ESL Course Work and Academic Support

International students who need to expand their proficiency in English typically enroll in a two-semester sequence of courses in writing and reading, in grammar, and in listening and speaking during their first year at JSC. These courses, worth three credits each, are 100-level, graded courses that count as electives in students' pursuit of a degree. Students must complete these courses successfully, or be exempted from them, in order to begin meeting General Education Core requirements in expository writing (Part I of the GECC).

Two supplemental courses are also available to international students. These courses, offered on an individual basis, may be repeated for credit and are graded on a pass/no pass basis. The first, an editing lab, reinforces students' acquisition of English language skills as these skills are tested in content courses in General Education. These second, an instructional "bridge" course, provides critical reading, comprehension, and oral/aural skills enhancement in a content course of the students' choice.

Peer tutoring, provided through JSC's Learning Resource Center, is offered to international students on the same basis as it is offered to domestic students. These services include group and individual tutoring in writing and in math skills and tutoring in content courses across the curriculum. There is no charge for these learning support services.