Bilingual programs at Miami campus help International students learn English

COURTESY OF GEORGINA ARGÜELLO
Students at the Miami campus study in the bilingual programs.

Originally from Venezuela, Leopoldo Cordova Romero, graduate student in the Curriculum, Instruction, Management, and Administration program, is a doctor in Miramar with experience in pediatrics. CIMA, which is one of the bilingual programs offered at NSU’s Miami campus, gives Cordova Romero the chance to learn English in a collaborative setting.

“Many students are of Latin American or other countries. Our English is no good. We improved the English in the university. This, I am very happy, because I never understood English in the past, in my school in Venezuela. And here I had the opportunity,” Cordova Romero said.

Since the early 2000s, NSU’s Miami campus has offered several programs with support in bilingual education, including CIMA, Master of Science in Spanish Language Education, Master of Science in Exceptional Student Education and Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership.

Georgina Argüello, assistant dean for academic and faculty affairs for bilingual programs, said the target audience for the masters’ programs are Hispanic students who earned bachelors’ degrees in other countries. Students in the programs can go on to become teachers in local public schools.

“English is not their first language. In these masters’ programs, the purpose is for them to start getting acquainted to the English culture, the English language,” Argüello said.

Argüello said that the programs were started because of the rising immigration to Miami from Latin America.

Argüello looks forward to seeing how the programs can grow and continue to help international students.

“We see a lot of potential because a lot of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries are coming in, especially to South Florida. So we have a lot of potential to continue growing these programs,” Argüello said. “This population down here in Miami, especially the West Kendall area, Homestead, Doral. It’s a magnificent location that is growing immensely.”

Classes are taught in English, with bilingual support in Spanish, both online and in-person. They’re offered on Saturdays in the fall, winter and summer.

For more information:
Students can contact Georgina Argüello, assistant dean for academic and faculty affairs for bilingual programs at deheredi@nova.edu