Academic Catalog

ELL - English Language Learners

Students are placed in individual ELL courses through appropriate placement test scores and/or evaluation of previous coursework.

ELL 023  Elementary Grammar  

(Formerly ESL 023) This is a course for advanced beginners that will enable students to apply grammar in listening, speaking, reading and academic writing. It is recommended that students take the course with reading, writing, and listening/speaking courses of similar levels.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use the simple present, past and future tenses of regular and irregular verbs.
Use with some accuracy the present and past continuous verb tenses.
Construct and use yes/no and questions.
Produce and use sentences with if, when, after, before, because and while with correct verb tenses.
Use modals of ability, request and necessity.
Utilize with some accuracy prepositions of time, place, pronouns and count/non-count nouns.
Use with some accuracy comparisons and superlatives.
Demonstrate the use of the appropriate grammar structures for the level.
Recognize the present perfect tense and produce it with some accuracy.

Prerequisite: Appropriate Placement Test scores.

3 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours

ELL 024  Elementary Writing  
(Formerly ESL 024) This course is for advanced beginners who can write basic sentences and have some knowledge of English sentence structures. The course covers basic grammatical structures, some models of compound and complex sentences, and introduces students to simple paragraph writing as well as other types of writing needed in everyday life and academic environment. It is recommended that students take the course with grammar, reading, and listening/speaking courses of similar levels.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Construct simple, clear sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
Create simplified forms of compound and complex sentences with appropriate linking words/conjunctions.
Compose unified paragraphs of 8 to 10 sentences about people, places and events in accordance with the academic standards.
Collect and organize information for paragraph writing.
Recognize and identify the basic parts of speech in writing using the correct dictionary abbreviations.
Use the basic verb tenses to indicate present, past and future time in writing.
Utilize the common modals and prepositions of time and location correctly.
Recognize and correct common writing and sentence errors.
Choose and use correct word forms, articles, and prepositions in writing.

Prerequisite: Appropriate Placement Test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 025  Elementary Reading  

(Formerly ESL 025) In this course, students will develop reading comprehension skills and expand vocabulary. Students will utilize various reading and vocabulary strategies to understand level-appropriate academic texts that prepare them for the next course level. It is recommended that students take the course with grammar, writing, and listening/speaking courses of similar levels.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate reading comprehension of level-appropriate text.
Use guidelines and instructions for reading assignments.
Identify main ideas and supporting details.
Utilize various previewing strategies.
Demonstrate text comprehension by analyzing sentence structures.
Demonstrate text comprehension by using skimming and scanning strategies.
Expand vocabulary and use strategies to infer the meaning of vocabulary.
Apply the level-appropriate English-English dictionary skills for reading.
Analyze level-appropriate text structures.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 026  Elementary Listening/Speaking  

(Formerly ESL 026) This is a course for advanced beginners who have some basic knowledge of English and some functional communicative ability (e.g. simple questions and answers on topics of everyday interest). Class time is devoted to speaking for everyday and basic academic needs, grammar practice, pronunciation, critical thinking, intensive listening to short, simplified narratives and listening for specific information in extended narratives, conversations, and short lectures. It is recommended that students take this course with grammar, writing, and reading courses of similar levels.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use a variety of speaking skills to hold short conversations (e.g.agreeing, disagreeing, describing, giving orders, asking for information, expressing an opinion)Demonstrate the use of courtesy expressions in various situations.
Describe or narrate an event using two or more sentences.
Identify and comprehensibly produce English sounds and intonation patterns within level appropriate sentences.
Utilize listening strategies to understand information necessary for everyday life (eg, weather forecasts, classroom language).
Show comprehension of simplified, extended narratives (eg, lectures and dialogues).
Apply basic note-taking skills to take notes on short lectures.
Make inferences about what speakers say.
Give short structured talks with appropriate academic vocabulary of at least 1-2 minutes on areas of interest.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 033  Intermediate Grammar I  

(Formerly ESL 033) This course aims at the development of intermediate grammar skills following ELL 023 (Elementary Grammar). Students are introduced to grammatical structures through a variety of activities that integrate all language skills and enhance students’ understanding and usage of grammar in academic English. These activities will prepare students for higher level of ELL and regular academic English classes.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate appropriate use of the present, past, and future tenses in context.
Demonstrate appropriate use of some functions of the present perfect.
Recognize and utilize some patterns with gerund and infinitive forms of verbs.
Demonstrate understanding of passive sentences and produce them with some accuracy.
Use modals expressing possibility, ability, and permissibility appropriately.
Recognize and utilize some patterns of noun, adjective, and adverb clauses in context.
Use strategies to detect and correct grammatical errors.
Apply studied grammatical patterns to academic writing.

Prerequisites: ESL 023 or appropriate placement test scores.

3 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours

ELL 034  Intermediate Writing I  

(Formerly ESL 034) This course aims at the development of intermediate writing skills following ELL 024 (Elementary Writing). Students are introduced to a variety of strategies that require synthesis and analysis in writing cohesive academic paragraphs and simple essays. Diverse strategies and techniques will prepare students for higher level ESL and regular academic English classes.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Generate, collect, and organize ideas using several pre-writing strategies including outlining.
Select and evaluate main ideas and supporting details for the paragraphs.
Revise drafts in the writing process.
Compose a well-structured paragraph and short essays using multiple paragraphs.
Use transitional and logical connectors to link the ideas in paragraphs.
Use description, narration, explanation, and illustration in writing.
Apply elements of subordination to combine short sentences and emphasize important ideas in writing.
Construct compound and complex sentences with correct capitalization, punctuation, and structure.
Employ most of the present, past, and future tenses, modals, gerunds, pronouns, and infinitives.
Demonstrate editing skills.

