ESL Courses

Learn or Improve Your English

Please see the ESL Department for more information about the program. Courses are also available in non-credit ESL and Intensive English

Degrees/Certificates

Certificate

ESL - ESL
ESL-910LC: Foundations in Listening and Culture (Min Credits: 3.0)

Independent study course providing guidance and practice in basic listening, reading and writing skills in the English language. Aspects of American life are also featured. Pass/No Pass Option.

ESL-930CC: (Min Credits: 3.0)

Students develop and practice the oral and written skills in standard English necessary within the context of child care and parenting. Students practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills useful for communicating with and about children, including day-to-day care, health and safety. This course is intended for parents, grandparents, child care providers, preschool teachers, and students of Child Development who are non-native speakers of English.

ESL-930GW: High Beginning Grammar and Writing (3.0 Lecture/0.5 Lab) (Min Credits: 3.5)

Advisory: Concurrent enrollment in ESL 930RV and ESL 930LS is recommended. Prerequisite: A qualifying score on ESL placement test. Develops basic writing and grammar skills of standard written English.

ESL-930LC: High Beginning Language and Culture (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: Appropriate placement by multiple measures. This is the first of a two course sequence designed to help the high-beginning student develop strategies for communicating in the English language. Although some strategies for speaking are included, the emphasis is on developing skills in listening, reading, vocabulary and writing. Topics of American culture are covered.

ESL-930PL: Basic Pronunciation and Listening (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: a qualifying score in the ESL Placement Test Advisory: ESL 930LS This basic pronunciation course includes sound-spelling patterns, important vowel and consonant contrasts, syllables, word stress, and key intonation patterns.

ESL-940GW: Low Intermediate Grammar and Writing (5.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 5.0)

Advisory: Concurrent enrollment in ESL 940RV and ESL 940LS. Prerequisite: Qualifying score on the ESL Placement Exam. In this course, students continue the development of basic grammar and writing skills using level appropriate structures of standard written English.

ESL-940LC: Low Intermediate Language and Culture (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: ESL 930LC or Appropriate placement by multiple measure.

ESL-940LS: Low Intermediate Listening and Speaking (3.0 Lecture/0.5 Lab) (Min Credits: 3.5)

Advisory: Concurrent enrollment in ESL 940GW and ESL 940RV Prerequisite: ESL 930LS or a qualifying score on the ESL placement test. In this course, students practice oral instructions and questions, high-frequency vocabulary, conversations and short lectures. The course continues the development of basic English pronunciation of common words and phrases.

ESL-940PL: Low Intermediate Pronunciation and Listening (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: Qualifying score on the ESL Placement Exam. Low-Intermediate level students receive guidance and extensive practice on the most important aspects of American English pronunciation. These include fundamental sound-spelling patterns, important vowel and consonant contrasts, syllables, word stress, and key intonation patterns.

ESL-940RV: Low Intermediate Reading and Vocabulary (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: Qualifying score on the ESL Placement Exam. This course focuses on vocabulary development and comprehension of short readings.

ESL-950EC: ESL for Child Development: Introduction (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: NCE 940EC This intermediate course develops oral and written English language skills necessary to introduce young children, to objectively describe their actions, and to identify and reflect on individual children’s needs and preferences.

ESL-950GW: Intermediate Grammar and Writing (5.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 5.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 940GW and ESL 940RV or recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. Advisory: ESL 940LS This intermediate-level course develops students' writing and grammar competency through the study of targeted intermediate grammar structures and written materials. Students focus on writing a variety of sentences (compound, complex, and compound/complex) by utilizing adverb, adjective, and noun clauses, and half sentences, phrases, and participles.

ESL-950LS: Intermediate Listening and Speaking (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 940LS or a qualifying score on the ESL placement test. Advisory: Concurrent enrollment in ESL 950RW and ESL 950G. In this intermediate level course, students receive guidance and extensive practice in effective oral communication in a variety of social and/or vocational situations.

ESL-950PL: Intermediate Pronunciation and Listening (3.0 Lecture/0.5 Lab) (Min Credits: 3.5)

Prerequisite: ESL 940LS or a qualifying score on the ESL placement test. Advisory: ESL 930PL Intermediate level students receive guidance and practice in the sound system of standard American English. This course emphasizes intelligible spoken communication. This course consists of two-thirds lecture and one-third lab work that facilitates skill development.

ESL-950RV: Intermediate Reading and Vocabulary (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 940GW and ESL 940RV or recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. Advisory: ESL 940LS This intermediate level course develops students' reading skills through the study of a variety of fiction and nonfiction reading materials. The course focuses on reading skills such as comprehending main ideas and details in intermediate level readings, the acquisition and use of new vocabulary, and the strategies to understand and interpret content.

