For Valerie Pierce, director of UNLV’s English Language Center (ELC), helping English-language learners can look different from day to day. Her work can range from helping first-year students with composition class placement to testing new students for an intensive language and culture program to playing games with international students to help them practice their social English in a casual and fun setting. 

With decades of experience supporting international students and serving at the ELC since 2024, Pierce brings a certain creed to her work supporting the UNLV and Southern Nevada communities.

“All the other countries that I've been to, the kindness that I have been given and shown, the patience — I wish that for all of my students when they come here,” Pierce says. “We're all just in need of support, love, kindness, and compassion.”

A Mission Rooted in Service

At its core, the ELC’s mission is simple: support the English language needs of UNLV and the broader community it serves.

The ELC prepares multilingual students for academic coursework, partners with global institutions and businesses seeking English training, and works with local community members navigating life and work in one of the country’s most linguistically diverse cities.

Serving a core component of the university’s goal to foster a sense of belonging, the center takes a holistic approach to supporting students, first focusing on the whole student through their linguistic needs and cultural transition.

“The most beautiful thing about being here in Las Vegas is the wide variety of people and languages,” Pierce says. “And yet there are still expectations of people needing to be understood — and to understand others. That’s where we come along and say, ‘How can we help?’”

In addition to supporting students, the ELC’s mission is to function as a university-wide service.

The ELC’s non-credit courses are self-supporting and do not receive government funding, so students pay tuition. Even so, Pierce’s team has found creative ways to expand access. With the help of student employees and lecturers, the ELC provides free peer tutoring to students, faculty, and staff. 

“The Peer Tutoring program has been very popular,” says Lindsey Gruber, senior executive director of UNLV Global. “It has been such a surprise that the majority of attendees are international graduate students. It speaks volumes to the need for support that is felt by this group of students, something that we weren't aware of until they filled up our session slots semester after semester.”

From fee reductions for courses to events for international students to gather, to simply asking what else can be done to better serve the international student population, Pierce notes that every bit of it means the world to the students that the center serves. 

“Success stories don’t just come from the ELC, but from all of UNLV Global. The best part is when I hear students say, ‘I feel much more confident to speak English and to be able to understand people.’”

This blend of partnership, sustainability, and institutional support reflects UNLV’s broader global engagement strategy: build infrastructure that welcomes all multilingual students and ensures they succeed.

Evolving to Meet Changing Needs

Pierce joined UNLV in August 2024 and has been hands-on in tackling a number of challenges the department has faced due to a changing landscape for international students.

While it’s hard to predict how our global community will continue to evolve, Pierce says her goal is clear: ensuring her team creates programming and support that keep pace with developments in English language learning.

“How do we make sure that universities see our value? I think a lot of it is, where do we go next? How are we partnering with businesses or creating programming for our communities that are based on workforce development and workplace English?”

The ELC is also working to expand awareness of its services across campus. While strong partnerships exist with programs in hospitality, engineering, and business, Pierce says some departments are still surprised to learn the center’s full scope of services.

Outreach remains a priority: “We’re still here. How can we help?”

A Culture of Belonging

Some of the center's most meaningful work happens outside the classroom, Pierce says.

Through UNLV Global, international students are offered weekly programming — from sports and game sessions to culture-sharing events and success workshops. New arrivals can even receive airport transportation vouchers. Services from UNLV's Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are integrated into student programming, helping normalize conversations about stress and mental health.

“That is an amazing thing, and I think that says so much about this university and why people are so invested in not just international students, but in making sure that we are inclusive.”

Navigating Culture Shock and Cultural Exchange

International students face more than language challenges. Culture shock can be subtle and layered.

Pierce often leads sessions exploring unspoken norms, from the meaning of “Let’s do lunch” to the American habit of asking “How are you?” without expecting a full answer.

Group work expectations, classroom norms, economic fluctuations, food differences, and concerns about safety all compound the transition for students coming to UNLV and the United States for the first time.

Pierce points out that the learning and engagement process is mutual. UNLV’s classrooms bring together students and faculty from across the globe, each learning to navigate differing norms of collaboration, politeness, and communication.

“How do we teach openness?” Pierce asks. “How do we teach students to ask questions instead of making assumptions?”

That ethos shapes the ELC’s broader campus partnerships. Students consult with international peers before heading overseas. Cultural events invite domestic and international students alike to engage in conversations about politics, religion, and identity in safe, facilitated spaces.

“It's not just food or language,” Pierce says. “It's, how do you feel supported? How do you feel that you belong?”

Looking Ahead

Pierce acknowledges that the future of English-language education is shifting. As more countries introduce English instruction earlier in schools, students from certain regions arrive at the center with stronger foundations. 

At the same time, global politics and economic changes influence enrollment patterns nationwide.

Pierce is part of a working group made up of the Office of Admissions and UNLV Global that is developing strategic international recruitment plans, including building long-term trust with partner countries through consistent engagement. Upcoming trips to Brazil, then potentially Vietnam and the Middle East, aim to strengthen those relationships while expanding on-campus services.

We don’t even have to look beyond our own community to see changes in language education. Technological innovations like language-learning apps and AI writing tools are changing how students practice English. But Pierce isn’t worried.

“They come knowing the vocabulary,” she says. “But it’s different to talk to a real person.”

The Takeaway

If Pierce could leave UNLV faculty and staff with one message, it’s this: the English Language Center is here, and ready to collaborate and tailor disciplinary English language programs to the needs of your students.

Whether a student needs presentation practice, professional communication skills, or academic preparation, the ELC offers private lessons, weekly practice events, group classes, short-term programs, tutoring, and referral partnerships across Southern Nevada.

“If we can’t help,” Pierce says, “we’ll find someone who can.”

The ELC is an academic unit that also offers credit-bearing courses as part of the undergraduate and graduate curricula. Courses like ENG 113 and ENG 114 are tailored for multilingual writers, and offerings like ESL 380 and ESL 580 are designed to help multilingual students with their verbal communication and presentation skills.

After nearly four decades in international education, Pierce still lights up when she talks about helping students or meeting people from countries she’s never visited. She marvels at the courage it takes to learn English, or what she calls “this weirdo language” — with its inconsistent spelling, unpredictable pronunciation, and borrowed vocabulary.

It’s difficult to learn another language, Pierce says, but no matter what challenges Rebels or the wider Las Vegas community face, she encourages them to use the English Language Center as a resource whenever possible.

Learn more about the ELC, including credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing courses, tutoring, customized tracks, and social activities.