English Language Learners
A better future starts here.
Build writing, speaking, reading, and listening skills with M State's English Language Learner (ELL) courses! When asked what skills they'd like their employees to have, most employers answer communication skills. Confident communication is the key to your success story, and M State is committed to helping you develop communication skills.
If you speak languages other than English, explore the ELL courses offered on our Moorhead campus and online at Class Schedules and learn more about ELL courses below.
ELL course descriptions
- ELL Foundations
ELL0050: ELL Foundations: This grammar-based course is designed to prepare students to succeed in college-level fundamental courses. The course supports progress toward fluency in the English skill areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing through intensive study of grammatical structures. Content is chosen to provide sound models for needed basic written forms.
- Academic Vocabulary
ELL0055: Academic Vocabulary: This vocabulary course is for non-native learners of English. Students will learn the vocabulary most frequently used in college-level coursework, as well as the strategies necessary to acquire this vocabulary quickly and efficiently.
- ELL Reading
ELL0060: ELL Reading: This reading course is for non-native learners of English. Students will learn the skills and vocabulary necessary to read college-level materials with emphasis given to effective note taking and summarizing. Students will engage in frequent large and small group discussions of reading material and be exposed to a variety of reading strategies.
- American English Expressions
ELL0065: American English Expressions: This vocabulary course is for non-native learners of English. Students will learn common idiomatic expressions used in North American English, with emphasis on expressions grouped by cultural themes. It is designed to develop both language and cultural fluency by exploring the idioms Americans use regularly and the cultural background of those expressions.
- American English Pronunciation
ELL0075: American English Pronunciation: This pronunciation course is for non-native speakers of English. It is designed to help students improve their ability to be clearly understood in spoken communication in the United States. Through focusing on general speaking habits, intonation, syllabification, stress, rhythm, contraction and vowel and consonant sounds, students will learn how to more accurately adjust their pronunciation to general North American English pronunciation.
- Listening Comprehension and Speaking
ELL1020: Listening Comprehension and Speaking: This course is for non-native learners of English. Students will develop the listening and speaking skills necessary for participating in college-level classroom discussion, incorporating oral presentation and fostering critical listening skills needed for taking notes and understanding lectures.
- Writing I
ELL1060: Writing I: This writing course is for non-native learners of English and is designed to prepare students for ELL1080: ELL Writing II. Students will learn the short essay form for expository writing, emphasizing sentence and paragraph structures as well as editing for increased accuracy.
- Writing II
ELL1080: Writing II: This writing course is for non-native learners of English and is designed to prepare students for college-level writing tasks and/or courses. Students will learn multiple-paragraph essay forms with an emphasis on paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting and analyzing sources. Students will inventory patterns of error and create an individual plan for increasing accuracy.
English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
M State’s EAP courses provide language support for multilingual students who have graduated from American high schools. EAP courses are paired with college-level, credit-bearing courses, giving students the opportunity to enter the college classroom in their first semester at M State. Read English for Academic Purposes [PDF] to learn more!
- Reading and Editing Strategies I
EAP1001: Reading and Editing Strategies I: This course is for students in their first semester of EAP study. The course pairs with ENGL0097: Express English and an academic content course. Students will learn strategies for taking notes and analyzing texts, identifying patterns of error in their writing and applying strategies for increasing sentence-level accuracy.
- Reading and Editing Strategies II
EAP1101: Reading and Editing Strategies II: This course is for students in their second semester of EAP study and pairs with ENGL1101: College Writing and an academic content course. Students will continue to develop language skills necessary to read and understand a variety of texts. The course also will continue development of editing skills and build research skills, including the critical analysis of sources.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact Heidi Anderson, ELL/ENGL instructor, at heidi.anderson@minnesota.edu.
English Language Resources
Adult Basic Education (ABE) sites
ABE services are available at no cost.
Practice sites
Visit these sites to practice English reading, listening, writing, speaking and cultural knowledge.