International Education Department International Education Department Blog
Program Spotlight: English for Airport Management Program
The Center for English Language Education (CELE) recently launched a new brand new English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program, which provides unique hands-on English learning experiences in specific vocational contexts.
The inaugural cohort, which launched last spring, focused on English for Airport Management and included three students from J.F. Oberlin University in Japan. These aviation majors from the Japanese university came to NU to strengthen their English language skills as they pertain to the field of aviation and to participate in field-based learning activities such as visits to different airfields, museums, and education centers to gain a greater understanding of how airports are managed in the U.S.
As part of their classroom time, students wrote reflections on their field trip experiences—an assignment that gave them the chance to look back on what they saw and learned and how it impacted them as both students and future aviation workers. A few samples of their reflections on this landmark program can be seen below:
Yuyu Inadomi on the experiences that impacted her future career plans the most:
Touring Paine Field Airport and participating in a simulation of new international buildings in Seattle will positively impact my future career in airport management. From these experiences, I was able to see what kinds of airports are easy for passengers to use. Airports—especially international airports—are used by a variety of people. In the U.S., there are plenty of facilities that can used by various people, and many travelers are multilingual. Facilities include family restrooms and pet relief areas. The world is becoming progressively more diverse. So airports have to incorporate services for these groups. I learned a lot from this experience, including ways to improve services. During the simulations, I was confused about which line I should wait in or where I should go next. It made me realize how important it is to think from the customer’s point of view. A lot of Japanese airports are gradually becoming privatized. Small, commercial airports cannot provide the same kinds of services as Paine Field Airport. If I have a chance to think about new terminal buildings or renewal buildings, I would like to make facilities that focus on customer needs.
Taito Watanabe on this course’s impact on his future career in airport management:
There are two key things that I learned about airport management that I would like to use in the future. First, I learned the difference in how value is defined. In Japan, the airport increases non-aeronautical revenue through lease fees from tenants and concession fees. They use the airport as one of the commercial establishments. So the airport manager installs a lot of souvenir shops and restaurants in the airport. However, in the United States, they focus on aeronautical activities. The distance between the entrance of the airport and the check-in or security facility is close. We can get to the departure lobby easily. Also, it is easy to understand where I have to go first when I arrive at the airport because there are no souvenir shops or restaurants between that space. There are only check-in counters and security facilities. Great concessions for passengers are not always necessary. I can get new ideas by thinking from a different point of view. Second, a lot of the guest speakers said that it is important to solve environmental problems related to airport activities. We have to think about the environmental impacts of managing an airport. In the United States, there are rules and regulations regarding the environment. Also, they hold some events and meetings to better understand environmental issues. Moreover, they actively exchange information and opinions with surrounding communities. In the future, I would like to improve airport activities by focusing on the environmental impact they will have.
This fall, we welcomed 19 new students to our Airport Management program, each of them eager to grow in their English and to be able to increase their impact in the field of Aviation. The new Airport Management program illustrates that as we move further away from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are actively returning to in-person teaching and learning practices and are seeing our program enrollment increase. In addition, the Center for English Language Education is strategically positioned to grow in new ways and to offer focused education programs that will reach more students and help them advance their English language skills. If you see our new Airport Management students around campus, or any of our 60 new and returning CELE and Exchange students, please be sure to give them a warm NU welcome!
Interested in improving your English in an inviting and exciting community? Learn more about becoming a student at NU, and find information about the CELE program at northwestu.edu/international.