Click here for most recent updates

LIVE STREAM

NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION, 8/19/23

LIVE STREAM

Close Request info for ESL – English as a Second Language

Courses

ESL 012 — Beginning Listening
The focus is on acquiring basic listening strategies, understanding the general meaning of speech, distinguishing the common reductions of American speech, and hearing and pronouncing the distinctive consonant sounds of English in isolation and in context. The speech contexts will include a combination of graded and authentic materials.

ESL 022 — Intermediate Listening
The focus is on understanding fast speech reductions in conversations and lectures and on discriminating and producing the vowel contrasts of American English.

ESL 032 — Advanced Listening 
The focus is on applying the speech reduction principles of 022 to listening in authentic every-day and academic contexts, understanding the overall structure of discourse (in particular, lectures and their components), note taking, and understanding and acquiring patterns of English stress and intonation.

ESL 014 — Beginning Speaking 
The focus is on acquisition of conversational skills necessary for day-to-day conversation and discussion. The class includes specific teaching of conversational skills (and attendant social skills) as well as language appropriate for common functional and situational needs.

ESL 024 — Intermediate Speaking 
The focus is on acquisition of oral skills both for day-to-day conversation as well as for academic purposes. These skills will require the implementation of the conversation management skills learned in the 014 speaking class.

ESL 034— Advanced Speaking 
The focus is on acquisition of oral skills necessary for active participation in the university classroom. The class includes specific teaching of presentational and speech skills as well as language and attitudes appropriate for classroom interaction (asking questions, responding to questions, etc.) and in-class discussion (whole class and small group).

ESL 011 — Beginning Reading
The focus is the acquisition of basic reading and vocabulary strategies: finding the topic, guessing meaning from context, skimming, scanning, basic dictionary use, pre-reading activities. The class also emphasizes the acquisition of phrasal verbs and skills to improve reading speed. Students will begin to move from graded reading to authentic materials. Students are expected to read both intensively and extensively.

ESL 021 — Intermediate Reading 
The focus is the development of the basic reading and vocabulary skills introduced in the 011 reading classes and the rapid expansion of vocabulary items through understanding of roots and affixes. Advanced reading strategies are also introduced. Students are expected to read both intensively and extensively.

ESL 031 — Advanced Reading 
The focus is the development of academic reading and vocabulary skills. Development of reading skills will include: critical reading, analysis, and discourse analysis. Vocabulary strategies will focus on using clues in context and using roots and affixes. Students are expected to read both intensively and extensively in their major areas. This course serves as a bridge to regular academic classes and as a result the material covered is explicitly linked to students’ individual areas of study.

ESL 013 — Beginning Grammar 
The focus is on the acquisition and internalization of the basic grammatical structures of English. The emphasis is on communicative English within meaningful context. As with each of the grammar classes, this class includes a great deal of review with expansion and development.

ESL 023 — Intermediate Grammar 
The focus is on the internalization and mastery of the grammatical structures covered at the 013 level and the acquisition of the more complex structures necessary for academic speaking and writing. The emphasis is on communicative English within meaningful context.

ESL 033 — Advanced Grammar
The focus is on fine-tuning previously acquired grammar understanding, acquiring subtle uses and meaning, and further developing these grammar skills so that students can produce and comprehend complex structures for academic and formal use. The skills developed in this class will complement and parallel the skills developed in the Speaking 034 and Writing 030 courses.

ESL 010 — Beginning Writing 

The focus is on the development of basic sentence structure leading up to the organization and development of coherent paragraph writing. The class begins with writing single sentences, focusing on how to write topic sentences. The students then progress to writing single paragraphs. Students are expected to write (and rewrite) extensively.

ESL 020 — Intermediate Writing
The focus is on the organization and development of coherent paragraph writing. The class begins with single paragraph writing and culminates with a brief introduction to multi-paragraph writing in preparation for the 030 writing class, which focuses on essay writing. Students are expected to write (and rewrite) extensively. Writing assignments are of two kinds: a minimum of two pieces each week with rewrites in addition to weekly journal-writing. Peer-editing is introduced if the class level is high enough and students are sufficiently comfortable with each other.

ESL 030 — Advanced Writing
The focus is on using, fine-tuning, and learning to marshal the skills learned in the 010 and 020 writing classes in preparation for Freshman Composition: summaries, responding to literature, essay tests, term papers, and using and acknowledging sources. Students are expected to write (and rewrite) extensively. Writing assignments will be of two types: a minimum of two pieces each week with rewrites in addition to weekly journal-writing. Peer-editing/evaluation plays an important part in the classroom.