The American English Institute (AEI), housed on the beautiful campus of the University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene, Oregon, offers an intensive language program for adults who want to improve their proficiency in English. The program prepares students for academic work at the UO or similar academic institutions, or for professional activities in business and other fields.

AEI offers four sessions each year. Sessions are ten weeks long with entrance dates in September, January, March, and June, but dates for special programs can be arranged to suit participants. Students can also take advantage of free elective courses and other activities, including drama, exploration of the Oregon outdoors, football games and music.

AEI students receive UO identification cards entitling them to all university services and facilities. This identification card also serves as a pass to use the public bus system in Lane County, called LTD (see below).

About the Campus and Community

The UO campus is a mix of picturesque historic and newer buildings surrounded by an arboretum of more than 2000 different trees and other plants. Many natural areas are close to Eugene, including rivers, forests, mountains, and the Pacific coast. Students will find the people in Eugene to be very friendly and sociable. They are open minded and ready to make friendships with people, with and without disabilities, from other countries, cultures and lifestyles.

There is strong community support of independent living for people with disabilities. Access around Eugene is generally very good and most streets have curb cuts for wheelchair users. Public transportation in Eugene is quite good. LTD bus routes cover approximately 90% of Eugene, including suburbs and some outlying communities. All buses are lift-equipped. Braille signage is used at the main transfer station and bus drivers will assist people with visual impairments by announcing the major stops along the route and other stops upon request. Bus route information and schedules are available in alternative formats and the customer service office has a TTY number. Information is also available on the LTD website at www.ltd.org. Also, there are 2-3 taxi companies that have accessible vans. Prices depend on routes, but they usually run from $5 to $20.

Housing

Students have a few options for housing in Eugene including dormitories, homestays and apartments. The university has multiple-occupancy and a limited number of single-occupancy dormitory rooms, conveniently located on campus. Room-and-board costs vary from term to term. There are wheelchair accessible rooms, but during the summer there are not many students in that dormitory, especially in the part of the building where the accessible rooms are located. Students desiring more interaction or assistance should take this into consideration when selecting housing options. The homestay program places students in the homes of American families. Students have private rooms and are normally expected to participate in family activities. AEI will make every effort to find homestays that are accessible to students with disabilities.

Student Interview

Ahmed Khater, who is blind, teaches English and computer science and works as a translator in Egypt. He is involved in a United States Agency for International Development project that will use computers and adaptive software to teach English to Egyptian students who are blind. In the summer of 2000, he participated in AEI’s special program providing training for teachers of English. He also focused on computer science and adaptive technology. He had a very positive experience in this program and was absolutely satisfied with the adaptive technology that allows blind people to work easily on computers.

Ahmed’s only complaint was that the escort assistance that he used during his time at the campus did not meet his needs and expectations. It was hard to find trained escorts because they are not often used in the United States. Instead, people who are blind may use canes or guide dogs for orientation or mobility assistance. AEI staff is not always able to meet students’ accommodations requests if they are specific to the cultures or countries that students are from, but they will give it their best effort.

Overall, Ahmed recommends AEI to all international students, with or without disabilities, who want to improve their English language skills.

Also read a personal story by another blind AEI student from Latin America.

Disabled Student Services

As soon as a student with disability has been accepted to AEI, the staff will contact the UO Disabled Student Services staff and ask for instructions on how to assist the student. All accessibility accommodations that are provided by UO are also available to students at AEI. The student must complete AEI’s disability information form in order to obtain necessary accommodations. Before classes start, an AEI staff member will usually communicate with the instructor, and they will work together with the student on how to create the best possible accommodations.

Students can also obtain a campus accessibility map, which shows the level of accessibility of every building on campus. Most buildings on campus are completely wheelchair accessible and AEI staff planned to make changes in their front office to provide better access for people who use wheelchairs.

To obtain admissions information and applications, please contact AEI, or visit their its listed below.

American English Institute
Admissions Coordinator
107 Pacific Hall
5212 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5212 USA
Tel: (541) 346-3945
Fax: (541) 346-3917
Email: aei@oregon.uoregon.edu
Web: http://aei.uoregon.edu
Contact: Martine Kuyken Wigham

Slobodan Subasic is from Yugoslavia, where he is active in the disability rights movement and the local Muscular Dystrophy Association. A past participant in Mobility International USA’s 1998 Teen/Parent exchange program, Subasic has also participated in exchange programs throughout Europe, promoting information sharing between disability organizations. He attended AEI during the summer of 2000 while also interning at Mobility International USA for several months. He later returned to Eugene to attend the University of Oregon.