{"id":253751,"date":"2026-05-01T10:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/253751\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T10:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:50:11","slug":"how-fsu-helps-international-student-athletes-adjust-to-life-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/253751\/","title":{"rendered":"How FSU helps international student-athletes adjust to life in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For international student athletes like Saof\u00e9 Duval and Gabor Hornung, the transition to college in the United States involves more than practices and matches. It also means adapting to a new language, cultureand academic system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before arriving on campus, international students whose native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in spoken and written English through standardized testing. Undergraduate applicants are required to meet minimum score thresholds on exams such as the TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-Based Test). Even with this foundation, adjusting to academic life in the US can present challenges \u2014 from navigating classroom discussions to understanding cultural nuances and expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To support this transition, Florida State University offers Academic English Skills for International Students (EAP 1850), a course designed to help undergraduate international students strengthen their academic English and communication skills after enrollment. This past spring, Duval and Hornung enrolled in the course. It also introduces students to U.S. classroom expectations, cultural norms and the wide range of resources available to help them succeed at FSU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The course is taught by Patrick Kennell, director of the Center for Intensive English Studies (CIES)<\/a>. Founded in 1980, CIES provides English language instruction for international students preparing to study at U.S. universities and operates within The Graduate School<\/a> at FSU. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of my favorite courses I\u2019ve ever taught,\u201d Kennell said. \u201cIt\u2019s developing their English, but it\u2019s also developing their cultural knowledge and helping them navigate their way through their first semester here at Florida State.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"aFlorida State beach volleyball player Saof\u00e9 Duval. (Matthew McConnell\/Florida State University)<\/p>\n

Duval, a freshman on the nationally ranked beach volleyball team, came to FSU from La Couarde-sur-Mer, a seaside village located in the center of the \u00cele de R\u00e9 in southwestern France. She\u2019s already noticed asignificant improvement in her English skills. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pretty bad at English when I came, but now I feel more comfortable,\u201d she said. \u201cI can say, \u2018I don\u2019t understand, so please can you repeat?\u2019\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

Hornung, a freshman on the men\u2019s tennis team from Budapest, Hungary, grew up in the smaller town of Kapuv\u00e1r. Having already competed in professional tournaments, he remained focused on earning an international degree in the U.S. Now at FSU, he said the course is helping him strengthen his English communication skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis class is very helpful,\u201d Hornung said.\u00a0\u201cWhen I speak to Americans, they don\u2019t care if I make a mistake,\u00a0they understand what I mean, but I want to speak perfectly. I don\u2019t want to make mistakes. And with Dr. Kennell, we consider every little mistake that I make.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"personFlorida State men\u2019s tennis player Gabor Hornung. (Photo courtesy FSU Athletics)<\/p>\n

International student athletes bring elite technical skills shaped by different training environments around the world, and that impact is already evident in competition. Hornung opened his first season at FSU with a three-set single victory over the University of Florida\u2019s Andreas Timini, while Duval began her collegiate career with a win on court two alongside sophomore teammate Gella Andrew against the University of Alabama at Birmingham.<\/p>\n

Between competitions, both students continue to balance academics while adjusting to life in the U.S.; a process Kennell said requires more than language development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so amazed by these students,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re managing their classes and Division I athletics, where the pressure is on them to perform. They\u2019re high-achieving personalities who want to do their best, but they also need to learn about self-care and mental health, so we talk about that, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Duval, the course has strengthened not only her language skills but also her understanding of American culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is so important,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not only the language, even if the language is the most difficult part, but it\u2019s also about the culture and why people are acting like that here, because it\u2019s so different from France.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hornung, the first Hungarian native to play tennis for the Seminoles, the impact of the course will extend far beyond his time at FSU.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will think about this class my entire life,\u201d Hornung said. \u201cIt\u2019s made a huge impact on me.\u201dFor more information about CIES, visit cies.fsu.edu<\/a>. To learn more about FSU\u2019s global footprint, visit global.fsu.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For international student athletes like Saof\u00e9 Duval and Gabor Hornung, the transition to college in the United States…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[110584,110585,56749,232,234,233],"class_list":["post-253751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-center-for-intensive-english-studies","tag-fsu-beach-volleyball","tag-fsu-global","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}