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ESL 101 & 102: ACCELERATED ACADEMIC ESL
(0 crs. 8 hrs. - 10 equated crs., fall and spring)

This is a two-semester Learning Community Program course, beginning in the fall and continuing in the spring, open to all incoming students whose first language is not English and whose results on the CUNY reading and writing tests indicate that they need work on developing these areas. During Semester 1 (ESL 101), the focus is on reading, low-stakes writing, and media literacy. During Semester 2 (ESL 102), the focus continues to be on reading while building towards more formal academic writing.

Students enrolled in ESL 101 take the following courses as part of their linked, interdisciplinary program: Speech 11; a general education course Psychology 11, Sociology 31, History 21, or Health Education 14; Student Development 10; ENG 1050 Integrative Language Seminar, and Reading Lab with tutors. The ESL 102 course is linked with Speech 21, Reading Lab classes, and additional courses of students choice.

Through their successful participation in ESL Learning Communities students acquire fluency, clarity, and correctness in reading and writing. Students are also able to comprehend and analyze a range of genres including expository and academic texts. Students will write academic essays based on readings, as well as persuasive and experiential compositions, and produce their own digital stories using technology.

The instructional focus in ESL Learning Communities is participatory learning, involving in-class discussions, pair and group assignments, extensive reading, dialogues on online sites, and narrative sharing.

Upon successful completion of ESL 101 and ESL 102 students retake CUNY Reading and Writing exams, providing the opportunity for acceleration towards English course requirements, and are placed appropriately in subsequent English Department courses.