ESL Courses

ESL Low Intermediate Reading and Grammar

What vocabulary, structures and expressions do students need to talk to native speakers about events in daily life?

In these classes, students will gain confidence in their English ability as they participate in discussions with their multicultural peers.  They will review basic tenses and structures that they will use in developing their written work from paragraphs to short essays.  Students will read a variety of genres, such as short stories and magazine articles, and then use integrated skills to discuss and to write about the content.  Students will learn basic vocabulary necessary for daily life.

• 1 credit each
• Both classes required concurrently

ESL High Intermediate Reading and Grammar

How do students go beyond survival English to gain greater fluency in fluency?

Students will expand their working knowledge of compound verb tenses, clauses and sentence construction so that they can develop the flow and the effectiveness of their written work.  They will read short novels and plays that they will discuss and write about in well-developed three to five paragraph essays.  Students will work with the vocabulary necessary for reading more advanced novels and textbooks.

• 1 credit
• Prerequisite: ESL Low Intermediate Reading and Grammar or Department Approval
• Both classes required concurrently

ESL Advanced

What linguistic competencies do students need to move beyond an ESL based class and to be successful in a mainstream curriculum? 

Students will learn to read critically and work to increase their reading speed and comprehension.  In class discussions, students will explore the existential themes in literature that cross all cultures. They will learn to use contextual support to develop three two to four page papers of literary analysis.  To strengthen their overall skills, they will learn vocabulary in context and review grammatical patterns.