Stella Jiang holds a ball with chopsticks in the first leg of the Trivia Tower Race, one of the activities held Friday for World Student Day.Stella Jiang holds a ball with chopsticks in the first leg of the Trivia Tower Race, one of the activities held Friday for World Student Day.

Tower competition builds English skills for international language students

Activities for World Student Day, Friday at the Centre for English Language Development, provided a welcome break from studies, said participants.

“It’s the first time I joined the activities here,” said Nazimu Paerheti, who came to Windsor from China about two months ago. “I can just enjoy the happy times and co-operating with my classmates.”

The annual event, sponsored by Languages Canada, celebrates international language students and their cultural and economic contributions to Canada.

“The goal here is to carve out time for students to reflect upon the experiences related to being an international language student, to share successes as well as challenges which we may all learn from,” said Anouchka Plumb, the centre’s acting director. “We value students’ unique stories and are here to support them by providing a platform to showcase their journeys — and of course, having some fun with classmates and the instructional team is always a plus.”

Students designed their own postcards describing their experiences in Canada, and teamed up in a race to build tall towers from an assortment of odd supplies.

Stella Jiang was a member of the winning team, which constructed a structure almost two metres high. She credited teamwork for the successful entry, and noted the collaboration helped to foster community as well as communication in English.

“It’s fun because we don’t have to study all day,” she said.

Plumb also made a point of thanking her staff and other campus partners for their work to help students reach their language learning goals. This was the first year Windsor held activities on World Student Day, but she said the centre hopes to build on the experience.

Find images from the event on the centre's website.


Nazimu Paerheti works to stabilize his team’s structure in the Trivia Tower Race, Friday outside the Centre for English Language Development.