Instructors: Karelia Castaneda, MA (Master of Arts in Foreign Language and Literature)
Jump to: Program Purpose, Program Fees, Admissions Requirements, Course Descriptions
Program Purpose
The Med College English as a Second Language (ESL) program primarily aims to help individuals acquire conversational abilities and basic functional skills in English. This program provides English language instruction to individuals whose first language is not English. The program provides training in all four language areas, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, to prepare students to use English for their everyday and professional lives.
Med College offers two ESL Tracks: the regular ESL program and the Vocational ESL program (VESL). The two programs are identical in duration and instruction. The difference between the ESL and VESL programs is student eligibility.
ESL has no restrictions on students who want to participate in it. However, the Council on Occupational Education (COE) or the Commission for Independent Education (CIE) does not approve this program.
VESL is only available for students with skills, and the English course will provide them with the opportunity to better their jobs. The VESL program is approved by the Council on Occupational Education (COE) or the Commission for Independent Education (CIE).
Delivery Method
The program is delivered through on-campus lectures and a lab component.
Program tuition
| Level | Term Weeks | Tuition ESL ($37.50 / Credit) | Tuition VESL ($115 / Credit) |
| ESL101 Foundations | 8 | $ 450.00 | $ 1,380.00 |
| ESL201 Low Beginning | 8 | $ 450.00 | $ 1,380.00 |
| ESL202 High Beginning | 8 | $ 450.00 | $ 1,380.00 |
| ESL301 Low Intermediate | 8 | $ 450.00 | $ 1,380.00 |
| ESL302 High Intermediate | 8 | $ 450.00 | $ 1,380.00 |
| ESL400 Advanced | 8 | $ 450.00 | $ 1,380.00 |
| Total | 48 | $ 2,700.00 | $ 8,280.00 |
Program Fees
This list represents a summary of the costs associated with program enrollment:
Registration Fee: $100.00; to be paid at the time of application.
Technical Fee: $250.00 per term for the use and support of the school management system program.
Admissions Requirements
All incoming students must meet the following requirements to be accepted into our programs:
- A minimum age of 18 years (the applicant can be as young as 16 years old only with written permission given by the parent or guardian of the student).
- The Vocational English as a Second Language program is designed for non-native English speakers. An English Placement Exam must be taken before the start date.
Course Descriptions
Course Name: Foundations Level
Course Abbreviation: ESL101
Credit Hours: 12
This level is designed primarily for true beginners or for students needing the support of an emerging-level course to acquire conversational ability and basic functional skills in English. The level provides training in all four language areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Simple and complex affirmative, negative, and interrogative statements are presented in this course using present, past, and future tenses (verbs be, have, like, want, and need). Some of the level’s communication goals are to be able to spell names, talk about occupations, introduce people, talk about daily activities, give directions to places, describe and compare people, order from a menu, describe good and bad vacations, and express wishes for the future. No prior knowledge of English is assumed or needed.
Course Name: Low Beginning Level
Course Abbreviation: ESL201
Credit Hours: 12
This level is designed primarily for false beginners. It offers a rigorous review of the expansion of key beginning concepts, and an upscale of new and testing material. The level will provide students with instructions on listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills as well as developing abilities to start comprehending the language (present continuous tense, present participle, direct and indirect objects). Some of the level’s communication goals are to be able to discuss the importance of English in their lives, invite someone to an event, identify people’s abilities, discuss household chores, and ask about plans.
Course Name: High Beginning Level
Course Abbreviation: ESL202
Credit Hours: 12
This level reviews educational approaches to pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Students will develop basic knowledge of English and be able to read, write, listen, and speak to interact with native English speakers at home and/or at work. These interactions will improve their language skills. Students will be able to discuss friendship, talk about a memorable experience, ask for something in a store, describe favorite dishes in detail, discuss good and bad driving, etc. Students will show oral skills appropriate to this level of study through different given activities that demonstrate the acquired level of knowledge. Students will expand their knowledge of present and past perfect continuous, passive voice: present and past, transitive and intransitive verbs, and comparisons with as…as.
Course Name: Low Intermediate Level
Course Abbreviation: ESL301
Credit Hours: 12
This level is designed for students who have achieved basic functional skills in ESOL and have language and individual goals. The level provides training in the following language areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Some of the communication goals for this level are that students will be able to make small talk, develop cultural awareness, persuade someone to use their services, describe tastes in leisure reading, compare approaches to health care, prepare for an emergency, discuss factors that promote success, prepare for job interviews, among others. Students will be introduced to modal verbs: must, may, and might; the causatives have and get; indirect speech, the unreal conditional; and count and noncount nouns.
Course Name: High Intermediate Level
Course Abbreviation: ESL302
Credit Hours: 12
This level is designed for students who have already acquired an intermediate ESL command. Its purpose is to provide students with opportunities to enlarge their vocabulary and manage more complex grammatical structures, as well as develop strategies for communication useful in more formal linguistic contexts, which demand higher and more efficient language management. The program provides training in the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will be able to Understand recorded materials, apply vocabulary more effectively at this level of study, apply language learned to real-life situations, and use more complex grammatical structures like passive modals, repeated comparatives and double comparatives, quantifiers, and possessive gerunds. Develop their writing skills through different activities like writing a personal statement for a job or university application, writing two paragraphs contrasting ideas, and writing a persuasive essay. Acquire stronger oral skills by discussing the impact of infrastructure on people’s lives, describing enjoyable activities from the past, discussing how to protect animals from extinction, and suggesting ways to cope with stress.
Course Name: Advanced Level
Course Abbreviation: ESL400
Credit Hours: 12
This level is designed to advance a communicative course that develops confident, culturally fluent English speakers able to navigate the social, travel, and professional situations they will encounter as they use English in their lives. The goal of the advanced level classes is to succeed in the real world–especially at a university, in the workplace, and in the US, in terms of academic culture, professional norms, and career skills. This level reinforces writing skills that include compositions, essay writing about different course-related topics, and applying rules of grammar and mechanics to edit and proofread their own writing. This course also reinforces the use of professional and academic vocabulary and reinforces skills related to inferring meaning in oral and written communication. Students will improve strategies to develop speaking skills in formal contexts, such as discussing career and study plans, identifying the origins of moral principles, talking about the power of suggestion, and evaluating their emotional intelligence.