EAL Programs at U.S. Community Colleges: A Multistate Analysis of Placement Tests, Course Offerings, and Course Content

• Published in: TESOL journal Vol. 12; no. 2
• Main Authors: David, Nick, Kanno, Yasuko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 01.06.2021
• Subjects: College Credits; Community Colleges; Course Content; Course Descriptions; English Language Learners; Placement Tests; School Catalogs; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Two Year College Students
• ISSN: 1949-3533
• DOI: 10.1002/tesj.562

When U.S. English learners (ELs) attend college, they are more likely to enroll in 2-year community colleges than in 4-year colleges. Prior research points to the tension between English as a second language (ESL) programs providing support to ELs and lengthy ESL programs acting as barriers to ELs seeking access to mainstream college coursework. Nevertheless, community college ELs and ESL programs remain understudied. The researchers investigated community college ESL placement, course sequence length, and types of ESL courses offered across the United States by examining the 2017-2018 catalogs of community colleges in nine states. Two hundred seventy-two community college catalogs were analyzed. Findings include that 81% of colleges reported offering some ESL-specific coursework and that ESL course sequences varied on average from 2.3 to 4.7 semesters in length across states. For most states studied, ESL courses were solely structured around skills-based instruction. Furthermore, although general English placement information was accessible and often standardized within states, ESL placement information was rarely available and sometimes out of date. Based on these findings, the authors recommend that community college ESL programs implement valid placement procedures, award college credit for ESL coursework, and streamline student access to discipline-specific academic and vocational content.