English as a Second Language

NCC offers a variety of ESL classes to meet the academic, professional, and personal goals of our students, who come from over eighty countries. Classes are scheduled to meet students’ diverse needs, including morning, evenings, and Saturdays. The credit program focuses on writing so that students can succeed in college-level courses. The non-credit program offers classes in reading/writing, listening/speaking and grammar. There are numerous elective courses such as health care, business, computers, TOEFL preparation, and conversation. Many non-credit students eventually pass into credit ESL and pursue academic coursework.

High-intermediate and advanced ESL courses (ESL 142, 152 and 192) can be counted as foreign language/humanities electives toward graduation with the following stipulations: Students may apply up to 10 ESL credits toward the degree in General Studies; all other degrees and programs will accept no more than 6 ESL credits. This is only true for courses taken as credit, not courses taken as non-credit.

Students must demonstrate mastery of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills before progressing to the next level. After successful completion of the ESL sequence, students progress to Composition (ENG 101). Language and computer laboratories as well as portfolio assessment may be required in four and six-credit courses.

For more information on the ESL credit program, call 203.857.6854 or 203.857.7093. For more information on the non-credit ESL program, call 203.857.6881.