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For students like Marcos Fontes, an undeclared freshman from Cape Verde, learning in English--his third language after Creole and Portuguese--means devoting extra time to his studies, overlooking peer perception, constantly repeating himself, and always having Google Translate at the ready. "Because people have to keep asking, 'What?' You feel like you're not talking their language," said Fontes, "and sometimes you just feel like not talking at all because they're not going to understand you anyways. It takes courage, braveness to do it." Fontes, like others, came to BYUH for an education, knowing that class discussions, assignments, and overall campus communication would be in a language they are still just getting used to. "In Boston," said Fontes, who moved to the United States after his mission, "I'd only speak a quarter of the day in English, but here it's 100 percent, which really helps." International students are required to take an English placement test, and, depending on their scores, are placed in corresponding English as an International Language (EIL) classes. "Our goal is for students to have reading, writing, and speaking skills," said Assistant Professor Robb McCollum, the EIL Program coordinator, "and to learn good grammar skills. We also want to teach them learner autonomy." Echo Chen, a freshman biology major from China, began learning English in kindergarten, and since coming to BYUH, has worked at expanding her knowledge. "There are many words and vocab. I had to learn 60 vocab words every week for my EIL class," said Chen. "Learning is very hard for me. It's hard for me to start here as English is my third language." As part of the EIL Program, students can meet with tutors to help improve their English in whatever capacity they feel they need to. "Even students who tested out of EIL can meet with an EIL tutor and sit down and talk with them and try and build their confidence, build their vocabulary," said McCollum, "so that they'll feel more comfortable participating in class discussions." In GE or major courses, the class setup often hinges on the ability to communicate academically in English, which can be intimidating, said Fontes. "Especially if I'm asking a question in front of the class and it's a question you know everybody else knows the answer to," he said. "You don't feel smart, but you've got to take that courageous step and just ask. Because I'm here to learn, I don't have to be intimidated. I'm going to do it no matter the cost because I'm here to learn." Dorothy Chiu, a freshman art major from Hong Kong, also began learning English at a young age, but said she didn't feel as prepared speaking English here as she did on her mission, partly due to the subject matter. "It's hard, especially for real classes. EIL classes are easier than actual university classes," she said. "I'm also taking a math class and they use a lot of math words that my classmates understand, but most of the time I'm just like, 'What's he talking about?' So there are a lot of special terms that I have to look up after class. I have to work a lot harder." In addition to the student taking responsibility, McCollum says the duty falls on the shoulders of the professors and native speakers as well. "It's always helpful if teachers can use multimodal methods of teaching," he said. McCollum explained that professors who write key vocabulary on the board during discussions, provide outlines for students to follow along, and prepare students with PowerPoint slides before coming to class are able to reach out to international and EIL students more effectively. "I think some of the professors just see us as normal people," said Chiu, "they don't realize we are kind of struggling, but I guess that's just how it works. But if I ask for help, they will definitely help me." Fontes said he tries to avoid asking professors for help. "A lot of times I don't feel comfortable asking a question or saying I don't know so I just go on my own and try to figure it out or I use Google Translate. Only if I feel very stuck, then I'll go to my professors." Fontes said he feels more comfortable being at a church university, where he believes fellow students are slower to judge or make fun of students struggling to pick up the language. "There is a lot non-EIL students can do to make the classroom better for students whose first language isn't English," said McCollum. "If every native speaker sat next to an international student and just talked to them about the reading, I think that could go a long way to help both students and the campus as a whole feel more integrated." Despite the workload and difficulties brought by the language barrier, Fontes, Chen, Chiu, and others like them are grateful for the experience. "The point is to challenge ourselves." said Chen. Chiu said, "Definitely studying here can help me improve my English in many areas. It also helps me to humble myself, and I've come to realize that I have a lot of work to do." "I've been talking all in English for 2 months and I feel like I am doing well. I know new words, I can understand and communicate better, I can take notes better, and overall my flaws are much better now," said Fontes. "If I keep like this, maybe one day I'm going to be talking in English. "Uploaded Oct. 9, 2015