Welcome to CMC’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Program

The beginning level is for students that speak little to no English. Students can answer basic questions but cannot have a conversation. Students don’t understand much of what they read.

Students in the high beginning level have a very basic understanding of English sentences.

ESL 9009: Low Beginning is for you if you:

• Can speak very little or almost no English

ESL 9010: High Beginning is for you if you:

• Can answer basic questions, like “What is your name?” or answer “Yes” or “No”
• Can read a little but don’t understand much of what you read

The intermediate level is for students that speak some English. Students can have a conversation about work and family. When they read a short passage, they can tell what the topic is and explain one or two details. They can write short sentences.

Students in the high intermediate level can give more details about what they read and write longer sentences. Students have an understanding of past, present, and future tenses.

ESL 9013: Low Intermediate is for you if you:

• Can talk about work and family or familiar topics
• Can read short passages, understand the main idea, and talk about one or two details
• Can write a short sentence

ESL 9014: High Intermediate is for you if you:

• Can have a back and forth conversation about topics you know or read about
• Can read information on the internet or in newspapers, understand the main idea, and explain many details
• Can write sentences

The advanced level is for students that can have an extended conversation. Students can understand most of what they read in a newspaper. When they read, they can tell what the topic is and give four or five details. They can give reasons that support an opinion. They can write five to eight sentences about a topic, including examples in varying verb tenses.

ESL 9017: Advanced is for you if you:

• Can have an extended (back and forth) conversation
• Can read and understand most articles on the internet or in newspapers
• Can explain the articles to others
• Can support an opinion
• Can write a paragraph of 5 to 10 sentences about a topic and give examples

ESL 9018: Intensive English Speaking & Listening

This course is designed for Advanced ESL students and pre-college level students who wish to increase their speaking and listening skills in English. This course promotes more advanced listening comprehension and conversation practice. Students listen to and discuss a variety of content while acquiring the skills needed to have knowledgeable and opinionated conversations about the content.