English as a Second Language Program,
South Hall 4522;
Telephone (805) 893-7258
Academic Coordinator: Jan Frodesen
Open a new browser window to view the departmental web page for English as a Second Language.
John Du Bois, Ph.D. (Linguistics)
Jan Frodesen (ex officio), Ph.D., Director (English as a Second Language)
Stephen I. Long, Ph.D. (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Claudine Michel, Ph.D. (Black Studies)
William Prothero, Ph.D. (Geology)
Robert Rinker, Ph.D. (Chemical and Nuclear Engineering)
Muriel Zimmerman (ex officio), Ph.D., Director (Writing Program)
The English as a Second Language (ESL) Program offers courses for undergraduate and graduate students for whom English is not the first language. The primary goal of the ESL program is to prepare students for participation in an American academic community. The ESL Program does not lead to any degree or certificate, but the courses within it are open to qualified students, visiting scholars, and professors from any department. All incoming graduate students whose first language is not English are required to take the written and oral English Language Placement Examination (ELPE). Placement in ESL courses is based on students' performance on these examinations. In addition, all prospective teaching assistants are required to take the TA Language Evaluation in order to be certified for sole classroom teaching responsibility.
New undergraduates whose first language is not English may be required to enroll in ESL courses as determined by their performance on the written ELPE or Subject A Placement Examination. Students placed in these ESL courses must successfully complete them before they can enroll in the required freshman writing sequence.
See the Department of Linguistics entry in this catalog
for a listing of courses. Contact the ESL program for course descriptions,
schedule of classes, examination dates, and further information.