Courses Descriptions
Levels | Skills
Listed below are the Las Positas College English as a Second Language
Course Descriptions.
Beginning | Intermediate | Advanced
Beginning
| ESL 130A |
2 Units |
| BEGINNING GRAMMAR FOR WRITING AND READING
I |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the first semester of a one-year course in
beginning grammar for academic purposes designed to enable students
to identify and use linguistic forms accurately, meaningfully and
appropriately in written expression. The course focuses on simple
and compound sentences, questions, modifiers, phrases, and verb
tenses, especially simple present, simple past, and present progressive.
Strongly recommended: appropriate skill level demonstrated through
the ESL assessment process. Students are advised to enroll concurrently
in ESL 130A, 131A, and 133. 2 hours + 1 laboratory hour. |
| ESL 130B |
2 Units |
| BEGINNING GRAMMAR FOR WRITING AND READING
II |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the second semester of a one-year course
in beginning grammar for academic purposes designed to enable
students to identify and use linguistic forms accurately, meaningfully
and appropriately in written expression. The course focuses on
simple and compound sentences, questions, modals, modifiers, phrases,
and verb tenses, especially simple present, past, and future as
well as present and past progressive. Prerequisite: ESL 130A or
appropriate skill level demonstrated through the ESL assessment
process. Students are advised to enroll concurrently in ESL 130B,
131B, and 133. 2 hours + 1 laboratory hour. |
| ESL 131A |
6 Units |
| BEGINNING WRITING AND READING I |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the first semester of a one-year course in
beginning academic writing and reading. The course is designed to
enable students to use and interpret linguistic forms accurately,
meaningfully, and appropriately in written expression. Classes will
focus on writing simple and compound sentences in short paragraphs,
on developing strategies for increasing reading comprehension and
flexibility, on interactive reading, and on developing academic
vocabulary. Students will develop cultural understanding and fluency
through a variety of writing and reading tasks. Strongly recommended:
Appropriate skill level demonstrated through the ESL assessment
process. Students are advised to enroll concurrently in ESL 130A,
131A, and 133. 6 hours + 1 laboratory hour. Click
here to view Student Learning Outcomes for 131A |
| ESL 131B |
6 Units |
| BEGINNING WRITING AND READING II |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the second semester of a one-year course
in beginning academic writing and reading. The course is designed
to enable students to use and interpret linguistic forms accurately,
meaningfully, and appropriately in written expression. Classes
will focus on writing simple, compound, and complex sentences
in structured paragraphs, on developing strategies for increasing
reading comprehension and flexibility, on interactive reading,
and on developing academic vocabulary. Students will develop cultural
understanding and fluency through a variety of writing and reading
tasks. Prerequisite: ESL 131A or appropriate skill level demonstrated
through the ESL assessment process. Students are advised to enroll
concurrently in ESL 130B, 131B, and 133. 6 hours + 1 laboratory
hour. Click here to view Student Learning
Outcomes for 131B |
| ESL 133 |
2 Units |
| BEGINNING ORAL COMMUNICATION |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is a beginning oral communication course. This
course will enable students to use linguistic forms accurately,
meaningfully, and appropriately, emphasizing conversational skills:
listening and speaking in small groups, using new grammar structures,
learning new words and expressions, comprehending and using idiomatic
expressions. Strongly recommended: appropriate skill level demonstated
through the ESL asessment process. 2 hours lecture + 1 hour laboratory |
Intermediate
| ESL120A |
2 Units |
| INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR FOR WRITING AND READING
I |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the first semester of a one-year course
in intermediate grammar for academic writing and reading designed
to enable students to use linguistic forms accurately, meaningfully
and appropriately in written expression. This course focuses on
compound and complex sentences, verb tense and form, and modals.
This course also emphasizes grammar analysis, detecting and correcting
grammatical errors, and self-editing skills. Prerequisite: ESL
130B or appropriate skill level demonstrated through the ESL assessment
process. Students are advised to enroll concurrently in ESL 120A,
121A and 123. 2 hours + 1 laboratory hour. |
| ESL120B |
2 Units |
| INTERMEDIATE GRAMMAR FOR WRITING AND READING
II |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the second semester of a one-year course
in intermediate grammar for academic writing and reading designed
to enable students to use linguistic forms accurately, meaningfully
and appropriately in written expression. The course focuses on
compound and complex sentences and short paragraphs, overview
of the verb tense system in English, verb forms with gerunds and
infinitives, verb forms in modifying phrases, and modals. This
course also emphasizes analyzing grammar and meaning, detecting
and correcting grammatical errors, and self-editing skills. Prerequisite:
ESL 120A or appropriate skill level demonstrated through the ESL
assessment process. Students are advised to enroll concurrently
in ESL 120B, 121B and 123. 2 hours + 1 laboratory hour. |
| ESL 121A |
6 Units |
| INTERMEDIATE WRITING AND READING I |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is the first semester of a one-year course
in intermediate academic writing and reading. The course is designed
to enable students to use and interpret linguistic forms accurately,
meaningfully, and appropriately in written expression. Classes
will focus on writing sentences, paragraphs and compositions,
developing strategies for reading comprehension and flexibility,
on interactive reading, and on academic vocabulary development.
