ESL Program in NYLLC

Instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) has been one of the longest standing and most important elements of NYLLC’s pedagogical, educational history. It serves as the backbone of Basic English literacy. The ESL program at NYLLC offers the multi-cultural, immigrant student body an opportunity for intensive language immersion, emphasizing the importance of the practical use of English.NYLLC’s ESL students are engaged in a course of study, which aims to enhance many aspects of the student’s life. The areas in which a student’s life may be impacted include other academic environments, social environments, and professional/work environments.

In order for students to meet the highest possible levels of English proficiency, the remediation program in ESL consists of five intensive levels. Student progress is consistently and accurately assessed through testing at the appropriate level of proficiency.

The ESL course offerings feature curricula created specifically to meet the academic needs of NYLLC’s diverse student body. These courses particularly focus on areas articulation and literacy. Students with a greater need for immersion may initially be enrolled into level “A” and level “B” subjects. More advanced students will be placed in higher levels (C, D, or E).

Students are placed at particular levels based on proficiency. This proficiency is determined by testing. Students are evaluated by instructors who appropriately distribute grades indicating learning and growth.

Grading components include: grammar, oral communication, and reading, writing, and integrated language skills. In cases where any of the required components have not been met; students are required to repeat the course. However, in particular cases of students’ non-progress and demonstration of the inability to perform at a satisfactory level in three or more curriculum components, a dismissal from the course will be issued.

The overall scores of the exams measure the appropriate levels of ESL placement with the following restriction: students must complete all subsequent levels of ESL before they are permitted to take English Composition I.

Level A
(Each course is 3 non-credit hours)

The curriculum for Level A in ESL study has been expressly designed for students whose ability to communicate in English is very limited. These students will be immersed in an intensified, component-based curriculum that emphasizes the skills of reading, writing, grammar applications, integrated language skills, and oral communication:

ESL Reading Skills - Level A
ESL Writing Skills - Level A
ESL Grammar Skills - Level A
ESL Oral Communication Skills - Level A
Integrated Language Skills - Level A

Students registered for courses in this level of ESL are not permitted to take any credit bearing courses.

Level B
(Each course is 3 non-credit hours)

Student enrolled in Level B curriculum of the ESL program have been previously introduced to the very basics of grammatical written forms, simple sentence formations and may, with difficulty, communicate in English:

ESL Reading Skills - Level B
ESL Writing Skills - Level B
ESL Grammar Skills - Level B
ESL Oral Communication Skills - Level B
Integrated Language Skills - Level B

Students registered for courses in this level of ESL are not permitted to take any credit bearing courses.

Level C
(Each course is 3 non-credit hours)

Students enrolled in Level "C" courses have successfully reached a certain level of proficiency in English language, especially in articulating their needs with clarity and writing short comprehensive compositions

ESL Reading Skills - Level C
ESL Writing Skills - Level C
ESL Oral Communication Skills - Level C
Integrated Language Skills- Level C

Students registered for courses at this level of ESL are not permitted to take any credit-bearing course.

Level D
(Each course is 3 non-credit hours)

Students enrolled in Level "D" courses have reached nearly fluent proficiency in the English language study. These students speak and write comfortably and make transitions from their native language to English with ease:

ESL Writing Skills - Level D
ESL Oral Communication Skills - Level D

Students may take up to six credits of the program of study and no advanced English courses (such as English Composition) or reading-intensive courses (e.g. Microeconomics). Appropriate schedule for Level D ESL students will be determined at the time of registration.

Level E
(Each course is 3 non-credit hours)

Students enrolled in Level "E" of the ESL program take only one course which specifically prepares them for the demands of the main stream academic subjects. Particularly, students will be engaged in learning about the ways in which basic essays are built and about the writing process.

Advanced ESL writing workshop

Students who are placed in this level must complete this course before taking English Composition I.

REMEDIAL ENGLISH

College reading and writing skills are important for native speakers, as writing and related communications skills play an essential role in students’ professional and personal lives.

NYLLC offers two developmental courses in English: College Reading Skills and College Writing Skills. Sensitive to the greater academic concerns of students, NYLLC hopes to provide intensive basic skills curricula to those students who require them. The scores from the Compass tests determine placement in appropriate subjects depending upon the levels of deficiency in students’ writing or reading comprehension. Students enrolled in one or both of these courses must earn the grade of “S” (Satisfactory) in order to proceed to other required English courses (i.e., English Composition I and II).

COLLEGE READING SKILLS

The 3 hour, non-credit course, College Reading Skills, focuses on critical reading techniques and informs students of ways to approach the reading process. Students are challenged to build upon the knowledge base that they enter the class with in order to become proficient readers, writers, and analytical thinkers.

