Kirkwood’s English Language Acquisition (ELA) course of study offers many opportunities for you to practice your English speaking and writing skills. A Kirkwood education can help prepare you for a better career or get you ready to transfer to a four-year institution.
All courses are taught in English, which helps prepare you for further study at Kirkwood. Additionally, studying English helps non-native speakers improve their employment and promotion opportunities.
The following people will benefit from Kirkwood’s ELA course of study:
Students whose native language is not English must take ELA courses. There are two exceptions, however: If you score an appropriately high score on an English proficiency test or if you transfer credit from a college or university where most of your classes were conducted in English.
An official TOEFL score of 500 PBT, 173 CBT, 63 IBT or higher; SAT score of 430 or higher; or ACT score of 18 or higher on the English portion, prove English proficiency. If you do not have one of these scores, you will be required to take Kirkwood's placement test when you arrive for ELA placement.
You will take five classes at each ELA level and gain proficiency in these areas:
When you come to Kirkwood, your English language skills will be assessed to determine which ELA level is most appropriate for you. You will take the ESL Accuplacer test. This test is free. It has three sections: Writing, Language Use, and Reading.
These are our levels:
Your score on the placement test determines at which level you will begin the ELA course of study. If you score lower than Level 1 on the test, or are not able to take the test, you will need to consult with the ELA coordinator.
Your listening and speaking skills will be determined by a 20-minute interview with a teacher.
All classes will be delivered online for Fall 2020. If you plan to take classes, you must have the ability to attend online classes. We will contact you by email about placement testing and online orientation. Please use an email address you will check frequently.
If you are a NEW student, before you can register, you need to do this:
If you plan to apply for financial aid, do so as soon as possible by filling out the FAFSA.
If you have questions, call Sharon 319-398-5668 on the Cedar Rapids campus. In Iowa City call Mohamed Joreya at 319-887-3628. You must leave a message. You can also email ELA@kirkwood.edu.
Kirkwood offers the following courses in ELA. While ELA courses do not transfer to other colleges and universities, two of the Level 5 bridge classes, which count as 6 elective credits, and the Kirkwood speech requirement, do transfer.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-007 | L1 Listening and Conversation | 3 |
| ESI-010 | L1 Phonetics and Pronunciation | 3 |
| ESI-006 | L1 Reading and Vocabulary | 3 |
| ESI-011 | L1 ELA Grammar | 4 |
| ESI-014 | L1 ELA Writing | 2 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-019 | L2 Listening Skills and Conversation | 3 |
| ESI-021 | L2 Phonetics and Pronunciation | 3 |
| ESI-023 | L2 Reading and Vocabulary | 3 |
| ESI-018 | L2 ELA Grammar | 4 |
| ESI-016 | L2 ELA Writing | 2 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
NOTE: Level 2 and 3 students may take an optional L2/L3 Keyboarding class for 1 credit.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-039 | L3 Listening Skills, Conversation, and Culture | 3 |
| ESI-040 | L3 Phonetics and Pronunciation | 3 |
| ESI-042 | L3 Reading and Vocabulary | 3 |
| ESI-038 | L3 ELA Grammar | 4 |
| ESI-037 | L3 ELA Writing | 2 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
Note: Level 2 and 3 students may take an optional L2/L3 Keyboarding class for 1 credit.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-062 | L4 Culture and Conversation | 3 |
| ESI-069 | L4 Presentations | 3 |
| ESI-068 | L4 Reading and Vocabulary | 3 |
| ESI-064 | L4 ELA Grammar | 3 |
| ESI-063 | L4 ELA Writing | 3 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
NOTE: Level 4 and Level 5 students may take an optional keyboarding class for 1 credit.
Level 5 Bridge Classes
Level 5 ELA students take five classes. Of these classes, three are bridge classes. These classes are taught in the same way as other credit courses, which allows students to practice their new skills and gauge their capacity for success after leaving ELA coursework.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ESI-090 | L5 Culture and Conversation | 3 |
| SPC-112 | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
| SPC-101 | Fundamentals of Oral Communication | 3 |
| RDG-130 | Effective Reading Strategies | 3 |
| ENG-101 | Elements of Writing | 3 |
| ESI-072 | Fundamentals of English Grammar | 3 |
| Total Credits | 15 |
NOTE: Level 4 and Level 5 students may take an optional keyboarding class for 1 credit.
