiesThe agreement between PCC and the Changchun Education Commission is just one of many international education initiatives at PCC. Under the umbrella of the International Education Program, hundreds of students from other countries attend PCC each year, and PCC’s own students participate in study abroad programs in England, Italy, Mexico, Japan, and Spain.The college has exchange agreements with two overseas institutions: Nagasaki Wesleyan Junior College in Nagasaki, Japan, and Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. Former exchange student Kathy Hammerstrom spent a quarter in Barcelona in 1999."The most meaningful learning occurred outside the classroom,"she says. "We were required to visit museums, attend musical and theatrical presentations, eat regional specialties, travel outside Barcelona – and to document these experiences when we returned."Through the Oregon International Education Consortium, PCC students also may study in London or Florence. A month-long language institute in Oaxaca, Mexico, immerses students in Spanish.In addition to creating cultural and educational benefits, exchange programs bring millions of dollars into Oregon each year. More than 6,400 foreign students were enrolled in Oregon colleges and universities in 1999-2000. With tuition, fees, and living expenses, these students contributed $140 million to the state’s economy.Learn and travel through PCCEach year, the Community Education department at PCC offers a variety of programs for adults who want to combine learning with foreign travel. In some cases, students stay with host families and study foreign languages. Other trips involve doing volunteer service work with Northwest Medical Teams or Habitat for Humanity. Still others focus on art and architecture."The goal of the trips is to make accessible all the learning that takes place in a new culture,"says Cecilia Barry, manager of Community Education.Unlike the study abroad programs, these trips generally last two to three weeks and only a few offer college credit. Group purchasing keeps the cost of airfare and accommodations low. This fall, the Community Education department will host a free travel fair Sept. 22. In 2001-2002, trips are planned to Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.For more information about international education at PCC, please contact Kelley Brayton, 503-614-7146, kbrayton@pcc.edu.