A. Rationale for Revision:
New Federal law (English Language Training Program Act, 2010) requires all ESL programs
that accept international students with an F-1 (full-time student) visa to be accredited. In order to
meet accreditation (Commission on English Language Program Accreditation) standards, the
ESL Program must offer at least 18 credit hours per semester for students learning English. The
ESL Program is expanding the credit hours of the core classes (reading, writing and
listening/speaking) in the Foundations (000), Beginning (100) and Intermediate (200) levels from
3 credits each to 6 credits, and in the Advanced (300) levels from 3 credits each to 4 credits each.
The increase in credit hours is made to incorporate the teaching of grammar, academic
vocabulary, and study skills within these courses.
The additional teaching components and the increase in credit hours for ESLN 024 will enable
the ESL Program to submit a Self Study report that meets accreditation standards and offers a
more robust program for international students learning English.
c) (If new) Briefly describe how the increase/decrease in credit hours will be reflected in course content.
In ESLN 024 we are expanding the amount of required reading, adding instruction, assignments, and assessments of
vocabulary items and grammar points that complement reading skills. We are also incorporating an expanded list of
lexical items from Billuroğlu and Neufeld’s list of core vocabulary (the BNL) designed to increase students’
vocabulary levels, and including direct instruction of grammar in context.