ESL-955EC: English for CHD: Factors in Child Development (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: ESL 950EC This intermediate course develops oral and written English language skills to describe a child's development, appearance, and environment as well as to identify and reflect on factors that affect development. (Crosslisted with NCE955EC)

ESL-956GR: Intermediate to Advanced Grammar Review (2.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 2.0)

Students review and practice a wide range of grammatical and syntactical structures in meaningful contexts at an intermediate to advanced level.

ESL-960EC: English for CHD: Domains of Child Development, Part I (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: ESL 950EC or Recommended placement at the 960 level according to ESL assessment. This high intermediate course develops oral and written English language skills necessary to identify, describe and support a child's socio-emotional and motor development.

ESL-960GW: High Intermediate Grammar and Writing (5.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 5.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 950G and ESL 950RW OR Prerequisite: ESL 950GW or ESL 960RV OR Prerequisite: Recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. This course develops students' knowledge of grammar in order to analyze, understand, write, and edit English sentences and paragraphs at a high-intermediate level. The course focuses on comprehensible simple, compound, and complex sentences with a high level of grammatical accuracy and word choice. Focus is also on various rhetorical styles in cohesive, well-organized, and grammatically correct paragraphs on abstract as well as concrete topics.

ESL-960LS: High Intermediate Listening and Speaking (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: Concurrent enrollment in ESL 960G and ESL 960RW. Prerequisite: ESL 950LS or a qualifying score on the ESL placement test. This high intermediate course continues to develop students' oral communication skills in a variety of social, business and/or academic situations.

ESL-960RV: High Intermediate Reading and Vocabulary (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 950GW and ESL 950RV OR Prerequisite: Recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. In this course students develop reading comprehension strategies, vocabulary acquisition techniques, and analytical reading skills. Using a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts, students learn to recognize main ideas and supporting details, distinguish between fact and opinion, and infer meaning. Students also learn techniques for summarizing short texts. Students increase their academic vocabulary by using context clues, stems and affixes, and practice with the Academic Word List. In addition, they become familiar with the denotations and connotations of words.

ESL-965EC: English for CHD: Domains of Child Development, Part II (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Advisory: ESL 960EC This high intermediate course develops oral and written English language skills to identify, describe, and support children's cognitive and language development. (Crosslisted with NCE965EC)

ESL-970AM: Accent Modification (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 960LS or a qualifying score on the ESL placement test. Advisory: ESL 950PL Advanced ESL speakers receive guidance and extensive practice in refining oral pronunciation and listening skills.

ESL-970GW: Advanced ESL Composition and Grammar (5.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 5.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 960GW and ESL 960RV or recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. This course continues developing skills attained in ESL 960GW in writing expository paragraphs and introduces the structure of the essay in standard academic written form. Students write paragraphs and essays in a variety of rhetorical styles. Emphasis is on the writing process, paragraph development, and essay organization. The course provides extensive practice with advanced grammar and sentence structure and helps students develop effective editing skills.

ESL-970LS: Advanced Listening and Speaking (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 960LS or a qualifying score on the ESL placement test. Advisory: Concurrent enrollment in ESL 970GW and ESL 970RV. Advanced level ESL students receive guidance and extensive practice in listening and speaking in academic, professional and social settings.

ESL-970RV: Advanced Reading and Vocabulary (3.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 3.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 960GW and ESL 960RV or recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. Advisory: ESL 970LS Students will continue developing academic vocabulary using context clues, stems and affixes, and dictionary skills. Reading skills focus on inferencing, identifying bias, distinguishing between fact and opinion, determining main and supporting ideas, paraphrasing, and summarizing. A novel and a library project are required.

ESL-980: Effective Writing for Advanced Esl Students (4.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 4.0)

Prerequisite: ESL 970GW and ESL 970RV, or recommended placement on the ESL Assessment Tool. Corequisite: ESL 970LS This course is for students whose native language is not English. Students write academic essays and a short research paper. Emphasis is on the writing process, academic essay writing, and introductory research skills. The course also provides intensive practice with the sentence patterns, grammatical structures, and academic vocabulary necessary to produce clear, accurate prose.

ESL-985: Writing for ESL Students in English 001A and English 001AX (2.0 Lecture) (Min Credits: 2.0)

Co-requisite: ENG 001A or ENG 001AX This course is for students taking English 001A or English 001AX whose native language is not English. This course provides intensive instruction and practice in writing coherent paragraphs and essays for specific audiences. This course includes the drafting, revision, and editing processes as well as instruction in grammar, mechanics, and usage. The course focuses on the sentence patterns, grammatical structures and academic vocabulary necessary to be successful in English 001A / 001AX.