College ESL

About College ESL

College ESL is an academic program that prepares you to take credit courses at NOVA.

NOVA’s College ESL program teaches students from all over the world. Many of our students are immigrants to the U.S. who live in Northern Virginia. We also teach students who come to the College on student visas. In addition, we enroll other visitors to the area who have diplomatic or other short-term visa status.

The primary goal of College ESL is to get you ready to succeed in college-level classes. We help you build your academic literacy and critical thinking skills. We also help you develop the English language skills you need for jobs and in your everyday life.

To learn how to find out your level of English, go to the FAQ page and click on “Getting Started.”
If you have TOEFL, iELTS or Duolingo scores, review our English Proficiency Requirements.

Levels of College ESL

We have four levels of instruction, from Level 2 (low-intermediate) to Level 5 (advanced). At all four levels, students take courses in reading and writing. At Levels 2 and 3, they also take a course in listening and speaking. Students in Levels 4 and 5 can begin some introductory general education (credit) courses while taking their ESL reading and writing courses.

At this level, you will take 3 courses: ESL 21, ESL 22, and ESL 24

ESL 21 - a writing course (5 credits)
ESL 22 - a reading course (5 credits)
ESL 24 - a listening and speaking course (5 credits)

Please read the description of what you should be ready to do to be successful in this course.

ESL 21, ESL 22, and ESL 24
At this level, you will…	Write clear and accurate short paragraphs. Master basic verb forms and sentence structures. Read and comprehend basic academic texts of 1-2 pages. Understand brief lectures and take notes. Prepare and give short presentations. Improve pronunciation, intonation, and stress patterns.
You can already…	Have short conversations about everyday topics. Read and comprehend basic non-academic texts. Write basic sentences easily. Write more complex sentences with some errors.
You may need help with…	Identifying errors in your own writing. Understanding readings longer than 1-2 pages. Learning effective academic habits and study skills.

At this level, you will take 3 courses: ESL 31 & ESL 32, and ESL 33

ESL 31 - a writing course (5 credits)
ESL 32 - a reading course (5 credits)
ESL 33 - a listening and speaking course (5 credits)

Please read the description of what you should be ready to do to be successful in this course.

ESL 31, ESL 32, and ESL 33
At this level, you will…	Write well-organized and developed paragraphs. Learn to use more advanced sentence structures and verb forms. Read basic academic texts of 2-3 pages. Understand fluent speech at a normal rate. Take notes based on academic lectures. Prepare and give well-organized presentations.
You can already…	Discuss and analyze topics of lectures. Read and comprehend texts of 1-2 pages. Write short paragraphs. Identify some errors and correct them.
You may need help with…	Understanding texts longer than 2-3 pages. Learning how to identify and fix your own mistakes. Using effective academic habits and study skills.

In this level, you will take two courses: ESL 41 and 42

ESL 41 - a writing course (5 credits)
ESL 42 - a reading course (5 credits)

Please read the description of what a student should be ready to do to be successful in this course.

ESL 41 and ESL 42
At this level, you will…	Learn to plan, organize, write, and revise multi-paragraph essays. Use advanced sentence structures and complex verb forms proficiently. Read, annotate, comprehend, and summarize intermediate academic texts.
You can already…	Identify errors and correct them with guidance. Read and comprehend texts of 2-3 pages. Write multiple paragraphs on everyday topics. Write about academic topics with support.
You may need help with…	Developing the writing process (brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising). Using effective academic habits and study skills consistently. Understanding academic texts of 2-5 pages and taking targeted notes.

At this level, you will take two courses: ESL 51 and ESL 52

ESL 51 - a writing course (5 credits)
ESL 52 - a reading course (5 credits)

Please read the description of what you should be ready to do to be successful in this course.

	ESL 51 and ESL 52
At this level, you will…	Develop a writing process (brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising). Locate, integrate, and document research in your papers. Write multiple essays with support. Use advanced sentence structures and complex verb forms proficiently. Read, annotate, comprehend, and summarize advanced academic texts.
You can already…	Identify most of your errors and correct them independently. Read and comprehend texts of 3-5 pages. Write multiple paragraphs on everyday topics. Write about academic topics with support.
You may need help with…	Understanding college-level academic texts and taking targeted notes. Doing research on assigned topics and including it in your papers. Using the writing process consistently (brainstorming, organizing, drafting, revising). Organizing your work to meet deadlines.

ESL 95 is a support course that is paired with college-level English. ESL 95 is designed for multilingual learners. You’ll benefit from working with trained ESL instructors to help you be successful in ENG 111.

In this level, you will take 2 courses at the same time: ESL 95 and ENG 111.

ESL 95 - a writing support course (3 credits)
ENG 111 - a college-level composition course (3 credits)

Please read the description of what you should be ready to do to be successful in this course.

At this level, you will…	Work with support to write papers of 3-5 pages. Produce clear, logically organized papers using idiomatic English. Document research-based evidence in your papers using a proper style and format. Use advanced sentence structures and complex verb forms proficiently. Read, annotate, comprehend, and summarize college-levels academic texts.
You can already…	Identify nearly all errors and correct them independently. Write 5-paragraph essays. Read, annotate, comprehend, and summarize advanced academic texts.
You may need help with…	Understanding longer (10+ pages) academic texts and taking targeted notes. Researching assigned topics and including evidence in your papers using appropriate style and format. Organizing your work to meet deadlines.

About College ESL

Levels of College ESL

Low-Intermediate ESL - LEVEL 2 (ESL 21, 22 and 24)

High-Intermediate ESL - LEVEL 3 (ESL 31, 32 and 33)

Advanced ESL - LEVEL 4 (ESL 41 and 42)

College Prep ESL - LEVEL 5 (ESL 51 and 52)

College Support ESL - ESL 95 with ENG 111