Fall Term 2020
Monday, Wedneday, Fri: 09:05 - 10:00 a.m.
Hala - Zoom link
Tuesday and Thursday: 11:15 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Iryna - Zoom link
Monday and Friday: 12:20 -1:15 p.m.
April - Zoom link
Tuesday and Thursday: 12:20 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.; Sunday 11:15 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Sofia - Zoom link
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 1:25 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Jake - Zoom link password: 0SyhJm
Tuesday and Thursday: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Rita - Zoom link password: iowa
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Amal - Zoom link
Tuesday: 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Gail - Zoom link
The Language Lab is located in 3010 Cedar Hall, on the main campus. At this time, the Language Lab is not open for student use.
Elizabeth Baertlein
Instructor, ELA
319-398-5899 x5152
Cedar Hall 3020
B.A.; St. Mary’s University
M.A.; St. Cloud State University
Betsy Baertlein teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) courses and has completed her master’s degree in teaching English as a second language at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, her bachelor’s degree in English at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. She has completed additional graduate coursework in the Language, Literacy and Culture doctorate program at The University of Iowa and her research interests include critical pedagogy and language learner identities. Betsy is a dedicated bicycle commuter and can be seen biking to campus in all weather.
Ryan Dehner
Associate Professor, ELA
Room 343 Iowa City Campus
B.A.; University of Wyoming
M.A.; University of Iowa
Ryan has experience teaching world languages at the K-12, community college, university, and federal government level. Before Kirkwood, he taught Spanish at Laramie High School, supervised student teachers at The University of Iowa, and trained language teachers at the Defense Language Institute's Instructor Development Branch. He has resided in England, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and explored many parts of Europe, Central and South America, Australia, the Middle East, South-Central Asia, and Africa. His professional interests involve teacher mentoring, building cross-cultural understanding, working with refugee populations, L2 curriculum design, L2 methodologies, competency-based learning, and oral proficiency assessment. Ryan teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) courses.
Esperanza Muñoz Pérez
Professor
1019 Cedar Hall
B.A. and M.A.; University of Iowa
Esperanza, a native of Spain, arrived in Iowa City in 1994 after living previously in Scotland and in the Pacific. Her passion for history, culture, and language was richly rewarded while working with 18th-century Spanish documents for the Micronesian Research Center at the University of Guam. All aspects of language intrigue her, whether related to her experience as an interpreter and translator or as a language professor for the last 16 years. Her love for Romance languages led her to study Latin, Portuguese, Italian, French language and Literature, as well as Medieval Spanish Literature. The intricacies of language have always been an important part of her academic and personal life. Esperanza teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes.
Carlos Ortega-Amparán
Assistant Professor, ELA
319-398-5988 x5830
Cedar Hall 3019
Carlos teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes.
Olga Petrova
Professor
Room 253 Iowa City Campus
M.A.; English and German, Russian Pedagogical State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
M.A.; TESOL, University of Northern Iowa
Ph.D.; Linguistics, University of Iowa
Olga arrived in Iowa City almost a quarter of a century ago, at the time of the first of the multiple successive 500-year floods, when Riverside Drive was closed and ducks were "sitting" on the benches in front of the Iowa Memorial Union. She has been working for Kirkwood since 2002, most recently coordinating English Language Acquisition course sequence on the Iowa City Campus for non-native speakers, and - occasionally - linguistics classes at the University of Iowa. Olga teaches English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes.
Colleen Schmitt
Instructor
319-398-5899 x5989
Cedar Hall 3024
B.A., Luther College
M.A., Hamline University
Colleen holds a B.A. in English and Spanish from Luther College and earned an M.A. in ESL with an adult learner emphasis from Hamline University. Prior to joining International Programs, Colleen coordinated Kirkwood’s noncredit ESL program in Iowa City. Her professional interests include advocacy for English Language Learners and best practices for teaching students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Colleen is a licensed K-12 educator and taught high school English, Spanish, and ELL for several years. She has studied in Chile, Spain, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Mexico and has led service-learning trips for American students abroad.