Prerequisites: ELL 024 or Appropriate placement test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 035  Intermediate Reading I  

(Formerly ESL 035) In this course, students will expand reading skills and vocabulary. Students will utilize various reading and vocabulary strategies to comprehend level-appropriate academic texts that prepare them for the next course level. It is recommended that students take the course with ELL grammar, writing, and listening/speaking courses of similar levels.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate reading comprehension of level-appropriate text.
Utilize various previewing strategies to predict content.
Demonstrate text comprehension by using skimming and scanning strategies.
Differentiate main and supporting ideas of the level-appropriate text.
Identify the main idea of the level-appropriate text and formulate it by employing some paraphrasing strategies.
Demonstrate text comprehension by analyzing sentence structures and restating ideas.
Demonstrate comprehension of visual materials such as maps, charts, and graphs, as part of a text.
Identify evidence for inferences in text, examine it, and formulate basic conclusions.
Expand vocabulary, use strategies to infer the meaning of vocabulary, and utilize vocabulary correctly and appropriately.
Apply the appropriate level English-English dictionary skills for reading.

Prerequisites: ELL 025 or appropriate placement test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 036  Intermediate Listening/Speaking I  

(Formerly ESL 036) This course is a speaking and listening course for developing intermediate ELL students. Students entering the course should be able to answer questions about their own lives and expand a spontaneous narrative to three or four sentences. Class time is devoted to speaking for academic needs and various social situations, as well as the practice of grammar, pronunciation, critical thinking, and listening for information in conversations, extended narratives, and short lectures. It is recommended that students take this course with ESL grammar, reading, and writing courses of similar levels.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use a variety of speaking skills appropriate for this level to participate in dialogue or group discussions (e.g., asking questions, expressing opinions, signaling reasons).
Demonstrate the use of politeness and formality expressions in various social and academic situations.
Research and give short presentations with appropriate academic vocabulary of 4 minutes on areas of interest.
Identify and comprehensibly produce English sounds, reductions, and intonation patterns within level appropriate sentences.
Show comprehension of simplified lectures of 3-10 minutes on academic topics.
Identify information in conversations and narratives.
Apply basic note-taking skills to take notes on short lectures.
Make inferences about what speakers say.

Prerequisites: ELL 026 or appropriate placement test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 043  Intermediate Grammar II  

(Formerly ESL 043) This course is a continuation of Intermediate Grammar I (ELL 033). It is a multi-skills course in which students practice grammar in social and academic situations.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use with accuracy the past perfect continuous and future perfect continuous tenses.
Use with accuracy adverb, noun and adjective clauses.
Use tools such as connectors, tense shifting and reference words in extended writing.
Produce and use models with accuracy.
Select appropriate grammatical constructions for different levels of formality.
Use language confidently and appropriately.

Prerequisites: ELL 033or appropriate placement test scores.

3 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours

ELL 044  Intermediate Writing II  

(Formerly ESL 044) This course is designed for students who can write unified, well-supported paragraphs and short essays with few errors that affect readers' comprehension.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Gather and organize information and ideas required for essay writing.
Write essays for a variety of purposes and audiences.
Identify and produce writing assignments appropriate for specific audiences.
Use a variety of complex sentences.
Use pronouns and transitional devices to link ideas.
Use unreal conditionals, noun clauses and other advanced structures for sentence variety and effect.
Proofread and revise papers in response to instructors'/ peers' comments.
Demonstrate in a portfolio the academic writing skills required in non-ESL credit courses.

Prerequisites: ELL 034 or appropriate placement test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 045  Intermediate Reading II  

(Formerly ESL 045) This course is designed for intermediate-level ELL students who need to build their vocabulary and reading skills so that they can, with the assistance of a dictionary, understand text that is written for native speakers. Students will normally take Intermediate Writing II (ELL 044) and Intermediate Speaking/Listening II (ELL 046) along with this course. In addition, two hours weekly of tutoring are required.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use a variety of reading strategies to interpret meaning.
Summarize and paraphrase, verbally and in writing, information contained in the readings.
Discuss the content of readings and defend answers.
Expand vocabulary, knowledge of word forms and use of idiomatic expressions.
Demonstrate knowledge of roots, prefixes and suffixes.
Use an English-English dictionary for advanced ESL learners.

Prerequisites: ESL 035 or appropriate placement test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours

ELL 046  Intermediate Listening/Speaking II  

(Formerly ESL 046) This course emphasizes the comprehension and production of longer segments of speech. Students entering the course should be able to extend a narrative to several sentences. The class covers speaking in everyday situations, conventions of speaking in academic settings (e.g., participating in class discussions) and pronunciation. Students normally take this course with Intermediate Reading II (ELL 045) and Intermediate Writing II (ELL 044). An additional two hours each week of lab time will provide extra listening practice.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Use different levels of politeness in a variety of situations.
Speak spontaneously at an extended level of discourse.
Organize and deliver a five to seven minute presentation.
Contribute to group problem-solving discussions.
Use listening strategies to understand the main points in longer narratives and conversation, some unsimplified.
Take notes on extended narratives.
Improve pronunciation and intonation.
Demonstrate grammatical accuracy in most everyday conversational situations.

Prerequisites: ELL 036 or appropriate placement test scores.

4 Credits3 Weekly Lecture Hours
 2 Weekly Lab Hours