COURSES OFFERED

English as a Second Language 01
Preparation for Naturalization and Citizenship

0 units; 3 hours lecture
Non-credit

This ESL course provides the non-native English speaker with the language skills needed to pass the reading, writing, and written portions of the U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization examination. Students will apply language skills to material related to the interview process and to the history of the United States, the structure of American government, and the responsibilities of American citizens.

English as a Second Language 02A
Conversation and Grammar
Level I

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 03A
Non-credit

This Level I conversation and grammar course provides focused practice on English grammar forms and structures through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. Emphasis is on the verb "be," the simple present tense, nouns, adjectives, prepositions, statements, and questions. Capitalization and punctuation rules are also introduced and applied in writing simple sentences.

English as a Second Language 02B
Conversation and Grammar
Level II

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment or completion of English as a Second Language 02A
Concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 03B
Non-credit

This Level II conversation and grammar course provides focused practice on English grammar forms and structures through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. Emphasis is on prepositions of time, possessive nouns and adjectives, present progressive and  simple past tense, modals of ability and suggestion, imperatives, and punctuation rules.

English as a Second Language 02C
Conversation and Grammar
Level III

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment or completion of English as a Second Language 02A and 02B
Concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 03C
Non-credit

This Level III conversation and grammar course provides focused practice on English grammar forms and structures through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. Emphasis is on verb tenses, direct/indirect objects, modals, comparatives, superlatives, count and non-count nouns, and quantifiers.

English as a Second Language 02D
Conversation and Grammar
Level IV

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment or completion of English as a Second Language 02C
Concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 03D
Non-credit

This Level IV conversation and grammar course provides focused practice on English grammar forms and structures through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. Emphasis is on the continuous and perfect tenses, transitive and intransitive verbs, irregular verb forms, the passive voice, participial adjectives, and idioms.

English as a Second Language 03A
Reading and Writing
Level I

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 02A
Non-credit

This Level I reading and writing course is designed to improve reading comprehension, increase vocabulary, and improve critical thinking and writing skills. Students will write descriptive and chronologically ordered paragraphs. 

English as a Second Language 03B
Reading and Writing
Level II

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment or completion of English as a Second Language 03A
Concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 02B
Non-credit

This Level II reading and writing course is designed to improve reading comprehension, increase vocabulary, and improve critical thinking and writing skills. Students will write descriptive, instructional, biographical, narrative, and subjective paragraphs. 

English as a Second Language 03C
Reading and Writing
Level III

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment or completion of English as a Second Language 03B
Concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 02C
Non-credit

This Level III reading and writing course is designed to improve reading comprehension, increase vocabulary, and improve critical thinking and writing skills. Students will write paragraphs using chronological order, emphatic order, and spatial order.

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English as a Second Language 03D
Reading and Writing
Level IV

0 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment or completion of English as a Second Language 03C
Concurrent enrollment in English as a Second Language 02D
Non-credit

This Level IV reading and writing course is designed to provide students with strategies to improve reading comprehension and wrting skills. Reading practice activities will be presented to increase vocabulary, use context for determining meaning of texts, and develop critical thinking skills. In writing, students will study a variety of grammatical structures and transitional expressions to help generate simple expository paragraphs.

English as a Second Language 50
Special Topics in English as a Second Language

Units determined by individual course;
lecture/lab hours determined by individual course
Credit status determined by individual course

This course is designed to explore topics in English as a Second Language more specific than provided in other courses in the regular departmental curriculum. Students are referred to the current schedule of classes for details of specific courses.

English as a Second Language 51A
Introduction to English in Conversation

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment
Credit, not degree applicable

This introductory course is designed to activate a student's English-speaking and English-comprehension skills in a supportive atmosphere. The course includes cross-cultural communication topics; role play and other small group activities; introduction to common American idioms and expressions; pronunciation exercises designed to improve intelligibility; and listening comprehension practice.  

English as a Second Language 51B
Intermediate Listening, Speaking and Pronunciation

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Prerequisite: ESL 51A with a minimum grade of C or qualification by assessment
Credit, degree applicable

Students in this course gain greater confidence and skill in listening to and speaking English by participating in activities such as listening to mini-lectures and taking notes, presenting impromptu speeches, prepared speeches, and oral reports; conducting surveys and interviews; performing role plays and dramas; and discussing and debating controversial topics. Students improve their pronunciation, intonation and stress, listening comprehension, and knowledge of idiomatic expressions and American culture and humor.  

English as a Second Language 51C
Advanced Listening, Speaking and Pronunciation

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Prerequisite: ESL 51B with a minimum grade of C or qualification by assessment
Credit, degree applicable

This course provides advanced instruction in listening and speaking skills, emphasizing oral communication, pronunciation, and idiomatic expressions in a multi-cultural academic setting.  Students practice listening to and taking notes on authentic lectures from across the curriculum. Students present speeches and participate in group discussions, debates, and other group activities. 

English as a Second Language 52A
Introduction to Reading and Vocabulary Building

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment
Credit, not degree applicable

This advanced-level reading course teaches interpretive, critical, and analytical reading skills for closer reading and better understanding of fiction and nonfiction works. It includes an in-depth study of a novel, and the terminology necessary to discuss and write critically about works of various genres.

English as a Second Language 52B
Intermediate Reading and Vocabulary Building

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Prerequisite: ESL 52A with a minimum grade of C or qualification by assessment
Credit, degree applicable

This is an intermediate level course designed to teach appropriate reading skills, such as the ability to make inferences, draw conclusions, understand the meaning of vocabulary words in context through word analysis and contextual clues, and determine the main idea from a passage. Students read from a variety of sources, including newspapers, essays, short stories, and novels. Students also increase their academic vocabulary through vocabulary building activities.

English as a Second Language 52C
Advanced Reading

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Prerequisite: ESL 52B with a minimum grade of C or qualification by assessment
Credit, degree applicable

The purpose of this course is to provide interpretive, critical and analytical reading skills for fiction and nonfiction genres. It includes an in-depth study of a novel and the language necessary to discuss and write critically about what is read.

English as a Second Language 53A
Elementary Writing and Grammar

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: qualification by assessment
Credit, not degree applicable

This entry-level academic composition course offers students an intensive writing experience. Students will write well-organized and coherent paragraphs transitioning to multi-paragraph essays. Students will identify and address grammar problems in writing.

English as a Second Language 53B
Intermediate Writing and Grammar

4 units; 5 hours lecture
Prerequisite: ESL 53A with a minimum grade of C or qualification by assessment
Credit, degree applicable
Transfer CSU, UC*

This intermediate-level academic composition course offers students an intensive experience in writing college essays. Students will learn to write well-organized, coherent expository essays, including critical reactions to readings, and employing various rhetorical modes. Basic rules of grammar are reviewed and more advanced rules are introduced.  
*Note: Some UC transferable courses have credit limitations. For details, see a counselor, the Transfer Center advisor, or the ariticulation officer.

English as a Second Language 54
American Culture for ESL Students

2 units; 2 hours lecture
Recommended Preparation: ESL 51B, ESL 52B, and ESL 53B
Credit, not degree applicable

This course will enable ESL students to succeed in college-level courses by introducing them to traditional and changing values in the United States such as individualism, self-reliance, pragmatism, and consumerism. Students will learn how these values affect education, family life, and popular culture. Students will improve their English language skills by analyzing television shows, movies, magazine and newspaper articles, as well as by conducting informal surveys and observation tasks.

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