FORT WORTH, Texas (April 29, 2014) – A program designed to help students succeed academically through enhanced English language skills has reopened at Tarrant County College Northwest. Commonly known as ESOL, English for Speakers of Other Languages helps students with English language deficiencies to pursue their academic careers.
Northwest Program Director Anita Biber said the program is essential for student success. “TCC is dedicated to supporting the community and ensuring that our student population reflects the cultural diversity of Tarrant County,” Biber said. “There are individuals out there whose only barrier to academic success is language, so our commitment through ESOL is to help them succeed.”
The program, which is also offered at the Northeast and Southeast campuses, provides developmental courses for non-native speakers to develop English proficiency, prepare for a career and earn an academic degree or certificate.
Registration for summer classes is now open and will continue through May 20 for Summer I (May 28-July 3) and June 30 for Summer II (July 8-Aug. 15). The first two courses are Reading and Vocabulary II and Composition II. The next classes to be offered are Composition III, Reading and Vocabulary III and Oral Communications II. The cost for Tarrant County residents is $165 for each three-hour class.
Additional courses in oral communication, writing and grammar, reading and vocabulary, and composition will be offered in the fall.
Developmental courses help prepare students for college-level courses, but they do not earn credit and they are not computed as part of a student’s grade point average.
Northwest President Elva LeBlanc, Ph.D., was born in Mexico and came to the United States as a young child. She learned English in the El Paso schools and knows how beneficial the ESOL program can be.
“We need to support people in the community who are here for different reasons but need to learn English,” LeBlanc said. “(ESOL) will benefit the students and it will benefit the community.”
For more information, Northwest students may contact Alex Vargas at 817-515-7212 or guadalupe.vargas@tccd.edu.
