Know and Follow Your Pathway to Success
Start at the language learning stage that's right for you. Then, proceed to succeed!
We value your own knowledge and understanding of yourself and your current English
language skills and abilities, and we want to work with you to help you build on what
you already know and what you can already do in English. Meaning, we want to help
you build on your strengths and do the most and the best we can to help you reach your language learning, college,
and, career goals!
To begin doing just that, we want to help you chart your success pathway by making
sure you start your time with us at the appropriate LMC ESL language learning stage (view more details about the stages, courses, certificates, and pathways by clicking
the image on the right). Therefore, we want you to ask yourself the following two
questions, as you begin studying ESL at LMC:
- Do you want/need to learn and practice the fundamental and concrete grammar, writing,
pronunciation and conversation, vocabulary, and reading skills of the English language
for general everyday purposes?
OR - Have you already learned and feel confident using such foundational skills, and are now ready to commit to the learning and acquiring the more complex and abstract academic English language and communication abilities?
If you answered "Yes" to number 1, our General ESL program is mostly likely the best place for you to begin, and if you answered "YES" to number 2, our Academic ESL program will probably be the best place for you to start.
Of course, the best thing you can and should do to ensure you are on the right path for YOU is to complete our LMC ESL Guided and Informed Self Placement which will help you assess your own strengths and needs and help you learn exactly what is taught in our classes at the different stages of instruction.
Make sure you go through the placement! For additional support, enroll in ESLN-001 - College ESL Orientation.
Through the placement process, you will be able to determine which of the pathways below is right for you.
General ESL
General ESL is for students who
- have had at least one full year of formal English language instruction in the U.S. or in their home country
- are prepared to work in a college setting and interested in improving their understanding of and ability to use essential English structures and basic interpersonal skills for use in everyday life and to move on to studying academic English
We call this our Entry/Bridge stage of instruction because it works to help new students enter into the college English language learning environment and prepares them for and bridges them into Academic ESL.
Academic ESL
Academic ESL is for students who
- have a strong foundation in the English language and communication skills and abilities associated with General ESL
- are sufficiently prepared and interested in committing to learning academic English content and skills in order to continue pursuing their higher education and career goals here at the college and/or elsewhere
We call this program our Engage and Exit stages of instruction because they work to help students successfully engage in North American college classrooms and prepare for the expectations and opportunities of general and career coursework.
