English as a Second Language - Beginning Level Certificate of Competency

The Certificate of Competency for English as a Second Language – Beginning Level is designed for students to demonstrate basic English language skills. Emphasis is on participating in simple conversations, expanding vocabulary, reading authentic and simplified texts, and writing grammatically correct sentences within basic paragraphs.

The beginning level courses leading to a certificate will prepare students for intermediate levels of English language study by working on all four primary language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will acquire practical communicative vocabulary, rudimentary skills in conversation, composition, and comprehension as well as an introduction to the American sound system. While completion of this certificate will allow for greater civic involvement and potential job advancement, completion of this certificate alone is insufficient preparation for college-level certificates and degree-applicable coursework.

Beginning students are placed within the following sequence of foundation courses, according to their English abilities and may test out of up to two courses. Courses may be offered days, evenings, and weekends during fall, spring and summer. There are no prerequisite skills or enrollment limitations although there is recommended preparation for some courses.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Students who complete this program will be able to:

Demonstrate improvement in their grammar.
Demonstrate improvement in their speaking and comprehension skills.
Demonstrate improvement in their reading and vocabulary skills.
Demonstrate improvement in their overall writing skills.

Required Courses:

ESL 320 BEGINNING MULTISKILLS I 99.6 Hours

ESL 321 BEGINNING MULTISKILLS II 99.6 Hours *
ESL 322 BEGINNING CONVERSATION 49.8 Hours
ESL 323 BEGINNING PRONUNCIATION 49.8 Hours
ESL 325 BEGINNING READING AND WRITING 49.8 Hours *

Total Hours for the Certificate: 99.6-249

Students must earn a grade of P (Pass) in the non-credit sections of these classes.

*Course has a prerequisite, corequisite, limitation, or recommended preparation, see course description.

Recommended preparation for ESL 321 and ESL 325 is ESL 320.