Academic ESL

The ESL program develops students' English language skills within an interdisciplinary content-based instructional model. Students enrolled in the ESL program concurrently enroll in content courses to satisfy their general education requirements. Depending on their placement level and progress, ESL students take a sequence of courses to complete the requirements for the A.A. or A.S. degree. The number of credits they need to complete depends on their original level of placement and progress.


COURSES
English as a Second Language (ESL) Courses
ESL 25 ESL in Content Areas II 2 credits (6 equated/billable) / 6 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 15 or by placement 
Co-requisites: ESL 26 or ESL 27
This intermediate six-hour content-based ESL course utilizes subject matter from selected disciplines. In response to the topics discussed, students will expand their vocabulary and improve their grammar within an integrated skills context that will permit practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking in English. This course will target linguistic and critical thinking skills through intermediate level content material designed to motivate students to participate in class discussion and to prepare written assignments related to the various topics presented. The course will reinforce structures covered previously and will go on to cover intermediate-level grammar structures required for academic literacy. By writing multiple drafts for a variety of assignments, students will develop the ability to revise and edit their work. Assessment of student performance will be based on comprehension of and written/oral responses to uniform interdisciplinary content.
 
ESL 26 Contemporary Issues for ESL Students II 1 credit (3 equated/billable) 3 hours
Pre-requisite: ESL 15 or by placement
Co-requisite: ESL 25
This intermediate three-hour ESL course provides extensive reading of newspapers, magazines, and internet sources. Students will explore contemporary issues and their historical context while expanding their vocabulary and further developing their linguistic and critical thinking skills. They will learn to recognize the author's point of view, distinguish between news reports and editorial commentary, and interpret related charts and graphs. Students will be required to summarize, discuss, and interpret issues presented in these sources. Upon completion of the course, students will have broadened their general knowledge base and acquired the necessary skills to respond critically to contemporary issues.
 
ESL 27 Literature for ESL Students II 1 credit (3 equated/billable) / 3 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 15 or by placement 
Co-requisites: ESL 25
This three-hour course provides students with the opportunity to improve their linguistic and critical thinking skills through extensive reading, interpretation, and analysis or authentic literary texts appropriate for intermediate level ESL students. These texts, selected for their relevance and literary value, include a variety of genres (fiction, poetry and drama). The course also presents cultural and historical perspectives necessary to construct meaning from these texts. Students will develop their understanding of literary elements such as point of view, character, plot, setting, irony and figurative language and employ them in their analysis. Assessment of student performance will be based on class discussion, personal response essays and other forms of writing that require students to compare and contrast themes and issues encountered in texts and relate them to personal experience.
 
ESL 35 ESL in Content Areas III 2 credits (6 equated/billable) / 6 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 25 or by placement 
Co-requisites: ESL 36 or ESL 37
This advanced six-hour content-based ESL course utilizes subject matter from selected disciplines. In response to the topics discussed, students will expand their vocabulary and improve their grammar within an integrated skills context that will permit practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking in English. This course will target linguistic and critical thinking skills through challenging content material designed to motivate students to participate in class discussions and to prepare in-depth written assignments. The course will reinforce structures covered in previous levels and will go on to cover more complex grammar and discourse knowledge required for academic literacy. By writing multiple drafts for a variety of assignments, students will develop the ability to revise and edit their work. The course will also include preparation for the ACT examinations. Assessment of student performance will be based on comprehension of written/oral response to uniform interdisciplinary content.
 
ESL 36 ESL Contemporary Issues III 1 credit (3 equated/billable) / 3 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 26 or ESL 27 or by placement
Co-requisites: ESL 35
This advanced three-hour ESL course provides extensive reading of newspapers, magazines, and internet sources. Students will explore contemporary issues and their historical context while expanding their vocabulary and further developing their linguistic and critical thinking skills. They will learn to recognize the author's point of view, distinguish between news reports and editorial commentary, and interpret related charts and graphs. Students will be required to summarize, discuss, and interpret issues in these sources. There will be written homework assignments and various kinds of in-class writing. Assessment will be based upon students' knowledge of events and their ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the course materials. Upon completion of the course, students will have broadened their general knowledge base and acquired the necessary skills to respond critically to contemporary issues.
 
ESL 37 ESL Studies in Literature III 1 credit (3 equated/billable) / 3 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 26 or ESL 27 or by placement
Co-requisites: ESL 35
This three-hour advanced-level ESL course provides students with the opportunity to further develop their linguistic and critical thinking skills through extensive reading, interpretation, and analysis or authentic literary texts. These texts, selected for their relevance and literary value, include a variety of genres (fiction, memoir, poetry and drama). The course will also provide cultural and historical perspectives necessary to construct meaning from these texts. Students will deepen their understanding of literary elements such as point of view, character, plot, setting, irony and figurative language and employ them in their analysis. Assessment of student performance will be based on in-class discussion, personal-response essays and other forms of writing that require students to compare and contrast themes and issues raised by texts.
 
ESL 86 Intensive ESL Writing & Language Workshop 3 credits (9 equated/billable) / 9 hours
Prerequisite: Placement into the Intensive Program
Co-requisites: ESL 88
This nine-hour course is comprised of two components: a six-hour intensive ESL writing component and a three-hour language workshop. Students will continue to develop their ability to write narrative, descriptive, and expository essays, with special emphasis on argumentation and comparison/contrast. Basic verb tenses and grammatical structures will be reviewed and reinforced and use of more complex tenses and grammatical points will be introduced. Students in Language Workshop II will be responsible for planning and producing creative collaborative projects such as original plays and/or magazines.
 
ESL 88 Intensive ESL Reading & Conversation II 2 credits (6 equated/billable) / 6 hours
Prerequisite: Placement into the Intensive Program
Co-requisites: ESL 86
This course is designed to give students extensive practice in the use of all English language skills, with particular emphasis on reading and conversation. The course is intended to help students read and talk about gradually more complex texts in English with greater fluency and comprehension and to develop students' ability to utilize appropriate strategies to make meaning of different kinds of texts. Students will develop their ability to recognize general themes and concepts in their reading, to draw conclusions and make inferences using discussion, summary writing and critical essays. Students will be able to use reading as a way to increase their knowledge of self and the world.
 
ESL 91 Basic Composition 3 credits (9 equated/billable) / 9 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 35 or ESL 86 or by placement
Co-requisites:ESL 92
This course is designed to prepare English as a Second Language students to perform successfully on the CUNY/ACT exam mandated for entrance into the English Department's freshman composition course, ENG 110 (Expository Writing). The course will focus on writing as an effective means of communication with particular emphasis on persuasive writing, along with critical reading and analysis of selected works. The course will also emphasize grammatical structures and language usage.
 
ESL 92 Foundations of Critical Reading 1 credit (3 equated/billable) / 3 hours
Prerequisite: ESL 35 or by placement 
Co-requisites: ESL 91 (unless exempt)
The basic assumption of this course is that reading is a problem-solving process which requires a combination of a number of skills and strategies. The purpose of the course is to expose students to more complex prose, which will enable them to acquire more advanced language, and reading skills so that they are able to solve any problems they may encounter as readers. Some of the language skills emphasized in the course deal with work study, sentence study, paragraph reading and analysis, study of figurative language, and inference of tone, mood, point of view and author's intent. Reading skills include skimming, scanning, understanding of different writing patterns, anticipating outcomes and drawing conclusions. Study skills such as outlining, summarizing, and understanding maps, charts, and graphs will also be included. Writing will be required as part of this course. Classes meet twice a week.