Why take ESL at SMC?
Make the Right Decision for Your
Future
Take the ESL Placement Test & ESL
Courses
SMC’s academic ESL courses will help you succeed in English 1 and other courses to insure
your successful graduation from SMC or transfer to a university.
• SMC’s academic ESL courses will help you correct your language errors in order to write and
speak more effective English.
• SMC’s ESL professors have special professional training in teaching students whose
native language is not English.
• SMC’s academic ESL courses will enable you to study with other ESL students from
around the world in a safe, challenging atmosphere.
• SMC’s academic ESL courses are similar to courses you would take at a university like UCLA;
these courses are different from high school and adult school ESL classes.
A Few Strong Points of the SMC ESL Program
Grammar:
ESL 10, 11A, 11B, 21A, 21B, 25 Include a sequential review of grammar points commonly
problematic for non-native speakers: Verb Tenses; Sequence of Tenses; Subject/Verb Agreement;
Count-Non-Count Nouns; Article Use; Pronoun Agreement; Word Forms and Usage.
Vocabulary/Reading:
ESL writing classes include a reading and vocabulary component specially designed to
help non-natives increase vocabulary and improve reading and study skills. Group work gives you
necessary practice in speaking and listening, as well as reading and writing.
Readings are selected to reflect cultural diversity and are aimed at
presenting you with a wide variety of text types:
*Academic, expository (essays, studies, textbook excerpts)
*Journalistic (news & magazine articles, editorials)
*Literary (short stories, novels)
Placement Test at the SMC
Procedure for diagnostic testing of students in
ESL classes – Students take the ESL placement
test at the SMC Assessment Center in Liberal
Arts 103, and they are placed according to a
scoring guide. (See www.smc.edu, Admissions,
Assessment). They then enroll in ESL 10, 11A,
21A or English 1. Dual enrollment in ESL 11A
and ESL 11B is not allowed because ESL 11A is
a prerequisite for ESL 11B. The same goes for
ESL 21A and ESL 21B.
Ways to Improve Your English Outside the Classroom
INPUT and INTERACTION are keys to learning a language.
I.
Find ways to interact with other English speakers
A. Join a club
B. Participate in sports
C. Sit next to people who are not from your country
D. Take advantage of your professors' office hours
E. Prepare a question to ask in class
F. Keep a journal in English to express your thoughts
about your experiences
G. Socialize with English speakers
H. Form a study group
II. Take advantage of media
A. Learning Resource Center tapes/ listen
and imitate
B. Newspapers/ read and discuss with
others
C. Magazines/ read and discuss with
others
D. Karaoke/ sing English songs
E. TV (selectively)/ listen and imitate
speakers/ record
FULL TIME ESL INSTRUCTORS :
Dayle Hartnett, Ph.D.
ESL Department Chair
Tracey Ellis, M.A.
Janet G. Hoover, Ph.D.
Sharon R. Jaffe, PH.D.
Emily L. Lodmer, M.A.
Judith Marasco, M.A.
Melody D. Nightingale, M.A.
Toni Randall, M.A.
Kathryn Sucher, M.A.T.