Courses in the ESL program

ESL Introduction to College Writing
ESL English Composition I
ESL English Composition II
ESL College Reading
Basic Public Speaking (ESL)

ESL Introduction to College Writing 52-1100
This course prepares students for English Composition I. Instruction focuses on the ability to write clear paragraphs, recognize and use conventional structures, increase accuracy in grammatical structures, word choice, and punctuation, and react and respond critically to student and professional writing. Students are also introduced to pre-writing strategies, using topic sentences and supporting details, writing for an audience, peer editing, and self-editing techniques.
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ESL English Composition I 52-1121
The first required course in a two-semester sequence, ESL English Composition I is designed to address the needs of students whose first language is not English. This course helps students understand and refine their own writing process from brainstorming, planning, drafting, and revising to copyediting and proofreading. Students experiment with various purposes and audiences for writing, using writing to explore the self, respond to texts, and express ideas about matters of public concern. The course helps students develop their distinctive voices, make conscious rhetorical decisions, strengthen their reading skills, and function effectively in a community of writer-readers. ESL Composition I connects personal reflection with critical analysis, providing plentiful and varied opportunities for writing, a multi-draft approach to creating essays, small group work, and student-teacher conferencing.
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ESL English Composition II 52-1122
The second required course in a two-semester sequence, ESL English Composition II is designed to address the needs of students whose first language is not English. This course helps students use writing to develop and sustain an in-depth personal and intellectual inquiry into a subject of their choosing. By teaching students to generate worthwhile questions, collect primary data, locate secondary resources, and form original insights, the course enables students to pursue an individual interest in writing throughout the semester, blending personal voice effectively with the voices of published writers. Instead of requiring numerous short essays, the course unfolds in a series of assignments designed to lead students through a continually deepening creative research process that ripens into a written project of considerable length and complexity.
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ESL College Reading 52-1202
This course prepares students for the demands of college-level reading at Columbia College. Instruction focuses on using effective strategies to improve reading comprehension and automaticity, and developing strategies for summarizing, analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing material from a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts. Students also continue to develop note-taking and library research skills.
 
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Basic Public Speaking (ESL) 52-1400
This course introduces students to basic principles of communication theory, and informative, persuasive, and occasional models of public speaking. Instruction focuses on planning, organization, argumentation, delivery and posture, use of gestures and voice, and US academic audience expectations. ESL sections also address specific barriers to effective public speaking for ESL students, such as stage fright, poor pronunciation/rhythm patterns, and intercultural communication difficulties. ESL sections meet the General Education requirement for Oral Communications. (requires one hour of tutoring)
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