ELI Culture Day at the College of Staten Island

ELI Culture Day at the College of Staten Island

ESL students at the English Language Institute will show the best of their countries. Around 80 students from all over the world will present different features from more than 15 nationalities such as music, tourist attractions, gastronomy, and more. A special Mexican dance group will perform during the event. The Consul General of Mexico in New York will offer a lecture regarding the importance of the culture nowadays.

The English Language Institute (ELI) at the College of Staten Island (CSI)/The City University of New York (CUNY) organizes a great cultural event every semester called ELI Culture Day. English students present different features from their home countries and talk about their food, tourist attractions, their music, and more. They also bring typical food and share it among attendees.

The event is special this year since it will have the presence of the General Consul of Mexico in New York, Ambassador Diego Gómez Pickering, who will offer a lecture regarding the importance of culture nowadays. Our distinguished speaker has been Ambassador in the United Kingdom and has a vast experience in international affairs at the United Nations in the Middle East and Africa.

Before his presentation, we will have the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, with some typical dances from Mexico. Calpulli produces professional performances and designs arts-in-education programming with the diversity of Mexican and Mexican-American cultural heritage through dance-based programming including live music.

These presentations are connected to the great presence of more than forty Mexican students who are currently learning English at ELI thanks to the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Fund that grants fuel strategic partnerships to increase student exchange and training programs between the Americas. ELI has welcomed several Mexican students who have come with a full scholarship and will learn English in New York at the College of Staten Island.

The whole event will have students from Afghanistan, Albania, China, Colombia, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guinea, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen. These students will also bring the best of their countries and share it among their classmates.

This year, more than 100 international students have participated in our English program, and ELI has become the largest ESL program in Staten Island. ELI has students who come to learn English and return to their home countries to seek better opportunities or apply to the College of Staten Island to pursue a college degree, among other students who have different goals as well.

ELI has also increased the number of students with partners around the world through a customized online program reaching more than 3,000 students online this year.

ELI is eager to welcome more students to learn English in New York and have a great experience like Culture Day!