Four English-language students from Argentina are participating in an intensive study abroad program at TCC Southeast through Feb. 20. The students are visiting ESOL classes in the morning and a college class of their choice in the afternoon.
Traveling with Graciela Guglielmone, director and founder of San Patricio Language Institute located in Merlo, a suburb 30 miles west of Buenos Aires, Argentina, the students are Aixa Jaroszek, Rocio Kuba, Sofia Kubica and Federico Orlando.
“The idea came about a couple of years ago when speaking to a friend I met in Argentina during a Rotary exchange program I participated in,” said Josue Munoz, dean of Humanities at TCC Southeast. “We thought it would be a great opportunity for our students to participate in an exchange program between her English language students and our Spanish language students here at TCC.”
Guglielmone said the institute’s goal is to “ensure that students who graduate from the institute step into the 21st century better equipped to express their questions, thoughts and desires in more than one language.”
In the future, TCC would like to reciprocate and send students to the language institute in Argentina, Munoz said.
Besides visiting economics, English composition, history, philosophy and psychology, students will experience as much Texas culture as possible including a Mavericks basketball game plus visits to museums, universities and other historical sites in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.