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ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE

English as Second Language (ESL )
Silicon Valley University's English as a Second Language (ESL) program is designed to equip students with the English language proficiency required to communicate effectively across the entire range of linguistic environments - academic, professional, cultural, commercial, personal and social - encountered in American society. The program seeks to empower students by increasing their capacity for effective communication in the English Language. The program operates by employing a graduated series of levels incorporating increasingly complex conversational, compositional and grammatical forms, as well as by introducing students to some of the major social, cultural and philosophical tenets of the American perspective, providing students with both the language and the insight necessary for realizing their full potential as participants in the American experience.
Materials and curriculum in each course level are designed to develop skills in listening comprehension, oral expression, pronunciation, reading comprehension, grammar and writing composition, in accordance with the instructional standards outlined in the ESL Model Standards for Adult Education Programs published by the California Department of Education. The ESL class the students will be placed in depends on their TOEFL score according to the following table:

Course Model Standard Paper-Based or Institutional TOEFL Computer-Based TOEFL
ESL200 Intermediate Low 350 to 399 63 to 96
ESL300 Intermediate High 400 to 419 97 to 110
ESL400 Advanced 420 to 469 111 to 149

The numbers of hours of instruction per week is as follows:
  • ESL200: 18 hours per week
  • ESL300: 12 hours per week
  • ESL400: 6 hours per week
Currently, SVU does not offer ESL instruction at the Beginning or Literacy levels of comprehension. "Successful completion" of each course requires a minimum of B on the exit examination given at the conclusion of each course. Students who successfully complete the requirements for each course and achieve the minimum passing score on the exit examinations for each course will receive a Certificate of Competency in English. Students who fail to achieve any of the requirements needed to earn the Certificate of Competency will instead receive a certificate indicating the total number of completed hours of instruction received in ESL. Minor deviations from the above guidelines can be approved by consultations between the ESL instructor(s) and the student advisor. Students will take a TOEFL test at the completion of each semester. This score will be compared to the TOEFL at the beginning of the ESL course to provide a measure of their improvement.