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English as a Second Language (ESL)

English as a Second Language (ESL) is made up of three courses designed to help students develop their conversational and academic English, reading comprehension, writing awareness of social and cultural differences, and to introduce them to American History and the methods that are used to teach in the US Educational system.

The ESL Skills Course consists of an intensive grammar study. Students also learn about the social and cultural differences between their homes and the US. This class encourages the students to participate and discuss topics in English. We also use this time to converse about students’ experiences during the academic day, at sports or in the dorm. This allows the students to have a smoother transition to living and studying at Rumsey Hall.

ESL Literature focuses on introducing American literature to the students. The small class size allows for discussion of literature appropriate for their reading abilities. The goals of this course are to improve the students’ reading comprehension and ability to think analytically and critically.

ESL History concentrates on giving the students an introduction to American History at a level where they can comprehend the material and develop their American History vocabulary. The students focus on writing, and working to improve their critical and analytical thinking skills in English, as they apply to the history curriculum.