Students will develop cultural understanding, vocabulary, and
fluency through a variety of academic writing and reading tasks.
Prerequisite: ESL 131B or appropriate skill level demonstrated
through the ESL assessment process. Students are advised to enroll
concurrently in ESL 120A, 121A and 123. 6 hours + 1 laboratory
hour. Click here to view Student Learning
Outcomes for 121A |
| ESL 121B |
6 units |
| INTERMEDIATE WRITING AND READING II |
| This is the second semester of a one-year course in
intermediate academic writing and reading. The course is designed
to enable students to use and interpret linguistic forms accurately,
meaningfully, and appropriately in written expression. Classes will
focus on writing sentences, paragraphs and compositions, developing
strategies for reading comprehension and flexibility, on interactive
reading, and academic vocabulary development. Students will develop
cultural understanding and fluency through a variety of academic
writing and reading tasks. Prerequisite: ESL 121A or appropriate
skill level demonstrated through the ESL assessment process. Students
are advised to enroll concurrently in ESL 120B, 121B and 123. 6
hours + 1 laboratory hour. Click here to
view Student Learning Outcomes for 121B |
| ESL 123 |
2 Units |
| INTERMEDIATE ORAL COMMUNICATION |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| This is an intermediate oral communication course.
This course will enable students to use linguistic forms accurately,
meaningfully, and appropriately, emphasizing academic listening
and speaking skills: listeneing and speaking in small groups, listening
to short lectures on academic topics, learning academic vocabulary
and expressions, making presentations on new topics. Prerequisite:
Eligibility for ESL 120A and 121A or an appropriate skill level
demonstrated through the ESL assessment process. 2 hours lecture
+ 1 hour laboratory |
| ESL 126 |
2 Units |
| PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH |
| Grading Option Credit/No Credit |
| Intensive practice in recognizing and pronouncing
the sounds of American English with emphasis on words and phrases:
stress, intonation, phrasing, reduction. Attention to individual
as well as group priorities. Prerequisite; Eligibility for ESL 120A
and 121A or an appripriate skill level demonstrated through the
ESL assessment process. 2 hours lecture + 1 hours laboratory |
Advanced
| ESL
23 |
3
Units |
| College Grammar |
| Grading Option: OP |
Transfer:
CSU |
This is a one semester advanced grammar course
for academic purposes designed to enable students to use
both read and write academic English. Focus is on verb tense
in discourse, relative clauses, modal perfect verbs, hypothetical
statements, subjunctive verb clauses and other complex grammar.
Prerequisite: eligibility for ESL 24 or appropriate skill level
demonstrated through the ESL assessment process. Students are
advised to enroll concurrently in ESL 23 and 24 or 25. |
| ESL
24 |
5
Units |
| Advanced Reading
and Composition |
| Grading Option: OP |
Transfer:
CSU, UC* |
This is the first semester in a one-year
advanced academic reading and composition course. Students
will write a variety of essays: exposition, analysis and
argumentation. They will further develop critical thinking
skills, critical reading skills, and academic vocabulary,
and academic research skills.
Prerequisite: ESL 120B, 121B, and 122B or an appropriate skill
level demonstrated through the ESL assessment process.Students
are advised to enroll concurrently in ESL 23 or 26 and 24.
Click
here to view Student Learning Outcomes for 24 |
| ESL
25 |
5
Units |
| Advanced Reading
and Composition |
| Grading Option: OP |
Transfer:
CSU, UC* |
This is the second semester in a one-year
advanced academic reading and composition course. Students
will write longer essays employing several rhetorical modes.
They will further develop critical thinking skills, critical
reading skills, academic research skills, and academic vocabulary.
Prerequisite: ESL 24 or an appropriate skill level demonstrated
through the ESL assessment process. Students are advised to enroll
concurrently in ESL 25 and 23 or 26.
Click
here to view Student Learning Outcomes for 25 |
| ESL
26 |
3 Units |
| Advanced Editing |
| Grading Option: OP |
Transfer:
CSU |
(May be repeated 1 time)
This course is designed to increase student awareness of their
own use of written language, strengthen their linguistic monitors,
and give them practice in editing strategies which will enable
them to use linguistic forms accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately
in written expression
Prerequisite: eligibility for ESL 24. Students are advised to
enroll concurrently in ESL 25 and 26. |
