The ESL Program

Snow College has one of the best English language centers in the Western United States. With its small classes, convenient campus, and excellent teachers, Snow College offers some real advantages over larger schools.

Snow College ESL classes are divided into four levels. Students attend classes five days a week for four or five hours a day. At Snow you will improve your skills in pronunciation, listening, reading, writing, and speaking. At the most advanced level, there are courses in literature, library and internet research, American studies, and test taking. Snow's ESL Department also offers instruction in note taking, using computers, U.S. government, classroom culture, using the library, and TOEFL preparation.

Snow College is also located only a short drive from some of the most spectacular outdoor recreation areas in the Western United States. Skiing, fishing and camping, golf, river rafting, mountain climbing - all of these activities are available. Through the Field Trip and Activities program, interested students can really explore the natural beauty of Utah!

Mission Statement

The international student is unique in that she/he is trying to learn in a new culture and understand a new language, all while participating in a new educational system. It has been established that this is one of the most stressful situations in human experience. We believe that stress and apprehension inherent in this situation can be great barriers to academic achievement. The Snow College International Center assists international students in achieving their educational goals and helps them maintain their legal status while they are studying at Snow College. Our goals are to help minimize stress and apprehension, and facilitate an emotional and psychological climate conducive to their adjustment and achievement. We also develop programs to promote international education on our campus.

Since its inception at Snow College in 1978, the priorities of the International Program have been:
 

• To provide a quality ESL program for non-native speakers of English.
• To provide services relating to admission, counseling, academic life, and the general success of international students attending Snow College.
• To promote cooperative programs with the local community with special reference to the business community, local service groups and organizations, K-12 teachers and students.
• To encourage and foster programs involving American students and international students together.
• To promote international and multicultural understanding on campus through a variety of educational and cultural programs such as International Week and the International Club.
• To promote selective international educational linkages with other countries with a view to creating opportunities for faculty and students to participate in direct exchange programs.
• To offer opportunities for study and travel abroad.
• To help strengthen and internationalize the curriculum.

The International Center works with faculty, committees, departments, student services, community organizations, external agencies, and overseas institutions in the fulfillment of its mission and goals.
 

Admission and Fees

For More Information

Reasons to Consider Snow College

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Students whose native language is not English are matriculated into regular academic courses in one of two ways. Students may not change tracks once they have been admitted.

Track One: Unconditional Admission

In order to qualify for this track, students whose native language is not English may be admitted unconditionally to Snow College. In order to qualify for this track, students must graduate from a secondary school, submit a score of at least 500 (173 CBT) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and satisfy a writing requirement. The writing requirement may be satisfied in one of two ways: students may pass ESL 1051 (a required course for all students whose native language is not English) with a B (85%) or better, or they may take the Test of Written English (TWE) and submit a score of 4 or higher. After meeting these requirements, Track One students will be allowed to register as full-time academic students.

Track Two: Conditional Admission

Students whose native language is not English may be admitted conditionally to Snow College. In order to qualify for this track, students must graduate from a secondary school, but do not need to submit a TOEFL score. Students in this track are admitted directly into the ESL program. Students whose TOEFL score is below 500 are automatically admitted to this track. All students in this track are given a placement test upon arrival at Snow College.

After taking the placement test, Track Two students are placed into one of four different levels. Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 students take a full-time ESL curriculum. These students do not take regular academic classes. Level 4 students are permitted to take one or two academic classes (up to 4 credits) depending on a their academic history, advisor's recommendation, credit hours, academic courses and the academic instructor. 

Students in the Snow College ESL Program must satisfy three criteria before exiting the ESL program and matriculate as full-time academic students. They must pass all their required ESL courses with a minimum grade of B (85%) or higher, and they must achieve minimum scores of 65 on both the Oral Language Proficiency Interview (OLPI) Test and the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP). These tests are administered to all Level 4 students each session until they achieve the minimum required scores and matriculate as regular, full-time students of the college.

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ESL Course Descriptions

The ESL curriculum is divided into four levels, with the courses in levels 1, 2, and 3 generally organized by skill area. Listening, reading, writing, grammar, and conversation are taught at each of these levels. In addition, American Culture is taught in Level 2. At the highest level, the focus of each class is more on academic skills: literature, library and internet research, American Studies, and test taking. The ESL program is an integrated skills program; any given course will require students to use all their language skills. Students in the ESL program are in classes five to six hours a day. 

