6.2: Read

Read the article that Stephanie gave her students to practice solving problems.

Easier Said Than Done

International students quickly learn to become problem solvers. At first, their problems may consist of things that are easily fixable like where to buy food or how to find their classes. Once figured out, these problems disappear. Other problems are more serious and take more time and consideration to work out. The problems also depend on the individual students. Everyone has their own opinion of what a problem consists of and looks like. The following students have problems that they need help solving. As you read, think about what you would do in each situation.

Fahad

Fahad has been living with a host family, the Smiths, for two months. The family is very kind. He likes them a lot. They take him on day trips almost every weekend. He has learned a lot about American culture and families from the Smiths.

However, their two small children, Jessica and Lucas, cry and wake him up several times every night. He feels like he doesn’t get enough sleep. In addition, the host family has two indoor dogs. He doesn’t feel comfortable with the dogs living inside the house. He’s getting used to them, but he’d prefer to live in a house without pets.

The Smiths live very close to PSU. Fahad’s commute to school is short. He loves the location. He enjoys the family. However, he’s starting to think that he should live on his own. He doesn’t have enough money to rent an apartment close to campus though.

Mercy

Mercy is in level 3 for all of her ESL classes. It’s her first term in the IELP, and she feels like she is drowning. She spends five to six hours studying and doing homework outside of class every day. Every Saturday and Sunday, she studies from 8am to 8pm in the library. Nothing seems to be working. Mercy got Ds and Fs on all of her midterm exams. She feels very disappointed in herself.

Mercy doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t want to fail her classes, but it looks like that will happen. She has attended every class and studies harder than all of her classmates. She can’t figure out why she isn’t passing. Her effort and her results don’t seem to equate.

Ha

Ha has been studying in the IELP for about seven months. She really likes the teachers. She really likes the school. She enjoys Portland and the rainy days. Only one thing has been bothering her lately. One man who was in her class last term seems to be following her everywhere. She is not sure if he is really following her or if it is her imagination. She just knows that she feels very uncomfortable.

Yesterday, she was in the cafeteria. She saw him sitting at the table next to hers. He was staring at her. She tried not to look, but it’s hard to avoid looking at someone who stares at you. She had to get up and leave the cafeteria. She couldn’t even eat her food.

Last week, she was in the computer lab. He sat at the computer next to her, but he moved his chair so that it was almost touching hers. It seemed inappropriate to her. She didn’t know what to do, so she left the lab.

A few weeks ago, Ha was leaving the library at seven o’clock. She was walking back to her dorm room with her friends. She looked behind her and saw him following her group. She knows that he lives on the opposite end of campus, but maybe he was just going to visit a friend. However, she could see him watching her, and he stayed behind her group even though they were walking very slowly.

Small things like these make Ha think that she needs to transfer to a different school. She doesn’t know what to do about the situation. She feels too uncomfortable to talk to the man and tell him to leave her alone.

Hiroki

Hiroki’s father was just diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago. His father didn’t want him to know, but his mother secretly told him. She called him crying. He had never seen or heard his mother cry before. It shocked and worried him. The next day, he called his dad and demanded to know all the details. His dad pretended that it was a small thing, but Hiroki doesn’t believe him .

Now, Hiroki has to decide if he should give up his dream to study in the US. His mother wants him to come back to Japan. His father insists that he should keep studying and not worry. Hiroki is confused. He has trouble focusing when he’s studying now. He got a C- on his last test because he could not concentrate. He worries that he will not be able to maintain his high GPA. He has to make a decision soon.