English as a Second Language

English as a Second Language Local Certificate

The ESL Certificate of Competency is designed to prepare students to communicate, write, and read in the English language. Students will have an opportunity to show their employers and future employers that they have an understanding and knowledge of the English language. Program student learning outcomes:

  • The student will verbally communicate, by using appropriate beginning level grammar, vocabulary, organization, and clear pronunciation.
  • The student will carry a conversation based on a contemporary issue and will present new information to the class.
  • The student will develop a paragraph using lower-intermediate level grammar.
  • The student will create a presentation about their background, job skills, and educational experiences..

The ESL Certificate of Competency program is a certificate program to help English Language Learners in their present and future goals. The certificate will show that they have basic English skills in conversation, writing, and reading. The curriculum is designed to help students show employers that they have a basic understanding of the English language which will help them in their place of employment. Completion of the certificate will help students be marketable in the job market.

Upon completion of the program the student will be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Introduce basic structure and example for questions with 'be'; 'do'; 'wh-question + be' (ex: Who is happy?) and 'wh-question + do' (ex: What do you eat for dinner?) in the present tense;
  • Role-play short conversations practicing with a classmate;
  • Learn a simple grammatical lesson online (provided), complete the online quiz and present that lesson to the class;
  • Understand and produce structure and an example for questions with 'be'; 'do'; 'wh-questions + be' (ex: Who is/was happy?) and 'wh-questions + do' (ex: What do/did you eat for dinner?) in the present and past tense;
  • Speak extemporaneously for 2-3 minutes on a given topic;
  • Create, write and deliver short conversations with the appropriate tense, subject- verb agreement and frequency adverb with a classmate;
  • Understand and use regular and irregular verbs in affirmative and negative sentences both in speaking, reading, and writing;
  • Learn a simple grammatical lesson online (provided), complete the on line quiz and present that lesson to the class;
  • Read a short passage and identify the topic, main ideas, and supporting details;
  • Outline textbook chapter for lesson analysis in English;
  • Construct an interview with 'be' and 'do+ base verb' questions and answers;
  • Write present and past tense paragraphs respectively;
  • Read articles for comprehension, vocabulary, and pronunciation;
  • Complete weekly timed readings rating words per minute and minimum comprehension errors;
  • Provide understanding, critical thinking, and practical skills in basic communication settings;
  • Communicate one to one, one to many, and speaker to audience;
  • Students will engage in interpersonal exercises to use communication skills such as listening, paraphrasing, describing feelings, decision-making, perception checking, and verbal and non-verbal communication.
Course # Title Units
Required Core Courses
NC 120 Beginning Reading, Writing, & Speaking Skills N/A
NC 125 Intermediate Reading, Writing & Speaking N/A
NC 130 Advanced Reading, Writing & Speaking N/A
NC 135 Advanced Communication Skills for Life And Career N/A
Total Hours 216

Click here to see the recommended course sequence for the English as a Second Language Local Certificate Pathway.