Level 1

 ESL 0211 Level 1 Listening 

This course is designed to give students a basic foundation in listening comprehension skills. The course concentrates on listening tasks. Students listen for letters, spelling, numbers, and directions and respond in a workbook accordingly.

ESL 0241 Level 1 Content-based Reading

This content-based reading course is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their reading skills in English within a content area. Students use a variety of authentic reading materials to learn basic pre-reading and reading strategies which are designed to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary.

ESL 0251 Level 1 Writing

This course focuses on the skills of reading and writing English at the elementary level. The focus of the course is to help students gain confidence and fluency in writing.

ESL 0271 Level 1 Conversation

This course is designed to give ESL students in Level 1 more practice in using oral English. The emphasis is on small group work, problem solving, role plays, and informal discussion. The ratio of students to teacher is four to one.

ESL 0281 Level 1 Grammar

This course is designed to give students a basic foundation in English grammar and vocabulary. The course also focuses on helping students improve their oral comprehension and production skills.

Level 2

ESL 0411 Level 2 Listening

This course is designed to introduce ESL students to listening skills which are needed for aural comprehension in an academic setting. The course is a directed program which gives students practice in listening to short lectures, note taking, and vocabulary development. Students are introduced to several English language speech patterns and the words and phrases which let the student know that a particular pattern is being used.

ESL 0430 Level 2 American Culture and Values

This course provides international students with an introduction to American culture and values. Students read and discuss essays dealing with different aspects of American culture, values, and thought. Field trips to local businesses, ranches, museums, etc. also play a significant role in helping students gain a firsthand experience with the subject.

ESL 0441 Level 2 Reading

The class focus is on the development of reading skills and vocabulary. Students learn to read the language presented in textbooks and required outside readings. They also demonstrate their understanding of the ideas presented by participating in class activities and discussions, as well as by responding to short answer essay and objective tests.

ESL 0451 Level 2 Composition

This writing course focuses on the development of well-written paragraphs. Students are introduced to the role of American thought patterns as they relate to writing in English, and they participate in the writing process based on that knowledge. Some instruction is also given in grammatical structures which are found in well-written English sentences.

ESL 0471 Level 2 Conversation

This course is designed to give intermediate ESL students more practice using oral English. The emphasis is on small group work, problem solving, role plays, and informal discussion. The ratio of students to teacher is five to one.

Level 3

 ESL 0971 Level 3 Conversation

This course is designed to give advanced ESL students more practice using oral English. The emphasis is on small group work, problem solving, role plays, and informal discussion. The ratio of students to tea on enjoyment, understanding, and analysis. 

ESL 1011 Level 3 Listening

This course focuses on the skills needed in listening for academic information. It prepares students for the type of listening which they will do in American college and university classes. The majority of the course concentrates on learning how to listen for important information and take notes from formal lectures. 

ESL 1040 Level 3 Content-based Reading

This course focuses on the development of reading skills needed by students who plan to participate in academic classes in colleges and universities as well as those skills needed in reading for entertainment and general information. Students read and discuss a variety of authentic texts and articles and are introduced to specific discourse markers.

ESL 1051 Level 3 Composition

This course is a continuation of ESL 0451, with an emphasis on developing the writing skills learned in ESL 0451 and expanding these skills to writing essays. Students work on writing connected discourse and are introduced to various styles of English essays in preparation for English 1010. ESL 1051 is required for all students whose native language is not English.

ESL 1080 Level 3 Grammar

This course is designed to give English as a second language students at the most advanced level a review of English grammar. Structural problems common to many ESL learners are dealt with in this course.

Level 4

ESL 1130 Level 4 American History and Culture for International Students

The course provides international students with an introduction to American culture and history through the reading and discussion of various essays. Students participate in projects where they research topics regarding U.S. history and culture, and then report their findings to the class.

ESL 1161 Level 4 Introduction to Research

This course is designed to give students a basic foundation in gathering information for a research paper. Students use both the library and the Internet. The course will focus on writing and documenting the research, and in writing a paper or completing a project.

ESL 1170 Level 4 Introduction to Literature

This course is designed to give English as a second language students a basic foundation in critical and evaluative writing. The course also serves as a general introduction to literature with a focus on enjoyment, understanding, and analysis. 

ESL 1191 Level 4 TOEFL Preparation

This course provides a comprehensive coverage of the language skills and test-taking strategies students need to increase their TOEFL scores.