Overview

Onondaga Community College’s Language Institute provides multiple levels of language instruction and support to help English language learners achieve their career and academic goals. Our programs are recognized throughout the region and can improve access to employment opportunities.

Before registering for a Language Development Class, please take a few minutes to fill out the form below:

Language Development Placement Guide

Language Development Classes

I. Beginner (LI-1)

This class teaches high-frequency language and grammatical structures regularly encountered at work, in school, and in day-to-day interactions. Students will learn how to understand and respond to short social and job-related exchanges and write short notes related to regular needs. They will be able to understand the main points of an English speaker and will be able to describe events, ambitions, and ideas and provide relevant supporting details.

II. Intermediate (LI-2)

This class focuses on language and grammatical structures related to understanding and communicating explanations, arguments, and perspectives. Students will learn how to take part in an active discussion in familiar contexts and engage in social conversations around familiar topics. They will be able to read articles, reports, and contemporary prose as well as write paragraph-length texts that communicate the main idea with support.

English for Medical Purposes

This course is intended for English-language learners and is focused on building an understanding of syntactical and semantic functions of English in medical contexts through focused practice on speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Additionally, this course teaches and reinforces skills students will need to enhance their abilities to engage in discussions related to health, wellness, and structure of the American medical system.

III. Advanced (ESL 116/ENG 103)

The co-requisite ESL 116/ENG 103 is a 6-credit hour sequence that focuses on English language development for students pursuing a degree or certification in higher education. Students will learn to decode and process a wide range of academic texts and discern implicit meaning. They will be able to produce clear, detailed, structured essays related to complex and diverse subject matters and will engage in fluently in classroom conversations in English.