COLLEGE WRITING SKILLS

This 3 hour, non-credit course, College Writing Skills, is a counterpart to College Reading. In this class, students focus on basic writing skills. This course is designed in order for students to learn how to write more effective sentences, paragraphs, and essays. It offers students who are not yet college-level writers the opportunity to hone their skills in order to succeed in future college writing courses

COMPOSITION I

This course is designed to help students improve their critical and analytical thinking skills while also teaching them the elements of various types of essays. Students learn the power of blending creativity with intellect, ultimately producing college-level essays reflecting a new understanding of essay writing. Students will produce a number of essays, which will demonstrate their capacity for and their comfort level with the process of writing.

COMPOSITION II

In this course, students lean the importance of inquisitive thinking. They learn to raise solid questions that lead to strong research papers. Building on what students have learned in both Information Literacy and Composition I, this course focuses on all aspects of research writing. This includes gathering data and information, evaluating websites and printed materials, drawing informed conclusions, and using proper formatting and APA citations.

MATH SKILLS LEVEL I

This course is the first of two remedial math classes. This course is designed to familiarize students with basic skills in order to succeed in college-level math courses. Here, students will review such aspects of math as decimal points, signed numbers, and fractions. In addition, students will learn to use their computational skills, proving that they have mastered the basics of math in order to move forward to the next level of remediation.

MATH SKILLS LEVEL II

This second remediation course in mathematics continues the curriculum of the Fundamentals of Mathematics, offering greater challenges in algebraic computations. This comprehensive, broad-based course is designed to familiarize students with the techniques of effectively solving commonly occurring calculations within the structures of business, medical, and computer applications. Students will be challenged with exercises in geometric algebraic problem solving, sets and set operations, simple spaces, and the use of probabilities, distributions and statistics. A special emphasis will be placed on developing critical thinking skills and problem-solving techniques.

COLLEGE MATH

Students in College Math learn mathematical theory and analysis. They delve into the complex areas of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. They will also complete exercises in derivatives, integration, and differential equations. This course is designed to ensure that students are capable of satisfactorily completing challenging exercises, demonstrating that they are aware of math concepts essential to college-level learners.

Note: Students requiring remediation in both Mathematics and English are advised not to take more than 12 credits in the first semester of their program. Students requiring remediation in both areas are not permitted to attempt more than 15 credits in the first semester of the program. Students are allowed course over-loads in subsequent semesters if they maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher

This program is designed for students with limited English proficiency who desire to expand and improve all areas of their English communication skills (reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation and oral communication) to better cope with the daily rigors of living in the United States. (Note: Since this program is a vocational, placement services are not available.) Full time sessions are available in the mornings, afternoons and evenings.

Applicants to the Stand-Alone ESL program should have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent (GED), or should be beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in NY State and have the ability to benefit from the training offered.

The Stand-Alone ESL is built upon the foundations of past experiences and successes in teaching English as a Second Language, new objectives in higher academic learning and a new, level-based curriculum. The program is broken down into three levels of increasing difficulty: Low Intermediate, High Intermediate and Advanced. Each of the levels has been carefully analyzed and developed for a heterogeneous, multicultural student body.

The program curriculum has been carefully analyzed and developed based on the extensive experiences of the ESL faculty who have faced challenges of a heterogeneous, multi-cultural student body and the needs of ESL learners encompassing and overcoming difficulties of foreign language variance.

The pedagogic methodologies and strategies employed in this program clearly objectify the experience of language learning through an extensive curriculum, covering all the necessary skill areas: reading, writing, grammar, pronunciation, diction, listening, speaking, and comprehension. Each segmented area of study focuses in depth on the needs of the students. Because students are intensively immersed in each area, the entire program is successful in allowing students to reach near fluency.

NYLLC allocates a great deal of energy to the language successes of its immigrant student body, especially in encouraging students to pursue higher academic careers. This program, with a successful deployment, will succeed to that end, building the foundations necessary for further academic study combined with the practical applications of the English Language.

PROGRAMS IN THE DIVISION OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

STAND-ALONE ESL 3 semesters

FIRST SEMESTER - LEVEL B

ESLB01 Reading Skills B 3
ESLB02 Writing Skills B 3
ESLB03 Oral Communication Skills B 3
ESLB05 Grammar Skills B 3

SECOND SEMESTER - LEVEL C

ESLC01 Reading Skills C 3
ESLC02 Writing Skills C 3
ESLC03 Oral Communication Skills C 3
ESLC05 Readings in American Literature C 3

THIRD SEMESTER - LEVEL D

ESLD01 Reading Skills D 3
ESLD02 Writing Skills D 3
ESLD03 Oral Communication Skills D 3
ESLD05 Language and Culture 3 _